There are probably more opinions than HDDs out there but when it comes to quality and reliability the Backblaze data can be summarised as 'all drives are about the same' with outliers with higher than normal failure rates being specific to a particular model, perhaps even a particular batch, of a particular size, of any given manufacturer.
But to produce HDD data such as that provided by Backblaze you have to be the size of Backblaze. An individual, small office or small lab just does not use enough drives for statistics to mean anything. It will be down to luck as to what problems you may or (probably) may not get.
Noise is subjective and can vary and encompass vibration levels, chassis design, location etc etc. The highest vibrating drive I have tested was a Red Pro. The lowest vibrating drive I have tested was also a Red Pro - but even at work we only purchased around 100 drives a year with low-vibration and better shock resistance being more of a priority - although that tended to equate to quieter drives. On batch testing the WD Gold were better for noise, vibration and shock resistance than other brands but in truth a single outlier in an array can ruin the overall experience.
So with specialist test equipment, validation and installation testing available to me what do I pick for NAS use:
Any.
Seriously.
Oh and for all those who think that the recent explosion of HDD colours/themes/dedicated applications is actually underpinned by different manufacturing processes beyond enterprise vs consumer drives - err, ok.
Through work I could get drives at a healthy discount but nothing that came close to reality because (intake of breath) - I shuck drives. It's been decades since an HDD died on me during the warranty period and with a little care and a dry run when on USB will give me a good indication of noise and vibration before shucking and returning a retail drive is quick an easy.
As for sound - consider a small SSD-only volume for more 'active' use and spinners on a second volume for bulk storage. Improves speed, lowers power usage and much less noise and vibration than any equivalent all-HDD array.
Anyway, my 2 pence on the subject that can be safely ignored or embraced with statistically insignificant outcomes for the reader.
