RAID Build Planner | Pick Compatible NAS & Storage Parts

NAS Unit

(24)

Synology

DiskStation DS423+

Top pick for home/SMB RAID 5 — rock-solid DSM ecosystem. Supports SHR & SHR-2.

· Intel Celeron J4125 2.0GHz
· 2GB DDR4 RAM (32GB max)
· 2x GbE · 3x USB

~$500Amazon

Synology

DiskStation DS923+

AMD Ryzen dual-core, upgradeable to 32GB ECC RAM, PCIe slot. Supports SHR & SHR-2.

· AMD Ryzen R1600 dual-core 3.1GHz
· 4GB DDR4 ECC RAM (32GB max)
· 2x GbE · PCIe Gen3 expansion

~$600Amazon

QNAP

TS-453E-8G

Dual 2.5GbE, HDMI 2.0, virtualization and VM support. QuTS Hero supports ZFS.

· Intel Celeron J6412 quad-core 2.6GHz
· 8GB DDR4 RAM
· 2x 2.5GbE · HDMI 2.0

~$500Amazon

QNAP

TS-873A-8G

AMD Ryzen quad-core, 2x PCIe Gen3 slots — 10GbE or HBA expandable. QuTS Hero supports ZFS.

· AMD Ryzen V1500B quad-core
· 8GB DDR4 ECC RAM
· 2x 2.5GbE · 2x PCIe Gen3 slots

~$1,000Amazon

UGREEN

NASync DXP4800 Plus

10GbE + 2.5GbE, Pentium Gold 5-core, built-in 128GB SSD OS drive

· Intel Pentium Gold 8505 5-core
· 8GB DDR5 · 128GB SSD
· 10GbE + 2.5GbE · 2x M.2 NVMe

~$380Amazon

UGREEN

NASync DXP6800 Pro

Intel i5 10-core, dual 10GbE, dual Thunderbolt 4 — workstation-grade

· Intel i5-1235U 10-core 4.4GHz
· 8GB DDR5 · 128GB SSD
· 2x 10GbE · 2x TBT4 · 4K HDMI

~$550Amazon

UGREEN

NASync DXP8800 Plus

Intel i5 10-core, 8-bay at $700 — best $/bay at this tier

· Intel i5-1235U 10-core 4.4GHz
· 8GB DDR5 · 128GB SSD
· 2x 10GbE · 2x TBT4

~$700Amazon

TerraMaster

F4-423

Budget 4-bay RAID 5 NAS — best price point for a full array

· Intel N5095 quad-core
· 4GB DDR4 RAM
· 2x 2.5GbE · USB 3.2

~$350Amazon

Synology

DiskStation DS1621+

AMD Ryzen dual-core, 4x GbE, 2 PCIe slots — the step-up 6-bay workhorse. Supports SHR & SHR-2.

· AMD Ryzen R1600 dual-core 3.1GHz
· 4GB DDR4 ECC RAM (32GB max)
· 4x GbE · 2x PCIe Gen3 · 2x M.2

~$700Amazon

QNAP

TS-664-8G

Intel N5105, dual 2.5GbE, PCIe expansion slot and 2x M.2 NVMe cache. QuTS Hero supports ZFS.

· Intel Celeron N5105 quad-core 2.9GHz
· 8GB DDR4 RAM
· 2x 2.5GbE · PCIe Gen3 x2 · 2x M.2 NVMe

~$560Amazon

Synology

DiskStation DS1821+

AMD Ryzen quad-core, 4x GbE, 2 PCIe slots — top tower NAS for large RAID 6 arrays. Supports SHR & SHR-2.

· AMD Ryzen V1500B quad-core 2.2GHz
· 4GB DDR4 ECC RAM (32GB max)
· 4x GbE · 2x PCIe Gen3

~$900Amazon

QNAP

TS-1655-8G

Only desktop 16-bay NAS available — Intel Atom 8-core with QuTS Hero (ZFS) support

· Intel Atom C5125 8-core 2.0GHz (QAT)
· 8GB DDR4 ECC RAM (64GB max)
· 2x 2.5GbE · PCIe Gen3 · QuTS Hero ZFS

~$1,100Amazon

Synology

DiskStation DS2422+

AMD Ryzen quad-core ECC, 4x GbE, expandable to 36 drives via expansion unit. Supports SHR & SHR-2.

· AMD Ryzen V1500B quad-core 2.2GHz
· 4GB DDR4 ECC RAM (32GB max)
· 4x GbE · 2x PCIe Gen3 · 2x USB 3.2

~$1,750Amazon

TerraMaster

T12-423

Best-value 12-bay desktop NAS — saves ~$350 vs Synology with comparable hardware

· Intel N5095 quad-core
· 4GB DDR4 RAM (32GB max)
· 2x 2.5GbE · USB 3.2

~$1,400Amazon

Synology

DiskStation DS1525+

5-bay Ryzen V1500B, dual 2.5GbE, expandable to 15 drives — strong all-rounder SHR NAS

