Is it worth buying a NAS-specific hard drive, or is it worth a normal one?

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There are many NAS-specific hard drives that presume that they will provide us with better performance on these types of devices, as well as greater life expectancy. But is it really worth paying the extra cost of a hard drive for NAS over a normal one? Let's check it out.

NAS-specific hard drives have various technologies that, according to the manufacturers, make them suitable for these types of devices, being their main power to be designed for constant 24 x 7 operation, something for which the devices are not designed. Normal hard drives (although, of course, we can also have them running 24x7).
Why hard drives for NAS are better

These types of hard drives have different technologies that optimize their operation in these types of devices. We have already mentioned the most important feature, which is none other than being designed for 24x7 operation (which is normal for NAS, leaving them on permanently as home servers), but they also have other features that make them ideal for these systems .

For example, compatibility. The vast majority of NAS on the market are compatible with any hard drive on the market while its interface is SATA 3, but it is true that the vast majority of them are optimized in their firmware to be compatible with NAS-specific hard drives, taking advantage of its full potential.

On the other hand, while normal hard drives are optimized for generic use, NAS drives are optimized for use on these devices, and generally they will deliver better performance on network tasks such as file transfer, downloads ( including Torrents, which split large files into many small files to facilitate downloading by blocks). In addition, they incorporate a larger cache that will help correct errors in case of loss of power, so that we do not lose data. Finally, it is worth highlighting its best functionality in RAID hard disk systems.
So, is it worth buying a specific disc?

Yes and no. In this case the hard drives for NAS are really optimized and it is not a mere marketing strategy to change the aesthetics and sell them more expensive. Yes, they have different faculties that will improve performance, overall performance, and durability when used in NAS. Of course, after all, the price premium is quite noticeable, but you know the saying that whoever wants something, something costs him.

However, normal hard drives can also work on a NAS, and we shouldn't have problems. Of course, with 24x7 operation with a hard drive that has not been designed for it, they will be more likely to break down before. Let's take an example with a capture on a Synology DS414j NAS with a 2TB Seagate Barracuda Green hard drive, which has been running 24 x 7 for more than 38,000 hours (this is almost 4 and a half years) and has not given any problem.

So here you have a clear example: two hard drives commonly used in a NAS, one that fails at three years and another that takes four and a half without problems. It must be said that this could have happened to us with NAS-specific hard drives, but the other two disks that have this example NAS installed are WD Red 4 TB and have, like the first, almost 4 and a half years running smoothly .

The bottom line is that if you can pay the premium that NAS-specific hard drives cost, we recommend that you do so. The performance and its durability (even if it is theoretical, because then it is a lottery) will be greater, as will your peace of mind. But if you can not afford it, do not get bad blood either by investing in normal hard drives, although it is true that you should keep in mind that they will be more likely to fail.