by 3 reviews.
Seagate 4TB IronWolf NAS SATA Hard Drive Review: A Reliable Storage Solution for NAS Enthusiasts
When it comes to reliable and high-performance storage solutions for NAS (Network Attached Storage) systems, the Seagate 4TB IronWolf NAS SATA Hard Drive (ST4000VN008) stands out as a top contender. Designed specifically for multi-user environments, this 3.5-inch internal hard drive offers a robust combination of speed, durability, and advanced features tailored for NAS servers and personal cloud storage.
With a 4TB storage capacity, 256MB cache, and 7200 RPM speed, the IronWolf drive delivers up to 180MB/s data transfer rates, making it ideal for collaborative projects, media streaming, and data backups. Its AgileArray firmware ensures smooth operation in multi-bay systems, while the IronWolf Health Management system provides real-time monitoring to prevent potential failures.
But does it live up to the hype? Let’s dive into the pros and cons based on real customer experiences.
Pros: What Customers Love About the Seagate 4TB IronWolf
1. Reliability and Longevity
One of the most praised aspects of the Seagate IronWolf is its reliability. Many users have reported using Seagate drives for years without issues. One reviewer shared, “I’ve been using Seagate drives for over a decade, and this IronWolf is no exception. It’s been running flawlessly in my NAS for months.” Another user highlighted the drive’s 1-million-hour MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) as a key factor in their decision to purchase.
2. Optimized for NAS Systems
The IronWolf is specifically designed for NAS environments, and customers appreciate its seamless integration. A Synology DS212J owner noted, “The Synology NAS took almost a full day to initialize and error-check the drive, but it’s been working flawlessly ever since.” The AgileArray firmware and rotational vibration sensors (available on 4TB and larger drives) ensure smooth operation in multi-bay setups, reducing noise and wear.
3. Ease of Installation and Setup
Many users praised the drive’s straightforward installation process. One reviewer mentioned, “The installation was smooth and hassle-free. I had no issues with testing, data transfer, or RAID configuration.” Another customer appreciated the Seagate diagnostic tools, which allowed them to run extensive tests before deploying the drive in their server.
4. Quiet Operation
Despite its high performance, the IronWolf is surprisingly quiet. A user running a home server commented, “The drives are not louder than my server fans or my 15k RPM SAS OS drive. I barely notice them.” This makes it an excellent choice for home or small office environments where noise levels matter.
Cons: Areas for Improvement
1. Write Speeds Could Be Faster
While the IronWolf excels in many areas, some users noted that its write speeds could be improved. One reviewer compared it to their previous WD Black drives, stating, “The WD Blacks wrote at about 20MB/s, while the IronWolf writes at 10MB/s. It’s a bit slower, but still acceptable for my needs.” However, this may vary depending on the RAID configuration and network setup.
2. Higher Capacities Offer Better Features
Customers pointed out that some advanced features, like rotational vibration sensors, are only available on 4TB and larger drives. A user mentioned, “I had to spring for the 4TB drives to get the rotational vibration sensors, which aren’t available on smaller capacities.” This might be a drawback for those looking for budget-friendly options with similar features.
3. Initialization Time
Some users reported that the initialization and error-checking process took longer than expected. A Synology NAS owner shared, “It took almost a full day per drive to initialize, but once it was done, the drives worked flawlessly.” While this isn’t a dealbreaker, it’s something to keep in mind if you’re in a hurry to set up your NAS.
Final Thoughts: Is the Seagate 4TB IronWolf Worth It?
The Seagate 4TB IronWolf NAS SATA Hard Drive is a solid choice for anyone looking to upgrade their NAS system. Its reliability, NAS-optimized features, and quiet operation make it a favorite among home users and small businesses alike. While the write speeds and initialization time could be improved, these are minor trade-offs for a drive that delivers consistent performance and long-term durability.
If you’re considering a NAS drive, the IronWolf is a reliable option that won’t disappoint. For those who can afford it, upgrading to the 6TB or 8TB models (with higher RPM and cache) might be worth the investment for even better performance.
Final Verdict:
- Pros: Reliable, NAS-optimized, easy to install, quiet operation.
- Cons: Slower write speeds, advanced features limited to higher capacities, longer initialization time.
Overall, the Seagate 4TB IronWolf NAS SATA Hard Drive earns its place as a top-tier storage solution for NAS enthusiasts. Whether you’re managing collaborative workloads or storing large media libraries, this drive delivers the performance and reliability you need.
