Picking HDDs and Compatibility Advice

[animBacker857]

Hello again. Been loving this forum and am learning a lot.

I'm nearing my first NAS purchase, a Synology 1821+, and am checking Amazon for drives to get it with (have good experience with them and am unsure of other UK retailers like Scan and Box).

The plan was to perhaps get 2 8TB drives to start with, for media storage, and grow from there. I heard good things about IronWolf Pro and WD Red Pro drives, and even that picking Enterprise drives can provide similar spec while cheaper, albiet noiser.

Going through the 1821+ Compatibility List and cross-checking listings' model numbers, I narrowed down some drives like this Seagate Exos drive or WD Red Pro.
But reading Amazon reviews, it seems the majority of compatible 8TB drives are currently sold from third-party sellers, that may actually send OEM drives instead of retail ones, meaning the warranty is reduced or voided.

In comparison, when generically searching "IronWolf Pro" and "WD Red Pro" drives, the first results are being sold directly from Amazon, but are not on the 1821+ compatibility list.

So it's confusing on what's a good path to take. If it's safe to buy trusted brand drives, even if their specific model numbers aren't on the compatibility list? If the OEM thing isn't a big deal or there are ways to avoid it? Or if it's a game of waiting for Amazon to get more drives themselves, or start checking other sources.

I've only cross-checked 8TB Pro/Plus/Enterprise drives so far, so might check others for now to see if the patterns same.

 

[Telos]

Many here disregard the compatibility list (for numerous reasons), and only give attention to the incompatibility list.

 

[ed.j]

I won't comment on the compatibility, but regarding Box, they are very good. I bought my DS920+ from them (including drives) and just bought two Ironwolf Pro drives from them. I've also bought a bunch of PC components from them in the past. Highly recommended and they are often cheaper than Amazon. And if something goes wrong you can talk to an actual human being!

 

[Coop777]

read reviews, make sure to purchase Enterprise/NAS rated boxed retail drives - not refurb or used if you plan on implementing RAID/SHR. I would recommend the WD (formerly HGST) Ulstrastar. I've been running on the HGST Deskstar drives for 11 years and they have been rock solid, WD acquired HGST in 2018, this product line, to my knowledge remains the same.