Advice on which drives to buy (12TB)

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user1028
Getting the hang of things
Posts: 60
Joined: Tue Jun 25, 2019 4:20 pm

Advice on which drives to buy (12TB)

Post by user1028 »

Hi there,

I have an onsite back up but I'd like to build an offsite backup (RAID 5 or 6) with 12 drives. I'd like those drives to be 12tb or 14tb. I'm looking at the QNAP TS-1635AX-8G-US 12+4 Bay from Amazon.

For drives I considered Iron Wolf 12TB drives, but they say they are suited for up to 8 drives in a NAS, while the "Iron Wolf Pro" are suited for up to 24 drives. "Pro" are an extra $150 each, but I assume this is for a reason and not just marketing? I know everyone has their own favorite brands and I also know every brand fails, but are there a few brands/models I should be focusing on? 14tb would be great but 12tb is probably fine.

Thank you, I appreciate it.

-Stephen
QNAP TS-1685, TS-832X, TS-832PX
Skwor
Know my way around
Posts: 247
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2020 1:38 am

Re: Advice on which drives to buy (12TB)

Post by Skwor »

Pro is designed for higher drive densities (improved sensors, etc.) and it includes a recovery warranty. If you are ok with noise and do not need the recovery warranty look at the EXOS helium drives from Seagate, they tend to actually be cheaper and are made for high density racks.

Also I use 3 in my TS-453Be and love them, the other drive is a Seagate Iron Wolf-non pro, honestly for the last 2 years they have been some of the best drives for the money.
Last edited by Skwor on Fri Oct 15, 2021 8:32 pm, edited 1 time in total.
NAS:
TS-453Be
2-4 Gig QNAP ram sticks
1x12 TB Seagate Iron Wolf and 3x12 TB Seagate Exos
Mainly used as a Plex Server and Photo manager (QuMagie is actually pretty good)

WD 12 TB Elements for each hard drive - External HD BU to the NAS movie database and Photos
user1028
Getting the hang of things
Posts: 60
Joined: Tue Jun 25, 2019 4:20 pm

Re: Advice on which drives to buy (12TB)

Post by user1028 »

Skwor wrote: Thu Oct 14, 2021 8:59 pm Pro is designed for higher drive densities (improved sensors, etc.) and it includes a recovery warranty. If you are ok with noise and do not need the recovery warranty look at the EXOS helium drives from Seagate, they tend to actually be cheaper and are made for high density racks.

Also I use 3 in my TS-543Be and love them, the other drive is a Seagate Iron Wolf-non pro, honestly for the last 2 years they have been some of the best drives for the money.
Thanks for the info, I appreciate it!
QNAP TS-1685, TS-832X, TS-832PX
Skwor
Know my way around
Posts: 247
Joined: Thu Feb 27, 2020 1:38 am

Re: Advice on which drives to buy (12TB)

Post by Skwor »

meant TS-453Be
NAS:
TS-453Be
2-4 Gig QNAP ram sticks
1x12 TB Seagate Iron Wolf and 3x12 TB Seagate Exos
Mainly used as a Plex Server and Photo manager (QuMagie is actually pretty good)

WD 12 TB Elements for each hard drive - External HD BU to the NAS movie database and Photos
Thisisnotmyname
Easy as a breeze
Posts: 447
Joined: Mon Nov 19, 2018 1:21 am

Re: Advice on which drives to buy (12TB)

Post by Thisisnotmyname »

seconded on the Exos. I would never rely on data recovery services anyway so that aspect of the Ironwolf Pro (I own some of them too) is useless. Exos also has SED compatible drives (watch the model numbers carefully though, you specifically have to buy one of the SKUs for SATA SED if you want that capability).
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