• Welcome to TechPowerUp Forums, Guest! Please check out our forum guidelines for info related to our community.

Why are NAS drives more expensive than desktop drives?

Status
Not open for further replies.

Easy Rhino

Linux Advocate
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2006
Messages
15,435 (2.44/day)
Location
Mid-Atlantic
System Name Desktop
Processor i5 13600KF
Motherboard AsRock B760M Steel Legend Wifi
Cooling Noctua NH-U9S
Memory 4x 16 Gb Gskill S5 DDR5 @6000
Video Card(s) Gigabyte Gaming OC 6750 XT 12GB
Storage WD_BLACK 4TB SN850x
Display(s) Gigabye M32U
Case Corsair Carbide 400C
Audio Device(s) On Board
Power Supply EVGA Supernova 650 P2
Mouse MX Master 3s
Keyboard Logitech G915 Wireless Clicky
Software The Matrix
I was doing some research on new HDD for a NAS replacement. I noticed that an 8 TB "NAS" drive was $50 more expensive than its "compute" counterpart. Sure, the NAS branded drive is 7200 RPM versus the compute's 5400 but that seriously will not make a difference in typical home media workloads. These drives are not enterprise. Am I missing something?
 
Joined
May 28, 2020
Messages
752 (0.54/day)
System Name Main PC
Processor AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
Motherboard ASUS X570 Crosshair VIII Hero (Wi-Fi)
Cooling EKWB X570 VIII Hero Monoblock, 2x XD5, Heatkiller IV SB block for chipset,Alphacool 3090 Strix block
Memory 4x16GB 3200-14-14-14-34 G.Skill Trident RGB (OC: 3600-14-14-14-28)
Video Card(s) ASUS RTX 3090 Strix OC
Storage 500GB+500GB SSD RAID0, Fusion IoDrive2 1.2TB, Huawei HSSD 2TB, 11TB on server used for steam
Display(s) Dell LG CX48 (custom res: 3840x1620@120Hz) + Acer XB271HU 2560x1440@144Hz
Case Corsair 1000D
Audio Device(s) Sennheiser HD599, Blue Yeti
Power Supply Corsair RM1000i
Mouse Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard Corsair Strafe RGB MK2
Software Windows 10 Pro 20H2
Probably better QA and therefore more expensive to produce.

That or it's just marketing. Probably the latter.

I typically just shuck drives for my NAS, but with the advent of SMR drives in the <8TB sector, I'd recommend that only if you're going above 8TB.
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2007
Messages
8,182 (1.36/day)
Processor Intel i9 9900K @5GHz w/ Corsair H150i Pro CPU AiO w/Corsair HD120 RBG fan
Motherboard Asus Z390 Maximus XI Code
Cooling 6x120mm Corsair HD120 RBG fans
Memory Corsair Vengeance RBG 2x8GB 3600MHz
Video Card(s) Asus RTX 3080Ti STRIX OC
Storage Samsung 970 EVO Plus 500GB , 970 EVO 1TB, Samsung 850 EVO 1TB SSD, 10TB Synology DS1621+ RAID5
Display(s) Corsair Xeneon 32" 32UHD144 4K
Case Corsair 570x RBG Tempered Glass
Audio Device(s) Onboard / Corsair Virtuoso XT Wireless RGB
Power Supply Corsair HX850w Platinum Series
Mouse Logitech G604s
Keyboard Corsair K70 Rapidfire
Software Windows 11 x64 Professional
Benchmark Scores Firestrike - 23520 Heaven - 3670
NAS hard drives are rated for 24/7 use where as typical hdd's are not. they have tech to make them last longer to be more reliable.
 
