Seagate Releases IronWolf Pro 22TB Enterprise NAS Internal HDD

Seagate unveiled its highest-capacity conventional magnetic recording (CMR) hard drive at the NAB 2023 conference, with the highly anticipated IronWolf Pro 22TB entering the retail market at a displayed price of $399.99.

Although solid-state drives are becoming faster and larger, mechanical hard drives remain the most cost-effective option for bulk data storage. Seagate’s IronWolf Pro series caters to the needs of NAS and DAS devices and is one of the most popular choices in its class on the market. With the introduction of Seagate’s new product, the IronWolf Pro lineup is further expanded, providing consumers with a broader array of options.

The IronWolf Pro 22TB (ST22000NT001) features a conventional 3.5-inch form factor and connects via a SATA III interface. Comprised of 10 platters and 20 heads, it has a rotational speed of 7200 RPM, a 512MB cache, and a maximum sustained transfer rate of 285 MB/s, with a workload rating of 550TB per year. Built-in rotational vibration (RV) sensors help mitigate vibrations, with idle noise levels at 20 decibels and actively seek operations at around 26 decibels.

On paper, this hard drive is 7.5% faster than the WD Red Pro 22TB and operates more quietly. The power consumption of the IronWolf Pro 22TB during idle and active states is 6W and 7.9W, respectively, with its idle power drawn nearly twice that of the WD Red Pro 22TB and its active power consumption 16.2% higher.

The IronWolf Pro 22TB is more affordable than its direct competitor, Western Digital‘s WD Red Pro 22TB, which is priced at $498.88. At the same time, it is only $70 more expensive than the IronWolf Pro 20TB, equating to a cost of approximately $18.18 per terabyte. For users in need of ample storage space, the IronWolf Pro 22TB clearly offers a superior price-to-performance ratio.