Quiet 10-12 TB NAS drives

[Enquiries]

I'm looking for the sweet spot in terms of noise to capacity ratio NAS drives. The NAS (WD PR2100) stands right next to me (like 50 cm from my head) in my office and since I work from home I spend like 8-10 hours away that close to it. I first have bought 2x Seagate Exos 12TB X16 but they are louder than a washing machine, so I will be returning them.

My current baseline in terms of noise is my WD Home Cloud 2 TB I have for 6 years now and it stands right next to the new PR2100 and it's... dead silent. I've watched couple of your videos and checked what is inside my good old My Home Cloud (WD RED) and my next choice will be one of: WD RED Plus or WD RED Pro. Question is which one will be less loud at 12 TB capacity? Would moving down to 10 TB reduce the noise significantly in comparison to 12 TB? I understand that 12 TB will always be more noisy than 2 TB but I'm looking for the sweet spot

[ed]

Based on your requirements and considering the noise levels you've experienced with the Seagate Exos 12TB drives, transitioning to WD Red series drives seems like a prudent choice. The WD Red series is renowned for its reliability and relatively quiet operation, making it a popular option among NAS users.

Between the WD Red Plus and WD Red Pro models, both are engineered with noise reduction in mind, but there are some differences to consider:

WD Red Plus (formerly known as WD Red): This is designed for home and small office NAS systems with up to 8 bays. It offers good performance and reliability at a quieter operation compared to high-performance models.
WD Red Pro: Geared towards larger NAS systems (up to 24 bays) and demanding workloads, the WD Red Pro delivers higher performance at slightly increased noise levels compared to WD Red Plus.
If noise is your primary concern, opting for the WD Red Plus would likely provide a quieter experience while still meeting your storage needs in a 12TB capacity. Moving down to a 10TB capacity could potentially reduce noise further, as larger capacity drives can generate more operational noise due to increased platter density and spindle speed.