[OrbitalGolem]

Hello everyone - I'm likely upgrading a Series 3 to a 1 TB drive and was wondering if anyone has been using the Seagate IronWolf series? This model and the WD Red are both marketed as NAS-focused drives and they're within dollars of each other on Newegg.

Are the WD Red drives still the go-to drive?

 

[Teeps]

Either brand should be fine, just don't get a 7200rpm drive.

 

[LarryAtHome]

The WD purple drives are usually a few dollars cheaper and made for video. They appear to be identical to the RED drives, just run different firmware optimized for video streams.

 

[ThAbtO]

Are the WD Red drives still the go-to drive?

Yes. Series 3 can handle a max of 2TB.

 

[Luke M]

FYI, new model <=6TB WDs with 256MB cache use SMR. Avoid.

 

[ThAbtO]

FYI, new model <=6TB WDs with 256MB cache use SMR. Avoid.

I believe that only applies to Bolts and the 2.5" drives.

 

[Luke M]

I believe that only applies to Bolts and the 2.5" drives.

I'm talking about 3.5" drives.

I mean, maybe these SMR drives are okay for Tivos, but it's uncharted waters. Why risk it?

 

[OrbitalGolem]

FYI, new model <=6TB WDs with 256MB cache use SMR. Avoid.

Many thanks for the heads-up. This is the one I'm considering with 64MB cache:

https://www.amazon.com/Red-1TB-NAS-...50KZ5VP1X94J&refRID=RVXMJ7QB50KZ5VP1X94J&th=1

I've read that WD has issued firmware updates addressing aggressive IntelliPark settings. Do I need to worry about this with the most recent drives?

 

[ThAbtO]

Do I need to worry about this with the most recent drives?

Doubt it. WD Red does not have Intellipark (AFAIK). The WD Green has it active, but last updates on Series 3 (v11.0h) negated it.

Why stop at 1TB? Series 3 has a max 2TB, Premiere and above have a known limit of 8TB. Bolts on v21.7+ have issues with drives larger than 1TB(?). 3TB Bolts are currently not sold any more.

 

[reneg]

I went with one of these this summer https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B007X15MNO . I cloned the working one in my Tivo HD onto it and now have the old one safely stored away as a backup.