11.3.2016

I've just recently purchased my third home NAS drive (an upgrade/replacement for the first NAS, which I've out-grown). As before, I wanted to use Western Digital Red drives, because they are designed for 24x7 operation in a NAS.My last NAS was equipped with WD Red 6Tb models (5400rpm) and this time I elected to upgrade to 12Tb, helium-filled drives, selling for just shy of £400 each. I wanted 16 drives in total - 8 for the new NAS, 8 for the old (I use RAID6 and wanted 2 spare drives for each 6-bay NAS). I decided to split the order in to 4 - with 4 drives in each - to split the risk in case of transit damage (you don't want to put all your drives [or eggs!] in one box,because if that suffers damage in transit that you cannot see, you run the risk of all your drives failing at the same time...).Please see attached pictures of 2 of the drive deliveries received so far. As you can see from the images, the drives turn up sealed in original packing material from the factory, but with ABSOLUTELY NO SHIPPING PROTECTION WHATSOEVER. These drives will have been thrown around in the back of vans, on trains, who knows what, subject to unknown shock treatments.I've already had to return one batch of 4 drives to Amazon; one of them had a dented top plate and the other 3 failed when I added them to my NAS - clear signs of significant transportation damage. I've asked Amazon repeatedly, through the customer support and returns procedures, to have expensive items packaged more safely. Suffice to say, nothing has changed.These are AWESOME drives and a recommend them unreservedly. However, if you need to buy them mail-order (and to be fair to Amazon, they use multiple different couriers so there is no way of knowing who is going to abuse them in transit), you must1. Split your order in to multiple batches - don't order one bulk load2. Split your orders over several days - to avoid the risk that all parcels get put in the same lorry and subject to the same damage3. Photograph the outside of the shipping box (e.g. smartphone camera) before opening it, ESPECIALLY if you see signs of transit damage4. Check your drives with painstaking care when you receive them - and be prepared to reject any that don't look like they are behaving perfectly out-of-the-box5. Put labels on or otherwise mark each drive so that you know which order it was shipped with - that way, if you have a problem with a drive failing, you will immediately be able to work out which other drives came in the same packaging...6. Be ready to demand replacements or refunds. The only way Amazon and 3rd party resellers are going to learn to pack orders properly will be when people insist on it.Whew!With that out of the way, here's a review...The WD Red drives form something along the lines of a "Prosumer" range of hard drives. These are easily a step up from regular retail drives (say the Green range), but perhaps not quite as robust as their Enterprise range. They are priced a little bit more than competitors from companies like Seagate (who have the IronWolf range), but they perform MUCH better. Don't take my word for it; web search for the "Backblaze" review of hard drives - that is the definitive reference for drive performance... These 5400rpm drives may not have the rotational speed of the 7200rpm "Pro" siblings, but are priced accordingly - and offer almost-as-good performance. In fact, you can offset the speed difference by selecting a good RAID configuration and using a good NAS.For:-1. Very well made; truly excellent, reliable build quality2. Very quiet in operation, moderate but not excessive heat output when running hard3. Excellent long-term data retention; my oldest Reds now 7 years old and going strong, ZERO faultsAgainst:-1. Pricey in comparison to the competition.Sum-Up:-You get what you pay for. If you are using these to preserve "your digital life" (in my case, tens of thousands of irreplaceable photographs and hours of recorded video content) then what price data integrity??? Put simply, if you are storing data that is materially or sentimentally valuable to you, then you would be crazy to go with anything less than the best drives you can afford.

