The WD Red 3TB (WD30EFAX) uses SMR recording.
Live rankings this model belongs to: every 3TB hard drive.
Verified against: WD Red NAS HDD product brief · Checked
WD's own Red product brief prints SMR against this model, footnoted as device-managed SMR.
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 3TB WD30EFAX 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 | WD30EFAX |
| Brand | WD |
| Family | WD Red |
| Capacity | 3TB |
| Form factor | 3.5" |
| Rotational speed | 5400 RPM |
| Cache | 256 MB |
| Recording technology | SMR |
| Workload rate | 180 TB/year |
| Warranty | 3 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 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IronWolf 10TB NAS ST10000VN0008 | 10TB | CMR | $35.00 | $350 | Buy on Amazon |
| WD Red Plus 10TB WD101EFBX | 10TB | CMR | $35.00 | $350 | Buy on Amazon |
| WD Red Plus 10TB WD100EFGX | 10TB | CMR | $38.32 | $383 | Buy on Amazon |
Verified CMR model numbers at this size: ST3000VX009, WD33PURZ, ST4000VX007, WD40EFPX.
It is SMR, per WD Red NAS HDD product brief - WD's documentation for this exact part number - which also rates it at 180TB/year workload; the page's cheapest in-stock conventional pick right now is the IronWolf 10TB NAS ST10000VN0008.
We would not: WD Red NAS HDD product brief states SMR for the WD30EFAX, 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 IronWolf 10TB NAS ST10000VN0008. For sequential and archival use outside an array this drive is fine.
A conventionally-recorded drive at 3TB or one step up - right now the table's top in-stock pick is the IronWolf 10TB NAS ST10000VN0008. Every model number linked in the table has its own verified page with the manufacturer source.