Question NAS drives in a Normal PC ?

[Dylan Beckett]

Hello

I’ve read and been told many times that you should never put any kind of NAS drive in a normal PC… but is this really true?

The reason given is that they are special drives that are meant to be powered up and actively running/reading/writing all the time and somehow using in a normal PC where that simply doesn’t happen – is supposed to ruin them?

I’m interested in maybe using them in several ways:

• As regular Internal storage
• As external storage and or Backup (either in an Enclosure/Dock via USB 3/2 or in some kind of Dummy Enclosure/Dock setup with a PCIE/SATA cable coming out of PC Case directly from the MOBO for full speed (See my recent thread on this)).

So is this perfectly fine or a terrible idea? Pros, Cons, suggestions, links/vids?


Thanks for your help

 

[USAFRet]

A NAS drive such as a Seagate Ironwolf, or WD Red, in a regular PC?
No issue.
Except maybe a slightly lighter wallet, because generally they are a bit more expensive.

What, specifically, have you read that says "never do this"?

 

[Ralston18]

Will defer a specific answer to the storage experts.

However, the following links may provide some pre-requisite background information regarding the subject in question.

https://blog.synology.com/xmas-wishlist-why-choose-nas-drives-over-desktop-drives-for-your-nas

https://www.howtogeek.com/345131/how-to-select-hard-drives-for-your-home-nas/

 

[kanewolf]

Hello

I’ve read and been told many times that you should never put any kind of NAS drive in a normal PC… but is this really true?

The reason given is that they are special drives that are meant to be powered up and actively running/reading/writing all the time and somehow using in a normal PC where that simply doesn’t happen – is supposed to ruin them?

I’m interested in maybe using them in several ways:

• As regular Internal storage
• As external storage and or Backup (either in an Enclosure/Dock via USB 3/2 or in some kind of Dummy Enclosure/Dock setup with a PCIE/SATA cable coming out of PC Case directly from the MOBO for full speed (See my recent thread on this)).

So is this perfectly fine or a terrible idea? Pros, Cons, suggestions, links/vids?


Thanks for your help

Using a WD Red drive in a PC is fine. They don't "know" any difference between a PC and NAS. A WD Red will be slower than a Black because a Red is a 5400 RPM drive. The Red Pro are 7200 RPM drives like the Black. There are a couple factors in negative recommendations, IMO. One is cost. Usually NAS rated drives are more expensive for the same capabilities. Second reason is that SSD has become so cheap, and 2TB SSDs handle 99% of all desktop requirements.

 

[alceryes]

Hello

I’ve read and been told many times that you should never put any kind of NAS drive in a normal PC… but is this really true?

The reason given is that they are special drives that are meant to be powered up and actively running/reading/writing all the time and somehow using in a normal PC where that simply doesn’t happen – is supposed to ruin them?

I’m interested in maybe using them in several ways:

• As regular Internal storage
• As external storage and or Backup (either in an Enclosure/Dock via USB 3/2 or in some kind of Dummy Enclosure/Dock setup with a PCIE/SATA cable coming out of PC Case directly from the MOBO for full speed (See my recent thread on this)).

So is this perfectly fine or a terrible idea? Pros, Cons, suggestions, links/vids?


Thanks for your help

Totally untrue.

You can usually find performance desktop HDDs that perform better for the same cost.
Cost may be one reason why it's not recommended, performance (for the same $$) may be another, but ruining them...? Total hogwash.

 

[hotaru.hino]

A hard drive is a hard drive to a computer and a computer is a computer to a hard drive. As long as they talk over the same interface, neither one cares about what the other is. You could use a WD Purple drive which is supposedly meant as a DVR for surveillance cameras in a PC and it'll work just fine. And heck, we have old computers talking to memory devices that weren't invented in the same decade thanks to interface converters.

 

[Pextaxmx]

I read about how NAS drive firmware is programmed to ignore data integrity errors and fix the errors later using the RAID pair data. If used in a PC without RAID, you may experience data corruption.

 

[OrlyP]

It is generally fine to use NAS drives in a regular PC. Even NVR drives (Skyhawk, WD Purple, etc.) will work equally well.

One caveat though, if you need decent and/or sustained write performance, stay away from Shingled Magnetic Recording (SMR) drives. Certain models of WD Red are SMR and TBH, they're fine for relatively light write duty. What you typically want is a Conventional Magnetic Recording (CMR) drive, if you can have one in your price range.

 

[alceryes]

I read about how NAS drive firmware is programmed to ignore data integrity errors and fix the errors later using the RAID pair data. If used in a PC without RAID, you may experience data corruption.

Interesting. Source?
The drive firmware and the RAID functionality are two completely different firmwares. I'd be surprised if drive firmware itself played roulette like this. What if the NAS doesn't have correction on? What if the NAS has a different catastrophic failure before this 'ignored error' got fixed?
I could understand it if this was something that could be turned on but is off by default...maybe.