WD Red Plus 6TB vs 12TB vs Ironwolf Pro 16TB - NOISE and Performance comparison!

[ab997]

Hi all,

I just installed an Ironwolf Pro 16TB drive to my DS920+ to see if it's quiet enough for home use... and I think it's NOT!

So, just to be objective, I did run benchmark on 3 different drives in the system, and here are the results of performance vs. noise dB at a 5ft distance away on my desk! I mistakenly thought the new noise stat for Ironwolf pro being 20/29 dB is legit, but it is NOT! It's significantly louder, and while performance is higher than Red Plus, it doesn't matter in my system specially with 1gbs connection!

I will be returning it, as much as I wanted to switch to Ironwolf...

WD Red Plus 6TB (5400 RPM)

WD Red Plus 12TB (7200 RPM)

Seagate Ironwolf Pro 16TB (7200 RPM)

 

[Jan Janowski]

Just nosy…. Have you tried the Velcro Trick on dive sleds or feet? That worked here.

 

[Coop777]

Foam bumpers also help.

 

[ab997]

Just nosy…. Have you tried the Velcro Trick on dive sleds or feet? That worked here.

No, but they're all in the same chassis so even if those things help, Ironwolf would still be much noisier. To be fair, IDLE is totally fine, but on seek, specially if there's a large transfer file, it's quite louder than WD Red Plus.

Essentially on these NAS that higher performance wouldn't matter, in a home office, WD Red Plus seems to be the perfect drive IMO. Ample performance, almost as quiet as 5400rpm drives and decent reliability and warranty (3 vs 5).

 

[oRBIT]

My experience is that WD Red Plus are pretty quiet, I've tried a few models aswell but always went back to WD.

 

[Jan Janowski]

Eons ago I went from Red to Ironwolf, and noticed a noise level change (upward). Then I saw video on "Velcro Trick".
I duplicated it with 2x 3/4" Velcro Dots per sled, and Yes! -- It helps! Then on my own added Velcro Fuzzy dots to NAS Feet, and that reduced noise level further!
There seems to be 2 different things going on: Drive noise, and the vibration of NAS in total with the enclosure it is in: acting somewhat like a speaker in an enclosure... The wall sides of enclosure it is in amplify the vibration of NAS.... Velcro Fuzzy's on feet of NAS, Moving NAS from absolute center of shelf, and addition of other things on shelf dampen this effect...

That's what worked here... 2 of 3 NAS's have Ironwolf's.... 3rd had Barracuda's, Velcro helped there, too! Now SSD's, left Velcro where it was...... Obviously 3rd NAS is totally quiet...

 

[ab997]

Eons ago I went from Red to Ironwolf, and noticed a noise level change (upward). Then I saw video on "Velcro Trick".
I duplicated it with 2x 3/4" Velcro Dots per sled, and Yes! -- It helps! Then on my own added Velcro Fuzzy dots to NAS Feet, and that reduced noise level further!
There seems to be 2 different things going on: Drive noise, and the vibration of NAS in total with the enclosure it is in: acting somewhat like a speaker in an enclosure... The wall sides of enclosure it is in amplify the vibration of NAS.... Velcro Fuzzy's on feet of NAS, Moving NAS from absolute center of shelf, and addition of other things on shelf dampen this effect...

That's what worked here... 2 of 3 NAS's have Ironwolf's.... 3rd had Barracuda's, Velcro helped there, too! Now SSD's, left Velcro where it was...... Obviously 3rd NAS is totally quiet...

Do you have the link to that video?!

I am gonna return the Ironwolf anyway, I am sure velcro will help, however, it should help with the WD Red Plus too, which has a much lower starting noise.

This solidifies it for me, WD Red Plus is clearly the best NAS HDD for home use, specially if your NAS is in your office/desk, etc... What's interesting is how Red Plus 7200rpm is different than Red Pro 7200rpm?! Why is it quieter while having the same speed?! Kinda makes me curious. As you can see from the benchmarks, the 6TB drives are clearly slower but they're 5400rpm!

Ironwolf is great value, for the price it offers great performance but my NAS doesn't really benefit from higher performance and the noise is a larger factor in my case.

 

[ab997]

Foam bumpers also help.

Where do u put those?

 

[Birdy]

My DS918+ similar to DS920+

On both sides of the fastening panels of the drive tray

 

[Jan Janowski]

Velcro Trick Video was years ago.. Search on YouTube.. I don't believe Velcro location is critical.. I put mine (Velcro dots) on metalwork bottom and it made contact with drive tray as tray slid in... Don't forget the NAS Feet... That helped too..
Quieted Ironwolf's and also the Barracuda's that were removed from Retired Video Server at a TV Network... (Those had custom controller & Firmware in them, and were louder than one's you'd buy locally)

 

[Coop777]

The bottom line is that the Ironwolfs spin at 7200 RPM, which makes them louder. A good thing is that newer NAS models seem to help quiet them down, in addition to the velcro/foam bumpers.

 

[Pauljw]

No, but they're all in the same chassis so even if those things help, Ironwolf would still be much noisier. To be fair, IDLE is totally fine, but on seek, specially if there's a large transfer file, it's quite louder than WD Red Plus.

