by 5 reviews.
Western Digital 8TB WD Red Plus NAS Internal Hard Drive Review: A Reliable Storage Solution for NAS Enthusiasts
When it comes to reliable storage solutions for Network Attached Storage (NAS) systems, the Western Digital 8TB WD Red Plus NAS Internal Hard Drive stands out as a top contender. Designed specifically for small to medium-sized businesses and home office environments, this hard drive offers a blend of performance, durability, and compatibility that makes it a favorite among NAS users. With its 5640 RPM speed, SATA 6 Gb/s interface, and 256 MB cache, it promises fast data access and seamless multitasking. But does it live up to the hype? Let’s dive into the details based on real customer experiences.
Pros and Cons: What Customers Are Saying
Performance and Speed
One of the standout features of the WD Red Plus is its performance. Customers have praised its ability to handle demanding workloads with ease. One user who tested the 20TB version (a higher-capacity sibling of the 8TB model) reported sequential read and write speeds of up to 270 MBps and 130 MBps, respectively. These speeds are impressive for a hard drive, especially when compared to lower-capacity models. The drive’s CMR (Conventional Magnetic Recording) technology ensures consistent performance, making it ideal for RAID environments and multi-user setups.
However, some users noted that the performance can vary depending on the location of the data on the drive. As with most HDDs, the outer tracks tend to deliver faster speeds than the inner ones. This is a common limitation of traditional hard drives, but it’s worth keeping in mind if you’re looking for uniform performance across the entire drive.
Noise Levels
Noise is a common concern for NAS users, especially those who operate their systems in quiet environments. The WD Red Plus has received mixed reviews in this regard. While some users found the drive to be relatively quiet, others noted that it produces noticeable clicking sounds during operation. One customer mentioned that the noise was tolerable but still audible, particularly during head seeks. However, they mitigated this issue by adding padding to their NAS enclosure, which significantly reduced the noise.
Interestingly, the 20TB version of the WD Red Pro (a higher-tier model) was reported to be quieter than its lower-capacity counterparts. This suggests that noise levels may vary depending on the specific model and capacity you choose. If noise is a major concern, it might be worth considering the higher-capacity models or investing in a well-insulated NAS enclosure.
Durability and Reliability
Durability is where the WD Red Plus truly shines. Designed for 24/7 operation, this drive boasts an impressive MTBF (Mean Time Between Failures) of up to 1 million hours. Customers have praised its reliability, with many reporting years of trouble-free operation. One user shared that they replaced their old 4TB WD Red drives with the 8TB version and expect to get many more years of service out of them.
The drive’s NASware 3.0 firmware further enhances its reliability by optimizing it for NAS systems. This ensures smooth integration and reduces the risk of compatibility issues. Additionally, the 3D Active Balance Plus technology minimizes vibration and noise, which not only protects your data but also extends the drive’s lifespan.
However, one customer highlighted the importance of verifying the manufacturer’s warranty before purchasing. They discovered that a 20TB unit they ordered from a third-party seller was a gray-market product not covered by Western Digital’s warranty. This serves as a reminder to always check the serial number against the manufacturer’s database to ensure you’re getting a genuine, warranty-covered product.
Compatibility and Ease of Use
The WD Red Plus is designed to be compatible with a wide range of NAS systems, including popular brands like Synology and Buffalo. Customers have reported seamless integration with their NAS setups, with one user noting that the drives worked perfectly in their Synology DS920+ NAS. While the NAS system did issue a warning about using non-Synology drives, the drives performed flawlessly once installed.
Another user shared their experience of upgrading their Buffalo LinkStation 220D with the WD Red Plus drives. They were pleased with the improved storage capacity and the noticeable reduction in noise compared to their previous Seagate drives. The installation process was straightforward, and the drives passed all SMART tests without any issues.
Final Verdict: Is the WD Red Plus Worth It?
The Western Digital 8TB WD Red Plus NAS Internal Hard Drive is a solid choice for anyone looking to upgrade their NAS storage. Its impressive performance, durability, and compatibility make it a reliable option for both home and business users. While the noise levels may be a concern for some, this can often be mitigated with proper enclosure insulation.
Strengths:
- High performance with fast read/write speeds.
- Durable and reliable, designed for 24/7 operation.
- Optimized for NAS systems with NASware 3.0 firmware.
- Energy-efficient design reduces power consumption.
Weaknesses:
- Noticeable noise during operation, especially during head seeks.
- Performance varies depending on data location on the drive.
- Potential for gray-market units if not purchased from authorized sellers.
In conclusion, if you’re in the market for a dependable NAS hard drive, the WD Red Plus is a strong contender. Just be sure to purchase from a reputable seller to avoid warranty issues, and consider your noise tolerance when choosing the capacity. With proper care and setup, this drive can provide years of reliable service for your storage needs.
Specification Western Digital 8TB WD Red Plus NAS Internal Hard Drive HDD - 5640 RPM, SATA 6 Gb/s, CMR, 256 MB Cache, 3.5" - WD80EFPX:
Comments from Amazon:
I am using these on my Synology NAS for 12TB of RAID 5 storage and they are happy to be workings and are quick for both large and small files. The price was right and having our own home NAS with Cloud backup and not having some 3rd party being able to peruse it at their will makes us feel safer and more secure.
