WD261KRYZ is the model number buyers should look for when the requirement is the 26TB WD Gold SATA hard drive. This page is an exact-model reference, not another broad WD Gold overview.
Use it to confirm the identity printed on the label, the capacity and interface class, the CMR recording method, the warranty position and the checks a buyer should make before accepting a shipment.
WD261KRYZ identifies Western Digital's 26TB WD Gold SATA CMR hard drive. It is the model to specify when a purchase order calls for WD Gold 26TB rather than an Ultrastar WUH-series drive or WD Red Pro NAS drive. Before installing it, verify the label model, warranty status, capacity, sector format expected by the host and seller condition.
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 | WD261KRYZ |
| Capacity | 26TB decimal marketed capacity |
| Recording technology | CMR on Western Digital's high-capacity WD Gold platform |
| Platform | Retail/channel enterprise nearline WD Gold drive with HelioSeal, OptiNAND and ArmorCache on the 26TB model |
| Interface | SATA 6Gb/s |
| Sector format | 512e format in the WD Gold 26TB ordering row; verify any OEM suffix before fleet purchase |
| Spindle speed | 7200 RPM |
| Cache / buffer | 512MB |
| Maximum sustained transfer rate | Up to 291MB/s on the current WD product page; confirm the exact data-sheet revision on purchase orders |
| Workload rating | 550TB/year |
| Reliability rating | Up to 2.5M hours projected |
| Warranty | 5-year limited warranty |
| Power | Current WD Gold data-sheet rows should be used for enclosure budgeting; expect high-capacity 7200 RPM enterprise-class power, not desktop-idle behavior. |
| Acoustics | Confirm the current WD Gold data sheet before noise-sensitive workstation use. |
| Operating temperature | 5C to 60C operating; -40C to 70C non-operating |
| Compatibility note | Best for enterprise servers, workstations and storage appliances that accept SATA enterprise nearline drives. |
No exact in-stock live row is currently matched for WD261KRYZ. Relevant live alternatives are shown so the page does not collapse into an empty catalogue.
Live prices · updated every 4-5 hours · last checked 1 hr ago · exact model not currently matched in live stock
| Model | Capacity | Recording | RPM | Workload TB/yr | Warranty | $/TB | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| WD Gold 18TBREFURB | 18TB | CMR | 7,200 | — | 5 yr | $33.33 | $600 | Buy |
| WD Gold 22TB | 22TB | CMR | 7,200 | — | 5 yr | $44.09 | $970 | Buy |
| WD Gold 18TB | 18TB | CMR | 7,200 | — | 5 yr | $60.98 | $1098 | 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. | |||||
For exact-model buying, the label and warranty path matter as much as the headline capacity.
| Check | What to verify | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Model label | WD261KRYZ on the drive label and invoice | Prevents accidental substitution with Red Pro, Ultrastar or another WD Gold capacity. |
| Capacity | 26TB decimal marketed capacity | Ensures array planning and spare strategy match the order. |
| Interface | SATA 6Gb/s host connection | WD Gold is not the SAS HC590 branch; backplane expectations must match. |
| Condition | New, refurbished or renewed status | Warranty and risk differ sharply by seller condition. |
| Warranty | Western Digital warranty eligibility and proof of purchase | A retail/channel Gold drive is often bought for warranty clarity. |
| Format | Host sector expectations and any OEM firmware suffix | Large arrays should not discover a format mismatch during deployment. |
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 | 104TB | 78TB | 52TB |
| 6 bays | 156TB | 130TB | 104TB |
| 8 bays | 208TB | 182TB | 156TB |
| 12 bays | 312TB | 286TB | 260TB |
The first job of a WD261KRYZ page is to prevent model confusion. Western Digital's WD Gold model strings can look similar across capacities, and marketplace titles often compress the family name into generic language. WD261KRYZ is the specific 26TB Gold identity.
Do not accept WD260KFGX as the same drive. That model belongs to WD Red Pro 26TB. Do not accept a WUH722626 code as the same drive either. That is Ultrastar HC590. Those may be good alternatives, but they are different procurement objects.
WD261KRYZ is a SATA enterprise nearline drive. It belongs in hosts that accept 3.5-inch SATA HDDs, have enough airflow for 7200 RPM high-capacity disks and do not require a SAS dual-port path. For a server or workstation this is straightforward; for a NAS appliance it depends on the compatibility list and support policy.
The drive is CMR, which is the right recording model for conventional RAID and ZFS. That does not override vendor qualification. A support organization can still require an approved model list, especially in commercial NAS or storage appliances.
Inspect the product label, model number, capacity, serial number, packaging condition and seller condition before adding the disk to an array. A high-capacity replacement drive should also get a SMART identity check and a burn-in pass before it becomes the only spare on site.
For warranty-sensitive deployments, keep the purchase record. One reason to buy Gold instead of a cheaper decommissioned enterprise drive is a cleaner manufacturer-backed warranty path. That advantage disappears if the seller ships grey-market or non-warranty stock.
Compared with Ultrastar HC590, WD261KRYZ is the WD Gold retail/channel SATA line. HC590 is the data-center Ultrastar line with WUH722626 model numbers and SATA/SAS variants. The correct choice is usually the one your host vendor, purchasing channel or support plan recognizes.
Compared with WD Red Pro 26TB, WD261KRYZ is enterprise/server positioned rather than NAS-positioned. Red Pro can be better for multi-bay NAS appliances; Gold can be better for servers, workstations and storage systems where enterprise SATA is the expected class.
The exact live table is intentionally restricted to WD261KRYZ. If no exact row appears, the page can still show adjacent WD Gold rows for market context, but it does not pretend those rows satisfy an exact-model purchase order.
For price per TB, divide the live drive price by 26. For protected capacity, calculate against the RAID layout. A 12-drive dual-parity design with 26TB disks has roughly 260TB before filesystem overhead, not 312TB usable.
WD261KRYZ is Western Digital's 26TB WD Gold SATA enterprise hard drive model.
Yes. The 26TB WD Gold model is a CMR drive, not a host-managed SMR drive.
No. WD261KRYZ is a SATA 6Gb/s WD Gold model. Buyers needing SAS should look at qualified Ultrastar variants such as HC590 SAS models.
No. WD260KFGX is WD Red Pro 26TB, a NAS-positioned product. WD261KRYZ is WD Gold 26TB, an enterprise SATA product.
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.