Choosing the Best NAS Drives for Your Home or Office
Setting up a Network Attached Storage (NAS) system can significantly enhance your data management, providing seamless access to files and improved data security. However, selecting the right NAS drive is crucial to ensure optimal performance and longevity. Here are some key tips and considerations for purchasing NAS drives.
Tips for Purchasing NAS Drives
- Buy from Authorized Retailers: Always shop from reputable retail chains or ensure that the hard drives are shipped and sold by Amazon.com. As shown below:
Many hard drives available on Amazon are sold by non-authorized resellers. This often results in the manufacturer warranty being invalid or shortened. Non-authorized sellers may offer their own warranty, which might not be as reliable. - Consider Drive Compatibility: Ensure that the drives you choose are compatible with your NAS system. Different NAS systems have specific requirements for drive types and capacities.
- Look for NAS-specific Drives: Drives specifically designed for NAS systems, such as Western Digital Red or Seagate IronWolf, are optimized for reliability and performance in a multi-drive environment.
- Capacity and Speed: Determine your storage needs and choose drives that offer sufficient capacity and speed for your tasks. Consider future-proofing your setup by opting for larger capacities if your budget allows.
- Workload Rate: Check the workload rate of the drive, which indicates the amount of data that can be written to or read from the drive per year. NAS-specific drives usually have a higher workload rate, suitable for the continuous operations typical in NAS environments.
- Warranty and Support: A valid manufacturer warranty is crucial for peace of mind. Authorized retailers will ensure that you get the full support and warranty that comes with the drive. For enterprise and “pro” versions of drives, warranties of 5 years are common, providing additional assurance of durability and support.
Recommended NAS Drives
Remember to verify that each drive is purchased from an authorized retailer to ensure you receive the full benefits of the manufacturer’s warranty.
| Brand and Model | Capacity | RPM | Cache | Warranty | Workload Rate | Prices At Time of Article |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Toshiba N300 Pro (paid link1) | 12TB | 7200 | 512MB | 5 Year Limited | 300 TB/year | $254.99 |
| Seagate IronWolf Pro (paid link2) | 12TB | 7200 | 256MB | 5 Year Warranty / 3 Year Data Recovery | 550 TB/year | $246.70 |
| Western Digital Red Pro (paid link3) | 4TB | 7200 | 256MB | 5 Year Limited | 550 TB/year | $169.99 |
| Western Digital Red Pro (paid link4) | 18TB | 7200 | 512MB | 5 Year Limited | 550 TB/year | $359.00 |
Conclusion
Investing in a reliable NAS drive is essential for efficient and secure data storage. By purchasing from authorized retailers and choosing drives specifically designed for NAS systems, you can ensure that your data is safe and easily accessible. Happy shopping!
