Capacity: Whether you are getting a standard hard drive or a NAS hard drive, the capacity of any given hard drive is the first thing you should check since a higher capacity drive is always great for storing a lot of data. Thus, you can find capacities like 4 TB, 8 TB, and even 12 TB while buying NAS hard drives. RPM: Since all hard drives including NAS ones have a spinning splatter inside, checking its spinning speed can be a great way to get an idea of its performance. This is due to the reason that a 7200 RPM hard drive offers better transfer speeds than a 5400 RPM drive in most cases. Cache: Even though NAS drives are fairly fast, they are still a bit lacking in terms of random access speeds. To overcome this issue, almost all NAS hard drives offer inbuilt cache which is essentially high-speed flash storage. While entry-level drives may only offer a 64 MB cache, others can even come with a 256 MB cache which is great for much better random access speeds.
Apart from these features and factors, there is still more that you need to know for choosing the right NAS hard drives. Due to this, all the best NAS hard drives present here also have their major details and specifications along with an extensive “Buying Guide”. With keeping these things in mind, you can easily buy the best NAS hard drives by the time you make it to the end of this list.
6 Best NAS Hard Drives Table
Best NAS Hard Drives 2023: Reviews
1. Seagate IronWolf Pro NAS Hard Drive
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Seagate is one of the most popular brands out there when it comes to hard drives since it makes both consumer-grade as well as high-performance NAS hard drives like the one stated here. The Seagate IronWolf Pro ST4000NE001 NAS hard drive comes at the 1st position of this list since it is the most reliable option present here. Apart from being an excellent hard drive for long-term usage, you get a capacity of 4 TB in this hard drive. This is combined along with a cache of 128 MB which is quite good for the performance numbers offered by it. Being a fairly premium hard drive, it happens to be rated at 7200 RPM for excellent performance. To be precise, you get up to 214 MB/s transfer speeds from this NAS hard drive which is quite high. But the best thing about this NAS hard drive is that it is highly reliable thanks to its 300 TB/yr workload rating as well as a 5-year warranty. If your hard drive still fails, you will be glad to know that it also has a 3-year data recovery service. Best Features:
NAS hard drive capacity of 4 TB Rated speed of 7200 RPM Includes 128 MB of cache Comes with a 5 year long warranty period
Pros:
Excellent hard drive for long term usage Quite high-performance numbers Includes free data recovery service
Cons:
A bit on the expensive side
2. Toshiba 256 MB Cache NAS Hard Drive
While Toshiba might not be as popular as other consumer-grade brands of hard drives, it is one of the most used options for enterprise solutions thanks to its wide range of high-end NAS hard drives. Toshiba’s N300 HDWG180XZSTA NAS hard drive comes at the 2nd position of this listicle as it offers a great value for money. This is due to the reason that it has a very high capacity of 8 TB which is quite high for the given price. You also get 256 MB of cache inside this NAS hard drive which is fairly higher than most other options in its class. Since this hard drive is made for enterprise solutions, it uses a 7200 RPM speed rating. Because of this, you can get excellent speeds of up to 260 MB/s for quickly transferring large-sized files. Although, in comparison to other high-end options, this value-for-money Toshiba NAS hard drive has an average 180 TB/yr workload rating and a 3-year warranty which can be a bit limited for some users. Best Features:
NAS hard drive capacity of 8 TB Rated speed of 7200 RPM Includes 256 MB of cache Comes with a 3 year long warranty period
Pros:
Quite high transfer speeds High value for money NAS hard drive Great for storing a lot of data
Cons:
Workload rating could have been higher
3. Seagate NAS Hard Drive
Seagate also makes value for money NAS hard drives that are meant to be used in scenarios where you have to store a vast amount of data in your network-attached storage. The Seagate IronWolf Pro ST12000VN0008 NAS hard drive offers the highest storage capacity in comparison with other options present here making it the best choice for storing large amounts of data. To be precise, you will get a capacity of 12 TB with this NAS hard drive. Other than having a very high capacity, it also has a high cache of 256 MB which is always great to have for proper performance out of your NAS hard drive. Similar to most other high-end NAS hard drives this one is also rated at 7200 RPM in terms of its spinning speeds. As a result, it is able to offer transfer speeds of up to 210 MB/s which should be ample for most users. Unfortunately, to offer such a high capacity with the given performance numbers, Seagate had to cut corners in terms of its workload rating which is given at just 180 TB/yr along with a 3-year warranty which is slightly lower than the previous Seagate discussed earlier. Best Features:
