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HGST WD Ultrastar DC HC520 12TB HDD 7200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s 256MB Cache 3.5-Inch Enterprise Hard Drive | Power-Disable | HUH721212ALE604 0F29592 (Renewed)
Amazon Renewed

HGST WD Ultrastar DC HC520 12TB HDD 7200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s 256MB Cache 3.5-Inch Enterprise Hard Drive | Power-Disable | HUH721212ALE604 0F29592 (Renewed)

Bottom line: The HGST WD Ultrastar DC HC520 12TB HDD 7200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s 256MB Cache: 12TB in a standard 3.5-inch form factor for NAS and server bays; main trade-off: renewed unit, so only a 1-year warranty rather than a new-drive term.

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By , Founder & Editor-in-Chief · Listing data updated

Mike Perry — Hardware researcher since 2014. For external drives and portable storage, synthesises manufacturer specs and independent reviews rather than first-hand lab testing. Core beat: GPU performance across gaming, rendering, and local-LLM inference.

Pros & Cons

Pros

  • ✓ 12TB in a standard 3.5-inch form factor for NAS and server bays
  • ✓ 7200 RPM spindle with 256MB cache for fast sequential transfers
  • ✓ Helium-sealed design with lower idle W/TB than air-filled drives
  • ✓ 2.5M-hour MTBF rating from an enterprise data-center design
  • ✓ Manufacturer recertified with zero hours of use and a 1-year warranty

Cons

  • ✗ Renewed unit, so only a 1-year warranty rather than a new-drive term
  • ✗ Power-disable pin may not spin up on some PSUs or backplanes
  • ✗ Internal SATA drive; external use needs a separate 3.5-inch enclosure
  • ✗ 7200 RPM helium drives run louder than 5400 RPM desktop drives

Manufacturer description

The HGST WD Ultrastar DC HC520 12TB is an enterprise 3.5-inch hard drive built for data centers. Here it comes as a manufacturer-recertified unit for your NAS, home server or bulk-storage build. It spins at 7200 RPM over a SATA 6Gb/s interface and has a 256MB cache, so large sequential transfers and multi-user file serving stay responsive. The drive is sealed with helium using WD's HelioSeal technology, which lets it draw less idle power per terabyte than air-filled drives. It uses PMR recording, which suits every enterprise workload without the rewrite penalties some high-capacity drives…

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SpecPicks Verdict

SpecPicks scored HGST WD Ultrastar DC HC520 12TB HDD 7200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s 256MB Cache… using a rating × review-volume × price-fit model applied to published specs and reviews across the external storage category. Amazon Renewed's external storage lineup sits within the broader category mid-tier; price and specs are the deciding factors over brand loyalty here. Judge it on the specification table and the price rather than on sentiment: check the figures that decide your use case, then put it side-by-side with two or three close alternatives in the Compare tool before clicking through.

Common buyer scenarios for external storage of this kind: matching it to an existing build, replacing a failing part, or upgrading from a previous-generation equivalent. Check the spec table below against your current setup — particularly socket / form-factor / power-rating fields — and confirm compatibility on the retailer's listing before purchase. Prices and stock are set by the retailer and may have moved since this page was last updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is this Ultrastar drive new or used?

The listing describes it as manufacturer recertified with zero hours of use, sold through Amazon Renewed. It is not a factory-new retail unit.

What warranty comes with the renewed HC520 12TB?

The listing states a 1-year warranty. Check the product listing for who handles warranty claims and the exact terms.

Will it work in my NAS or desktop PC?

It is a standard 3.5-inch SATA 6Gb/s drive, so it fits typical NAS and desktop bays. It is a power-disable model, though, and some power supplies or backplanes may keep it from spinning up. Check that your system is compatible before you buy.

What are the key performance specs?

It has 12TB of capacity, a 7200 RPM spindle, a 256MB cache and a SATA 6Gb/s interface. It uses PMR recording and 512e sector formatting.

Why does helium sealing matter?

WD's HelioSeal helium design gives the drive higher performance and a lower idle power draw per terabyte than air-filled drives. That helps in always-on servers and multi-drive arrays.

Key Features

  • Manufacture Recertified with Zero Hours Usage, 1 Year Warranty
  • At Amazon Renewed, you can discover and buy like-new refurbished products that have been professionally inspected and tested to work and look like new

Full Specifications

BrandHGST
ColorSilver
Model NameHUS726T6TAL5204
Unit Count1 Count
Form Factor3.5-inch
Media Speed3600-4200 MB/s
Model NumberHUS726T6TAL5204
Built-In Media12TB Data Center Hard Drive
Hard-Drive Size12 TB
Mfr Part NumberHUS726T6TAL5204
Number of Items1
Special FeaturePortable
Hardware PlatformPC
Installation TypeInternal Hard Drive
Compatible DevicesDesktop
Data Transfer Rate6000 megabytes_per_second
Enclosure MaterialMagnetic Recording Media
Additional FeaturesPortable
Hard Disk InterfaceSerial ATA-600
Warranty Description90 days limited warranty

Ready to buy?

HGST WD Ultrastar DC HC520 12TB HDD 7200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s 256MB Cache 3.5-Inch Enterprise Hard Drive | Power-Disable | HUH721212ALE604 0F29592 (Renewed) is listed on Amazon. Price, availability, shipping and returns are set by Amazon and its sellers — check the listing for current terms. SpecPicks earns a small commission on qualifying purchases — thank you for supporting independent review work.

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HGST WD Ultrastar DC HC520 12TB HDD 7200 RPM SATA 6Gb/s 256MB Cache 3.5-Inch Enterprise Hard Drive | Power-Disable | HUH721212ALE604 0F29592 (Renewed)
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