These took under a minute each to install into my Synology DS920+ NAS. Since it was all new gear, I let it do a through drive check as part of initializing which took a long time. I think it may ave been about two days. In theory, I could have used it during this time, but I just started it and ignored it. During installation, the 920 whines about any accessories (memory, drives) that aren't Synology's own and that included these. On the 922, they change from whining to much more obnoxious contrived incompatibilities, but this combination was chosen because exactly once, during insteallation, it warns you that its not a supported combination and that's that. Probably if there were a support issue involving data loss, they'd remind you of that oath you took to not complain, but in reality this is a very common combination that works quite well. Fan and normal noise is quite minimal. There was a noticeable clunk during a head seek. I reduced this by offlining the unit so I could remove power then applying the fuzzy half of a hook-and-loop fastener to the bottom of the bottom rail. That gave it support and a little bit of padding so the metal cage didn't serve as a drum skin for the oh-so-tiny motion that got amplified when transferred to the sheet metal. I'm looking forward to getting many, many years from these drives, like I did from the 4TB WD these are replacing. Those drives have no reading errors. Size grows and no drives are infallible, so I opted to replace them on my schedule (OK, and on Amazon Day special. :-) ) instead of letting the drive pick its own replacement day, taking my data with it.
Great NAS drive. WD red plus. I’ve had them for about 4 months now. Passed the smart tests without issues on my server. They are solid and wd reds have never let me down. They do make noise, but realize this is a step up from the regular reds and it’s not a normal HDD. Noise is normal from these drives as they are closer to an enterprise drive than a normal consumer drive. Enterprise drives make noise. You will hear the arm a little and hear them spin up. This is normal and expected. Just bought 2 more to give me a total of 12tb on my home NAS in a mirror array. Side note after a week the wife doesn’t even notice the noise coming from my server.
I purchased 2 4TB WD Red Plus NAS to replace and upgrade 2 2TB Seagates on my Buffalo LinkStation 220D. Worked like a dream. Not only do I have to worry about running out of space, I don't need to worry about the need to continually replace the hard drives, hopefully. It took awhile to determine the 220D was turned on because I couldn't hear the hard drives - a bonus, as the Seagates were a little noisey. I just finished replacing them and hopefully will have no need to make changes to what I written here as I expect to have no problems with the hard drives. As I understand, you can purchase a buffalo that comes with the WD Red Plus NAS drives - niceeeee....
Comprei para compor o volume de storage de NAS da synology. HD compatível e suportado pela Synology, foi perfeito para expandir a capacidade de armazenamento. Vendedor entregou no prazo correto com produto em bom funcionamento e condições apesar de embalado apenas com 2 plásticos finos. Hard drives requerem cuidado adicional para proteção.
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I bought two units of the 20TB version of this WD Red Pro drive for my new storage system. I particularly went with the 20TB version, because - according to the datasheet on Western Digital's website - it is less noisy than some of the lower capacity models. I tested one of the units, not in my storage system, but in my open bench USB 3.0 to SATA Adapter (with a max transfer rate of over 500MBps). It performed well, the sequential read and write speeds as high as ca. 270 MBps and ca. 130 MBps on the low-side. This is typical of all HDDs: on the outside of the drive they can pack more data on one track than on the inside, so on each rotation they can write and read more data on the outside area of each disk platter. The write and read tests were also successful, no bad blocks were reported. For some performance figures, please see the attached screenshots (which have the serial number removed/redacted). Please note that the CrystalDiskMark results are performed on an empty HDD, so they seem to be executed in the "fast" section of the drive. The other graphs were taken from HDSentinel, relevant there are the bottom graphs, which show transfer rates across the surface of the drive. The sound of my test unit was also pleasant enough, the clicking wasn't too bothersome. But since I will move this drive into the case of my storage system very soon, the clicking will be a lot less noticeable than it is already. One action I always perform, BEFORE opening the product box of an HDD or SDD is to check the serial number on the box against the manufacturer's warranty website to ensure that the item is covered by the manufacturer's warranty. I do this both when amazon is the seller and when a 3rd party is the seller and amazon is just the fulfillment party. (I do not buy HDDs from a 3rd party seller that does not have fulfillment with amazon.) This is to avoid OEM/gray-market units that aren't covered by the manufacturer's warranty. A store warranty by a 3rd party seller is of no use to me, since these sellers come and go and I also don't want the hassle of dealing with them. Since the Red Pro series offers a manufacturer's warranty of 5 years, and HDDs fail frequently enough to make such a warranty very valuable, I always insist getting the manufacturer's warranty and even will query 3rd party sellers, if their stock with amazon is covered by such a warranty. As it turned out, the serial number of second 20TB HDD that I ordered (from a 3rd party seller, since amazon themselves were out of stock) did not show up in the manufacturer's database for U.S. warranty, so I can only assume that it is a gray-market unit and I immediately returned it. (I can only hope that the 3rd party seller will have to bear the full cost of this return, since I emailed them and asked about the manufacturer's warranty, before the item ever shipped, but they didn't answer my question.) One more tip: There has been some research that failure rates of HDDs from the same batch are somewhat correlated, so I always try to space out my purchases (either in time or by using different vendors) to increase the chance that I will be getting units from different batches. That's why I bought from two different 3rd party sellers on amazon (one of which apparently sold a grey-market unit), without disclosing that fact ahead of time.