NAS drives FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Which drives should I put in my NAS?
Use NAS-rated CMR drives sized to your model's bays: Seagate IronWolf, WD Red Plus or Toshiba N300 for most homes, or Seagate Exos for the lowest price per terabyte at high capacity. Pick your model on this site to see what fits.
What is the difference between CMR and SMR drives?
CMR writes tracks side by side; SMR overlaps them, which makes RAID rebuilds and sustained writes very slow and can drop a drive from the array. Always use CMR in a NAS RAID pool. Avoid the older WD Red EFAX (SMR) models.
How much RAM does a NAS need?
Stock memory is fine for file serving and backups. Add more for Plex, photo indexing, Docker containers and virtual machines. Add RAM before an NVMe cache for most home upgrades.
Do I need an M.2 NVMe cache?
Only on models with M.2 slots, and mainly when your active data set is larger than RAM but you still want fast access to it. For sequential media it makes little difference. Add RAM first.
How much usable storage will I get?
In SHR-1 or RAID 5 usable capacity is the total minus one drive; SHR-2 and RAID 6 lose two drives for two-failure protection. Then subtract about 9 percent for binary and filesystem overhead. Use our calculators for exact figures.
Can a NAS replace Google Photos or iCloud?
Yes. A NAS with a photo app backs up your phone automatically and groups by faces and subjects, on hardware you own with no monthly fee. The Synology BeeStation is the simplest; a 2-bay NAS adds redundancy and capacity.
Is the pricing on this site live?
Yes. Prices and stock sync from Amazon.co.uk several times a day and are ranked by price per terabyte. The last update time is shown on every page.
Independent UK comparison site for NAS appliances, NAS-rated drives, RAM and cache. Not affiliated with or endorsed by Synology, UGREEN, QNAP, Seagate, Western Digital or Toshiba. All trademarks belong to their owners.
Last updated: 2026-07-08 06:06:20 UTC. As an Amazon Associate we earn from qualifying purchases. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date indicated on Amazon.co.uk and are subject to change. Any price displayed at the time of purchase will apply. CERTAIN CONTENT THAT APPEARS ON THIS SITE COMES FROM AMAZON SERVICES LLC. THIS CONTENT IS PROVIDED AS IS AND IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE OR REMOVAL AT ANY TIME.