it is cheaper per terabyte and the drive is desktop storage, where shingled recording will not surface.
you want conventional recording at 2TB, since the WD20EZBX is the conventional option and its WD20EZAZ sibling is not.
| ST2000DM008 | WD20EZBX | |
|---|---|---|
| Model number | ST2000DM008 | WD20EZBX |
| Capacity | 2TB | 2TB |
| Form factor | 3.5" | 3.5" |
| Recording technology | SMR | CMR |
| Rotational speed | 7200 RPM | 7200 RPM |
| Cache | 256 MB | 256 MB |
| Workload rate | 55 TB/yr | — |
| Warranty | 2 years | 2 years |
| Status | Current | Current |
| Live price | $128 | — |
| Live $/TB | $64.00 | — |
Recording technology is highlighted because it is usually the actual differentiator, and each value comes from the manufacturer document linked on that model's page. A dash means the maker does not state that field. Prices are live and exclude out-of-stock listings.
At 2TB this comparison is more interesting than at 1TB, because the answer depends on which model within each brand rather than on the brand itself.
Seagate's current 2TB BarraCuda models are shingled: the ST2000DM008 at 7200rpm and the ST2000DM005 at 5400rpm, per Seagate's own datasheet. The older conventionally-recorded ST2000DM006 is discontinued.
Western Digital sells both at this capacity. The WD20EZAZ is named on WD's own client SMR list as shingled; the WD20EZBX is not on that list and is therefore conventional under the document's closing statement that all other capacity points use CMR.
So the honest headline is that WD offers a current conventional 2TB and Seagate does not, and within WD the two models look nearly identical on a listing page.
This is a capacity where a casual purchase genuinely can land on the wrong drive. WD20EZAZ and WD20EZBX differ by one letter and sit at the same capacity from the same brand under the same family name.
The EZBX is the 7200rpm conventional drive; the EZAZ is the 5400rpm shingled one. If the listing gives you only the family name and the capacity, it has not told you which you are buying.
Our resolver takes a pasted part number and answers from WD's own document, which is the quickest way to check before ordering rather than after.
For desktop storage, games, media, archives, files written once and read afterwards, it does not. Both drives will do that job and you will not be able to tell them apart in use.
Shingled recording overlaps tracks to raise density, so modifying data under an existing track can force the tracks above it to be rewritten. That is invisible for sequential work and severe during a rebuild, which is hours of sustained writing with no idle time for the drive to reorganise.
For anything that might end up in an array, it matters completely, and the WD20EZBX is the only current 2TB option among these that is safe for it. Neither is a NAS drive by positioning, so being conventional removes one objection rather than all of them.
As always at small capacities, check what the next size up costs. 2TB is better value than 1TB and usually worse than 4TB on cost per terabyte.
The case against the WD20EZBX is that you may be paying for a distinction you will never encounter, and at 7200rpm it also runs warmer and louder than the 5400rpm alternatives in a quiet room. The case against the ST2000DM008 is that it forecloses array use permanently, and the case against buying either casually is the WD20EZAZ sitting right next to them on the shelf, one letter different and shingled, which is what an unchecked purchase at this capacity frequently lands on.
Yes. Western Digital's client SMR list names the shingled models and the WD20EZBX is not among them, with the document stating that all other capacity points use conventional recording. Its sibling the WD20EZAZ is named as shingled, so the two differ despite sharing a family and a capacity.
The current models are, per Seagate's own datasheet: the ST2000DM008 at 7200rpm and the ST2000DM005 at 5400rpm. The older ST2000DM006 was conventionally recorded and is discontinued, so a current 2TB BarraCuda purchase is a shingled drive.
By the part number, because the family name and capacity are identical. EZBX is the 7200rpm conventional drive; EZAZ is the 5400rpm shingled one. If a listing shows only the family name, it has not told you which drive you are buying.
No. Sequential writes and reads do not expose shingled recording, so both drives do desktop storage indistinguishably. It matters if the drive might later go into an array, which is a more common outcome than people plan for.