Joined
Dec 16, 2017
Messages
2,718 (1.19/day)
Location
Buenos Aires, Argentina
System Name System V
Processor AMD Ryzen 5 3600
Motherboard Asus Prime X570-P
Cooling Cooler Master Hyper 212 // a bunch of 120 mm Xigmatek 1500 RPM fans (2 ins, 3 outs)
Memory 2x8GB Ballistix Sport LT 3200 MHz (BLS8G4D32AESCK.M8FE) (CL16-18-18-36)
Video Card(s) Gigabyte AORUS Radeon RX 580 8 GB
Storage SHFS37A240G / DT01ACA200 / WD20EZRX / MKNSSDTR256GB-3DL / LG BH16NS40 / ST10000VN0008
Display(s) LG 22MP55 IPS Display
Case NZXT Source 210
Audio Device(s) Logitech G430 Headset
Power Supply Corsair CX650M
Mouse Microsoft Trackball Optical 1.0
Keyboard HP Vectra VE keyboard (Part # D4950-63004)
Software Whatever build of Windows 11 is being served in Dev channel at the time.
Benchmark Scores Corona 1.3: 3120620 r/s Cinebench R20: 3355 FireStrike: 12490 TimeSpy: 4624
NAS hard drives are rated for 24/7 use where as typical hdd's are not. they have tech to make them last longer to be more reliable.
On that, I think Seagate includes vibration sensors in their IronWolf HDDs, which are NAS products, while the Barracuda line doesn't have those.
 
Joined
Jun 30, 2019
Messages
56 (0.03/day)
The real reason? They can charge more money for them. That is how capitalism works.
 
Joined
Jul 25, 2006
Messages
11,955 (1.85/day)
Location
Nebraska, USA
System Name Brightworks Systems BWS-6 E-IV
Processor Intel Core i5-6600 @ 3.9GHz
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 Rev 1.0
Cooling Quality case, 2 x Fractal Design 140mm fans, stock CPU HSF
Memory 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4 3000 Corsair Vengeance
Video Card(s) EVGA GEForce GTX 1050Ti 4Gb GDDR5
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB SSD, Samsung 860 Evo 500GB SSD
Display(s) Samsung S24E650BW LED x 2
Case Fractal Design Define R4
Power Supply EVGA Supernova 550W G2 Gold
Mouse Logitech M190
Keyboard Microsoft Wireless Comfort 5050
Software W10 Pro 64-bit
I think it would be helpful, and more applicable if the question was not so general and instead was about two specific drives. At this point, we don't even know if the NAS drive you were researching is even made by the same manufacturer as the "compute counterpart".

Do the drives have the exact same seek times, data transfer rates, error correction? What about the type and size buffers? Are the warranties the same?

And yes, rotation speed does matter. 7200RPM drives tend to run hotter - if nothing else. NAS drives are often mounted in small enclosures that may have limited cooling compared to desktop drives that are mounted in cavernous (in comparison) cases.
The real reason? They can charge more money for them. That is how capitalism works.
Ummm, no. Let's leave politics out of this. The facts are, when NAS drives first hit the market, they did tend to cost more. But not today. With everything else being equal, the costs are typically nearly equal, with the NAS drives often costing less! Note NAS Hard Drives Vs Regular Hard Drives – Comparison where it says,
What Costs More? Normal Hard Drives or NAS Hard Drives?
An interesting myth about NAS hard drives and Ordinary Hard drives is about the price. Namely that NAS hard drives are a con to make us spend more money. Well, good news. That is NONSENSE! The price difference between NAS and ordinary Hard drives is less than 1-2% in most cases and (rather surprisingly) not always in the favour of NAS drives.

The myth that NAS drives are more expensive is based on the reaction at the time of release when the development of NAS hard drives was still comparatively experimental.
 

rtwjunkie

PC Gaming Enthusiast
Supporter
Joined
Jul 25, 2008
Messages
13,909 (2.43/day)
Location
Louisiana -Laissez les bons temps rouler!
System Name Bayou Phantom
Processor Core i7-8700k 4.4Ghz @ 1.18v
Motherboard ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 6
Cooling All air: 2x140mm Fractal exhaust; 3x 140mm Cougar Intake; Enermax T40F Black CPU cooler
Memory 2x 16GB Mushkin Redline DDR-4 3200
Video Card(s) EVGA RTX 2080 Ti Xc
Storage 1x 500 MX500 SSD; 2x 6TB WD Black; 1x 4TB WD Black; 1x400GB VelRptr; 1x 4TB WD Blue storage (eSATA)
Display(s) HP 27q 27" IPS @ 2560 x 1440
Case Fractal Design Define R4 Black w/Titanium front -windowed
Audio Device(s) Soundblaster Z
Power Supply Seasonic X-850
Mouse Coolermaster Sentinel III (large palm grip!)
Keyboard Logitech G610 Orion mechanical (Cherry Brown switches)
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (Start10 & Fences 3.0 installed)
I was doing some research on new HDD for a NAS replacement. I noticed that an 8 TB "NAS" drive was $50 more expensive than its "compute" counterpart. Sure, the NAS branded drive is 7200 RPM versus the compute's 5400 but that seriously will not make a difference in typical home media workloads. These drives are not enterprise. Am I missing something?
Many NAS drives are also 5400 RPM also.