Specification Seagate 4TB IronWolf NAS SATA Hard Drive 6Gb/s 256MB Cache 3.5-Inch Internal Hard Drive for NAS Servers, Personal Cloud Storage (ST4000VN008), Silver:
Comments from Amazon:
I was between this, the HGST and WD RED 4TB NAS HD's for my Synology DS212J. I, like I tend to do, agonized for a long time before deciding which to purchase. At the time I bought these (cyber monday 2016) the HGST was the same price as the Seagate Ironwolf, and the WD Red was $15 more. After extensive review reading, spec reviewing, etc. I decided to go with this drive. My reasoning behind this was the fact that this was a newer generation drive with technology integrated to provide more features and benefits related to NAS use than competitor NAS drives. Also, for the supposed 1% failure rate of the HGST I was surprised to see as many negative reviews as I did. Red's seemed like a coin toss to me. Seagate has done a lot to improve the reliability of their drives in order to stay competitive in this market. I felt confident in my purchase, and I still do. The last (2) Hard Drives I put in this Synology NAS were 1TB WD Blacks. Both of the failed immediately out of the box and had to be RMA'd (purchased from Newegg). I know black wasn't correct for NAS, but at the time I purchased the NAS I wasn't exactly flush with cash so I bought what I could afford. I left them as separate volumes with no RAID or JBOD, that way if one failed only the data on it would be lost. Both of the replacement WD Blacks have lasted since December 2012. One of them will now only write at 12MB/s, but is otherwise okay, and the other one is in perfect working order. Over the years the data on those drives become more and more important. I decided that it was time to upgrade to a decent capacity and to go RAID 1 for redundancy data protection. The Synology took almost a full day per drive to perform it's initialization and error checking process but both of these Seagate 4TB Ironwolf drives work flawlessly. They operate quiet as well. The only con is the write speeds. The WD Blacks I had were 7200rpm and the 4TB version of the Seagate Ironwolf is only 5900RPM. I've got gigabit Ethernet and other than the drives, no other variables have changed. The fully functioning WD black I could write on, from my PC over the wired network, to the tune of about 20MB/s. The weak WD Black could only write about 12MB/s. The Ironwolf is 10MB/s. Now it should be noted that before the WD Blacks were individual volumes and not in RAID. These Ironwolf drives are in RAID 1 so that may cause a little slow-down on the write speeds I suppose. I'd recommend, to anyone who could afford it, to get this drive in either the 6TB (because it's 128MB cache and 7200rpm) or 8+TB (because it's 256MB cache and 7200rpm). If you're like me, and money is a consideration and you're willing to sacrifice a little speed to get a better dollar to terabyte value then you really can't go wrong with the Seagate Ironwolf 4TB (lower capacities not a better value at current $:TB). Edit 12-30-16: I'm not really sure what happened because I haven't changed anything but the consistent write speed of a large video file (3GB+) is about 19MB/s and smaller files (like 300MB) are like 22-25MB/s. Obviously the initial burst is higher, but this is what the data transfer speed drops to once it settles down.
I have... let's see... two 2 TB Iron Wolf's (left over now), four 4 TB Iron Wolf's, four 6 TB Iron Wolf's, and four 12 TB EXOS X16 drives, (if you want to count those.) To make this work the best way possible, I had to order two more of the 4 TB drives. (I already had two - in a really weird combination RAID with the 2 TB drives.) They got here and I put them in one of the NAS's with the other 2 and it's synchronizing them right now -- FLAWLESS, as usual! They came in an electrostatic bag, in a sausage link-sized bubble wrap thing I've never seen anything like! Superbly packaged. All that so I can say: I have NEVER had EVEN ONE problem with an Iron Wolf (or an EXOS) hdd. I need more stars to give them. And, at least in an Asustor NAS or a Synology NAS, there's no beating the SMART monitoring.
I ordered two 4tb for my NAS and was impressed by the speed at which they were delivered, the way they were packaged and the ease of installation. I would definitely buy again.
Have a Synology DS1513 home server. I have been running these HDD for years. Some are starting to show age at 33000 hrs. These replacements are getting harder to find in these sizes due to cheaper per GB on larger drives. Still these were stated as new and checking each drive...the drives are indeed new.
I bought a Seagate 4TB IronWolf NAS hard drive a month ago to match my other disk in RAID 1. So far, it has been working well. The order arrived promptly and was well-packed. The installation process was smooth and hassle-free. I am pleased with my purchase and will consider buying from this seller again.
I recently had to replace both hard drives in my NAS, and this drive is a recommended product for NAS service, which has some unique requirements. Working great!
Pros: - No issues with test, installation, or data transfer - Work well with Enterprise level Adaptec RAID card - Good features on the 4TB and larger drives - Personally experienced long term reliability of Seagate drives (Used Seagate for years, 25+ drives from 40GB to 3TB prior to this purchase) Cons: - Had to spring for the 4TB drives or larger to get the rotational vibration sensors (unavailable on smaller capacity Ironwolf drives) Even though I have been using Seagate drives almost exclusively for all of my spinning disk drives, I was open to using any reliable manufacturer to replace my six 1TB Seagate drives with four 4TB ones. My drives run in a RAID 5, with a spare, in my personal server and longevity is important. I usually run drives 24/7 for about 5 years before they are replaced. I was very close to purchasing four W brand drives due to the positive reviews, but finally settled on Seagate because most of the failures of Seagate drives seemed to be "infant mortality" failures (happen very early in the product life), where the W brand drives seemed to fail more often around a year after purchase (based on reviews on Amazon). This was true when I ordered prevously ordered a Seagate 3TB backup drive and it had failed out of the box. It was much more convenient for me to run hours of testing on each drive before installing them and replace them early rather than having the drives work well for a year and then having to submit a warranty claim. When I received the drives, I ran approximately 13 hours of testing on each 4TB drive by performing a Long test using the Seagate tool. I checked the SMART data before and after and this test seemed to read all of the data from the entire drive because the SMART data after the test stated that 4TB of data had been read. Because of my RAID 5 and my backup strategy, this was enough for me to depend on the drives in my server and I installed them. I configured the RAID 5, restored the backed up data to the drives, and then performed a build/verify on the RAID. The data transfer from the backup of my 2.3TB of data was much quicker than I expected and my server was back up and running. The drives are not louder than some of the loud parts of my server (server fans and a 300GB 15k RPM SAS OS drive), so I would not be able to provide details to how loud the drives are. The performance is improved over my six 1TB Barracuda 7200 RPM drives and I am pleased with how the transition was.