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Toshiba · Data-centre drive · MG11ACA18TE

Toshiba MG11 18TB

Sold for data centres, but underneath it's a standard 3.5in SATA drive and any NAS with a 3.5in bay will take it without complaint.

Capacity
18 TB
Recording
CMR
Speed
7,200 rpm
Warranty
5 years
Workload
550 TB/yr
Failure rate
No failure data

Good for

  • Busy arrays (550 TB a year)
  • Big media libraries
  • RAID, SHR and ZFS rebuilds
  • 5 years' warranty

Not for

  • A desk or bedroom (7,200 rpm is the louder class)

Updated 27 Oct 2026 · Method 2.0

Who the MG11 18 TB is for

It makes most sense when you're chasing terabytes per pound and the NAS sits somewhere noise doesn't matter. Think garage, or a rack in the cupboard under the stairs. Toshiba backs it for five years, which is a long time in drive terms. CMR, thankfully. SMR and parity rebuilds don't get on.

Watch out for

Being 7,200 rpm, it's in the noisier, warmer class of drive, and you'll want it somewhere you don't sit.

Backblaze doesn't run enough of these for a failure rate we'd publish. On paper it makes 20 dB at idle and 32 dB seeking. Toshiba lists 4.16 W at idle and 7.89 W working, which comes to 36 kWh a year for a drive that idles around the clock. Put four in RAID 5 and you'll have 54 TB to fill (Windows will call it 49.1 TB).

Specifications

Each value links to the Toshiba page or datasheet it came from.

Toshiba MG11 18TB specifications
Drive type Data centre source for Drive type (toshiba-storage.com, opens in new tab)
Capacity 18 TB source for Capacity (toshiba-storage.com, opens in new tab)
Spindle speed 7,200 rpm source for Spindle speed (storage.toshiba.com, opens in new tab)
Recording technology CMR source for Recording technology (storage.toshiba.com, opens in new tab)
Cache 1,024 MB source for Cache (toshiba-storage.com, opens in new tab)
Interface SATA 6Gb/s source for Interface (toshiba-storage.com, opens in new tab)
Form factor 3.5in source for Form factor (storage.toshiba.com, opens in new tab)
Max sustained transfer 295 MB/s source for Max sustained transfer (toshiba-storage.com, opens in new tab)
Workload rating 550 TB/yr source for Workload rating (storage.toshiba.com, opens in new tab)
MTBF / MTTF 2,500,000 hours source for MTBF / MTTF (storage.toshiba.com, opens in new tab)
Maker's rated AFR 0.35% source for Maker's rated AFR (storage.toshiba.com, opens in new tab)
Warranty 5 years source for Warranty (toshiba-storage.com, opens in new tab)
Power at idle 4.16 W source for Power at idle (storage.toshiba.com, opens in new tab)
Power in use 7.89 W source for Power in use (storage.toshiba.com, opens in new tab)
Noise at idle 20 dB source for Noise at idle (storage.toshiba.com, opens in new tab)
Noise when seeking 32 dB source for Noise when seeking (storage.toshiba.com, opens in new tab)

Sources: toshiba-storage.com, storage.toshiba.com