NAS drive okay for at rest storage in a computer? Even if not used in RAID? Recommendations?

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wangstra

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I'm interested in expanding my storage and looking out for ~4TB options. I currently still using a Seagate (Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS) and a Hitatchi (HDP725050GLA360) drive from circa 2006 without any failures (did I just get lucky?). As far as I can tell these were regular consumer facing drives but I'd like to replicate the durability for the next 10 years if possible.

Main drive will be SSD. Specifically though, if I get a NAS drive for mostly music, video, backup images and that won't necessarily be in raid / NAS box, am I risking anything? If there is a great sale, I could get a second one for RAID 1 but is that sensible if I'm doing it off the motherboard?

Additionally, has the tech improved that I'm not going to regret getting 5400/5900rpm vs the 7200 I have now?

My research so far:

WD Red 4TB NAS CMR 5400 RPM - https://www.newegg.ca/red-wd40efrx-4tb/p/N82E16822236599 - $169

Seagate BarraCuda 4TB CMR 5900 RPM https://www.amazon.ca/Seagate-BarraCuda-3-5-Inch-Internal-ST4000DM005/dp/B01LNJBA50 - $150 (non - NAS brand)

Seagate IronWolf 4TB CMR 5900 RPM https://www.canadacomputers.com/product_info.php?cPath=15_1086_210&item_id=100441&language=en - $139

HITACHI Ultrastar A7K4000 4TB 7200RPM https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B008RTDN6E?psc=1 $126 (OEM though :S)

Toshiba X300 4 TB CMR 7200RPM https://www.newegg.ca/toshiba-x300-hdwe140xzsta-4tb/p/N82E16822149627?Item=N82E16822149627 - $159


Right now, the RED is the priciest. The IronWolf looks like a deal if its reliable... Toshiba looks good, is the performance for storage worth premium over the Ironwolf? There's also WD Blue that I haven't listed here. Any more suggestions/thoughts?
 
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If this is mainly for archival storage, and not a boot/games drive, then 5400rpm would probobly be preferable over 7200, due to lower power usage and the lower RPMs should reduce wear on the moving parts. As far as using a NAS/RAID drive in a desktop, its totally fine. Some drives have certain features that are tailored to their usecase (TLER for example) but are otherwise perfectly servicable for general usage, minus the old WD greens that would park the head in the middle of a data transfer..........

If you care about longevity and durability, stick to WD, I have 36gb raptors (not even velicoraptors) that still run beautifully in RAID0, and they are well over a decade old, plus dozens of other flawless WD drives. Stick to reds or greens for data disks, whatever you find for cheaper (I got a good deal on 6tb reds), I think they have a purple and gold lineup now too, one of those are for surveillance systems, which usually operate 24/7, so I imagine that drive was designed with long term durability in mind.
 
I always check the latest backblaze drive survey before purchasing new drives for RAID since they have data from hundreds or thousands of drives in a data center instead of anecdotal evidence of drives.
 
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