ASK NC

Hi there and thanks for the videos and help. I'm going to be picking up a Lockerstor2 Gen 2 for automated PC backup for 1 PC as well as using the NAS as an occasional Plex server for our family of 2.

Being that this NAS will be pretty low usage, I was wondering if I could put in WD black M.2 SSDs vs using WD Red.

I'm thinking of putting in 2 TB in Raid 1 to start which is sufficient space for now, and adding more storage later - either 2 more M.2s or traditional hard drives.

Love to get your thoughts on the WD black for my application. I have the WD blacks as the main drives in my PC which gets more use than the NAS would get - thus my question.

Thanks and enjoy the coffee :-)
Doug

Hi Doug, thanks for the question, and I'm glad to hear that you find my videos helpful.

Regarding your question, while the WD Black M.2 SSDs are designed for high performance and would work fine in the Lockerstor2 Gen 2, they might not be the most cost-effective option for your use case.

Since your usage requirements for the NAS are relatively low, and you're planning on using it mainly for automated PC backup and occasional Plex streaming, you may not need the higher performance of the WD Black drives. Instead, you could consider using WD Red SSDs or traditional hard drives, which are designed for use in NAS systems and provide good reliability and performance at a lower cost.

Also, it's worth noting that M.2 SSDs are not hot-swappable, so if you plan on adding more storage in the future, you would need to power down the system and physically install the new drives. On the other hand, if you go for traditional hard drives, you can easily add or replace them without needing to power down the system.

Ultimately, the choice of the drives depends on your specific needs and budget. If you prioritize high performance and can afford the extra cost, then WD Black M.2 SSDs would be a suitable option. However, if you value cost-effectiveness and reliability, then WD Red SSDs or traditional hard drives would be a better choice for your use case.