Verdict

All are CMR NAS drives. The ST12000NM001G has the lowest measured failure rate (1.00% AFR), making it the safer long-term choice.

HUH721212ALE604
WD Ultrastar DC HC520 · 12TB · Enterprise
No FR price yet
ST12000NM001G
Seagate Exos X16 · 12TB · Enterprise
No FR price yet

Value at a glance

Price / TB
HUH721212ALE604 $45.51
ST12000NM001G $39.71
Failure rate (AFR)
HUH721212ALE604 1.96%
ST12000NM001G 1.00%
Capacity
HUH721212ALE604 12 TB
ST12000NM001G 12 TB
Noise (idle)
HUH721212ALE604 20 dB
ST12000NM001G 29 dB

Price history

FR · cheapest per day

HUH721212ALE604 €561
zoomed · drag to zoom
€810 €562 €315 Nov 2024 Mar 2025 Aug 2025 Jan 2026 Jun 2026 Oct 2026
HUH721212ALE604 ST12000NM001G
Capacity 12 TB 12 TB
Recording tech CMR CMR
RAID / NAS safe Yes Yes
Class Enterprise Enterprise
Spindle speed 7200 RPM 7200 RPM
Cache 256 MB 256 MB
Noise (idle) 20 dB 29 dB
Fill Helium Helium
Interface SATA SATA
Failure rate (AFR) 1.96% 1.00%
Price / TB $45.51 $39.71
Buy No FR price yet No FR price yet

Highlighted cells mark the stronger spec for a NAS build. Failure rates from Backblaze Drive Stats where available; $/TB uses the cheapest live price. Buy links are Amazon affiliate.

HUH721212ALE604

1.96% AFR vs 1.41% fleet avg

95% CI 1.90-2.03%

25,489 drives · ~162,566 drive-years · 3193 failures · Backblaze lifetime Q2 2026

5yr warranty · 550 TB/yr rated · 2,500,000h MTBF

ST12000NM001G

1.00% AFR vs 1.41% fleet avg

95% CI 0.93-1.08%

13,177 drives · ~72,056 drive-years · 723 failures · Backblaze lifetime Q2 2026

5yr warranty · 550 TB/yr rated · 2,500,000h MTBF