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WD

WD WD Red 12TB WD120EFAX

WD120EFAX
WD RedCMR12TBSATA-6G3.5"
$38.50/TB
$462.00
REFURBIn Stock
Price updated
Aug 7, 2026, 08:44 PM
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Quick Verdict

The WD WD Red 12TB WD120EFAX is a 12TB SATA-6G enterprise drive at $38.50/TB - CMR recording makes it safe for all RAID levels and NAS deployments. As a refurbished unit, run SMART diagnostics on arrival and verify power-on hours.

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Specifications

Capacity12TB
Form Factor3.5"
InterfaceSATA-6G
Recording TechCMR
RPM—
Cache—
Sector Size—
Workload Rating—
Warranty—
ASINB0885CVKPC

Price History ($/TB)

Price history for this drive appears once the tracker has recorded it for a day.

Full history for this drive is also plotted across its whole category on the price trend pages, and against every other category on the storage crisis tracker.

How it compares - 12TB SATA-6G
#1Western Digital WD Purple Pro 12TB WD122PURP
$25.54/TB
#2WD Ultrastar 12TB SATA HUH721212ALE604
$26.67/TB
#3WD Ultrastar 12TB SATA HUH721212ALE604
$27.49/TB
#4MDD 12TB SATA 6G 7200RPM NAS
$27.50/TB
#5WD Ultrastar 12TB SATA HUH721212ALE604
$28.29/TB

Compare to similar 12TB SATA-6G drives

Western Digital
WD Purple Pro 12TB WD122PURP
$25.54/TB
$306.53
REFURB
WD
Ultrastar 12TB SATA HUH721212ALE604
$26.67/TB
$319.99
REFURB
WD
Ultrastar 12TB SATA HUH721212ALE604
$27.49/TB
$329.88
REFURB
MDD
12TB SATA 6G 7200RPM NAS
$27.50/TB
$329.99
REFURB
WD
Ultrastar 12TB SATA HUH721212ALE604
$28.29/TB
$339.50
REFURB

Frequently Asked Questions

Yes. The WD Red 12TB WD120EFAX uses CMR recording which is fully compatible with all RAID levels.

Warranty varies by seller. Check the Amazon listing for current warranty terms.

Compatible with any server, NAS or workstation with a SATA port. Works in Synology, QNAP, TrueNAS, UnRAID and all major NAS platforms.

Use Case Scenarios

🏠
Home & SMB NAS
Building a high-capacity NAS for media, backups and file sharing.
✓ Excellent fit
CMR recording is RAID-safe and fully compatible with Synology, QNAP, TrueNAS and UnRAID. Refurb units offer strong value for non-critical NAS.
💾
Backup Server / Veeam Target
Dedicated backup storage for Veeam, Commvault, or NetBackup.
✓ Excellent fit
12TB SATA drives are ideal for backup targets. SATA gives maximum $/TB for backup repositories.
🏗️
Virtualization Host Storage
VM images and snapshots on Proxmox, VMware or Hyper-V.
~ Good fit
Suitable for VM storage where workloads are not IOPS-intensive. SATA is fine for single-host VM storage. Consider NVMe cache for latency-sensitive VMs.

Maintenance & Troubleshooting

Maintenance Checklist

On installCheck SMART baseline on arrival
Run smartctl -a /dev/sdX and record: Reallocated_Sector_Ct, Power_On_Hours, Spin_Retry_Count. Critical for refurb drives — refuse any with reallocated sectors > 0.
MonthlyRun SMART short self-test
smartctl -t short /dev/sdX — takes 1-2 minutes, catches most developing issues. Schedule during off-peak.
QuarterlyRun SMART long self-test
smartctl -t long /dev/sdX — full surface scan, takes 6 hours for 12TB. Any test failure is grounds for immediate replacement.
QuarterlyCheck RAID array health
Verify no degraded drives. A degraded array with no hot spare is one failure from data loss. Check mdstat or controller UI.
AnnuallyVerify drive firmware version
Check WD support site for firmware updates. Some versions have known bugs affecting integrity.
Every 3-5 yearsPlan proactive replacement
Enterprise HDDs have higher failure rates after year 4-5. At 12TB per drive, budget for replacements before failures occur.

Troubleshooting Guide

Cause: Loose SATA data or power cable, failed port, or drive not spinning up.
Fix: Reseat both cables. Try a different port. Listen for spin-up sound. Test with a known-good cable.