Normally the NAS drives have more vibration protection built into them, to reduce wear and tear in large volume cases. They may also have some higher operating temperature limits. I’ve got a couple of the oldest in my media server that have been running 24/7 for 8 years now.
 

newtekie1

Semi-Retired Folder
Joined
Nov 22, 2005
Messages
28,472 (4.25/day)
Location
Indiana, USA
Processor Intel Core i7 10850K@5.2GHz
Motherboard AsRock Z470 Taichi
Cooling Corsair H115i Pro w/ Noctua NF-A14 Fans
Memory 32GB DDR4-3600
Video Card(s) RTX 2070 Super
Storage 500GB SX8200 Pro + 8TB with 1TB SSD Cache
Display(s) Acer Nitro VG280K 4K 28"
Case Fractal Design Define S
Audio Device(s) Onboard is good enough for me
Power Supply eVGA SuperNOVA 1000w G3
Software Windows 10 Pro x64
Many NAS drives are also 5400 RPM also.

Normally the NAS drives have more vibration protection built into them, to reduce wear and tear in large volume cases. They may also have some higher operating temperature limits. I’ve got a couple of the oldest in my media server that have been running 24/7 for 8 years now.

They also support TLER. Which makes them far more compatible and reliable when used in RAID arrays.

The other thing is the Compute drives from Seagate can be SMR(256MB Cache on a 7200RPM drive is a good indicator of a SMR drive). Which for most probably won't be an issue, but if you copy large amounts of data to the drive, forget it. Once the CMR cache runs out, you're looking at write speeds down as low as 10MB/s. It can be painful.
 
Joined
Mar 18, 2015
Messages
2,960 (0.90/day)
Location
Long Island
Many reasons ...

1. Performance costs ... 7200 rpm has better performance
2. Warranty Costs - In many cases two HDs may be physically identical... warranty costs are essentially an insurance policy... the price premium ays for those RMAs diring the later years of the longer warranty.
3. Economies of scale - NAS drives are produced in lower quantities, the soft costs associated with production and inventory management are fixes ... when divided by 1 million units versus 5 million units, the large quantity has lower unit costs.
4. Yes, economics ... why do they charge more ? ... because they can. There are costs differences as stated above .... but the cost premium associated with that difference is not the only thing reflected in final costs. When you buy a sports package say on a new car that includes sportier rims and tires .... is the cost of that package = to the difference in costs between the two sets od rims / tired ? No never. Some times its even more than if you went out and bought them yourself.... and that way you have a spare set of wheels and tires. So yes, the reason the cost more is simply because people have shown a willingness to pay more, ... essentially the fundamental basis of capitalism. That's not a knock on the economic system, it's the cornerstone of our economy, 'what the market will bear".
5. And for an NAS think more about the usage than the enclosure. Few would suggest NAS drives for two drives installed in a desktop dedicated to network storage in a SOHO (Small Office / HOme) environment. Now if I pick up an NAS to serve this function do I suddenly need to buy NAS drives ? Of course not, the usage has not changed. If your network access is 24/7 with high I/O among users qwell into double digits doing simultaneous access, then I'd inverst in NAS drives.
 
Joined
Jul 9, 2016
Messages
1,067 (0.38/day)
System Name Main System
Processor i9-10940x
Motherboard MSI X299 Xpower Gaming AC
Cooling Noctua NH-D15S + Second Fan
Memory G.Skill 64GB @3200MHz XMP
Video Card(s) ASUS Strix RTX 3090 24GB
Storage 2TB Samsung 970 EVO Plus; 2TB Corsair Force MP600; 2TB Samsung PM981a
Display(s) Dell U4320Q; LG 43MU79-B
Case Corsair A540
Audio Device(s) Creative Lab SoundBlaster ZX-R
Power Supply EVGA G2 1300
Mouse Logitech MK550
Keyboard Corsair K95 Platinum XT Brown Switches
Software Windows 10 Pro
Benchmark Scores Cinebench R20 - 6910; FireStrike Ultra - 13241; TimeSpy Extreme - 10067; Port Royal - 13855
They also support TLER. Which makes them far more compatible and reliable when used in RAID arrays.

