Building a NAS RAID Array

The WD Red Plus is the top pick for most NAS RAID builds: it guarantees CMR recording technology across the entire lineup, carries a workload rating suited to always-on home and small-office use, and avoids the compatibility pitfalls that have made SMR drives a recurring headache in RAID arrays. Buyers running larger bays under heavier multi-user loads should step up to the Seagate IronWolf Pro or WD Red Pro for the higher workload ceiling and extended warranty coverage. The Seagate EXOS X20 earns its place only when raw capacity and sustained throughput are the primary concern and enterprise pricing is on the table.

Updated September 2026

The Samsung 870 EVO is the top pick for most 2.5-inch SATA RAID deployments: near-SATA-ceiling throughput, TLC NAND endurance that holds up under typical array workloads, a five-year warranty, and per-drive pricing that makes multi-drive builds realistic. Buyers running sustained mixed or write-heavy workloads in a business context will get meaningfully more protection from the Micron 5300 PRO or Intel S4510, both purpose-built for the power-on hours and parity write cycles that RAID 5 and RAID 10 arrays accumulate. The decision between these drives has almost nothing to do with sequential speed — all five approach the SATA interface ceiling — and almost everything to do with endurance class, power-loss protection, and how much the workload and the data can tolerate a consumer-grade reliability model.

Updated September 2026