IronWolf vs IronWolf Pro: Noise, Workload and Bays at 8 to 16TB

IronWolf vs IronWolf Pro: what Seagate's data sheets separate

Seagate publishes one data sheet for each line: DS1904.23 for IronWolf and DS2129.4 for IronWolf Pro. Both sheets set out their models in tables by capacity, and the rows below come from the table on each sheet that holds the 16TB model, which is the one capacity both of those tables share. For IronWolf that table runs from 8 to 16TB; for IronWolf Pro it runs from 16 to 24TB.

Three rows carry the real difference. The workload rate limit is roughly three times higher on the Pro. The bay row tells you which enclosures Seagate designed each line for: IronWolf for one to eight bays, the Pro listed as unlimited. And the limited warranty is two years longer on the Pro at 16TB.

Two rows that comparisons often use to split the lines do not split them on these sheets. Seagate lists a rotational vibration sensor as Yes on every model in the IronWolf table, not only on the Pro. Both sheets also list CMR in their recording technology row, so neither line on these sheets uses shingled recording. If an Amazon listing title says CMR, that is the seller's wording; the Recording column in the tables below prints a technology only where a document ties it to that part number.

MTBF on the Pro depends on capacity. Its 12 and 14TB models are listed at 2,500,000 hours, as are 16 to 24TB, whilst the 6, 8 and 10TB models are listed at 2,000,000. Every IronWolf model in the 8 to 16TB table is listed at 1,000,000 hours. MTBF is a population rating, not a promise about one drive, so treat it as one more sign of which line Seagate rates for heavier duty.

IronWolf vs IronWolf Pro at 8, 10, 12 and 16TB: noise, watts and speed

Here each capacity gets its own table, with the part number Seagate prints for it. Noise is in typical dBA, idle measured in Seagate's Idle 1 state and seek as typical. Idle power is the sheet's average and transfer is the maximum sustained rate at the outer diameter (OD).

IronWolf has a second 8TB model, ST8000VN002, and on the sheet it is the quietest and most frugal drive at this size: 25 dBA idle, 26 dBA seek and 4.0 W idle. The cost is speed, at 202 MB/s sustained against 210 MB/s for ST8000VN004 and 255 MB/s for the Pro. It shares the IronWolf table's 256MB of cache and 1,000,000 hours MTBF. Check which 8TB number a listing carries before you compare it.

Read across the four tables and a pattern holds. At 12 and 16TB the Pro is quieter at idle by 8 dBA and at seek by 4 dBA, with idle power within 0.1 W. At 10 and 8TB the two lines idle at the same 28 dBA and the same 7.8 W, and the Pro is 2 dBA quieter at seek. Transfer favours the Pro at every matched size: by 30 MB/s at 16TB and by 45 to 60 MB/s at 8 to 12TB.

IronWolf vs IronWolf Pro for NAS: choosing on bays, workload and noise

Start with the enclosure. Seagate lists IronWolf for 1-8 bays, so a nine-bay or larger box falls outside what the IronWolf sheet states and the Pro is the line whose sheet covers it. In a two- to eight-bay home or small-office NAS both lines are within their sheets, and the choice moves to workload, warranty and noise.

The workload rate limit is the amount of data Seagate rates a drive to transfer in a year. Spread evenly, 180TB/year is about half a terabyte a day, and the Pro's 550TB/year is about three times that. Whether your NAS comes near the lower figure depends on how much it reads and writes, so look at the traffic your own box handles before paying for the higher rating.

• If the NAS lives in a room where people sit, look at 12 or 16TB: at both sizes the Pro's sheet idle figure is 20 dBA against IronWolf's 28.
• If power and noise matter more than speed at 8TB, ST8000VN002 has the lowest idle figures of any model in these tables.
• If you want the longest limited warranty Seagate prints across these two lines, the Pro sheet's 16 to 24TB table lists 5 years against IronWolf's 3.

The IronWolf sheet also mentions Rescue data recovery services, with a footnote that Rescue is not available in all countries. We have not found a Seagate document stating whether Rescue is offered on a drive bought in the UK, so do not count on it until Seagate confirms it for your purchase.

IronWolf Pro vs IronWolf prices on Amazon.co.uk

Each line has its own table of new listings at every capacity, lowest pounds per TB inc VAT first. The tables name no winner and a small drive can top either one, so use the capacity column to set rows of the same size against each other. That is where the Pro's premium shows: compare an 8TB row with an 8TB row, not the top of one table with the top of the other.

A lowest price per TB is a level and may come from a different capacity on each side, so we print no percentage between them.

The tables can hold part numbers the two sheets above do not list. The Pro table can include NE models, which we have not found on DS2129.4, and the IronWolf table can include a 14TB drive, a size for which we have not found a column on DS1904.23. For those rows this page gives price and listing data only. Match the part number on the row to the tables above before you treat a spec here as that drive's.

Going further with IronWolf and IronWolf Pro

Each line has its own page with the full range: Seagate IronWolf and IronWolf Pro. If you are weighing other makers' NAS drives against Seagate's, see Toshiba N300 vs IronWolf. For a desktop drive against IronWolf, see IronWolf vs BarraCuda.