The WD Ultrastar DC HC680 28TB is not a normal high-capacity SATA drive. Western Digital's HC680 data sheet describes host-managed SMR and says the capacity advantage requires software changes to use properly.
That makes HC680 a density and economics product for qualified data-center stacks, not a casual replacement for a CMR NAS drive. The 28TB capacity is attractive, but the recording architecture is the purchase decision.
Buy HC680 only when your operating system, filesystem, controller path and storage application support host-managed SMR or zoned-write behavior. If you run a normal NAS, desktop, hardware RAID card or unqualified ZFS/Ceph stack, pick a CMR drive such as HC590, Exos or IronWolf Pro instead.
Manufacturer-published values for the exact product family. Retail listings can collapse these details, so match the part number before ordering.
| Spec | Value |
|---|---|
| Model number | WSH722880ALN6L1, WSH722880ALN6L4, 0F62904 |
| Capacity | 28TB decimal marketed capacity |
| Recording technology | UltraSMR / host-managed SMR |
| Platform | 10-disk OptiNAND, EAMR, second-generation TSA and HelioSeal density platform |
| Interface | SATA 6Gb/s |
| Sector format | SATA model-code family; verify 512e/4Kn requirement on the exact SKU before purchase |
| Spindle speed | 7200 RPM |
| Cache / buffer | 512MB |
| Maximum sustained transfer rate | 265MB/s maximum sustained transfer rate on 28TB models |
| Workload rating | 550TB/year |
| Reliability rating | 2.5M hours projected |
| Warranty | 5-year limited warranty |
| Power | 5.5W idle; 9.4W random read 4KB QD=8 at max IOPS |
| Acoustics | 2.0/3.2 Bels idle/operating typical |
| Operating temperature | 5C to 60C operating; -40C to 70C non-operating |
| Compatibility note | Requires a storage stack designed for host-managed SMR / zoned-write behavior. |
No exact in-stock live row is currently matched for WSH722880ALN6L1, WSH722880ALN6L4, 0F62904. Relevant live alternatives are shown so the page does not collapse into an empty catalogue.
Live prices · updated every 4-5 hours · last checked 29 min ago · exact model not currently matched in 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. | |||||
Raw capacity is not usable capacity. This table shows the slot-level math before filesystem overhead, snapshots, reserved space and vendor-specific parity layouts.
| Drive count | Raw capacity | Single-parity usable | Dual-parity usable |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4 bays | 112TB | 84TB | 56TB |
| 6 bays | 168TB | 140TB | 112TB |
| 8 bays | 224TB | 196TB | 168TB |
| 12 bays | 336TB | 308TB | 280TB |
HC680 uses UltraSMR and WD's own sheet frames SMR as host-managed. In host-managed SMR, parts of the disk expose sequential-write rules. Software must write zones in the expected pattern rather than treating the drive like ordinary random-write block storage.
That is why this page does not recommend HC680 to normal home NAS users. A SATA connector does not mean the drive is operationally equivalent to a CMR SATA HDD.
The good fit is planned bulk storage: object-storage nodes, content libraries, replication targets, cold or warm retention tiers and systems that can buffer, shape and sequence writes. In those environments the higher density can lower slots, shelves, cabling, watts per stored terabyte and rack footprint.
The bad fit is small random-write general storage: desktop use, ordinary NAS shares, mixed VM datastores, hardware RAID controllers that hide the drive's zoned behavior, and any platform whose vendor has not qualified the exact model.
The 28TB capacity beats HC590's 26TB on raw density, but that 2TB per slot is not free if the stack needs changes. Qualification, workload shaping and operational runbooks are part of total cost. A CMR drive with a higher sticker price can be cheaper once staff time and risk are included.
At scale, HC680 is more interesting. A 60-bay shelf gains 120TB raw over 26TB drives. If your architecture already supports SMR, that extra shelf density can matter more than a small difference in per-drive price.
HC680 is a specialist density drive. It can be a rational purchase for data centers that have already adopted zoned or host-managed SMR workflows. It is a poor shortcut for buyers who simply want the largest SATA drive they can find.
If you are unsure whether your platform supports it, assume it does not until the vendor documentation says otherwise.
HC680 is an UltraSMR / host-managed SMR data-center platform, not a CMR platform.
Do not assume so. Use it only if the NAS vendor explicitly qualifies the exact HC680 model and recording architecture.
The WD data sheet uses WSH722880ALN6L1 and WSH722880ALN6L4 for 28TB SATA models, while WD's store also exposes retail SKU 0F62904.
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.