Just a quick note that TLER is a Western Digital terminology. Seagate has its own and it is ERC. Just in case you look for a NAS drive spec and don't see TLER. However, NAS makers such as Synology or QNAP don't use this thing in the consumer NAS enclosures.
 
Joined
Apr 24, 2020
Messages
2,520 (1.77/day)
And yes, rotation speed does matter. 7200RPM drives tend to run hotter - if nothing else. NAS drives are often mounted in small enclosures that may have limited cooling compared to desktop drives that are mounted in cavernous (in comparison) cases.

Note this Reddit Discussion

The direct way to measure rotational speed is via the acoustic frequency profile. If you have a disk spinning at 7200RPM (7200/minute = 120/second = 120Hz) then resulting vibrations will be at this base frequency or integer multiples (overtones) of it (120Hz, 240Hz, 360Hz, ...). For 5400RPM this would be multiples of 90Hz instead (180Hz, 270Hz, 360Hz, ...)

TL;DR: Dude held up acoustic frequency profiler, found that WD's "5400 RPM" drives made a noise similar to 7200 RPM, and therefore are most likely spinning at 7200 RPM. This includes some Reds (aka: WD's "NAS" line of drives). So be careful.

Imgur gallery for proof:
 

rtwjunkie

PC Gaming Enthusiast
Supporter
Joined
Jul 25, 2008
Messages
13,909 (2.43/day)
Location
Louisiana -Laissez les bons temps rouler!
System Name Bayou Phantom
Processor Core i7-8700k 4.4Ghz @ 1.18v
Motherboard ASRock Z390 Phantom Gaming 6
Cooling All air: 2x140mm Fractal exhaust; 3x 140mm Cougar Intake; Enermax T40F Black CPU cooler
Memory 2x 16GB Mushkin Redline DDR-4 3200
Video Card(s) EVGA RTX 2080 Ti Xc
Storage 1x 500 MX500 SSD; 2x 6TB WD Black; 1x 4TB WD Black; 1x400GB VelRptr; 1x 4TB WD Blue storage (eSATA)
Display(s) HP 27q 27" IPS @ 2560 x 1440
Case Fractal Design Define R4 Black w/Titanium front -windowed
Audio Device(s) Soundblaster Z
Power Supply Seasonic X-850
Mouse Coolermaster Sentinel III (large palm grip!)
Keyboard Logitech G610 Orion mechanical (Cherry Brown switches)
Software Windows 10 Pro 64-bit (Start10 & Fences 3.0 installed)
"5400 RPM" drives made a noise similar to 7200 RPM, and therefore are most likely spinning at 7200 RPM. This includes some Reds (aka: WD's "NAS" line of drives). So be careful.
Technically their Red NAS drives are variable speed, so it can be true sometimes.
 
Joined
May 28, 2020
Messages
752 (0.54/day)
System Name Main PC
Processor AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
Motherboard ASUS X570 Crosshair VIII Hero (Wi-Fi)
Cooling EKWB X570 VIII Hero Monoblock, 2x XD5, Heatkiller IV SB block for chipset,Alphacool 3090 Strix block
Memory 4x16GB 3200-14-14-14-34 G.Skill Trident RGB (OC: 3600-14-14-14-28)
Video Card(s) ASUS RTX 3090 Strix OC
Storage 500GB+500GB SSD RAID0, Fusion IoDrive2 1.2TB, Huawei HSSD 2TB, 11TB on server used for steam
Display(s) Dell LG CX48 (custom res: 3840x1620@120Hz) + Acer XB271HU 2560x1440@144Hz
Case Corsair 1000D
Audio Device(s) Sennheiser HD599, Blue Yeti
Power Supply Corsair RM1000i
Mouse Logitech G502 Lightspeed
Keyboard Corsair Strafe RGB MK2
Software Windows 10 Pro 20H2
Technically their Red NAS drives are variable speed, so it can be true sometimes.
The problem lies more within the fact that they advertise "5400RPM-class", make them spin at 7200RPM, increasing heat, while the throughput is still that of a 5400RPM drive. So all of the negatives of slower drives without the positives.
 

