Question Cheap Seagate ST12000NM0127?

[Misgar]

Whilst trawling Amazon today, I spotted a relatively cheap 12TB Seagate refurbished drive, for "only" £98.41 including 20% tax ($128.65).
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-En...127-Refurbished/dp/B0CFFKHZCR?ref_=ast_sto_dp

For a nanosecond I was tempted, but after reading this report on Serve The Home about an earlier version (ST12000NM007) and Backblaze, I decided not to buy.
https://www.servethehome.com/backblaze-2021-hard-drive-reliability-seagate-exos-x12-st12000nm0007/

Has anyone else experienced problems with (refurbished) Seagates? The generic image on the Amazon site shows a manufacturing date 21APR2019, but who knows how old the drives are?

I've inherited used WD Golds pulled from servers, but they're so "danged" expensive when new. Golds are still my preferred option though.

Any comments welcome.

 

[Viking2121]

I've got about a half a dozen Enterprise referb drives from HGST, Seagate and WD and I've not yet run into an issue other than one of my 6TB drives where I needed to update its firmware, things were like vanishing after a file copy.

Of course I wouldn't store non replaceable stuff on them without having some sorts of other backup solution, they are refurbed so the chances of loosing data is going to be higher than a brand new drive.

I have an identical 12TB seagate drive I've had for awhile, them drives are a bit on the noisy side and can get a bit warm, but mines been fine, Of course its refurb, so their is always that chance. I know I'd gladly buy another one.

 

[Misgar]

Of course its refurb

Many thanks for the update on your 12TB Seagate. It's not always easy to find positive feedback, because people are more likely to report their negative experiences.

If I might enquire, what part number is printed on your Seagate drive?

I've bought server pulls in the past and they've been OK, whereas a brand new Toshiba N300 developed bad blocks after only 6 days elapsed use. It simply shows that drives will fail at some point.

What I'm trying to determine is the difference between the 12TB Seagate NM007 variant discussed in ServeTheHome back in February 2022 and the 12TB NM0127 version for sale on Amazon now. I'm wondering if it's a firmware update that could (potentially) improve reliability, or a change to the drive hardware. Newer drives might be more reliable, the same or worse.

My problem is 2021 Backblaze stats for the NM0007 show a 2.01% failure rate, which seems quite high.

 

[Viking2121]

Mines been great, its been on 24/7 serving about 10 different people in my Jellyfin server, I have usually 2 concurrent users on my server at all times watching content that stored on that HDD and another HGST 12TB that I bought shortly after the Seagate.

Thats my model number ST12000NM0008-2H3101 Bought it from a seller on ebay a few years ago.

 

[Misgar]

my model number ST12000NM0008-2H3101

Cheers. I've just checked Amazon and they've increased the price of the NM0127 by $10. Prices on Amazon seem to change daily. No doubt they bump up the price if lots of people are buying a particular item, or am I just being cynical?

 

[Viking2121]

Cheers. I've just checked Amazon and they've increased the price of the NM0127 by $10. Prices on Amazon seem to change daily. No doubt they bump up the price if lots of people are buying a particular item, or am I just being cynical?

They do go up and down on price quite often.