Essentially on these NAS that higher performance wouldn't matter, in a home office, WD Red Plus seems to be the perfect drive IMO. Ample performance, almost as quiet as 5400rpm drives and decent reliability and warranty (3 vs 5).

These 'on seek' and 'large file xfers', are they occurring naturally or are you inducing this behavior to create maximum noise levels? I have 4 8TB WD Red Plus drives in my 920+ and for giggles I just started running 3 simultaneous 1080p movies on 3 kodi systems and my drive lights barely flickered. No noise at all. Just curious what use case is making your drives work so hard in a home environment.

 

[ab997]

These 'on seek' and 'large file xfers', are they occurring naturally or are you inducing this behavior to create maximum noise levels? I have 4 8TB WD Red Plus drives in my 920+ and for giggles I just started running 3 simultaneous 1080p movies on 3 kodi systems and my drive lights barely flickered. No noise at all. Just curious what use case is making your drives work so hard in a home environment.

To be fair, they don't make that much noise even running a few movies, however, there's a distinct intermittent GRRRR coming from the Ironwolf drive, which is quite annoying, AND the noise during benchmarking (as posted) is significantly higher, and during file transfers.

I am quite sensitive to noise though, I think Ironwolf Pro would be ok for most, but for me Red Plus is a great compromise hence switching it out.

 

[ab997]

The bottom line is that the Ironwolfs spin at 7200 RPM, which makes them louder. A good thing is that newer NAS models seem to help quiet them down, in addition to the velcro/foam bumpers.

Yes, but Red Plus 12TB is ALSO 7200rpm. but much quieter. I don't know why, but I bet firmware has been optimized for noise, and not performance, as performance numbers on Ironwolf is better.

 

[jeyare]

in this thread 3 different technologies are compared, different number of heads and platters, and different performance class HDDs. The parameter "rpm" is rather confusing in such a comparison.

I would not take the internal Synology performance tests seriously. I would rather choose the "case" scenario test.

But as I read, the OP uses the HDDs for such low-demanding operations as reading movies, where SATA 1 drives are enough (even IDE). There really are low-speed HDDs enough. If you want silence and heavy TBs, get Helium filled there.

It is necessary to realize that the primary task of NAS is not to be silent. The primary task of NAS is reliability and durability. This is often forgotten.

 

[ab997]

in this thread 3 different technologies are compared, different number of heads and platters, and different performance class HDDs. The parameter "rpm" is rather confusing in such a comparison.

I would not take the internal Synology performance tests seriously. I would rather choose the "case" scenario test.

But as I read, the OP uses the HDDs for such low-demanding operations as reading movies, where SATA 1 drives are enough (even IDE). There really are low-speed HDDs enough. If you want silence and heavy TBs, get Helium filled there.

It is necessary to realize that the primary task of NAS is not to be silent. The primary task of NAS is reliability and durability. This is often forgotten.

The 12TB versions are all Helium filled but as you stated Ironwolf Pro is more tailored for performance (like red pro) while red plus is for noise and heat.

Hence my conclusion is for home use if placed in an office where noise matters, Red Plus maybe the best option. If I had the NAS in basement or somewhere else I’d stick to Ironwolf Pro.

 

[jeyare]

The 12TB versions are all Helium filled

any evidence for the WD120EFBX mentioned in this thread?

but as you stated Ironwolf Pro is more tailored for performance (like red pro) while red plus is for noise and heat.

interesting conclusion, especially the ending of thought.

However, I respect your motives - your house, your rules.

 

[ab997]

any evidence for the WD120EFBX mentioned in this thread?


interesting conclusion, especially the ending of thought.

However, I respect your motives - your house, your rules.

Not sure what you mean, Red Plus 12TB and 14TB are Helium, anything smaller is Air filled. You can tell by noise specs for each.

What my test showed was that while noise specs on Ironwolf Pro actually shows lower noise than Red Plus, in reality that's not the case.

Last, none of this matters for a NAS that's not sitting next to your desk. I am actually kinda pissed that I had to return it since I got a great deal on the 16TB. It's a great drive otherwise!

 

[Jan Janowski]

The Velcro Trick sure works successfully on my 3x Synology NAS's here.... and 1 (Different MFG) at a Neighbor's house!!! Any Drive update in Future will be based solely on Drive Quality and Longevity, and No consideration for noise.... Yeah, Velcro Trick is That Successful!
Yeah, I'm Partial to Seagate, but that's from my Work Background... I'm certain that most all Manufacturer's Mean to do Well for their clients....
I've had failures on Seagate and WD and other brands.... Fewer now than years ago.... But I still test each drive separately, update firmware if necessary, prior to installing in any system - to weed out Infant Mortality, Before Install.... (Another hold-over from Work that I follow, along with insisting all drives in a Raid have same MFG, Model, & firmware in them.).. Takes a bit more time before install, but saves time in the future, as: You KNOW the new Drive(s) are GOOD & Identical: Before Installation, and I truly believe it makes the Raid last Longer!!

 

[Coop777]

Yes, but Red Plus 12TB is ALSO 7200rpm. but much quieter. I don't know why, but I bet firmware has been optimized for noise, and not performance, as performance numbers on Ironwolf is better.

The WD Reds have been more failure prone, so keep that in mind.