phill

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Jun 8, 2011
Messages
15,820 (3.39/day)
Location
Somerset, UK
System Name Not so complete or overkill - There are others!! Just no room to put! :D
Processor Ryzen Threadripper 3970X
Motherboard Asus Zenith 2 Extreme Alpha
Cooling Lots!! Dual GTX 560 rads with D5 pumps for each rad. One rad for each component
Memory Viper Steel 4 x 16GB DDR4 3600MHz not sure on the timings... Probably still at 2667!! :(
Video Card(s) Asus Strix 3090 with front and rear active full cover water blocks
Storage I'm bound to forget something here - 250GB OS, 2 x 1TB NVME, 2 x 1TB SSD, 4TB SSD, 2 x 8TB HD etc...
Display(s) 3 x Dell 27" S2721DGFA @ 7680 x 1440P @ 144Hz or 165Hz - working on it!!
Case The big Thermaltake that looks like a Case Mods
Audio Device(s) Onboard
Power Supply EVGA 1600W T2
Mouse Corsair thingy
Keyboard Razer something or other....
VR HMD No headset yet
Software Windows 11 OS... Not a fan!!
Benchmark Scores I've actually never benched it!! Too busy with WCG and FAH and not gaming! :( :( Not OC'd it!! :(
I was doing some research on new HDD for a NAS replacement. I noticed that an 8 TB "NAS" drive was $50 more expensive than its "compute" counterpart. Sure, the NAS branded drive is 7200 RPM versus the compute's 5400 but that seriously will not make a difference in typical home media workloads. These drives are not enterprise. Am I missing something?
I'm in the same boat, what I can say is that I'm not going for a NAS drive and I'm going to go with a Enterprise drive instead. The warranties are better, they are rated for a higher workload that I'll never hit and they'll probably be faster.. I'm going to see what happens and go from there :)

Please let me know what you go for yourself as I'd be interested in the route you take :)

I'm looking at the Seagate Exos models :) I'm not quite sure yet what size, but 8TB are a minimum since I'd already got 4TB Reds in my Synology system...
 

Easy Rhino

Linux Advocate
Staff member
Joined
Nov 13, 2006
Messages
15,435 (2.44/day)
Location
Mid-Atlantic
System Name Desktop
Processor i5 13600KF
Motherboard AsRock B760M Steel Legend Wifi
Cooling Noctua NH-U9S
Memory 4x 16 Gb Gskill S5 DDR5 @6000
Video Card(s) Gigabyte Gaming OC 6750 XT 12GB
Storage WD_BLACK 4TB SN850x
Display(s) Gigabye M32U
Case Corsair Carbide 400C
Audio Device(s) On Board
Power Supply EVGA Supernova 650 P2
Mouse MX Master 3s
Keyboard Logitech G915 Wireless Clicky
Software The Matrix
I'm looking at the Seagate Exos models :) I'm not quite sure yet what size, but 8TB are a minimum since I'd already got 4TB Reds in my Synology system...

I also have a pair of 4 TB drives that need to be replaced. They are about 6 years old and nearly full. I want to replace with 8 TB drives.
 

Solaris17

Super Dainty Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Aug 16, 2005
Messages
25,743 (3.79/day)
Location
Alabama
System Name Rocinante
Processor I9 13900ks
Motherboard EVGA z690 Dark KINGPIN
Cooling EK-AIO Elite 360 D-RGB
Memory 64GB Gskill Trident Z5 DDR5 6000 @6400
Video Card(s) MSI SUPRIM Liquid X 4090
Storage 1x 500GB 980 Pro | 1x 1TB 980 Pro | 1x 8TB Corsair MP400
Display(s) Odyssey OLED G9 G95SC
Case Lian Li o11 Evo Dynamic White
Audio Device(s) Moondrop S8's on Schiit Hel 2e
Power Supply Bequiet! Power Pro 12 1500w
Mouse Lamzu Atlantis (White)
Keyboard Monsgeek M3 Lavender, Akko Crystal Blues
VR HMD Quest 3
Software Windows 11
Benchmark Scores I dont have time for that.
FWIW, I run 4x 8TB SG exos drives in my QNAP and I push a lot of data through it. works really well.
 
