Best drives for the QNAP TS-233 in Canada
By Devin Chua · Data checked by Owen Nakamura · Updated · Prices checked For the QNAP TS-233 fit CMR NAS drives like WD Red Pro or Seagate IronWolf Pro across all 2 bays. QNAP locks no drive brand on the TS-233; its compatibility list is guidance, not a gate. At 2 × 8 TB the TS-233 keeps 7.28 TiB usable in RAID 1, about CA$1,144 in drives. Since its ARM Cortex-A55 (4 cores, 2.0 GHz) serves files and backups quietly but does not hardware-transcode Plex or run real virtual machines, buy the TS-233's drives on price and quietness, not speed.
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Want to know whether the TS-233 fits your actual storage plan? Open the NAS Builder with this model weighted.
CMR NAS drives for the TS-233
Only new SATA drives from families with confirmed CMR recording and a 24/7 rating, in stock on Amazon.ca and within the TS-233’s published limits. SMR drives are kept out. CA$/usable TB assumes all 2 bays filled with equal drives in RAID 1.
| Model | Capacity | Recording | Price | CA$/raw TB | CA$/usable TB (2 drives, RAID 1) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Western Digital 20TB WD Red Pro NAS Internal Hard Drive HDD - 7200 RPM, SATA 6 Gb/s, CMR, 512 MB Cache, 3.5" - WD202KFGXNewbest price per TB CMR, SATA 3.5-inch drive for the TS-233's bays Amazon.ca · sold by Amazon.ca · one bare internal drive; shipping and taxes not included · checked Oct 15, 2026CA$1,201Buy on Amazon | 20 TB | CMR ✓ | CA$1,201 | CA$60.03/TB | CA$120.06/TB | Buy on Amazon |
 Western Digital 22TB WD Red Pro NAS Internal Hard Drive HDD - 7200 RPM, SATA 6 Gb/s, CMR, 512 MB Cache, 3.5" - WD221KFGXNew CMR, SATA 3.5-inch drive for the TS-233's bays Amazon.ca · sold by Amazon US · one bare internal drive; shipping and taxes not included · checked Oct 15, 2026 · ships from the US through Amazon.caCA$1,452Buy on Amazon | 22 TB | CMR ✓ | CA$1,452 | CA$66.00/TB | CA$132.00/TB | Buy on Amazon |
 Western Digital 16TB WD Red Pro NAS Internal Hard Drive HDD - 7200 RPM, SATA 6 Gb/s, CMR, 256 MB Cache, 3.5" - WD161KFGXNew CMR, SATA 3.5-inch drive for the TS-233's bays Amazon.ca · sold by Amazon.ca · one bare internal drive; shipping and taxes not included · checked Oct 15, 2026CA$1,060Buy on Amazon | 16 TB | CMR ✓ | CA$1,060 | CA$66.25/TB | CA$132.50/TB | Buy on Amazon |
 Seagate IronWolf Pro 14TB Enterprise NAS Internal HDD Hard Drive – CMR 3.5 Inch SATA 6Gb/s 7200 RPM 256MB Cache for RAID Network Attached Storage, Rescue Services - FFP (ST14000NTZ01)New CMR, SATA 3.5-inch drive for the TS-233's bays Amazon.ca · sold by Deals2You · one bare internal drive; shipping and taxes not included · checked Oct 15, 2026CA$930Buy on Amazon | 14 TB | CMR ✓ | CA$930 | CA$66.43/TB | CA$132.86/TB | Buy on Amazon |
 Western Digital 12TB WD Red Pro NAS Internal Hard Drive HDD - 7200 RPM, SATA 6 Gb/s, CMR, 512 MB Cache, 3.5" - WD122KFBXNew CMR, SATA 3.5-inch drive for the TS-233's bays Amazon.ca · sold by Amazon US · one bare internal drive; shipping and taxes not included · checked Oct 15, 2026 · ships from the US through Amazon.caCA$815Buy on Amazon | 12 TB | CMR ✓ | CA$815 | CA$67.94/TB | CA$135.88/TB | Buy on Amazon |
 Western Digital 4TB WD Red Plus NAS Internal Hard Drive HDD - 5400 RPM, SATA 6 Gb/s, CMR, 128 MB Cache, 3.5" - WD40EFZZNew CMR, SATA 3.5-inch drive for the TS-233's bays Amazon.ca · sold by Amazon.ca · one bare internal drive; shipping and taxes not included · checked Oct 15, 2026CA$275Buy on Amazon | 4 TB | CMR ✓ | CA$275 | CA$68.75/TB | CA$137.50/TB | Buy on Amazon |
 HD 18TB N300 PRO NAS 3.5 in 7200RPM SATA III TOSHIBA HDWG81JXZSTBNew CMR, SATA 3.5-inch drive for the TS-233's bays Amazon.ca · sold by Canada Direct - Often Ships Same Day! · one bare internal drive; shipping and taxes not included · checked Oct 15, 2026CA$1,253Buy on Amazon | 18 TB | CMR ✓ | CA$1,253 | CA$69.61/TB | CA$139.22/TB | Buy on Amazon |
 Western Digital 3TB WD Red Plus NAS Internal Hard Drive HDD - 5400 RPM, SATA 6 Gb/s, CMR, 256 MB Cache, 3.5" -WD30EFPXNew CMR, SATA 3.5-inch drive for the TS-233's bays Amazon.ca · sold by Generic Computer · one bare internal drive; shipping and taxes not included · checked Oct 15, 2026CA$210Buy on Amazon | 3 TB | CMR ✓ | CA$210 | CA$70.00/TB | CA$140.00/TB | Buy on Amazon |
