- ST32000NM003K is part of the Exos M series and uses SMR which is more complex to run and manage
- The reveal comes weeks after Western Digital launched its own 32TB hard drive
- And almost a year after Seagate launched its second-largest drive, a 30TB model
Seagate launched its largest hard drive ever, a 32TB Exos M series model, just weeks later Western Digital revealed its own 32TB hard drive.
The new ExosM is available in two capacities, a 30 TB model, ST30000NM004K, which uses conventional magnetic recording (CMR), and a 32 TB model, ST32000NM003K, which uses shingle magnetic recording (SMR). The latter’s overlapping write tracks account for the increase in capacity and the WD drive uses the same recording technology.
This release comes almost a year after Seagate introduced its previous largest drive, a 30 TB model in the Exos range.
Stop, it’s HAMR time!
The drives, featuring a SATA III interface with data transfer rates of up to 6 Gbps, are built on Seagate’s slightly controversial HAMR (Heat-Assisted Magnetic Recording) platform, combined with technology Mosaic 3+.
This combination allows the drive to deliver 3TB per platter, maximizing storage density while maintaining the standard 3.5-inch form factor for seamless integration into existing server configurations.
Seagate says the new drive delivers three times the power efficiency per terabyte of conventional models, reducing operational costs and supporting the company’s sustainability goals. The Exos M Series is also built using more renewable energy and recycled materials than any previous Seagate product.
The drive combines what the company calls proven components from previous generations with next-generation improvements. Around 90% of the components are carried over from previous models.
HAMR technology, which Seagate spent more than a decade perfecting, has long been met with skepticism, with concerns about its readiness, quality, reliability and compatibility.
Seagate insists, however, that these concerns are unfounded. The nominal mean time between failures (MTBF) for Seagate Mozaic 3+ hard drives and Exos enterprise hard drives is would be 2.5 million hours.
Although development has faced numerous delays, Seagate says it has now passed qualification testing for its HAMR-based Mozaic drives and remains on track to increase production in 2025.