Is the WD Red 6TB SMR or CMR?
The plain WD Red 6TB (WD60EFAX) is SMR; the WD Red Plus 6TB (WD60EFPX/EFZX) and WD Red Pro 6TB are CMR. As with the 4TB, buy WD Red Plus or Red Pro for a NAS — the plain WD Red's SMR recording is poorly suited to RAID rebuilds. Verify the exact model number on WD's documentation.
Last verified July 22, 2026 · 2 official sources checked Updated
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Same story as the 4 TB: the plain WD Red 6 TB is SMR; WD Red Plus and Red Pro 6 TB are CMR. The 2–6 TB plain WD Red drives (the EFAX generation) were the ones Western Digital shipped as SMR before splitting the line.
The model numbers
- WD60EFAX — plain WD Red 6 TB — SMR.
- WD Red Plus 6 TB (WD60EFPX / WD60EFZX) — CMR.
- WD Red Pro 6 TB — CMR, 7200 rpm.
Higher-capacity Reds (8 TB and up) were CMR across the board, but at 6 TB the plain-Red/Red-Plus distinction is exactly where SMR sat. Confirm the model number on the drive label.
For a NAS, choose CMR
An SMR drive's write speed falls apart under the sustained load of a RAID rebuild, which is precisely when you need it to be reliable. For any NAS array, buy WD Red Plus or WD Red Pro. The table shows in-stock WD Red Plus (CMR) drives by price per terabyte.
WD Red Plus (CMR) drives in stock, by CA$/TB
Live Amazon.ca prices in CAD, ranked by price per terabyte. The Recording column is verified against manufacturer documentation.
Related questions
Sources
Every technical claim on this page is checked against manufacturer and standards documentation. Dates are when each source was last reviewed.
- Western Digital — WD Red Plus / Red Pro product & recording-tech documentation — checked 2026-07-22
- Western Digital — Internal drives CMR/SMR statement — checked 2026-07-22