20.7.2013

The first two examples I purchased were via Amazon but supplied by a third-party retailer. I had previously purchased numerous internal hard drives of various brands and capacities, some supplied directly by a retailer and often in OEM anti-static envelopes, others in various 'Retail' packages but many more on-line. Some were supplied in the same OEM packaging but a few have been nested in similar types of boxes as were those. The packaging used here was certainly fabricated by the retailer and could probably accommodate 4 drive units if each was less well protected. Both individual cartons for the two drive units ordered were contained within a much larger outer and was filled with a reasonable amount of packing paper.The outer carton was slightly damaged on arrival but the inner cartons were well isolated from the point(s) of contact and were completely pristine when extracted.I have seen similar damage to other external packaging used for some hard drives ordered in the past but have yet to have one that was D.O.A. due to transit damage that penetrated to the internal containers and to the drive(s) within.The Western Digital Red drives are intended for any usage that is more intensive than 'normal'. Hence, if employed in any form of server that is 'on' 24/7 and for long periods at a time, in NAS devices or even in a desktop PC where usage demands and expectations are high, they are ideal. They offer an MTBF (Mean Time Before Failure) far higher than is offered by WD's other drives which should translate to higher reliability over longer periods of time. Sometimes offered at much higher prices than are currently available, they are currently sold for little more than a comparable lower-spec alternative of the same capacity. Another feature is a claimed improvement to the spindle bearing design which results in a very low noise engagement. However, if employed in an enclosure that is fan-cooled, the fan(s) may themselves be sufficiently noisy to be noticeable in a quiet environment.A direct alternative to other products which they could replace if their higher reliability or lower noise is essential and where the price premium can be overlooked.They have now been in use for about 2 weeks in a NAS enclosure. I have not been aware of any noise emanating from the drives or the enclosure but I have other RAID/JBOD enclosures quite close by which are in simultaneous use and where there is an active fan within each enclosure. Although not completely silent, there is a slightly audible hum from those fans and an occasional mechanical vibration that can also sometimes be heard from one which would mask any sounds that may emanate from these drives. However, placing my ear close to the enclosure, I have yet to hear anything.POSTSCRIPT @ 08-2013I have since purchased several more directly from Amazon for RAID use. All arrived in WD-branded packaging, with each drive contained in a small carton and nested between two plastic moulded sleeves that hold them safely and securely. The individual cartons were contained within a much larger outer and surrounded by yards of packing paper. Subject to two separate orders, all the drives arrived safely and there was no damage to either of the outers.

6.3.2016

Price purchased £127.07The drive information on Amazon the drives are described as only tested for NAS with 1-5 drive bays. However, on a support page it clarifies that the Red series are tested for 1-8 bay NAS and there is also a link to a NAS compatibility list [Amazon won't allow this link].To find it search for "Compatibility list for the WD Red NAS Hard Drive id=9758" in Google without the quote marks. This appears to have been tested for the latest drives with NASWare 3.0 although I have been using 4 mirrored pairs of NASWare 2.0 drives without any issues. In NAS systems with 24x7 operation vibration is a factor in terms of reliability which is why NASWare 2.0 drives were recommended for drive enclosures of no more than 5 drives.NASWare 3.0 drives improved on the ability to manage the effect of vibration on the drives and this is why they increased rated these newer drives for up 8 drives per NAS enclosure.I had the opportunity to purchase the retail drive at the same price as the OEM drive so I was able t compare what you get in comparison to buying the OEM version of the drive. Looking at reviews of the OEM version of this drive there has been some confusion about whether the extra cost is worth it.To clarify what the differences were I rang Western Digital support. They told me that different countries have different warranty periods. Red series drives in the USA have a 12-month warranty and then you pay a little extra to add the extra warranty. I have bought more than 10 of the Red series of various sizes 3TB, 4TB and 6TB OEM. Each of these drives have registered for 3-year warranties.WD support suggested that Amazon sourced their OEM drives from different countries and that about 50% of them would register as OEM and only have 12 month’s warranty. Amazon identifies that the drives only come with a 12-month warranty unless you pay for more, (not an option for the 4TB drive), so if you register one and it only gives you a 12 -month warranty you have no grounds to complain.So in summary spending the extra £14.00 for the retail version gives you the peace of mind of knowing that you definitely have a three-year warranty. It also comes with drive screws and standard retail packaging. The OEM drives generally come with plastic mounts, on either end, to isolate them from damage to the containing boxes. The retail version plastic support mounts are on the side running the full length of the drive see photos.I think whether you purchase this retail version or opt for the OEM version depends on whether you need a set of screws to mount the drive and more importantly whether you are willing to take the risk that you may end up with a drive which only registers a 12-month warranty. I would suggest that buying OEM drives directly from Amazon, as opposed to buying from a Market Place seller, might increase the chance of getting a three-year warranty and a safely packaged drive.In terms of performance these drives run quietly and quickly. They have a variable speed between 5,400-5,900rpm. So these are not the fastest drives, which are the black series, but seem to perform quickly in everyday use for Desktop (Windows 10 & 8.1), and NAS (Network Attached Storage).