NAS hard drive capacity of 12 TB Rated speed of 7200 RPM Includes 256 MB of cache Comes with a 3 year long warranty period
Pros:
Perfect for storing large amounts of data Great performance numbers Almost zero vibrations or sounds
Cons:
Workload rating could have been higher
4. Toshiba NAS Hard Drive
We have yet another NAS hard drive from Toshiba here in this article which is quite similar to the previous one in many ways except for its storage capacity. Toshiba’s N300 HDWN160XZSTA NAS hard drive can be another great option if you want to get something that offers a great value for money to the user. This is primarily possible thanks to its given price despite having a capacity of 6 TB in total. Similar to most other NAS hard drives of similar price and capacity, this one also has a 128 MB cache. Because this NAS hard drive has a speed rating of 7200 RPM, its performance numbers are fairly great. You can get transfer speeds of up to 260 MB/s from this NAS hard drive making it one of the best performing options out there. Moving over to its reliability, this NAS hard drive is also rated at 180 TB/yr workload rating along with a 3 year long which is on par with other options in its class. Best Features:
NAS hard drive capacity of 6 TB Rated speed of 7200 RPM Includes 128 MB of cache Comes with a 3 year long warranty period
Pros:
Very high transfer speeds Great capacity for the given price High speed hard drive with lots of cache
Cons:
Slightly loud during operation
5. Western Digital HDD – 5400 RPM NAS Hard Drive
Western Digital can be another great option if you are looking for highly reliable hard drives meant to go inside your network-attached storage for all of your bulk storage needs. This Western Digital WD10EFRX NAS hard drive comes at the 3rd position of this article because thanks to the fact that it is the cheapest NAS hard drive stated here, it makes for a great pick for buyers on a tight budget. To offer such a low price tag, this NAS hard drive has a limited capacity of just 1 TB. Similarly, its cache is also rated for 64 MB in total capacity which is quite lower than others As you would expect from such an affordable NAS hard drive, its maximum spinning speed tops out at 5400 RPM. Due to this, its maximum transfer speeds are generally around the 150 MB/s mark. Fortunately, since this is also a NAS hard drive, it is fairly reliable with a 180 TB/yr workload rating along with a 3-year warranty for peace of mind. Best Features:
NAS hard drive capacity of 1 TB Rated speed of 5400 RPM Includes 64 MB of cache Comes with a 3 year long warranty period
Pros:
Highly affordable NAS drive Decent workload rating Silent 5400 RPM hard drive
Cons:
Average performance numbers
6. Western Digital NAS Hard Drive
Western Digital also makes higher capacity NAS hard drives that can be practical to use in scenarios where you would want to store a decent amount of data without paying a premium for the same. This Western Digital WD40EFRX NAS hard drive is most likely the perfect option for those who want a decently large hard drive for their first NAS that does not break the bank. For starters, this NAS hard drive offers a total capacity of 4 TB which should be ample for the average user. Unfortunately, this NAS hard drive has a limited cache capacity of just 64 MB which is on the lower side when compared with others. Not only that but the spinning speeds of this NAS hard drive are also rated at just 5400 RPM. Due to this, its transfer speeds are quite limited at a maximum of 150 MB/s because of which this NAS hard drive cannot be used for enterprise usage. Thankfully, because this is a NAS hard drive, you still get a workload rating of 180 TB/yr as well as a 3-year warranty with it. Best Features:
NAS hard drive capacity of 4 TB Rated speed of 5400 RPM Includes 64 MB of cache Comes with a 3 year long warranty period
Pros:
Fairly reliable for long term usage High capacity for the given price Decent value for money
Cons:
Not the best performing NAS hard drive
Buying Guide for the Best NAS Hard Drives
Whether you want a storage device with high capacity or you simply want storage drives that are shareable over network for easy access, getting a NAS, in either case, can be a great idea. A NAS can be handy at your home as well as your office thanks to its versatility. But to use one, you will need something like the best NAS hard drives stated above. Even though all of these hard drives also have their features and information explained above, some of you might be still confused. In that case, consider going through the following detailed buying guide for the best NAS hard drives:
1. Capacity
Starting with one of the most important factors to consider before buying any kind of hard drive is the capacity offered by it. As you would expect, a higher-capacity hard drive allows you to store a lot of data with ease. This becomes even more important to consider if you are getting hard drives for a NAS since you are most likely going to want a high-capacity one. Due to this, you can find NAS hard drives in all sorts of capacities like 4 TB, 6 TB, 8 TB, and even 12 TB in some cases.