 Seagate IRONWOLF 6TB NAS 3.5IN 6GB/S SATA 256MBNew CMR, SATA 3.5-inch drive for the TS-233's bays Amazon.ca · sold by Compute4Less Corp · one bare internal drive; shipping and taxes not included · checked Oct 15, 2026CA$423Buy on Amazon | 6 TB | CMR ✓ | CA$423 | CA$70.50/TB | CA$141.00/TB | Buy on Amazon |
 Western Digital 24TB WD Red Pro NAS Internal Hard Drive HDD - 7200 RPM, SATA 6 Gb/s, CMR, 512 MB Cache, 3.5" - WD241KFGXNew CMR, SATA 3.5-inch drive for the TS-233's bays Amazon.ca · sold by Amazon US · one bare internal drive; shipping and taxes not included · checked Oct 15, 2026 · ships from the US through Amazon.caCA$1,697Buy on Amazon | 24 TB | CMR ✓ | CA$1,697 | CA$70.71/TB | CA$141.42/TB | Buy on Amazon |
 HD 14TB N300 PRO NAS 3.5 in 7200RPM SATA III TOSHIBA HDWG81EXZSTBNew CMR, SATA 3.5-inch drive for the TS-233's bays Amazon.ca · sold by Canada Direct - Often Ships Same Day! · one bare internal drive; shipping and taxes not included · checked Oct 15, 2026CA$992Buy on Amazon | 14 TB | CMR ✓ | CA$992 | CA$70.87/TB | CA$141.74/TB | Buy on Amazon |
 Toshiba N300 PRO 8TB Large-Sized Business NAS (up to 24 Bays) 3.5-Inch Internal Hard Drive - Up to 300 TB/Year Workload Rate CMR SATA 6 GB/s 7200 RPM 512 MB Cache - HDWG780XZSTBNew CMR, SATA 3.5-inch drive for the TS-233's bays Amazon.ca · sold by OneDealOutlet Canada · one bare internal drive; shipping and taxes not included · checked Oct 15, 2026CA$572Buy on Amazon | 8 TB | CMR ✓ | CA$572 | CA$71.51/TB | CA$143.02/TB | Buy on Amazon |
What sets the TS-233 apart
The cheapest QNAP and deliberately modest: an ARM processor, 2 GB of soldered RAM, one gigabit port. The network caps you at about 110 MB/s here, so a faster drive buys no more speed. Buy on noise and price per TB, not on data rate.
Who the TS-233 is for
The TS-233 is built on the ARM Cortex-A55 (4 cores, 2.0 GHz): a file-server processor, not a workstation one. It serves files, backs up your other machines and runs a few lightweight apps, but it does not hardware-transcode Plex and it will not host real virtual machines. With 2 GB of soldered memory, what the TS-233 ships with is what it keeps. Buy it to store and protect data quietly and cheaply, and let CA$/TB and noise choose the drives, because the CPU never will.
How the TS-233's network shapes the drive choice
The TS-233 connects over 1 × 1GbE, and that ceiling decides everything below it. A gigabit link tops out near 110 MB/s, which even a single 5400 rpm NAS drive clears easily. So on the TS-233 a faster, pricier Pro drive returns no extra throughput at all: put an IronWolf or WD Red Plus in every bay and buy on CA$/TB, warranty and noise. The only reason to pay for a Pro drive on the TS-233 is its longer warranty, not speed.
Drive policy: QNAP locks no drive brand on the TS-233; its compatibility list is guidance, not a gate. The TS-233’s full compatibility rules.
Keep calculating
To see how much capacity is left after parity, the TS-233 capacity calculator is preset to its 2 bays and RAID types. For the TS-233, the wider basics of choosing a drive are in the buying guides, and CMR versus SMR explains why SMR drives do not belong in a RAID array. Wondering what the TS-233 can actually do: Plex, Immich, Docker, VMs? See what the TS-233 can run.
Frequently asked questions
Can I put third-party drives in the TS-233?
Yes. QNAP locks no drive brand on the TS-233; its compatibility list is guidance, not a gate.
Which drives fit the TS-233?
The TS-233 takes any 3.5-inch SATA and 2.5-inch SATA SSD drive; use a CMR NAS family rated for 24/7 duty such as IronWolf, WD Red Plus or Toshiba N300. On its 1 × 1GbE, even a basic 5400 rpm drive saturates the TS-233's link.
How much capacity is usable in the TS-233?
In the TS-233, 2 × 8 TB in RAID 1 gives about 7.28 TiB usable and survives 1 drive failing; the balance is parity.
Can the TS-233 run Plex with hardware transcoding?
Only in software. The TS-233's ARM Cortex-A55 (4 cores, 2.0 GHz) has no Quick Sync, so Plex transcodes on the CPU: enough for direct play, not for heavy 4K transcoding.
Is a Pro drive worth it in the TS-233?
Not for speed. The TS-233's 1 × 1GbE caps throughput near 110 MB/s, which the cheapest NAS drive already reaches, so a Pro drive only buys the longer warranty and higher workload rating.
Devin Chua works out which drives, RAM and NVMe cache fit which NAS model at nasdrives.ca, and what the RAID choice means for usable capacity, checked against what is in stock on Amazon.ca.
Data checked by Owen Nakamura, Technical editor (data checking)