· AMD Ryzen V1500B quad-core
· 8GB DDR4 RAM
· 2× 2.5GbE · expandable to 15 bays

~$700Amazon

Synology

RackStation RS2423RP+II

12-bay 2U rackmount, Ryzen V1780B, 10GbE standard, redundant PSU — enterprise SHR/SHR-2

· AMD Ryzen V1780B quad-core 3.6GHz
· 8GB ECC DDR4 (32GB max)
· 2× 1GbE + 1× 10GbE
· Redundant PSU

~$3,630Amazon

TerraMaster

T12-500 Pro

i7-1255U 10-core, 16GB DDR5, dual 10GbE, 2× M.2 NVMe — powerhouse 12-bay

· Intel Core i7-1255U 10-core 4.7GHz
· 16GB DDR5 (64GB max)
· 2× 10GbE · 2× M.2 NVMe

~$2,100Amazon

QNAP

TS-1264U-RP

12-bay 2U rackmount, quad-core N5105, dual 2.5GbE, redundant PSU

· Intel Celeron N5105 quad-core 2.9GHz
· 4GB DDR4 (16GB max)
· 2× 2.5GbE · PCIe · Redundant PSU

~$2,528Amazon

QNAP

TVS-h674T

First Thunderbolt 4 NAS — i5-12400, 32GB DDR4, 2× TB4 + 2× 2.5GbE, 2× NVMe, ZFS

· Intel Core i5-12400 6-core
· 32GB DDR4 (64GB max)
· 2× TB4 · 2× 2.5GbE · 2× M.2 NVMe · ZFS

~$2,000Amazon

Generic

MINISFORUM N5 Pro

Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 370, 96GB ECC DDR5, 10GbE+5GbE, 3× M.2 — enthusiast-grade

· AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 370 (12C/24T)
· 96GB ECC DDR5
· 1× 10GbE · 1× 5GbE · 3× M.2

~$1,799Amazon

TerraMaster

F4 SSD

All-NVMe 4-bay NAS — N95, 8GB DDR5, 5GbE, palm-sized, silent operation

· Intel N95 quad-core 3.4GHz
· 8GB DDR5 (32GB max)
· 4× M.2 NVMe slots · 5GbE · Silent <19dB

~$425Amazon

TerraMaster

F8 SSD

All-NVMe 8-bay NAS — N95, 8GB DDR5, 10GbE, 8× M.2 slots, compact tower

· Intel N95 quad-core 3.4GHz
· 8GB DDR5 (32GB max)
· 8× M.2 NVMe slots · 10GbE

~$660Amazon

TerraMaster

F8 SSD Plus

All-NVMe 8-bay NAS — Core i3, 16GB DDR5, 10GbE, 8× M.2 slots, premium tier

· Intel Core i3 8-core
· 16GB DDR5 (32GB max)
· 8× M.2 NVMe slots · 10GbE

~$765Amazon

QNAP

TS-464U

4-bay short-depth 1U rackmount — N5105, dual 2.5GbE, PCIe slot, HDMI 4K

· Intel Celeron N5105 quad-core 2.9GHz
· 4GB DDR4 (16GB max)
· 2× 2.5GbE · PCIe · HDMI 4K

~$800Amazon

Hard Drives

(21)

You need 4 drives for this build. Price shown is per drive.

Seagate

IronWolf Pro 4TB

CMR, 7200 RPM, 5-year warranty + data rescue service

· 4TB CMR · SATA 6Gb/s
· 7200 RPM · 256MB cache
· 5-yr warranty · Rescue service

~$199Amazon

Seagate

IronWolf Pro 8TB

Best $/TB sweet spot — CMR, 7200 RPM, RAID-optimized

· 8TB CMR · SATA 6Gb/s
· 7200 RPM · 256MB cache
· 5-yr warranty · Rescue service

~$150Amazon

Seagate

IronWolf Pro 12TB

CMR, vibration sensors for multi-drive arrays, 1.2M hr MTTF

· 12TB CMR · SATA 6Gb/s
· 7200 RPM · 256MB cache
· 5-yr warranty · Rescue service

~$210Amazon

Seagate

IronWolf Pro 16TB

CMR, validated for 24/7 RAID — maximizes usable capacity

· 16TB CMR · SATA 6Gb/s
· 7200 RPM · 256MB cache
· 5-yr warranty · Rescue service

~$280Amazon

Seagate

IronWolf Pro 20TB

Highest capacity IronWolf Pro, CMR, enterprise-grade vibration control

· 20TB CMR · SATA 6Gb/s
· 7200 RPM · 256MB cache
· 5-yr warranty · Rescue service