3.6.2016

This product is probably going to save me a lot of hassle and heart ache in the future; I recently had an external HDD fail, of course I was going to back it up and have been for a long while, just never got round to it. The hard drive contained three years worth of photographs, plus of course family shots and you never lose data that you don't really want; fortunately I was able to have it recovered. The guy who recovered the data for me recommended the Synology system and I am so pleased he did.I was able to install it easy enough, but I did forget one element [Dah] and I did look at the instructions on how to set it up as I required, since I didn't want it streaming films to my TV etc,but I did lack confidence in the whole issue so I got my computer man in, who set it up as I requested. I am using it to back up my external HDD and my main computers HDD. It will also be used to host a website in the near future; in addition I can access my data from my tablet, phone etc while I am away from my computer for such as when I am on holiday. Consequently, the system is basically with you where ever you go, so no more clogging up HDD's on your tablets and phones with your music or films that you can access when you are in warmer climes or holidaying in the UK.I watched my computer man set up the system and if I had been more confident I think I could have set it up myself, it looked pretty straight forward. Some one argued that it was a bit pricey just for backing up data, well, no, it isn't because some things are priceless, in addition to which, if you have several people in the household, each can have their own section on the system, the kids can do their gaming, the grown ups can do what they want and there are security protocols that prevent prying eyes, so the kids can't access your information if you don't want them to. Similarly, you can give access to friends and family to view such as photographs from their devices without them having to come round to your house [a bonus sometimes]. The access you give them is as limited as you want it to be; it doesn't mean they can change anything or view your personal data, you can given them permission to download or not, you can given them permission to edit or not, in effect it is a server but cheaper. An additional bonus is that you can purchase a computer with just the average amount of memory, again saving money and use the Synology system to store and back up, then of course there is less hassle when you come to change computers, because all the information is accessible from the Synology system, including your programs.So far I am loving what I can do with this system and as I become more familiar with it, I am sure I will be able to do a lot more with it.

27.9.2012

The home NAS market is expanding rapidly due to home's now having vast libraries of digital content. I myself have a Synology DS712+ which until now was running a pair of western digital green drives in RAID 1. Mainly because they are lower power which is important due to them being on 24/7. The problem with runing consumer drives in home server though means they are not optimised for server use, albeit very light use and nothing compared to business servers. And western digital's server class hard drives (RE series) are very expensive for mass home use. This is where these step in.First off, they have TLER enabled where a lot of home sue drives don't. This is error recovery.

27.12.2012

I've been running a NAS server with 6 x 1tb green drives and I've been quite pleased with both performance and energy efficiency of these drives.I'm now in the process of building a second array of drives for backup purposes, but wanted extra assurance over the reliability and these seemed to tick the boxes, well mine, being:PERFORMANCE : Slight performance increase over green drive (very slight)EFFICIENCY : Similar energy efficiency as the green drivesWARRANTY : three year warranty (most important factor; the extra year over the green)Western Digital, are absolutely brilliant with their warranty service and replace failed drives within a couple of weeks with new drives labelled as re-certified.

4.6.2013

Although I haven't had access to the full range of Western Digital's colour-coded drives, I am able to compare the Caviar Reds to Caviar Greens.Both are aimed to have minimal power draw with good capacity, and both deliver with a tiny 4-5W typical, both are available in 3tb capacities, and both will deliver solid transfer speeds for large files of around 150mb/sec for a continuous transfer of a single large file (no fragmentation). However, the Reds are intended more specifically for NAS use, and while the justification for the extra cost is no immediately apparent when looking at the numbers, the big difference with the Red drives is that they are far more responsive (much lower average seek time)

25.12.2015

I would not recommend buying this product BEFORE you acquire a NAS.If you already have your unit, go and check what mounting system your bays use.Why you ask?Simple, and the WD forums will verify this, WD got permission from the consortium of Hard Drive Manufacturer to have bottom screws with shallower holes than what is "normal". This is a trade off because otherwise, the position of the holes have to change to accommodate for the fact there are a lot more plates/disks in these units. Needless to say, changing the position of the holes will prevent many NAS owner from installing the drives out right (see the official documentation from WD on their site).As a buyer for these drives,

2.9.2013

The Western Digital's Red range of SATA3 hard disks is designed specifically for use in home and small business NAS devices. With this purpose in mind, the WD's are built for durability, power efficiency and low noise levels of just 23dB(A). Western Digital's `Intellipower' system, which uses caching, promises faster throughput than you'd expect from a 5,400rpm disk.There is however a small downside, the poor slow file write speed means that these disks are less than ideal if, for instance, you want to habitually back up lots of documents to your NAS, But this has to be balanced by the Red's low power consumption, low noise levels and three year warranty make it well suited to its intended purpose - NAS storage.

