You are looking for a hard drive for your NAS system to meet your huge storage needs. But with all the storage drive models on the market, finding the one to your requirements would be quite complex. That's why we have prepared this buying guide, to better guide you to the best hard drive for NAS.
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Our selection
"The WD Red 4TB benefits from NASWare 3.0 for 24/7 reliability. It offers a transfer rate of up to 210MB/s for only 5400 RPM."
"Using a CMR recording system, the WD Red plus 2TB has an MTBF of up to one million hours and is designed to cope with…"
"The Seagate IronWolf 8TB hard drive features 256MB of cache with a HDD system running at up to 7200 RPM. A perfect solution for intensive…"
"The Toshiba N300 NAS hard drive features rotational vibration sensors as well as built-in controls for excessive heat detection. It defines a 6TB configuration on…"
"The 3.5″ IronWolf Pro disks are models, robust, capable of operating 7 days a week for businesses. Optimized for NAS with more than 6 bays,…"
The WD Red 4TB benefits from NASWare 3.0 for 24/7 reliability. It offers a transfer rate of up to 210MB/s for only 5400 RPM.
91,96 £ on Materiel.netWD Red 4TB is a HDD with SATA III 6Gb/s interface designed for NAS servers with 1 to 8 bays. Adopting a 3.5-inch form factor, this storage drive perfectly meets the requirements of NAS system users as a server component, workstation or home theater installation. To its advantage, the WD Red drive is compatible with the majority of branded NAS servers like Netgear, Synology, Qnap and Asustor.
This NAS hard drive offers transfer rates of up to 210MB/s at a spin speed of 5400 RPM and has a 256MB cache. For added reliability, Western Digital equips its storage drive with WD NASWare firmware to optimize system compatibility and ensure long-lasting 24/7 functionality. It also features 3D Active Balance Plus technology to ensure balance and reduce vibration while spinning.
Using a CMR recording system, the WD Red plus 2TB has an MTBF of up to one million hours and is designed to cope with 24/7 operation.
73,57 £ on Materiel.netAn excellent compromise between performance and reliability, the WD Red Plus 2TB was designed for NAS and RAID systems. Its architecture has been oriented to handle the increased workloads of small and medium-sized home and local businesses. Ideal for archiving and sharing, this NAS hard drive is compatible with a server from 1 to 8 bays. It was especially designed to offer the flexibility, versatility and reliability required for your personal and business files and documents.
With its 3.5-inch HDD format, this NAS hard drive features a SATA III 6 Gb/s interface and is designed for 24/7 continuous use. Its 2TB capacity is combined with 128MB caching with a transfer rate of up to 210MB/s and an IntelliPower spin speed of 5400 RPM. The drive even incorporates 3D Active Balance Plus and NasWare technologies to reduce power consumption, minimize operating temperatures and vibration. Backed by a 3-year warranty, it has an MTBF of up to one million hours.
The Seagate IronWolf 8TB hard drive features 256MB of cache with a HDD system running at up to 7200 RPM. A perfect solution for intensive data sharing and demanding users.
216 £ on Materiel.netEquipped with a CMR recording system with a large capacity of 8TB, this Seagate IronWolf hard drive has been designed for networked storage systems or NAS up to 8 bays. It is also compatible for desktop and server RAID systems or media server storage. Robust and powerful 24/7, this storage solution is capable of supporting a multi-user environment in a NAS system for home users, small businesses and medium-sized enterprises.
The Iron Wolf 8TB storage drive features 256MB caching and spins up to 7200 RPM for transfer rates up to 240MB/s. This performance is backed by extreme multi-user and workflow technology to deliver the best possible user experience. Backed by the AgileArray system, this NAS hard drive is optimized for system reliability and flexibility with an emphasis on drive balance, RAID, and power management.
The Toshiba N300 NAS hard drive features rotational vibration sensors as well as built-in controls for excessive heat detection. It defines a 6TB configuration on a 7200 RPM rotation speed.
132 £ on AmazonThe Toshiba N300 6TB NAS hard drive determines a 3.5-inch form factor with a SATA III 6Gb/s interface. Perfect for a NAS system up to 8 bays, it is suitable for business and SMB. Its configuration even allows it to establish a nominal workload of 180TB/year and for a safe long-term 24/7 use on a 3-year warranty.
