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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsSeagate said on January 21, 2025, that it was ramping its Exos M hard-drive platform to volume shipments at capacity points up to 32TB with a leading cloud service provider. That is an enterprise deployment milestone—not a confirmed retail launch. The same announcement said Seagate was sampling Exos M drives up to 36TB, a separate stage that does not mean those higher-capacity drives were shipping at volume.
What Seagate confirmed about the 32TB drive
The January 21, 2025 announcement identified the product family as Exos M and described a volume ramp with an unnamed leading cloud service provider. Seagate did not identify the customer or give a date when an individual buyer could purchase a 32TB drive. Seagate’s announcement therefore confirms a cloud-provider shipment ramp, not broad retail availability.
In its fiscal second-quarter results released the same day, Seagate CEO Dave Mosley said: “We began ramping HAMR-based Mozaic products to our lead cloud customer in the December quarter and are already sampling in capacities of up to 36 terabytes.” The statement links the ramp to the December quarter and distinguishes it from sampling the higher-capacity drives. Seagate’s results release does not name the cloud customer.
Volume shipments versus sampling
- Up to 32TB: Exos M capacity points Seagate said were ramping to volume shipments with a leading cloud service provider.
- Up to 36TB: Exos M capacities Seagate said it was sampling. Sampling indicates evaluation or qualification activity, not the same shipment status as a volume ramp.
The announcement does not establish that a specific 32TB SKU was broadly available to consumers, nor does it give a retail launch date.
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#1 Best Overall
- Video-optimized CMR drive up to 32TB for NVRs with AI for edge applications.
- ImagePerfect AI firmware delivers zero dropped frames while supporting heavier workloads
- Adapts intelligently with support for up to 64 HD video streams and 32 AI streams.
- Peace-of-mind with SkyHawk Health Management and 3 years of in-house Rescue Data Recovery Services.
- Designed for 550TB/year workloads and 2.5M hours MTBF, backed by 5-year limited warranty.
What HAMR and Mozaic 3+ are
HAMR stands for heat-assisted magnetic recording. Seagate uses it in its Mozaic 3+ hard-drive platform, designed to increase areal density and enable higher-capacity mass-storage drives. Seagate said in January 2024 that Mozaic 3+ delivered more than 3TB per platter and that it was shipping 30TB-plus Exos drives to leading cloud customers in the first quarter of 2024. Those are company-reported platform claims and shipment context, not independent test results. Seagate’s 2024 announcement describes that earlier milestone.
The progress followed a qualification phase: in October 2024, Seagate said more cloud customers were entering qualification on HAMR-based Mozaic products while the company ramped 28TB nearline drives. Its fiscal first-quarter 2025 results provide that context. The January 2025 32TB statement thus marked a move toward volume shipments with a cloud customer, rather than a sudden consumer-product launch.
Rank #2
- MASSIVE 28TB CAPACITY – Store and manage enormous datasets with ease. Ideal for data centers, servers, NAS systems, cloud storage, and large-scale backup solutions.
- ENTERPRISE-CLASS PERFORMANCE – 7,200 RPM spindle speed, SATA III 6Gb/s interface, and large cache deliver fast, consistent throughput for demanding 24/7 workloads
- CMR TECHNOLOGY (CONVENTIONAL MAGNETIC RECORDING) – Designed for predictable performance, reliability, and compatibility in RAID and enterprise storage environments.
- BUILT FOR 24/7 OPERATION – Engineered for continuous use with enterprise-grade durability, making it suitable for mission-critical applications and high-density storage arrays.
- STANDARD 3.5” SATA FORM FACTOR – Seamlessly integrates into most enterprise servers, workstations, and NAS enclosures that support 3.5-inch SATA hard drives.
What Seagate says the platform changes for data centers
For Exos M, Seagate reported up to 300% more storage capacity in the same data-center footprint, 25% lower cost per terabyte, and 60% lower power consumption per terabyte. These are Seagate’s comparisons; the cited announcement does not present them as independent measurements or provide a full test methodology. They should be read as vendor claims about the platform’s data-center context, not guaranteed results for every deployment. The January 2025 announcement contains the figures.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Can you buy or use a Seagate 32TB HAMR drive?
The confirmed product family is Seagate Exos M, an enterprise nearline line used in cloud-provider deployments. The announcement supports describing an Exos M 32TB hard drive as ramping for that context, but it does not establish current consumer retail stock, a retail model number, interface, price, or compatibility with a particular desktop, server, or NAS.
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Rank #3
- 26TB ultra-high capacity for large-scale storage
- 7,200 RPM for sustained enterprise workloads
- SATA 6Gb/s interface for wide system compatibility
- Enterprise-class reliability for continuous operation
- High workload rating for data-intensive applications
Before choosing any very high-capacity drive for a system, check the exact model documentation and verify:
- Drive model, interface, and supported drive form factor in the host or NAS documentation.
- Whether the intended workload and write behavior suit the drive, including the exact model’s recording method; the announcement does not establish the 32TB drive’s recording mode.
- Supported maximum drive capacity, firmware requirements, and usable capacity in the system.
- Current availability and price per terabyte from a seller listing for that exact model.
Seagate’s technical overview describes Mozaic 3+ as a data-center technology, but does not provide a consumer compatibility matrix. Read Seagate’s Mozaic 3+ overview for its stated data-center purpose.
Quick Recap
Best Value
- (1) 1GB = 1 billion bytes and 1TB = 1 trillion bytes. Actual user capacity may be less depending on operating environment.
- Compatibility: Unlike desktop drives, WD Red hard drives are specifically designed and tested for NAS and include NASware technology which fine tunes drive parameters to match NAS system workloads for optimum performance.
- Reliability: Desktop drives aren’t typically designed for the demands of an always-on NAS environment. WD Red hard drives are designed to perform under tough conditions encountered in high-intensity 24x7 multi-user NAS environments.
- RAID Ready: WD Red hard drives are engineered with RAID error recovery control to help reduce failures within multi-bay NAS systems, unlike most desktop drives that are configured for generic use.
- Noise and Vibration Protection: Designed to operate solo, desktop drives typically offer little or no protection from the noise and vibration present in a multi-drive system. WD Red hard drives include Rotation Vibration (RV) sensors that anticipate and proactively counteract disturbances caused by increased vibration often found in multi-bay NAS systems.
Rank #4
- Store vast amounts of data with a class-leading 24TB capacity, perfect for hyperscale environments, data centers, and big data applications.
- 7200 RPM, SATA 6Gb/s interface, and large 512MB cache, delivering fast, predictable performance for demanding server workloads.
- Designed for 24/7 operation with a high 2.5 million hours MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) rating, ensuring enterprise-class durability and data dependability.
- Conventional Magnetic Recording (CMR): Employs proven CMR technology for consistent and reliable performance across various workloads.
- Engineered for massive scale-out (MSO), high-density data centers, and cloud storage applications.
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon at the time of purchase will apply.
