WD Red 2tb use in external USB3 enclosure?

gizmo1990 · 24 Nov 2019 at 23:00

I've repurposed an old lenovo 93p tiny thinkcentre to run openmediavault and I'm looking for a hard drive as the main backup/storage device. The Lenovo only has one internal SATA connector which I'm just leaving as a 500gb 2.5 hd, since only 2.5inch drives fit inside the chassis.

I figure the most cost effective way to add a lot of storage is to go the 3.5 hd route inside a USB3 enclosure. I've been looking at prices and currently I've seen a pretty cheap (£50) new WD Red 2TB (64mb cache, so an old version) drive. Would this NAS drive be ok to use for this purpose? Ie not in RAID, just as an always attached USB3 drive?

I've read some reviews and someone mentions that NAS drives not used in RAID configuration can suffer a higher than usual chance of data loss. Due to NAS drives not moving bad blocks around, like a standard drive would, as they expect controllers to recover the data from other drives?

Does anyone know if this info is correct? Currently a 2tb wd blue is more expensive than the red! Any advice greatly appreciated.

Grimley · 25 Nov 2019 at 11:41

I've used a couple of WD 3TB red drives for about 5 years now, one for offline backup & one for my Encoding PC. Not had a problem with either (touch wood)

Skiddley · 25 Nov 2019 at 14:20

It's perfectly fine. I have old WD reds running in enclosures under heavy load for years.

Avalon · 25 Nov 2019 at 17:43

Wherever told you that NAS drives are less suited to external enclosures probably needs to tell WD.... they’ve been putting RED’s in externals for years. How fast is your internet connection? Have you considered cloud storage?

gizmo1990 · 26 Nov 2019 at 09:17

Thanks for the replies guys. I think I'll grab one then. @Avalon I hate subs, they're pricey (for me), I don't like the idea of them (everyone is trying to push that model now) and I'd rather keep things local. I will take advantage of one of the free services to upload the most recent/important data though.

Avalon · 26 Nov 2019 at 09:42

To dismiss unlimited storage for under £8/m because you don’t like the idea of it seems flawed when your initial purchase price and running costs in Y1 will be broadly similar but you only get 2TB and no backup, but if that’s how you feel then hope it works out

gizmo1990 · 26 Nov 2019 at 10:01

Yeah I do understand that. But that dis-counts the physical presence of the items (I can repurpose them in the future, sell them even), the other uses of the storage/streaming, not being reliant on an internet connection nor its speed, possible data issues with the cloud supplier etc etc.