DatacenterDisk

HGST 12TB vs Seagate Exos

Side-by-side spec and price comparison. Live data from Amazon US.

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Our Recommendation
👑
Seagate Exos 12TB SAS 12G 7200RPM

Seagate Exos 12TB SAS 12G 7200RPM balances price ($43.27/TB), warranty (5 years), and 550TB/yr workload rating for the best overall value.

Best $/TB: HGST
Best Warranty: Seagate
Best for RAID: Seagate
Full Specification Comparison
Spec
HGST
12TB SAS 12G 7.2K
$41.58/TB
Seagate
Exos 12TB SAS 12G 7200RPM
$43.27/TB
Brand
HGST
Seagate
Model
12TB SAS 12G 7.2K
Exos 12TB SAS 12G 7200RPM
Series
Ultrastar DC
Exos X
Part Number
HUH721212AL4200
ST12000NM002G
$/TB
👑$41.58
$43.27
Price
$499.00
$519.29
Condition
New
New
Capacity
12TB
12TB
Interface
SAS-12G
SAS-12G
Form Factor
3.5"
3.5"
Drive Type
HDD
HDD
Recording Tech
CMR
CMR
RPM
7,200
7,200
Cache
—
256MB
Sector Size
4Kn
512e
Workload Rating
—
550TB/yr
DWPD
N/A
N/A
Warranty
—
5 years
Workload Tier
nearline
nearline
In Stock
✓ In Stock
✓ In Stock
Buy
Buy on Amazon →
Buy on Amazon →
Workload Fit
Workload
HGST
Seagate
NAS Storage
●●
●●
Backup Target
●●●
●●●
OLTP Database
●
●
Cold Archive
●●
●●
Virtualization
●
●
AI/ML Storage
●
●
Buying Recommendation
Choose HGST 12TB SAS 12G 7.2K if:
  • ✓ You need maximum storage per dollar
  • ✓ You need new-with-warranty for compliance or budgeting
Buy HGST →
Choose Seagate Exos 12TB SAS 12G 7200RPM if:
  • ✓ You need 5-year warranty coverage for production
  • ✓ You're building a RAID array and need guaranteed CMR compatibility
  • ✓ Your server runs 24/7 under heavy sustained load
  • ✓ You need new-with-warranty for compliance or budgeting
Buy Seagate →

Frequently Asked Questions

HGST 12TB offers better value at $41.58/TB vs $43.27/TB - a 4% price difference. Factor in warranty length and workload rating when the price gap is small.

Mixing drives of different models in RAID is not recommended even if capacities match. Different firmware, error handling and seek patterns can cause rebuild issues. Use identical drives within the same RAID group for reliable operation.

Seagate Exos carries a longer 5-year warranty vs unknown years for HGST 12TB. Both are enterprise-grade drives built for 24/7 operation.

HGST 12TB is the better fit for NAS storage. It uses CMR recording which is safe for all RAID levels. SAS interface requires a SAS HBA or SAS-capable NAS.