HDD Options
SAS Drives
If you’re using SAS drives, you must connect them to a SAS controller. Around here, we like to use tre LSI 2008 series cards. SATA drives can be used with the onboard SATA of your motherboard OR a SAS controller.
Examples:
These will need to be flashed to IT mode in most cases. It’s a pretty simple process, and it’s covered here.
Pricing
Always, always, always make use of the “or best offer” option on ebay. Especially if you’re buying multiple. Some sellers also have quantity discounts built into the listings, but those are not shown in the table below.
| Brand | Model (link) | Condition | Capacaity | Spindle RPM | Cache | Interface | Price/TB | Expected Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seagate | ST32000444SS | Used | 2TB | 7200 | 16MB | SAS | $10.00/TB | $20.00 OBO |
| Seagate | ST33000650SS | Used | 3TB | 7200 | 64MB | SAS | $9.16/TB | $27.50 OBO |
| HGST/Hitachi | HUS723030ALS640 | Used | 3TB | 7200 | 64MB | SAS | $9.31/TB | $27.95 OBO |
| Western Digital | WD40001FYYG | Used | 4TB | 7200 | 32MB | SAS | $10.00/TB | $40.00 |
| HGST/Hitachi | HUS724040ALS640 | Used | 4TB | 7200 | 64MB | SAS | $10.56/TB | $42.25 OBO |
| Seagate | ST6000NM0034 | Used | 6TB | 7200 | 128MB | SAS | $15.00/TB | $90.00 OBO |
| HGST/Hitachi | HUH728080AL5205 Helium | Used | 8TB | 7200 | 128MB | SAS | $17.50/TB | $140.00 OBO |
SATA Drives
If for some reason, you must have an internal SATA drive (you’re not willing to shuck), here are some recommendations.
| Brand | Model (link) | Condition | Capacaity | Spindle RPM | Cache | Interface | Price/TB | Expected Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seagate | IronWolf NAS ST4000VN008 | New | 4TB | 5900 | 64MB | SATA | $25.00/TB | $100.00 |
| Seagate | IronWolf NAS ST8000VN022 | New | 8TB | 5900 | 256MB | SATA | $23.75/TB | $190.00 |
| Seagate | IronWolf NAS ST12000VN007 | New | 12TB | 7200 | 256MB | SATA | $29.16/TB | $350.00 |
| Toshiba | N300 | New | 4TB | 7200 | 128MB | SATA | $23.75/TB | $95.00 |
| Toshiba | N300 | New | 10TB | 7200 | 256MB | SATA | $26.80/TB | $268.00 |
Shuckable Drives
For the WD shuckable drives, prices vary quite a bit. We’ve linked them on Amazon, but YMMV as to current sales, pricing, and availability of them. The prices listed are common sale prices for the drives.
| Brand | Model (link) | Condition | Capacaity | Spindle RPM | Cache | Interface | Price/TB | Expected Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Western Digital | Elements (shucked) | New | 8TB | 5400 | 128MB | SATA | $16.25/TB | $130.00 |
| Western Digital | My Book (shucked) | New | 8TB | 5400 | 128MB | SATA | $16.25/TB | $130.00 |
| Western Digital | Elements (shucked) | New | 10TB | 5400 | 256MB | SATA | $17.50/TB | $175.00 |
| Western Digital | My Book (shucked) | New | 10TB | 5400 | 256MB | SATA | $17.50/TB | $175.00 |