Best NAS hard drives with CMR recording (2026)
CMR drives rebuild RAID arrays reliably. SMR drives can slow to a crawl or drop out during a rebuild. Best first, by our score. Running costs assume 24/7 at idle, at 26.32p/kWh. Where we don't have today's price, we use the typical UK price we found when researching it.
Researched, not hands-on tested.How we review ›
- #1
WD Red Pro 4TB WD4005FFBX
7.9/10verdict: buyThe WD Red Pro 4TB suits people building a multi-bay NAS or RAID array who want a drive rated for heavy workloads. It lists CMR recording, a 5-year warranty and a 550TB/year workload rating. Buyers who want a quiet, low-power drive or included data recovery should look at the trade-offs first.
4TB7200 RPM256MBCMRCMR4W idle · £9.22/year to run · £287.66 over three years, all in
Read the full review ݣ259.99typical UK price when researchedCheck price at Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)
Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Details
- #2
Seagate IronWolf 4TB NAS hard drive
7.0/10verdict: buyThe Seagate IronWolf 4TB is for people building or expanding a small NAS of up to eight bays who want CMR recording and a 3-year warranty. It suits bulk storage, backups and media libraries where low noise and power draw matter more than raw speed. Buyers need to check which of the two model numbers they are getting, because speed, cache and noise figures differ.
4TBST4000VN006: 5400 RPM; ST4000VN008: 5900 RPMST4000VN006: 256MB; ST4000VN008: 64MBCMRCMR3.96W idle · £9.13/year to run · £210.97 over three years, all in
Read the full review ݣ183.58typical UK price when researchedCheck price at Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)
Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Details
- #3
WD Red Plus 4TB WD40EFPX
6.9/10verdict: wait for dealThe WD Red Plus 4TB (WD40EFPX) is for home and small-office NAS owners filling up to eight bays who want a CMR drive. Its 5,400 rpm spindle and low rated noise and power suit a NAS that sits in a living space or runs around the clock. Buyers whose needs go beyond its 180MB/s transfer rate, 180TB/year workload rating or three-year warranty should look elsewhere.
4TB5400256MBCMRCMR3.1W idle · £7.15/year to run · £230.43 over three years, all in
Read the full review ݣ208.99typical UK price when researchedCheck price at Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)
Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Details