Reliable, durable, and powerful, this NAS storage drive incorporates VR sensors to manage rotational vibration and overheating risks. With a 256MB buffer memory, this 6TB NAS hard drive develops a rotational speed up to 7200 RPM with a data transfer rate up to 230MB/s. In addition to its performance, the Dynamic Cache function is dedicated to optimize the cache memory during data processing.
The 3.5″ IronWolf Pro disks are models, robust, capable of operating 7 days a week for businesses. Optimized for NAS with more than 6 bays, you will gain in productivity.
121 £ on AmazonAdapted to the NAS environment, it has sensors to mitigate vibrations and is compatible with the Agile Array program for better reliability in Nas of 6 to 8 bays. In the firmware, you also have the Rescue data recovery firmware valid for 2 years with a 90% success rate in the lab.
On the performance side, you have a storage capacity of 4TB with a rotation speed of 7200. Added to a cache memory of 128 MB, the NAS device will gain in productivity with a maximum continuous transfer rate of 214 MB/s. With a power consumption of 8.5W in operation, this is a drive capable of handling a multi-user workload.
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The best NAS hard drive in 2021
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| TOP OF THE TOP | LOW COST | TOP OF THE RANGE | Excellent choice | EXCELLENT | |
In accordance with our commitment, this buying guide does not contain any sponsored products. |
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| OUR SELECTION |
Western Digital WD Red - 4 TB
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Western Digital WD Red Plus - 2 TB
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Seagate IronWolf - 8 TB
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Toshiba N300 - 6 TB
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Seagate IronWolf Pro 4 To
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The WD Red 4TB benefits from NASWare 3.0 for 24/7 reliability. It offers a transfer rate of up to 210MB/s for only 5400 RPM.
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Using a CMR recording system, the WD Red plus 2TB has an MTBF of up to one million hours and is designed to cope with 24/7 operation.
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The Seagate IronWolf 8TB hard drive features 256MB of cache with a HDD system running at up to 7200 RPM. A perfect solution for intensive data sharing and demanding users.
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The Toshiba N300 NAS hard drive features rotational vibration sensors as well as built-in controls for excessive heat detection. It defines a 6TB configuration on a 7200 RPM rotation speed.
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The 3.5″ IronWolf Pro disks are models, robust, capable of operating 7 days a week for businesses. Optimized for NAS with more than 6 bays, you will gain in productivity.
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Storage capacity
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4TB
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2TB
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8TB
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6TB
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4TB
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Cache memory
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256MB
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128MB
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256MB
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256MB
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128MB
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Speed of rotation
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5400RPM
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5400RPM
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7200RPM
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7200RPM
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7200RPM
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Data transfer rate
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210MB/s
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210MB/s
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240MB/s
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230MB/s
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195MB/s
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Recording technology
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SMR
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CMR
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CMR
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CMR
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CMR
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Rotational speed is expressed in RPM, or revolutions per minute, and it determines the access speed of the NAS hard drive. The majority of disks have an RPM of 7200 rpm at the moment. This is perfect for home use. Businesses will have to look at faster drives that can reach 15,000 RPM. The second thing to consider, for home use, is the power consumption of the hard drive, which increases as the RPM increases.
On a NAS system, this is an important criterion, because we transfer large volumes of data per day with a large number of users at a time. The read speed is the capacity of the disk to open a file and the write its speed to save your data. It is expressed in Megabytes per second and more is better. Models designed for NAS have a better rate than standard disks.
Spin, read and write speed and cache memory are extremely related and they influence the overall performance of the disk. The cache memory of a NAS hard drive acts like the RAM of a PC. Obviously, it is smaller than the capacity of a RAM strip, but it allows the drive to store the information it needs quickly. This makes it possible to speed up the opening of a document by several users at the same time. It can vary from 64MB to 256MB.
Before
your purchase, you need to consider or estimate the volume of data you will be using. NAS hard drives range in capacity from 1TB to over 10TB. For a home installation, you can start with two 3TB drives or one 6TB drive. The 12TB+ solutions are more for businesses or SMBs.
Once integrated into a NAS (Network Attached Storage) system, the NAS type hard disk allows a company to store its data, a large volume, or automatic backups. It is the ancestor of the Cloud and to access it, the system is connected to the local network (LAN) of the company. Each user with rights on the same network can thus quickly access the shared files or data. This is a setup that you can also set up at home.
This is the question that most people who want to set up a home device must ask themselves. In theory, it is quite feasible, but there are a few factors to consider.