Joined
Jul 25, 2006
Messages
11,955 (1.85/day)
Location
Nebraska, USA
System Name Brightworks Systems BWS-6 E-IV
Processor Intel Core i5-6600 @ 3.9GHz
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 Rev 1.0
Cooling Quality case, 2 x Fractal Design 140mm fans, stock CPU HSF
Memory 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4 3000 Corsair Vengeance
Video Card(s) EVGA GEForce GTX 1050Ti 4Gb GDDR5
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB SSD, Samsung 860 Evo 500GB SSD
Display(s) Samsung S24E650BW LED x 2
Case Fractal Design Define R4
Power Supply EVGA Supernova 550W G2 Gold
Mouse Logitech M190
Keyboard Microsoft Wireless Comfort 5050
Software W10 Pro 64-bit
Technically their Red NAS drives are variable speed, so it can be true sometimes.
Right. And that's a good thing.

It seems some folks are complaining because these drives offering better performance than their marketing specs. :confused: :kookoo: These drive never stop spinning unless powered off completely. That's a good thing. Instead, they slow down when idle and ramp up with being accessed. Again, a good thing.

Is the Intel Core i7-9700K criticized because it is not marketed as a 4.9GHz processor - even though it has that speed for its turbo mode? No.

Do these drives fail to meet published specs? NO!
The problem lies more within the fact that they advertise "5400RPM-class", make them spin at 7200RPM, increasing heat, while the throughput is still that of a 5400RPM drive. So all of the negatives of slower drives without the positives.
What? NO!!! That is the wrong conclusion! And where does it say the throughput is the same as 5400RPM? Answer: NOWHERE!

What I am reading is these drives spin at 7200RPM but consume the power and generate the heat of 5400RPM. How is that bad?
 
Joined
Apr 24, 2020
Messages
2,520 (1.77/day)
Technically their Red NAS drives are variable speed, so it can be true sometimes.

I don't believe so. If the NAS were variable speed, we'd see both the 90 Hz (90 rotations/second, or 5400 RPM) and 120 Hz (120 rotations/second, or 7200 RPM) noise levels.

1601479101813.png


1601479117547.png


But look at the noise levels: the drive spins up to a constant 120 Hz (7200 RPM) and stays there. There's no other noise, indicating that the read/write mechanisms are inactive before the 120 Hz mark.


----------

This isn't "variable speed" behavior. This is "accelerate to 120 Hz" behavior, with no indication at all that 5400 RPM is even supported.

What I am reading is these drives spin at 7200RPM but consume the power and generate the heat of 5400RPM. How is that bad?

Spinning faster uses more electricity, its that simple. These drives are spinning at 7200 RPM, and therefore generating the power and heat of a 7200 RPM drive.

There are certainly lower-power 5400 RPM drives out there, but it isn't a WD Element 8TB (WD80EMAZ-00WJTA0), despite the marketing. WD is really screwing their technical specifications recently, we can't trust them on SMR or 5400 RPM indicators.

EDIT: Here's some proof (from: https://arstechnica.com/gadgets/2020/09/western-digital-is-trying-to-redefine-the-word-rpm/)

1601479533466.png


The Seagate 5400 RPM has 5.3W of power (operating) and 3.4W of idle power.

The WD Red uses 8.8W of power and 5.3W at idle: drawing 60% more power than a "true" 5400 RPM drive.
 
Last edited:

silentbogo

Moderator
Staff member
Joined
Nov 20, 2013
Messages
5,470 (1.45/day)
Location
Kyiv, Ukraine
System Name WS#1337
Processor Ryzen 7 3800X
Motherboard ASUS X570-PLUS TUF Gaming
Cooling Xigmatek Scylla 240mm AIO
Memory 4x8GB Samsung DDR4 ECC UDIMM
Video Card(s) Inno3D RTX 3070 Ti iChill
Storage ADATA Legend 2TB + ADATA SX8200 Pro 1TB
Display(s) Samsung U24E590D (4K/UHD)
Case ghetto CM Cosmos RC-1000
Audio Device(s) ALC1220
Power Supply SeaSonic SSR-550FX (80+ GOLD)
Mouse Logitech G603
Keyboard Modecom Volcano Blade (Kailh choc LP)
VR HMD Google dreamview headset(aka fancy cardboard)
Software Windows 11, Ubuntu 20.04 LTS
I was doing some research on new HDD for a NAS replacement. I noticed that an 8 TB "NAS" drive was $50 more expensive than its "compute" counterpart.
That's because after recent controversy all NAS-marketed drives are CMR. Before that the difference was negligible for the same spec (before SMR they were pretty much identical, just balancing out perf vs reliability for different versions).

