HC680 and HC690 are both WD UltraSMR density platforms, so the starting question is the same: does your storage stack support host-managed SMR/zoned write behavior?
Once that is solved, HC690 changes the economics by moving the line to 30TB and 32TB capacities and adding SATA/SAS procurement options.
Choose HC690 over HC680 when your SMR-aware infrastructure is ready and the extra 2TB to 4TB per drive reduces shelves, rack units or power per protected TB. Choose HC680 only when it is already qualified, cheaper, or sufficient for the density target.
Use this as the procurement-level screen before looking at live price rows.
| Decision point | Ultrastar HC680 28TB | Ultrastar HC690 32TB |
|---|---|---|
| Generation | 10-disk UltraSMR | 11-disk UltraSMR |
| Capacities in this cluster | 26TB/27TB/28TB | 30TB/32TB |
| Recording | UltraSMR / HM-SMR | UltraSMR / HM-SMR |
| Interface | SATA | SATA and SAS |
| Top sustained transfer | 265MB/s at 28TB | 269MB/s at 32TB |
| Best use | Qualified SMR deployments at 28TB | Highest-density qualified SMR fleets |
| Main limitation | Lower maximum density | Same SMR host requirements |
| Decision metric | Qualification and price | Rack-density delta |
This shows the capacity delta only. The financial answer comes from the live $/TB rows on the page.
| Drive count | Ultrastar HC680 28TB raw | Ultrastar HC690 32TB raw | Raw delta |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 bays | 112TB | 128TB | 16TB |
| 6 bays | 168TB | 192TB | 24TB |
| 8 bays | 224TB | 256TB | 32TB |
| 12 bays | 336TB | 384TB | 48TB |
No exact in-stock live row is currently matched for WSH722880ALN6L4 / WSH723220ALN6L4. 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 1 hr 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 WUH721414AL5204REFURB This offer: sold by Dealforless · Amazon says Used / Good | 14TB | UNVERIFIED | 7,200 | 550 | 5 yr | $26.79 | $375 | Buy on Amazon |
| 14TB WUH721414ALE604REFURB This offer: sold by Worldwide Product Importer · Amazon says New / New · title says Renewed | 14TB | UNVERIFIED | 7,200 | — | — | $27.14 | $380 | 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 | — | — | $27.48 | $110 | Buy on Amazon |
| 14TB WUH721414ALE604REFURB This offer: sold by Worldwide Product Importer · Amazon says New / New · title says Renewed | 14TB | UNVERIFIED | 7,200 | — | — | $27.86 | $390 | 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. | ||||||
HC680 is the 28TB-class UltraSMR platform. HC690 moves to a higher-density 30TB/32TB generation and WD lists both SATA and SAS variants for HC690.
That additional density can matter at fleet scale. It does not remove the SMR requirement. A system unable to use HC680 correctly should not assume HC690 fixes that problem.
At 60 bays, moving from 28TB to 32TB adds 240TB raw before parity. Across racks, that can mean fewer shelves and lower platform overhead. Those are the workloads HC690 exists for.
The value shrinks in small deployments. If you are buying four or eight drives and have no SMR-aware stack, a CMR alternative is usually the better engineering choice even at lower raw density.
HC690 is the better forward-looking fleet choice when qualification is complete. HC680 is a reasonable hold if it is already validated, stocked and priced aggressively.
Do not mix generations casually in the same pool unless your storage software and operations plan support the resulting capacity and replacement behavior.
No. It is the next UltraSMR generation with 30TB/32TB capacity and SATA/SAS variants, but it keeps the same broad SMR compatibility requirement.
No. Treat HC690 as an SMR/zoned-storage purchase that needs compatible host software and qualification.
No. Price per TB is the first screen, not the whole decision - for the Ultrastar HC680 vs HC690 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.