25.10.2012

The Western Digital's Red range of SATA hard disks is designed specifically for use in home and small business NAS devices. With this purpose in mind, the WD's are built for durability, power efficiency and low noise levels of just 23dB(A). Western Digital's `Intellipower' system, which uses caching, promises faster throughput than you'd expect from a 5,400rpm disk.There is however a small downside, the poor slow file write speed means that these disks are less than ideal if, for instance, you want to habitually back up lots of documents to your NAS, But this has to be balanced by the Red's low power consumption, low noise levels and three year warranty make it well suited to its intended purpose - NAS storage.

11.8.2014

The Western Digital's Red range of SATA3 hard disks is designed specifically for use in home and small business NAS devices. With this purpose in mind, the WD's are built for durability, power efficiency and low noise levels of just 23dB(A). Western Digital's `Intellipower' system, which uses caching, promises faster throughput than you'd expect from a 5,400rpm disk.There is however a small downside, the poor slow file write speed means that these disks are less than ideal if, for example, you want to routinely back up lots of documents to your NAS, But this has to be balanced by the Red's low power consumption, low noise levels and three year warranty make it well suited to its intended purpose - NAS storage.

1.10.2013

I just came across this in my order list and noticed that today is it's 7 month birthday so I decided to load up the benchmarking program named HD tune. 255 and do a series of health checks, temps and speed tests on it.So, To start with I'd like to point out that it's a 1 terabyte drive, In my o.s folder it states it has 931 gb's available. Thats a loss but from what I've seen that's sort of the norm, I mean I have two other drives I purchased for this build a 250gb ssd that allows me 232 gb's and a 2 tb hdd that allows me 1.81 tb, so my guess is that's the norm???Anyway lets move on. The drive is housed in a three drive holder along with the other two drives I mentioned and they have a pair

22.6.2013

I was deeply perturbed by the recent bad reports of Amazon's frustration free packaging, and of the apparently high incidence of drive failures. Decided to risk it anyway, and all has gone well so far.I bought two drives from Amazon (not a reseller), and am pleased to say Amazon appears to be learning. The package was delivered in an Amazon box by Royal Mail Parcelforce, although it lacked the old "shrink-wrap" internal containment, and used scrunched up brown paper to secure the drives in the big box. The drives themselves were still in WD's boxes, with their plastic supports isolating them from damage. So perhaps Amazon has learned about jiffy bags not working.The drives themselves are simply the best I've ever had.Fast,

24.3.2014

I bought this drive to install into a HTPC. My HTPC can hold up to 6 3.5 inch drives to store movies, music and any other relevant media files so acts as a media server for the home network (as a NAS would).I understand that this drive is intended for use in a NAS which is operational 24/7 which is not the case in my system so I cannot comment on reliability over prolonged periods. At the same time, reliability for storing large files (movies) takes priority over speed for my intended purposes so this drive seemed the ideal choice.For those of you who are unsure between this and the 3TB Seagate Barracuda (slightly cheaper, quicker read/write speeds but shorter reported lifespan)

26.10.2012

Firstly when you register online with WD you get a 3 Year Limited Warranty and access to Acronis True Image WD Edition.You can also download WD's Data Lifeguard Diagnostic for Windows but I prefer HDD Guardian. It is much more advanced, has a number of burn-in tests you can run, and gives you icons in your status bar showing drive temperature and health.I copied a few Gb across from my WD Green to my WD Red and after 10mins all drivers were reading 26c. I couldn't hear the drives during this operation so they're pretty quiet.HD Tune's Benchmark shows the following:WD Red: AVERAGE 109 Mb/sec (MIN 63.2, MAX 143.1), ACCESS TIME 20.4msWD Green: AVERAGE 92 Mb/sec (MIN 51.5, MAX 123.0),

Western Digital Red SATA III - Reviews

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