WD Red Pro vs WD Gold

Should you use WD Gold or WD Red Pro Drives in your NAS?

When choosing the right NAS server, one of the most important decisions you will make is the kind of hard drive media that you want to install. Different NAS server devices from Synology to QNAP will have different CPU and Memory options, however, the hard disks that you choose to install inside will have a massive impact on both the performance speeds of your NAS, as well as your long-term stability and support. More and more users are turning towards enterprise-class and more ruggedly designed NAS drives in order to ensure their data is both fast and stable and of all the companies out there supplying drives, Western Digital (WD) are one of the best in providing high-quality drives. Despite enterprise drives such as WD Gold and WD Red Pro being designed with much larger RAID arrays in mind, even 2-Bay NAS buyers are starting to install these high-end drives in their devices, thanks to a myriad of hardware and support advantages.

Why Choose WD Gold and WD Red Pro over regular Hard Drives in your NAS?

Back when hard drives were first being produced, petty much all hard disks were identical in design. The technology was not hugely developed and the priority over all things was capacity. However, later on, this gave way to a more balanced opinion of leveraging capacity versus stability and that was when we started seeing more tailored drives being produced such as the WD Green that was designed for low energy situations or the WD Black that was designed for much more rugged, heavy use. It stands to reason that when you have data being created in almost all industries and environments around the world, that different hard drives for different needs would have to be produced, i.e. there are many, many kinds of spoons – but you wouldn’t use a ladle to stir your tea!

This rule is made especially important with NAS servers. NAS devices can be in operation for weeks and/or months at a time, have very sporadic read and write actions and generally involve RAID (redundant array of independent disks) which means a higher degree of stability whilst multiple disks are accessed at the same time is essential. Regular NAS hard drives such as WD Red and Seagate Ironwolf as excellent for this, but even they have a few shortfalls if you are a business user, intend to access your data much more regularly or want a much more comprehensive solution. Below are the difference between NAS hard drives and WD Red Pro and WD Gold.

	WD Red Pro & WD Gold	WD Red	Difference
Ideal number of NAS Bays	Up to 16 bay NAS	1-8 bay NAS	Upto 8 HDD, WD Red will be Stable
Capacity available	2TB – 12TB	1GB – 10TB	Smaller Capacities are available in WD Red
Price	Around £33-35 per Terabyte	Around £25-28 per Terabyte	WD Red is lower in price
Cache	Up to 128 MB	16 MB and 64 MB	More Cache in PRO, combined with higher RPM means much higher Read and Write
RPM	7200RPM Fixed	5400-7200RPM	PRO is faster, while WD Red is a fixed point that is lower
Acoustics (dBA)Idle Seek (average)	2936	2528	PRO Class drives are noisier
Warranty	5-year	3-year	Longer coverage for replacement and/or repair with a PRO class drive

Advantages of WD Red Pro and WD Gold

• Longer Warranty
• Higher Read and Write speeds (around 200MB/s, whilst regular WD Red is around 90-100MB/s)
• Better for larger RAID arrays of 8 or more drives

Advantages of WD Red

• Quieter whilst in use
• Lower Price per Terabyte
• Smaller Capacities are available

WD Red Pro versus WD Gold – Which is Best?

As the chart above shows, Pro class drives such as the WD Red Pro and the WD Gold have most of their advantages in stability, long-term coverage and speed. This isn’t a huge surprise and with capacities getting bigger (WD Gold and WD Red Pro in 12TB) the option of a small yet powerful 2-Bay NAS and two PRO class drives is very appealing (for small business), as the price will only be around £10 extra per terabyte of hard drive. But should you buy WD Gold (designed for data centers) or WD Red Pro (designed for NAS)

The simple truth is that these two drives are just too similar for their construction and quality to separate them. What little difference (the MTBF seems better on the WD Gold, the max operational time is the tiniest bit higher on the WD Red Pro as they use less power) can be overlooked as the test environment and intended usage situation of both is different. At a pinch I would recommend the WD Gold, as they are identical in price and the support and warranty service overall will be quicker for an RMA on a WD Gold drive, as these are considered enterprise – sadly even WD would have to admit they a business user will always prioritize over a home user. But apart from that, your choice can always come down to traditional factors such as price and capacity. It is certainly worth highlighting that the newest and biggest capacities always arrive in the WD Gold range first.

This description contains links to Amazon. These links will take you to some of the products mentioned in today's content. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Visit the NASCompares Deal Finder to find the best place to buy this device in your region, based on Service, Support and Reputation - Just Search for your NAS Drive in the Box Below

 

SEARCH IN THE BOX BELOW FOR NAS DEALS

Need Advice on Data Storage from an Expert?

We want to keep the free advice on NASCompares FREE for as long as we can. Since this service started back in Jan '18, We have helped hundreds of users every month solve their storage woes, but we can only continue to do this with your support. So please do choose to buy at Amazon US and Amazon UK on the articles when buying to provide advert revenue support or to donate/support the site below. Finally, for free advice about your setup, just leave a message in the comments below here at NASCompares.com and we will get back to you. Need Help? Where possible (and where appropriate) please provide as much information about your requirements, as then I can arrange the best answer and solution to your needs. Do not worry about your e-mail address being required, it will NOT be used in a mailing list and will NOT be used in any way other than to respond to your enquiry. Terms and Conditions Alternatively, why not ask me on the ASK NASCompares forum, by clicking the button below. This is a community hub that serves as a place that I can answer your question, chew the fat, share new release information and even get corrections posted. I will always get around to answering ALL queries, but as a one-man operation, I cannot promise speed! So by sharing your query in the ASK NASCompares section below, you can get a better range of solutions and suggestions, alongside my own.   This description contains links to Amazon. These links will take you to some of the products mentioned in today’s video. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases