Desktop HDD’s in NAS

[PenguinMaster]

Can I use old desktop hard drives (like 1 - 3 years old) in a NAS, or do I need NAS specific hard drives?

[Electronics Wizardy]

It will work fine. A nas drive is optimized for a nas with features like tler. A desktop drive in a nas may have a higher failure rate, but there is no good data on that.

[Jarsky]

You can use them just fine. NAS specific drives have TLER which stops them trying to read a bad sector, and theyre made to deal with vibration better. 

They also often have a lower spindle speed for better power consumption.

 

 

[Windows7ge]

You CAN use desktop drives, old ones (or new) but you need to understand that they're usually not rated for 24/7 operation, they usually vibrate more than NAS/server rated drives which can have an impact on very dense operations and I find they often run hotter. This could reduce their effective lifespan depending on how hard you plan to hit them plus how many you plan to pack in a small space but otherwise it's not a serious issue to use them. Just make sure you have proper back-ups.

[WereCatf]

I, myself, have been using desktop HDDs in my NAS/server for 6 years now without any issue. Personally, I wouldn't bother with NAS-specific drives, unless you could get them on such a huge discount that they were cheaper than regular desktop-ones.

[PenguinMaster]

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[PenguinMaster]

On 12/15/2019 at 8:31 PM, Electronics Wizardy said:

It will work fine. A nas drive is optimized for a nas with features like tler. A desktop drive in a nas may have a higher failure rate, but there is no good data on that.

 

On 12/15/2019 at 8:33 PM, Jarsky said:

You can use them just fine. NAS specific drives have TLER which stops them trying to read a bad sector, and theyre made to deal with vibration better. 

They also often have a lower spindle speed for better power consumption.

 

 

 

On 12/15/2019 at 8:37 PM, Windows7ge said:

You CAN use desktop drives, old ones (or new) but you need to understand that they're usually not rated for 24/7 operation, they usually vibrate more than NAS/server rated drives which can have an impact on very dense operations and I find they often run hotter. This could reduce their effective lifespan depending on how hard you plan to hit them plus how many you plan to pack in a small space but otherwise it's not a serious issue to use them. Just make sure you have proper back-ups.

 

On 12/16/2019 at 12:43 AM, WereCatf said:

I, myself, have been using desktop HDDs in my NAS/server for 6 years now without any issue. Personally, I wouldn't bother with NAS-specific drives, unless you could get them on such a huge discount that they were cheaper than regular desktop-ones.

Thanks everyone! Sounds good to me, I’ll be using 2x 1TB 7200rpm hdd’s and 1x 500GB 7200rpm hdd. I’ll be adding one more drive. I’ll be using unRaid since you can use any combination of drives. What NAS do you guys recommend, I was thinking a 4 bay unit would be a good starting point, however if someone finds a good deal on a NAS with more bays that’s fine. I can add SSDs for a CACHE if someone thinks that’s a good idea. My budget is $300 ish.