2. RPM
As you would know, all hard drives including the NAS hard drives present above are mechanical drives. This means that they have a spinning platter inside them that stores all of your data. Because of this, it is quite important to check the speed of this platter which can be given as the RPM rating of your hard drive. While buying a NAS hard drive, you can primarily find 5400 RPM and 7200 RPM speed options. Out of these two, the latter speed of 7200 RPM is the better one since it will most likely offer higher transfer speeds.
3. Cache
In comparison to traditional hard drives, most NAS hard drives generally offer better performance numbers to the user. Although, even NAS hard drives fall behind when it comes to random storage access speeds or shorter file access operations. To help your hard drive improve its speeds in these scenarios, all of them inbuilt cache. This is essentially high-speed flash storage which can be handy for quickly transferring small amounts of data. Hence, you can find NAS hard drives with 64 MB, 128 MB, and even 256 MB of cache where a higher amount generally offers better performance.
4. Transfer Speeds
Even though you can check the RPM speeds of your hard drive and its total cache capacity to get an idea of its performance, these things still don’t tell you about the real-life performance numbers. Therefore, you should also check the transfer speeds offered by your NAS hard drive. Generally, hard drives offer transfer speeds ranging from 150 MB/s to 200 MB/s depending on the model that you are getting. If you are going to transfer a lot of large files to and from your NAS, then it is always ideal to get a hard drive with high transfer speeds.
5. Workload Rating
Those of you who are going to set up a network-attached storage are most likely going to use a few extra drives for redundancy to ensure that you do not lose your data in the event of a drive failure. But even then, it is still highly recommended to go with NAS hard drives that are highly reliable. One great way to ensure this is to check the workload rating which is given in TB/year and tells you the amount of data you can write to a drive in a year. Even though most NAS hard drives offer a decent workload rating of 180 TB/year, there are also more reliable options with up to 300 TB/year of workload rating. Such drives with high workload ratings are generally great for NAS devices that are going to be used a lot.
6. Warranty
Apart from the workload rating, you can also check the warranty offered by your NAS hard drives to get an idea of their reliability. Generally, you will find NAS hard drives to include a 3-year long warranty which is the same as most other standard drives. However, if you want something highly reliable, then you can also find a few NAS hard drive options with a longer 5-year warranty for peace of mind and long-term usage.
Conclusion
If you are getting a NAS or a network-attached storage device, then you have to make sure that you are not using standard hard drives since they are simply not reliable enough. Instead, you need to get a high-performance drive that are reliable enough to be used in a NAS which is meant to run 24 * 7 for a long time. Therefore, some of the best NAS hard drives are presented above along with their information like features and specifications. There is also a detailed buying guide explained up above. And based on all these details, here are our favorite picks for the best NAS hard drives:
Those of you who want to store a lot of data can go with the Seagate NAS Hard Drive. You get a capacity of 12 TB with this drive which is much higher than all others. This 7200 RPM hard drive also offers speeds of up to 210 MB/s thanks to its 256 MB cache for optimum performance in all scenarios. You can also consider Seagate IronWolf Pro NAS Hard Drive if you want something highly reliable. It is the only option stated here which features a 5-year long warranty combined along with a very high workload rating of 300 TB/yr. Talking about the performance numbers of this 4 TB NAS hard drive, it spins at 7200 RPM and offers a 128 MB cache for up to 214 MB/s transfer speeds. In case that you are on a tight budget, you can go with the Western Digital HDD – 5400 RPM NAS Hard Drive since it is the cheapest option stated here. For the given price, it features a 1 TB capacity which is combined with a slower 5400 RPM speed and 64 MB of cache. Despite being an entry-level model, you still get a decent 180 TB/yr workload rating along with a 3-year long warranty.
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