Toshiba MA11 versus WD Ultrastar HC680 is not primarily a speed contest. Both are 28TB-class enterprise density choices that require host-managed SMR awareness, so the first question is infrastructure fit.
The winner depends on which vendor platform your software, support process and procurement channel can qualify. Capacity alone does not decide the purchase because both drives target controlled-write storage rather than ordinary random-write NAS use.
Choose Toshiba MA11 if your Toshiba channel, firmware plan and HM-SMR storage stack are qualified for MA11. Choose WD Ultrastar HC680 if your infrastructure already supports WD UltraSMR/HC680 and you value WD's documented model variants. Choose neither for conventional NAS or unqualified RAID.
Use this as the procurement-level screen before looking at live price rows.
| Decision point | MA11 28TB | Ultrastar HC680 28TB |
|---|---|---|
| Architecture | Host-managed SMR | UltraSMR / host-managed SMR |
| Capacity | 28TB public MA11 branch | 28TB HC680 |
| Interface | SATA 6Gb/s in public MA11 material | SATA 6Gb/s |
| Cache/buffer | 1GiB | 512MB |
| Workload class | 550TB/year class | 550TB/year |
| Best workload | Qualified Toshiba HM-SMR bulk storage | Qualified WD UltraSMR bulk storage |
| Main limitation | Exact public order codes need channel verification | Not a normal CMR replacement |
| Decision metric | Toshiba qualification and channel support | WD UltraSMR ecosystem support |
This shows the capacity delta only. The financial answer comes from the live $/TB rows on the page.
| Drive count | MA11 28TB raw | Ultrastar HC680 28TB raw | Raw delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 bays | 112TB | 112TB | 0TB |
| 6 bays | 168TB | 168TB | 0TB |
| 8 bays | 224TB | 224TB | 0TB |
| 12 bays | 336TB | 336TB | 0TB |
No exact in-stock live row is currently matched for MA11 28TB family / WSH722880ALN6L4. Relevant live alternatives are shown for pricing context; verify qualification before treating any row as a substitute.
Live prices · updated about once a day · last checked 10 min ago · one side may be unavailable; alternatives are not exact OEM replacements
| Model | Capacity | Recording | RPM | Workload TB/yr | Warranty | $/TB | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3TB HUS724030ALS640REFURB This offer: sold by Tech on Time (SN RECORDED) · Amazon says Used / LikeNew | 3TB | UNVERIFIED | 7,200 | — | — | $15.13 | $45 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3TB HUS723030ALS640REFURB This offer: sold by Tech Original · Amazon says Used / Good · title says Renewed | 3TB | UNVERIFIED | 7,200 | — | — | $18.33 | $55 | Buy on Amazon |
| 10TB HUH721010ALE600REFURB This offer: sold by AceTech Solutions LLC · Amazon says Used / Good · AceTech Solutions LLC's note: Works fine, may have cosmetic wear such as scuffs, marks, scratches, dents, etc. Drive tested by special programs to make sure it works and is a healthy drive. Due to having more than one drive, drive might have a different serial numbers, date, FW, etc. So if your looking for something specific just let us know first. Other drives in stock has similar overview / s.m.a.r.t. and usage to the one listed. Please refer to pictures for details, you will get item as is. | 10TB | UNVERIFIED | 7,200 | — | — | $20.00 | $200 | Buy on Amazon |
| 10TB HUH721010AL5200REFURB This offer: sold by Computer Supply · Amazon says Used / LikeNew | 10TB | UNVERIFIED | 7,200 | — | 5 yr | $23.50 | $235 | Buy on Amazon |
| 14TB WUH721414ALE604REFURB This offer: sold by Worldwide Product Importer · Amazon says New / New · title says Renewed | 14TB | UNVERIFIED | 7,200 | — | — | $26.43 | $370 | Buy on Amazon |
| 14TB WUH721414AL5204REFURB This offer: sold by Dealforless · Amazon says Used / Good | 14TB | UNVERIFIED | 7,200 | 550 | 5 yr | $26.79 | $375 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4TB HUS726040ALS210REFURB This offer: sold by Amazon Resale · Amazon says Used / LikeNew · Amazon Resale's note: No item damage observed during inspection. Item will come in original packaging. | 4TB | UNVERIFIED | 7,200 | — | — | $27.49 | $110 | Buy on Amazon |
| 12TB HUH721212ALE604REFURB This offer: sold by Worldwide Product Importer · Amazon says New / New · title says Renewed | 12TB | UNVERIFIED | 7,200 | — | — | $27.50 | $330 | Buy on Amazon |
Workload rating is recorded per part number from the manufacturer's published data for that exact model where available, not blanketed across the line — two drives of the same capacity can differ because they are different generations. A dash means the figure is not stated for that listing. Recording technology comes from the manufacturer's published CMR/SMR list; a model absent from that list is shown as UNVERIFIED rather than guessed. Rows priced above 3× this line's in-stock median are flagged and excluded from the winner callout and from every median we compute.
This table is computed from live DatacenterDisk rows when an exact in-stock match exists. It is intentionally blank for unavailable models rather than filled with stale prices.
| Live model | Drive price | $/TB | 1 drive | 4 drives | 8 drives | 12 drives |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No exact in-stock row is available right now. Use the availability table for nearby live alternatives, then re-check the exact model before ordering. | ||||||
Both products live in the host-managed SMR world. That means the software stack has to understand how writes are placed and sequenced. If the buyer cannot validate that path, neither drive should be chosen for the workload.
This is why the comparison does not crown a universal 28TB winner. The right answer follows the platform that has been qualified.
In the verified sources used here, WD publishes detailed HC680 model families and a data sheet with explicit UltraSMR context. That makes HC680 easier to describe as a procurement object when the buyer needs a public model-code trail.
Toshiba's public MA11 material identifies capacity, host-managed SMR architecture and Mx11 platform attributes, but exact orderable MA11 codes should be confirmed through the channel before quoting.
At 28TB, both drives offer the same headline slot density. The economic difference therefore comes from live acquisition price, qualification cost, support comfort, firmware tooling, spares and fleet standardization.
If neither exact product is live in stock, the alternatives shown here are context only. A CMR 28TB or 24TB drive is not a drop-in equivalent to a host-managed SMR platform.
Yes in the 28TB host-managed SMR enterprise-density sense, but exact infrastructure support and channel availability decide the actual purchase.
Neither is the default. Use a CMR drive such as Toshiba MG11, WD HC590 or Seagate Exos/IronWolf Pro for conventional NAS unless the platform explicitly supports HM-SMR.
WD publishes detailed HC680 public model-code data. The MA11 public material verified here identifies the family and architecture, while exact orderable codes require channel confirmation.
No. Price per TB is the first screen, not the whole decision - for the Toshiba MA11 vs WD Ultrastar HC680 specifically: match recording method, interface, bay count, firmware support, warranty position and rebuild risk before accepting the cheapest row.
Specification claims on this page were checked against the pages below on 1 September 2026. Where a widely-repeated figure did not survive that check, we report what the source says now and say so in the text rather than repeating the familiar number.