Toshiba MG vs Seagate Exos: MG10 and MG11 Against Exos X18, X20 and X24 by Part Number

Toshiba MG vs Seagate Exos: where the documents put them

Toshiba and Seagate aim these lines at the same job: high-capacity drives that run all day. On the headline ratings they very nearly agree. Toshiba's MG10 and MG11 overviews give an MTTF of 2,500,000 hours with a 0.35% AFR, and Seagate's Exos X24 data sheet gives 2.5 million hours MTBF and 0.35% AFR. Both are 5-year limited warranty lines: Seagate on the X24 sheet, Toshiba on its European MG Series page.

Workload is stated on both sides, in slightly different words. Toshiba gives MG10 and MG11 a rated annual workload of 550 TB per year, and its MG Series page ties the warranty and reliability commitments to annual workload not exceeding 550 TB. Seagate's X24 SATA manual gives a maximum rate of under 550TB a year, counted per 8,760 power-on hours, which is also the yearly figure behind Toshiba's MG11 MTTF. In practice the two lines are rated for the same order of work.

Toshiba MG vs Exos at 16TB, 18TB, 20TB and 24TB

One row per part number at each matched size. Toshiba's numbers are its 512e SATA models; Seagate's are SATA models from the X18, X20 and X24 sheets. Sustained rate keeps each sheet's own unit: Toshiba prints MiB/s, the X24 sheet prints both MB/s and MiB/s, and the X18 and X20 sheets print MB/s. On the MG10 overview the 18 TB and 16 TB models share one power cell.

Where both makers print MiB/s, the MG11's 281 to 295 MiB/s sits above the X24's 272 MiB/s at every size they share, and the MG10's 268 MiB/s sits just below it. The MG11's 1 GiB buffer is the largest on this page. The idle rows favour Toshiba at every matched size, by roughly 0.9 W to 2.6 W depending on the generations compared, though the two makers name their states differently: Toshiba prints Active Idle, Seagate Idle A average. We have not found a document that says the two states are the same, so treat the gap as indicative.

Within Toshiba's own range the MG11 is the frugal one at 16 TB, 3.66 W against the MG10's 4.17 W, while at 18 TB and 20 TB the two generations sit within a few hundredths of a watt. Within Seagate's, the older X18 and X20 idle below the X24 at every size they share, and the X24 carries twice their cache.

Toshiba MG vs Exos noise: both makers print sound power

This pair is closer on noise method than most. Toshiba's MG10 and MG11 overviews print acoustics as sound power, 20 dB at idle and 32 dB at seek, typical, the same on both lines, and both overviews say the measuring method is based on ISO 7779. Seagate's Exos SATA manuals print 2.8 bels typical idle and 3.2 bels typical performance seek, defined as overall A-weighted acoustic sound power levels with no pure tones.

Both describe sound power, but one gap stays open. Seagate says its figure is A-weighted. In Toshiba's overviews we have found the ISO 7779 reference but no statement of the weighting, and we have not found a document that converts between the two makers' figures, so each is printed in its own unit and left there. Seagate also notes that its seek test places the drive in seek mode only; we have not found Toshiba's seek conditions stated beyond the ISO reference.

We do not rank Toshiba MG and Exos on noise. Each maker's figures are flat across its own range on these documents, so within either line no capacity is louder than another on paper.

Toshiba MG vs Exos prices on Amazon.co.uk

New rows only, pounds sterling inc VAT, Amazon.co.uk. The block below sets the two lines at each matched size; a dash means one side has no in-stock row at that size right now.

The Toshiba table matches MG10 or MG11 in the title, so it can also hold MG10-D rows at 8 TB and 10 TB, a different series from the MG10 above. The Exos table takes every generation and interface, including SAS, and leaves out titles carrying NM000C or NM002C. Toshiba's MG10 numbers ending TA are 4Kn and those ending TE are 512e, so check the format your system expects against the part number on the row.

Choosing between Toshiba MG and Seagate Exos

• Lowest idle power at 16 TB to 24 TB on these documents: the MG11, from 3.66 W to 4.35 W active idle.
• Largest buffer: the MG11 at 1 GiB.
• Workload: Toshiba states 550 TB a year for MG10 and MG11; Seagate's X24 manual states under 550TB a year.
• Equal on MTTF or MTBF, AFR and warranty term on the documents behind these rows.

Each line has its own UK page: Toshiba MG10, Toshiba MG11 and the wider Toshiba MG series, against Seagate Exos. The two Toshiba generations set against each other are on Toshiba MG10 vs MG11.