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Seagate Sets a New Standard with 30TB Exos M Hard Drive
The world of high-capacity storage has received an exciting update: Seagate's Exos M 30TB hard disk drive, now available online for just $618, currently stands as the largest capacity HDD you can buy for under $620. This colossal storage solution, the Seagate Exos M (model ST30000NM004K), is making waves throughout the IT and storage technology industries due to its blend of enterprise-grade features and surprisingly competitive price point.
Key Features and Advanced Technologies
The Seagate Exos M is a 3.5-inch internal HDD utilizing helium-sealed construction and built on robust conventional magnetic recording (CMR) technology. This enterprise-focused storage device boasts a rapid 7200 RPM spindle speed and is equipped with a large 512MB multi-segmented cache, enabling sustained sequential data transfer rates of up to 275MB/s—an impressive feat for a mechanical hard drive.
Supporting a SATA interface and offered with hot-plug capabilities, the Exos M is engineered for tasks demanding both capacity and reliability. According to Seagate, it's ideally suited for high-scale environments such as hyperscale data centers, enterprise backup systems, and distributed file storage solutions using frameworks like Hadoop and Ceph.
Reliability and Performance for 24/7 Operation
The Exos M delivers enterprise-level reliability, with Seagate reporting a mean time between failures (MTBF) of 2.5 million hours and an annualized failure rate (AFR) of just 0.35%. This positions the drive for continuous, round-the-clock operation in demanding settings. Extra features like PowerBalance and PowerChoice optimize energy consumption, while RSA 3072 firmware verification enhances security, further underscoring its enterprise credentials.
Comparison: Exos M vs. IronWolf Pro 30TB
Seagate also offers the IronWolf Pro ST300000NT011, another 30TB CMR drive aimed at a slightly different market segment. Priced around $670, the IronWolf Pro shares several specifications with the Exos M—such as capacity, RPM, and cache size—but differences in firmware, vibration tolerance, and workload optimization distinguish the Exos for cloud and hyperscale tasks while positioning the IronWolf Pro for NAS-centric applications.
Use Cases and Market Relevance
While the Seagate Exos M provides enormous storage at a breakthrough price, it's clearly designed for enterprise IT needs, not for the average desktop user. Its large 3.5-inch footprint, performance attributes, and advanced power management make it ideal for cloud infrastructure, cold storage arrays, and archival solutions.
Despite being highly specialized, the Exos M’s accessible pricing is likely to broaden enterprise adoption, especially for organizations seeking cost-effective ways to manage vast quantities of data. For tech professionals and businesses, this drive may represent the best balance between capacity, reliability, and value on the storage market today.
Source: techradar
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