The other thing is the Compute drives from Seagate can be SMR(256MB Cache on a 7200RPM drive is a good indicator of a SMR drive). Which for most probably won't be an issue, but if you copy large amounts of data to the drive, forget it. Once the CMR cache runs out, you're looking at write speeds down as low as 10MB/s. It can be painful.
That's if you get lucky. Had a pair of 4TB Compute drives (unfortunately bought just a month before news hit the media), and after less than 1 year of use in RAID-1(md) one drive became super-loud, to the point where it was louder than my shitty washing machine. The second one works as a standalone drive now, but the speed drop is noticeable, especially when transfering 100+GB of worklogs or backups over LAN. Sync times also became slower for each consecutive run, even if disks were unchanged between runs.

Spinning faster uses more electricity, its that simple. These drives are spinning at 7200 RPM, and therefore generating the power and heat of a 7200 RPM drive.
It's not about power usage. Faster RPM means more wear on mechanical parts and higher chance of long-term consequences.
 
Joined
Jul 25, 2006
Messages
11,955 (1.85/day)
Location
Nebraska, USA
System Name Brightworks Systems BWS-6 E-IV
Processor Intel Core i5-6600 @ 3.9GHz
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 Rev 1.0
Cooling Quality case, 2 x Fractal Design 140mm fans, stock CPU HSF
Memory 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4 3000 Corsair Vengeance
Video Card(s) EVGA GEForce GTX 1050Ti 4Gb GDDR5
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB SSD, Samsung 860 Evo 500GB SSD
Display(s) Samsung S24E650BW LED x 2
Case Fractal Design Define R4
Power Supply EVGA Supernova 550W G2 Gold
Mouse Logitech M190
Keyboard Microsoft Wireless Comfort 5050
Software W10 Pro 64-bit
Spinning faster uses more electricity, its that simple.
No! That is a blanket statement and like all blanket statements, it is wrong (and yes, I see and understand the irony of my own blanket statement).
EDIT: Here's some proof
And that's not proof of anything!

You are assuming all 8TB drives, regardless of brand, are 100% mechanically and electronically identical (other than rotation speed, in your example). That is wrong!​
You are assuming all drive motors have the same electrical efficiency. Wrong!​
You are assuming all drive motors have the same friction coefficient. Wrong!​
You are assuming all drives have the same number of platters. Wrong!​
You are assuming all drives have the same cooling efficiency. Wrong!​
You are assuming all the motor's and drive's moving parts (platters, spindles, armatures, etc.) have the same total weight and mass. Wrong! Wrong! Wrong!​

If you have two 100% identical drives, then yes, it takes more power to spin the platters up to, and to maintain the faster speeds. And thus, more heat due to friction and electrical efficiencies will occur too. But it sure is NOT "that simple" when it comes to "all" drives - especially when the drives are NOT 100% identical.

The fact that Seagate drive and that WD drive have significantly different standby/sleep specs (.25w vs .8w) clearly indicates those two drives are far from 100% identical.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Rei
Joined
Apr 24, 2020
Messages
2,520 (1.77/day)
And that's not proof of anything!

90 Hz tone indicates a 5400 RPM drive.

1601485150380.png


The Seagate is actually 5400 RPM, as advertised. Not only does this lower the Hz tone from 120 (aka 7200) to 90 (aka 5400), this also comes with improved heat and noise characteristics.

The WD Reds are 7200 RPM. Which is fine, I'm actually a fan of 7200 RPM, but what I'm against is WD mislabeling their hard drives on a consistent basis.
 
Joined
Jul 25, 2006
Messages
11,955 (1.85/day)
Location
Nebraska, USA
System Name Brightworks Systems BWS-6 E-IV
Processor Intel Core i5-6600 @ 3.9GHz
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 Rev 1.0
Cooling Quality case, 2 x Fractal Design 140mm fans, stock CPU HSF
Memory 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4 3000 Corsair Vengeance
Video Card(s) EVGA GEForce GTX 1050Ti 4Gb GDDR5
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB SSD, Samsung 860 Evo 500GB SSD
Display(s) Samsung S24E650BW LED x 2
Case Fractal Design Define R4
Power Supply EVGA Supernova 550W G2 Gold
Mouse Logitech M190
Keyboard Microsoft Wireless Comfort 5050
Software W10 Pro 64-bit
If you think it is misleading, don't buy them.
 