First of all, you have to take into account that the inside of the chassis of a NAS device is not the same as that of a PC. The hard drives are placed side by side and each have a fairly high thermal dissipation, heat, as they run 24/7. The SSD or HDD in your desktop PC can only run for a few days at a time.
In addition, unlike special hard drives, standard models cannot withstand vibration, sporadic read-write or rotation.
A NAS hard drive is designed to work in a group, more than 4, without any data loss or security problem on a single Raid or DAS system. When mounted in RAID, the hard drives will be recognized as a single drive. This type of device requires stable components which is not the case with a conventional drive.
It is not recommended, because it consumes more power when used alone and costs more than a standard model. A NAS system has better power management that can handle this type of advanced storage space.
Having a home NAS, such as the Synology DS218 or WD My Cloud EX2 Ultra, saves money on external hard drives. Indeed, once networked, all the members of your family will be able to access different data such as movies or music with a click. Thanks to your tablet or smartphone via DS file, you will be able to find the backups of your work done on your desktop PC. No more storage space problems with your USB key.
In order to distinguish NAS hard drives, one should look at their format and technology.
This is the most well-known size of a classic HDD. To be more precise, it is not the physical size of the device, but rather the size of the magnetic tray inside, in general. This is the type of disk that equips all desktop PCs and it is impossible to place it in a laptop. It has a wide capacity range compared to a 2.5, but it consumes more power since it is larger.
A
2.5-inch hard drive is smaller than a 3.5 model. It is used in all, without exception, laptops that require more compact components. Major brands of NAS devices have designed chassis perfectly suited for this type of drive and it saves you space. It is a less powerful drive than a 3.5 and it is more expensive.
This is the most common hard drive. It works by using an arm that comes into contact with a magnetic plate to store your data. It has the advantage of being less expensive and having a universal format. Indeed, the 3.5 or 2.5 formats are the standard for hard disk bays in a PC or NAS. Moreover, it is suitable for a domestic or professional installation. On the other hand, we regret the noise it makes when mounted in a NAS device.
It is an advanced technology that has no mechanical parts. The data is stored in a microchip called flash memory. An SSD has the advantage of being faster than a standard disk and it consumes less energy. Smaller, it will save you space by having a smaller NAS and it is quiet. New technology means a much higher price than an HDD.
A NAS mount in SSD is rather a solution for companies, given their price and still. For a home network, we advise the use of a classic HDD. Less expensive, you will be able to imagine an economical backup system.
Secure the connectors
Before closing your NAS box, make sure you have pushed in the connectors of your hard drives. This will prevent you from reopening the chassis because of an unrecognized drive.
How do I add a second NAS hard drive?
The
good question is how not to lose your data if you add a second hard drive to a NAS. There are two scenarios. The first, you have mounted your NAS in Raid mode. There are no 36 solutions, all the disks in Raid will be formatted. It is therefore necessary to make a regular backup. The second case is to mount the new disk in standard mode. This way, you will keep your data, but your disks will be recognized as two separate disks.
Optimize your NAS
By
installing an SSD combined with an HDD in your NAS, you will accelerate the caching and thus double the performance of your device. The SSD also has the advantage of making less noise.
Place it in the living room
Because of the mechanical technology present in HDD NAS drives, they will make noise if you put in your room. For better comfort, put it in the living room or an office.
Test your HHD or SSD
This
is an essential step before launching your NAS. It will be wise and even advisable to do this before you even integrate the drive into the device. For this, you have software designed by HDD manufacturers like Seagate's Seatools. Visit the website of the manufacturer of your model. It's usually more reliable than Windows or Mac tools.
The best NAS hard drive depends on your needs and your budget. Read our buying guide to find out which products are the best.
The data saved on a NAS hard drive belongs to the company that set it up or to you if it is domestic. In the cloud, a third party company is in charge of the security of your data. That's why NAS servers still have a long way to go.
You have the Ironwolf range from Seagate or the red range from Western Digital (WD). There are also the Toshiba NAS HDD and HGST Deskstar NAS products.
The SATA connector is the most common, as it allows for flexibility. Today's HDDs and SSDs all have the same connector. This way, it is easy to switch from one type of hard drive to another.
It is a hard drive that has been specifically designed to work on a NAS device. A NAS allows several people connected on the same network to have access to the same data. To learn more, we invite you to read our complete guide on the subject.
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