The Toshiba L200 2TB (HDWL120) uses SMR recording.
Live rankings this model belongs to: every 2TB hard drive.
Verified against: Toshiba statement: use of shingled magnetic recording (SMR) technology in Toshiba consumer hard drives (April 2020) · Checked
Shingled recording overlaps tracks like roof tiles to raise density. Reading is unaffected, and for sequential work, archives, media libraries, backup targets, files written once and read many times, this drive is genuinely fine and the saving is real. The problem is sustained random writing, because modifying data under an existing track can force the tracks above it to be rewritten too. A RAID rebuild or a ZFS resilver is hours of exactly that pattern with no idle time to recover, so a 2TB HDWL120 in an array can extend a rebuild dramatically, and the rebuild window is precisely when the array has no redundancy left. Do not put this drive in a NAS or a parity array.
| Model number | HDWL120 |
| Brand | Toshiba |
| Family | L200 |
| Capacity | 2TB |
| Form factor | 2.5" |
| Rotational speed | 5400 RPM |
| Cache | 128 MB |
| Recording technology | SMR |
| Workload rate | — |
| Warranty | 2 years |
| Status | Current |
| Replaced by | — |
A dash means we have not found a manufacturer document stating that field for this exact model. We leave it blank rather than filling it from a retailer listing.
If this drive is going into an array, a NAS, or anything that rebuilds, shingled recording is the wrong choice at any price. These are conventionally-recorded drives at this capacity or one step up, in stock right now with live prices.
| Drive | Capacity | Recording | $/TB | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WD Purple 4TB WD43PURZ | 4TB | CMR | $42.50 | $170 | Buy on Amazon |
| WD Red Plus 4TB WD40EFZZ | 4TB | CMR | $48.75 | $195 | Buy on Amazon |
| WD Purple 4TB WD44PURZ | 4TB | CMR | $48.75 | $195 | Buy on Amazon |
It is SMR. That comes from Toshiba statement: use of shingled magnetic recording (SMR) technology in Toshiba consumer hard drives (April 2020), Toshiba's own documentation for this exact part number, which also states the 2-year warranty on the spec table; the cheapest in-stock conventional pick right now is the WD Purple 4TB WD43PURZ.
We would not: Toshiba statement: use of shingled magnetic recording (SMR) technology in Toshiba consumer hard drives (April 2020) states SMR for the HDWL120, and shingled recording turns a rebuild into hours of the write pattern it handles worst. The page's own in-stock conventional alternative right now is the WD Purple 4TB WD43PURZ. For sequential and archival use outside an array this drive is fine.
A conventionally-recorded drive at 2TB or one step up - right now the table's top in-stock pick is the WD Purple 4TB WD43PURZ. Every model number linked in the table has its own verified page with the manufacturer source.