Which 3 TB drives for DS212

[akakor]

Hi,

I just bought a DS212, but can't decide which drives to buy.

Currently, I'm using a FreeNAS pc with 3 old drives, totalling 1,1 TB. I want more storage space and less noise and energy usage, hence the DS212. My plan is to use 2 identical 3 TB disks in RAID 1. Reliability is most important for me, all drives are fast enough anyway.

I've been reading lots of information on fora about the Seagate Barracuda ST3000DM001 and WD Caviar Green WD30EZRX, both 3 TB disks (would it make sense to go with its slightly smaller cousin, the 2.5 TB WD25EZRX or WD25EZRS?).
Lots of problems reported with both models, lots of DOA, etc.
Seagate released another new firmware last week, maybe that solves problems? Is the WD with its LCC problems reliable in a Synology NAS because of the built-in idle utility?

Please advice what to buy, since both drives look equally good AND bad. The price difference is negligible where I live (about 10 EUR).

Thanks!

[akakor]

I just bought 2x WD AV-GP WD30EURS, no need (for me) to reply here with suggestions.

Someone in another forum recommended these to me, since these drives are meant for 24/7 use and are only slightly more expensive.

[myCloud]

All I can tell you is the five ST3000DM001 are working fine for us -- and I haven't done any firmware updates on them (if it ain't broke, don't fix it).

[Styopa]

Was just looking into this myself . .I am debating buying the 212+

And also thinking of getting a couple of the WD Caviar Green (3TB SATA III 64 MB) - WD30EZRX.

I see that the 212+ is SATA II compatible. Does this mean that it wont take SATA III drives - is that true? Does it only require a firmware (DSM) upgrade?

Also wait to here if these HDDs are actually as good as "they" all seem to claim

Thanks!

[maxxfi]

I see that the 212+ is SATA II compatible. Does this mean that it wont take SATA III drives - is that true? Does it only require a firmware (DSM) upgrade?

If 212+ is SATA II compatible, it means that you can try to use SATA III drive, but they will run at SATA II speed. And no, firmware upgrade cannot bring improvements in that area, it's a limitation dictated by the hardware.

[lukext]

I have the WD30EZRX in my DS212J and its been fine.

Regarding LLC (load cycle issues) mine has roughly 1 load count per power-on hour. After some research, it appears that synology have implemented a fix in the software of the nas box to prevent WD HDDs load cycling. This "fix" has worked without me doing anything, so I'm happy! So LLCs on WD HDDs in Synology NAS drives is a non-issue.

Regarding SATA II or III capability, a SATA III compatible HDD will work fine in a SATA II compatible NAS. Mechanical HDDs do not seen much if any performance benefit using SATA III over II.

[OgeGOon]

Wierd that someone said that WD30EURS is done for 24/7...

I read here that it's really really not recommended : http://www.techarp.com/showarticle.aspx ... 33&pgno=12

A very good comparison of 3TB drives is available here: http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/4tb ... 183-6.html

I was personally hesitating between the WD WD30EZRX and the seagate ST3000DM001. But I think that I will go for a seagate, based on the conclusions of Tom's hardware:

If you don't need 24/7 availability, you might want to consider Seagate's Barracuda as an alternative. It runs cooler and delivers more performance. It isn't designed to run all day and night, just like this Western Digital disk.

I am just worry as it seems to me that WD is usually better quality than seagate (based on various feedback I got from other users...)

O.

[rodef]

I've used the 3TB drives (in my signature) in my DS212 for a few months (24x7), and they work fine.