Toshiba N300 4TB hits 298 MB/s in NAS — but it's louder and hotter than rivals

Toshiba has released an updated version of its N300 hard drive aimed at network-attached storage (NAS) systems. The 4 TB model, carrying the HDWG740EZSTC part number, stands out from competitors with a spindle speed of 7200 RPM and a 512 MB cache — up from 128 MB or 256 MB in older revisions. This configuration delivers sequential read and write speeds of up to 298 MB/s, allowing a single drive to saturate a 2.5GbE network connection.

For comparison, Western Digital's WD Red Plus drives achieve roughly 180–190 MB/s, while Seagate's IronWolf lineup tops out at about 202 MB/s. The N300 series entered the NAS market later than its rivals: WD Red has been available since 2012, and IronWolf since 2016. To carve out a niche, Toshiba bet on raw speed — all N300 drives, regardless of capacity, run at 7200 RPM.

The performance comes at a cost. Higher rotational speed leads to increased noise, heat generation, and power consumption. This makes the N300 less suitable for desktop NAS units placed in living areas, though it remains acceptable for rack-mounted server rooms. The series includes models with capacities up to 22 TB. Pricing for the new 4 TB unit is higher than that of competing drives from WD and Seagate.