WD120EFGX - CMR or SMR?

CMR

The WD Red Plus 12TB (WD120EFGX) uses CMR recording.

Live rankings this model belongs to: every 12TB hard drive. Product pages for this part number: WD Red Plus 12TB WD120EFGX.

Verified against: WD Red Plus data sheet · Checked

What this means for you

Conventional recording writes tracks side by side without overlap, so a write never forces the drive to rewrite neighbouring data. That makes the WD120EFGX safe for every use including RAID, ZFS, a NAS, and anything with sustained random writes. A rebuild or a resilver on this drive behaves the way the array expects, which is the whole reason the distinction matters. There is no recording-technology reason to avoid this drive for any workload.

Specifications

Model numberWD120EFGX
BrandWD
FamilyWD Red Plus
Capacity12TB
Form factor3.5"
Rotational speed7200 RPM
Cache512 MB
Recording technologyCMR
Workload rate180 TB/year
Warranty3 years
StatusCurrent
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.

We track this drive - live price
WD Red Plus 12TB WD120EFGX
$539.99 · $45.00/TB
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Related models

Other WD Red Plus capacities
WD20EFZX2TB—WD20EFPX2TBCMRWD30EFZX3TB—WD40EFZX4TBCMR · familyWD40EFPX4TBCMRWD40EFZZ4TBCMRWD60EFZX6TBCMRWD60EFPX6TBCMRWD80EFZZ8TBCMRWD80EFPX8TBCMRWD80EFBX8TBCMR · familyWD80EFZX8TBCMR · family
The same capacity from other makers
ST12000DM00112TB—ST12000VE00112TBCMRST12000VN000812TBCMR · family
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Frequently asked questions

Is the WD120EFGX CMR or SMR?

It is CMR, per WD Red Plus data sheet - WD's documentation for this exact part number - which also rates it at 180TB/year workload; its closest tracked rival at this capacity is the ST12000DM001.

Can I use the WD120EFGX in a NAS or RAID array?

Yes: WD Red Plus data sheet states CMR for the WD120EFGX, and conventional recording means a write never forces neighbouring tracks to be rewritten, so rebuilds and resilvers behave normally. Check the workload rating and warranty for your duty cycle separately.

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