~$360Amazon

Red Pro 4TB

CMR, 7200 RPM, NASware 3.0 — reliable RAID alternative

· 4TB CMR · SATA 6Gb/s
· 7200 RPM · 256MB cache
· NASware 3.0 · 5-yr warranty

~$80Amazon

Red Pro 8TB

CMR, 7200 RPM, multi-axis shock sensor for NAS environments

· 8TB CMR · SATA 6Gb/s
· 7200 RPM · 256MB cache
· NASware 3.0 · 5-yr warranty

~$140Amazon

Red Pro 12TB

CMR, validated for up to 24-bay NAS systems

· 12TB CMR · SATA 6Gb/s
· 7200 RPM · 256MB cache
· NASware 3.0 · 5-yr warranty

~$200Amazon

Red Pro 16TB

CMR, 512MB cache — competitive alternative to IronWolf at 16TB

· 16TB CMR · SATA 6Gb/s
· 7200 RPM · 512MB cache
· NASware 3.0 · 5-yr warranty

~$260Amazon

Seagate

IronWolf 4TB

CMR, 5400 RPM, NAS-optimized, quieter and more power-efficient

· 4TB CMR · SATA 6Gb/s
· 5400 RPM · 256MB cache
· 3-yr warranty · Rescue service

~$169Amazon

Seagate

IronWolf 8TB

Quiet and efficient 8TB NAS drive, CMR, AgileArray firmware

· 8TB CMR · SATA 6Gb/s
· 7200 RPM · 256MB cache
· 3-yr warranty · Rescue service

~$140Amazon

Seagate

IronWolf 12TB

High capacity, Helium-filled non-Pro NAS drive, excellent value

· 12TB CMR · SATA 6Gb/s
· 7200 RPM · 256MB cache
· 3-yr warranty · Rescue service

~$190Amazon

Red Plus 4TB

CMR, 5400 RPM, NASware 3.0, very quiet entry-level NAS drive

· 4TB CMR · SATA 6Gb/s
· 5400 RPM · 256MB cache
· NASware 3.0 · 3-yr warranty

~$75Amazon

Red Plus 8TB

Popular 8TB NAS choice — quiet, power-efficient, CMR recording

· 8TB CMR · SATA 6Gb/s
· 5640 RPM · 256MB cache
· NASware 3.0 · 3-yr warranty

~$130Amazon

Red Plus 12TB

Reliable 12TB NAS drive, Helium-filled, optimized for up to 8 bays

· 12TB CMR · SATA 6Gb/s
· 7200 RPM · 256MB cache
· NASware 3.0 · 3-yr warranty

~$180Amazon

Red Plus 16TB

High density 16TB Red Plus, Helium-filled, extremely reliable

· 16TB CMR · SATA 6Gb/s
· 7200 RPM · 512MB cache
· NASware 3.0 · 3-yr warranty

~$230Amazon

Seagate

Exos X16 16TB

Enterprise-grade X16 16TB SATA, high workload rating, budget bulk storage

· 16TB CMR · SATA 6Gb/s
· 7200 RPM · 256MB cache
· Helium-sealed · 5-yr warranty

~$240Amazon

Seagate

Exos X20 20TB

Helium-sealed 20TB Enterprise drive, 550TB/yr workload limit, maximum storage density

· 20TB CMR · SATA 6Gb/s
· 7200 RPM · 256MB cache
· Helium-sealed · 5-yr warranty

~$310Amazon

Red Pro 20TB

Helium-filled 20TB NAS drive, 512MB cache, optimized for large 24-bay systems

· 20TB CMR · SATA 6Gb/s
· 7200 RPM · 512MB cache
· NASware 3.0 · 5-yr warranty

~$380Amazon

Red Pro 22TB

Highest capacity Red Pro, 22TB Helium-filled NAS drive, OptiNAND technology

· 22TB CMR · SATA 6Gb/s
· 7200 RPM · 512MB cache
· NASware 3.0 · 5-yr warranty

~$410Amazon

Seagate

IronWolf Pro 22TB

Helium-filled 22TB NAS drive, optimized for multi-bay server environments

· 22TB CMR · SATA 6Gb/s
· 7200 RPM · 256MB cache
· 5-yr warranty · Rescue service

~$420Amazon

Expansion Unit

(1)

Add drive bays to compatible NAS units via eSATA. Expand your array online without downtime.

Synology

DX517 5-Bay Expansion

Adds 5 hot-swap bays to DS1621+, DS1821+, DS2422+ via eSATA — expand RAID array online

· 5x 3.5"/2.5" hot-swap bays
· eSATA daisy-chain (up to 2 units)
· Compatible: DS1621+, DS1821+, DS2422+

~$300Amazon

SSD Cache / Acceleration

(3)

Install in M.2 NVMe slots on your NAS to accelerate read/write with SSD caching (e.g. QNAP Qtier, Synology SSD Cache).

Red SN700 NVMe 1TB

NAS-optimized NVMe — best value for read/write cache in M.2 slots on NAS or server

· M.2 2280 · PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe
· Up to 3,430 MB/s read · 5-yr warranty
· 1TB · 2000 TBW endurance

~$90Amazon

Red SN700 NVMe 2TB

2TB NAS cache — sufficient L2ARC headroom for large arrays with many concurrent users

· M.2 2280 · PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe
· Up to 3,400 MB/s read · 5-yr warranty
· 2TB · 2000 TBW endurance

~$150Amazon

Seagate

IronWolf 510 NVMe 480GB

Purpose-built NAS NVMe cache — 1.8M hr MTTF, rated for 24/7 high-intensity workloads

· M.2 2280 · PCIe Gen3 x4 NVMe
· 480GB · 875 TBW · 24/7 NAS rated
· 1.8M hr MTTF · 5-yr warranty + Rescue

~$130Amazon