Seagate Exos 16TB: Which Generation, SATA or SAS, New or Recertified

Seagate Exos 16TB: X16, X18 or X24, SATA or SAS

Three Exos generations list this capacity on the data sheets we hold: X16, X18 and X24. Each prints a standard model for SATA and for SAS, plus self-encrypting (SED) variants and a SED-FIPS variant on SAS, so the words Seagate Exos 16TB in a listing do not identify a drive. The part number does.

The X16 sheet calls its drive the industry's first 16TB, which is Seagate's own marketing line. On the X18 sheet this capacity sits below 18 TB, and on the X24 sheet below 24 TB and 20 TB. A search for seagate exos 16tb x18 or x24 only pays off if the listing prints the matching number from this grid.

Encrypting models carry a condition of their own. All three sheets say SED and FIPS drives are available through franchised authorised distributors and may require TCG-compliant host or controller support. The FIPS wording also differs: 140-2 on the X16 and X18 sheets, 140-3 on X24.

Seagate Exos 16TB HDD specifications: what changes by generation

Seagate's sheets give each generation its own figures at this size. Rated speed climbs from X16 to X18 to X24, and SATA idle power climbs with it.

The X16 is the outlier on random writes, at 440 IOPS against 550 on the other two. X24 doubles the cache, and its SATA model idles 1.3 W above its X16 counterpart. Sheet figures are per drive, so that gap only grows into something noticeable across many bays left spinning idle.

Warranty paperwork does not separate them. All three sheets state a 5-year limited warranty, a 2.5M-hour MTBF rating and 8,760 power-on hours a year, and all three give SATA a single port and SAS dual ports. The X16 and X18 sheets mark Protection Information (T10 DIF) yes on SAS and print a dash on SATA. The X24 sheet we hold has no T10 DIF row, so we make no claim for it.

Seagate Exos 16TB price on Amazon.co.uk, new or used

This one table carries every row we match at this capacity, lowest price per TB first, in pounds sterling inc VAT, as at 14 November 2026, 01:39 UTC. The Condition column labels each row, and the figures above describe new drives only. Where a product name shows a part number, compare it with the grid. Where it does not, get the number from the listing or the seller before you buy. The Interface column answers seagate exos 16tb sata or sas where the listing data gives a value.

Other brands at this size sit on 16 TB enterprise hard drives, and buyers who need SAS have 16 TB SAS drives.

Seagate Exos 16TB refurbished or recertified: a separate data sheet

Seagate's Factory Recertified Hard Drive sheet lists three 16 TB part numbers on its SATA 6 Gb/s table: ST16000NM002C, ST16000NM003C and ST16000NM004C, all with 512e sectors. Seagate's support page also names ST16000NM002C with a 6-month limited warranty.

Three 16 TB numbers differ by one final character and sit on three different sheets. ST16000NM002G is the X16 SAS model. ST16000NM002H is the X24 SATA model. ST16000NM002C is on the recertified list. ST16000NM004J (X18 SAS) and ST16000NM004C (recertified) are a second such pair. We have not found a Seagate document that defines these letters, so compare the whole string.

Against the new 16 TB sheets, the recertified sheet states 6 months instead of 5 years, 2,400 power-on hours a year instead of 8,760 and 1 sector per 10E14 bits instead of 10E15, and prints 190 MB/s and 7.2 W idle, each one figure printed for every capacity from 4 TB to 32 TB. Exos refurbished drives has the full comparison, plus the serial, label and drive checks.

We have not found a Seagate document saying which new 16 TB a recertified unit started as. So a used row, or a title reading refurbished exos 16tb, proves neither factory recertification nor an X16, X18 or X24 origin. Seagate also says specifications and warranties for prime drives do not apply to recertified products.

Warranty on a 16 TB recertified drive, and statutory rights

Two separate things can protect you. The 6-month limited warranty comes from Seagate's documents and goes with its factory-recertified numbers. Statutory rights come from Part 1 of the Consumer Rights Act 2015, which applies where there is an agreement between a trader and a consumer, so not to every sale.

A consumer is an individual acting for purposes wholly or mainly outside their trade, business, craft or profession, so a company equipping a server room is outside that definition. In a trader-to-consumer sale, goods supplied by description must match it. That is where a listing saying new or recertified gets tested against the drive that arrives. Citizens Advice says warranties and guarantees add to your legal rights. Other labels, renewed and pulled among them, are weighed on refurbished enterprise hard drives.