Joined
Apr 24, 2020
Messages
2,520 (1.77/day)
If you think it is misleading, don't buy them.

I don't buy WD anymore, because of this. Toshiba is my goto hard drive manufacturer right now.

I presume other posters around here would be interested in the information. So I'm just making sure others know of the misleading marketing that WD is operating under. Be careful, WD says "5400 class" but doesn't really mean "5400 RPM". They're not technically lying, but its highly misleading.

Otherwise, you'll be surprised by the +50% power and heat that comes from your WD "5400 class" drive (which actually eats up power and heat like a 7200 drive)
 
Joined
Jul 25, 2006
Messages
11,955 (1.85/day)
Location
Nebraska, USA
System Name Brightworks Systems BWS-6 E-IV
Processor Intel Core i5-6600 @ 3.9GHz
Motherboard Gigabyte GA-Z170-HD3 Rev 1.0
Cooling Quality case, 2 x Fractal Design 140mm fans, stock CPU HSF
Memory 32GB (4 x 8GB) DDR4 3000 Corsair Vengeance
Video Card(s) EVGA GEForce GTX 1050Ti 4Gb GDDR5
Storage Samsung 850 Pro 256GB SSD, Samsung 860 Evo 500GB SSD
Display(s) Samsung S24E650BW LED x 2
Case Fractal Design Define R4
Power Supply EVGA Supernova 550W G2 Gold
Mouse Logitech M190
Keyboard Microsoft Wireless Comfort 5050
Software W10 Pro 64-bit
your WD "5400 class" drive

which actually eats up power and heat like a 7200 drive
But you are making assumptions again. Yes, if you compare that specific Seagate and the WD you hand picked earlier, your claim is true. But you cannot, and must not assume that applies to all drives.

And they are not my WD drives. In the last 5 years, I've gone with Samsung SSDs exclusively in all our builds - even in my NAS.

And just for the record, do a search on me and "marketing weenies" on this site and you will see I have had a long war against the marketing tactics (and many executive decisions) of many companies. That does not mean the products they sell, or the designers, programmers or hardware technicians who make them, are spewing the "hype" or are being deceptive, or are making lousy products.

IMO, it is important to separate the marketing hype from the product and judge each independently. We must not let our biases and disdain for the company (or their policies) influence our opinions about the products they sell.

I mean, are you in the market for a new truck? If you listen to the hype, Ford, Chevy, GMC, RAM, Toyota and Nissan all make the #1 truck - depending on which criteria to decide ranks highest.

Want the #1 browser? Flip a coin - they all are #1 in some category or another.
 
Joined
Apr 24, 2020
Messages
2,520 (1.77/day)
And they are not my WD drives.

I can only assume that the generic you is not used very much in your dialect of English? American English and the way we talk is different from state-to-state. But in the part of the country I come from, what I was doing there is called a generic you. I'm not suggesting that you own WD drives, I'm suggesting that a "generic you" would be unhappy to be surprised by a 7200 RPM drive, after the "generic you" bought a 5400 RPM drive.

Actually, its usually called an "indefinite you" around here, but I guess Wikipedia calls it "generic you".

But you are making assumptions again. Yes, if you compare that specific Seagate and the WD you hand picked earlier, your claim is true. But you cannot, and must not assume that applies to all drives.

I do not have the time to look for audio-tests for 120Hz or 90Hz signals every time a new hard drive comes out.

WD's marketing is unclear. See it for yourself: https://documents.westerndigital.co...uct-brief-western-digital-wd-red-plus-hdd.pdf


1601492047424.png


The WD80EFAX is well known to be a 7200 RPM drive through acoustic tests. WD has mislabeled their drives and refuses to update their documentation. This is still happening today (9/30/2020), I just double-checked their spec-sheets.

If I can't trust WD's spec sheets, then what should I trust? As I stated before: I actually prefer 7200 RPM drives, but more importantly, I demand accurate documentation. WD has shown that they are no longer accurately documenting their drives.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top