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 must
1. Split your order in to multiple batches - don't order one bulk load
2. Split your orders over several days - to avoid the risk that all parcels get put in the same lorry and subject to the same damage
3. Photograph the outside of the shipping box (e.g. smartphone camera) before opening it, ESPECIALLY if you see signs of transit damage
4. 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-box
5. 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 quality
2. Very quiet in operation, moderate but not excessive heat output when running hard
3. Excellent long-term data retention; my oldest Reds now 7 years old and going strong, ZERO faults
Against:-
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.
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From the manufacturer
What are the benefits of NASware 3.0?
- Gives you an unrivalled NAS experience
- Enhances compatibility
- Improves Reliability
- Optimizes HDD for 24x7 NAS environments
The Right Choice for Network Attached Storage
WD NAS hard drives are the essential solution for NAS applications. These drives are cool and quiet, and offer optimum compatibility in 24x7 NAS systems with up to eight bays.
- Network attached storage hard drives with up to 8TB capacities
- Designed for personal, home, and small business NAS systems up to 8-bays
- NASware 3.0 for optimal performance and compatibility
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Experienced in Network Attached StorageNo matter which NAS enclosure you decide to purchase, you can trust that WD Red hard drives will have the most comprehensive compatibility list on the market. |
24/7 reliabilitySince your NAS system is always on, a highly reliable drive is essential. With an MTBF (mean time before failure) of up to 1 million hours, the WD Red drive with NASware 3.0 is designed for the 24x7 environment. |
NAS for home or small businessWD Red hard drives enable customers to create their own reliable NAS systems whether it's in the office or at home. |
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|---|---|---|
| WD Red | WD Red Pro | |
| Application | Up to 8-bay NAS systems | Up to 16-bay NAS systems |
| RPM Class | 5400 | 7200 |
| Ideal for | Personal Home and Small Office NAS | Medium to Large Business NAS |
| Cache | 16 MB - 64 MB | 64 MB – 128 MB |
| Highest Available Capacity | 8 TB | 6 TB |
| Interface | SATA 6 Gb/s | SATA 6 Gb/s |
Compare with similar items
This item  WD Red 3TB 3.5 Inch NAS Internal Hard Drive - 5400 RPM - WD30EFRX |  | |  |  |  | |
| Price | -3% £120.00 Was: £123.15 | £342.83 | -12% £103.85 RRP: £117.99 | £135.98 | £450.68 | £149.99 |
| Delivery | Get it 2 – 7 Mar | Get it 22 – 29 Feb | Get it 8 – 9 Feb | Get it 2 – 7 Mar | Get it 22 – 29 Feb | Get it as soon as Thursday, Feb 8 |
| Customer Ratings | ||||||
| Easy to install | ||||||
| Noise Level | ||||||
| Storage Capacity | ||||||
| Durability | ||||||
| Value for money | ||||||
| Sold by | Top IT | Bixem | ILGS - I Love Going Shopping | Top IT | Bixem | JFulfilment (VAT Registered) |
| storage capacity | 3 TB | 8 TB | 3 TB | 4 TB | 12 TB | 4000 GB |
| hardware interface | sata 6 0 gb | sata 6 0 gb | sata 6 0 gb | sata 6 0 gb | sata 6 0 gb | sata 6 0 gb |
| compatible devices | Mac compatibility | Desktop | Desktop | Designed with CMR technology for medium or large-sized businesses in RAID-optimized NAS systems with up to 24 bays. Perfect for archiving, sharing and handling high-intensity workloads. | Desktop | Desktop |
| form factor | 3.5-inch | Ultrabook, Chromebook | 3.5-inch | 3.5-inch | 3.5-inch | 2.5/3.5" |
| write speed | 3TB WD WD30EFAX Red NAS 5400RPM 64MB | — | 175 | — | — | 0,00 |
| read speed | 147 megabytes per second | 540 megabytes per second | 175 megabytes per second | 217 megabytes per second | — | — |
Reviews with images
Fantastic NAS Drive - Beware Shoddy Packaging
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.
Top reviews from United Kingdom
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Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 March 2016
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 must
1. Split your order in to multiple batches - don't order one bulk load
2. Split your orders over several days - to avoid the risk that all parcels get put in the same lorry and subject to the same damage
3. Photograph the outside of the shipping box (e.g. smartphone camera) before opening it, ESPECIALLY if you see signs of transit damage
4. 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-box
5. 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 quality
2. Very quiet in operation, moderate but not excessive heat output when running hard
3. Excellent long-term data retention; my oldest Reds now 7 years old and going strong, ZERO faults
Against:-
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.
Style Name: HDD 3.5 InchColour: RedCapacity: 6 TBVerified Purchase
Fantastic NAS Drive - Beware Shoddy Packaging
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 March 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.Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 March 2016
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 must
1. Split your order in to multiple batches - don't order one bulk load
2. Split your orders over several days - to avoid the risk that all parcels get put in the same lorry and subject to the same damage
3. Photograph the outside of the shipping box (e.g. smartphone camera) before opening it, ESPECIALLY if you see signs of transit damage
4. 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-box
5. 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 quality
2. Very quiet in operation, moderate but not excessive heat output when running hard
3. Excellent long-term data retention; my oldest Reds now 7 years old and going strong, ZERO faults
Against:-
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.
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 March 2016
The 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).
Style Name: HDD 3.5 InchColour: RedCapacity: 4 TBVerified Purchase
24x7 quiet, fast and reliable performance for desktops and 1-8 bay NAS
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 March 2016
Price purchased £127.07Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 March 2016
The 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).
Images in this review
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 June 2013
Style Name: HDD 3.5 InchColour: RedCapacity: 3 TBVerified Purchase
Top reviews from other countries
Amazon Customer
Dependable
Reviewed in Canada on 10 February 2023Style Name: HDD 3.5 InchColour: RedCapacity: 6 TBVerified Purchase
Kalel Bittar Rosas
Modelo recebido não é o anunciado.
Reviewed in Brazil on 15 February 2022Style Name: HDD 3.5 InchColour: RedCapacity: 6 TBVerified Purchase
Amazon Customer
Works great in a Synology NAS
Reviewed in Canada on 7 March 2023Style Name: HDD 3.5 InchColour: RedCapacity: 1 TBVerified Purchase
Nick Julian
Great for just pure storage
Reviewed in Canada on 10 December 2021Style Name: HDD 3.5 InchColour: RedCapacity: 8 TBVerified Purchase
ROSS BRIMBECOM
Great little drive.
Reviewed in Canada on 22 August 2021Style Name: HDD 2.5 InchColour: RedCapacity: 1 TBVerified Purchase
