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 so the page does not collapse into an empty catalogue.
Live prices · updated every 4-5 hours · last checked just now · one side may be unavailable in exact live stock
| Model | Capacity | Recording | RPM | Workload TB/yr | Warranty | $/TB | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3TB HUS724030ALS640REFURB | 3TB | CMR | 7,200 | — | — | $15.13 | $45 | Buy |
| 4TB HUS726040ALS210REFURB | 4TB | CMR | 7,200 | — | — | $16.15 | $65 | Buy |
| 3TB HUS724030ALA640REFURB | 3TB | CMR | 7,200 | — | — | $20.00 | $60 | Buy |
| 10TB HUH721010AL5200REFURB | 10TB | CMR | 7,200 | — | 5 yr | $23.50 | $235 | Buy |
| 14TB WUH721414ALE604REFURB | 14TB | CMR | 7,200 | — | — | $24.29 | $340 | Buy |
| 4TB HMS5C4040ALE640REFURB | 4TB | CMR | 7,200 | — | — | $24.75 | $99 | Buy |
| 14TB WUH721414ALE6L4REFURB | 14TB | CMR | 7,200 | — | — | $25.00 | $350 | Buy |
| 14TB WUH721414ALE604REFURB | 14TB | CMR | 7,200 | — | — | $25.00 | $350 | Buy |
Workload rating is recorded per part number from Seagate's datasheet for that exact model, 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 | 100TB raw target | 500TB raw target | 1PB raw target |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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. 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.