Best drives for the QNAP TS-264 in Canada
By Devin Chua · Data checked by Owen Nakamura · Updated For the QNAP TS-264 fit CMR NAS drives like Seagate IronWolf Pro or WD Red Plus across all 2 bays. QNAP locks no drive brand on the TS-264: its list is advice, not a gate. At 2 × 8 TB the TS-264 keeps 7.28 TiB usable in RAID 1. Since its Intel Celeron N5095 (4 cores) hardware-transcodes Plex through Intel Quick Sync and runs a stack of containers, with a light VM or two as the ceiling, an ordinary CMR drive already saturates the TS-264's link.
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CMR NAS drives for the TS-264
Only families with confirmed CMR recording and a 24/7 rating, in stock on Amazon.ca and sized for the TS-264. SMR drives are deliberately kept out.
What sets the TS-264 apart
Two bays, but the kit of a bigger machine: two NVMe slots, two 2.5-gigabit ports and a PCIe slot. With only two drives, RAID 1 is the one sensible choice, which halves the capacity no matter how large the drives are.
Who the TS-264 is for
The TS-264's Intel Celeron N5095 (4 cores) is the home-NAS sweet spot. Its integrated graphics hardware-transcode Plex — 4K HEVC included, through Intel Quick Sync — and it runs a stack of Docker containers without complaint; heavy virtualization is the one thing it leaves to bigger machines. With 8 GB stock and up to 16 GB, the TS-264 suits a household that wants its media server and its drives in one quiet box.
How the TS-264's network shapes the drive choice
The TS-264 runs 2 × 2.5GbE, expandable via the PCIe slot. Two-and-a-half gigabit is about 280 MB/s — almost exactly what a modern high-capacity NAS drive reads off its outer tracks — so the TS-264 sits in the sweet spot where an ordinary CMR drive saturates the link and a Pro model buys nothing on speed. Drives under about 8 TB fall short here for lack of areal density; from 8 TB up, a standard IronWolf or WD Red Plus is the right call on the TS-264.
A worked configuration for the TS-264
Seagate IronWolf Pro or WD Red Plus in every bay is the recommendation for the TS-264. At 2 × 8 TB in RAID 1, the TS-264 lands 7.28 TiB usable, gives up 8 TB to parity, and survives 1 drive failing. Step the same 2 bays of the TS-264 up to 16 TB drives and it holds roughly twice that, at the CA$/TB the live table above shows.
One rule holds on every NAS, the TS-264 included: use CMR drives, not SMR. SMR drives rewrite overlapping tracks and collapse during a RAID rebuild, dragging a repair from hours into days.
The QNAP drive policy on the TS-264
unrestrictedOpen. QNAP locks no drives; the compatibility list is guidance.
The TS-264 at a glance
| Bays | 2 × 3.5-inch SATA and 2.5-inch SATA SSD |
|---|---|
| Processor | Intel Celeron N5095 (4 cores) |
| Memory | 8 GB, DDR4 SO-DIMM, no ECC (2 slots) 16 GB official; 32 GB is reported in forums but not endorsed. |
| M.2 NVMe | 2 slots 2 × M.2 2280 NVMe (PCIe 3.0 x1), freely populated |
| Network | 2 × 2.5GbE, expandable via the PCIe slot |
| Operating system | QTS 5.2 or QuTS hero (ZFS) |
| RAID types | Single, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1 |
Keep calculating
To see how much capacity is left after parity, the TS-264 capacity calculator is preset to its 2 bays and RAID types. For the TS-264, the wider basics of choosing a drive are in the buying guides, where we also explain why CMR rather than SMR is mandatory in any RAID array.
Frequently asked questions
Can I put third-party drives in the TS-264?
Yes. QNAP locks no drive brand on the TS-264 — its compatibility list is guidance, not a gate — so any CMR NAS drive works.
Which drives fit the TS-264?
The TS-264 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 2 × 2.5GbE, expandable via the PCIe slot, a standard CMR drive is already fast enough for the TS-264.
How much capacity is usable in the TS-264?
In the TS-264, 2 × 8 TB in RAID 1 gives about 7.28 TiB usable and survives 1 drive failing; the balance is parity.
Can the TS-264 run Plex with hardware transcoding?
Yes. The TS-264's Intel Celeron N5095 (4 cores) includes Intel Quick Sync, which hardware-transcodes Plex including 4K HEVC, so it handles several streams at once without loading the CPU.
Is a Pro drive worth it in the TS-264?
Marginal. The TS-264's 2 × 2.5GbE, expandable via the PCIe slot sits right where a standard CMR drive already saturates the link, so a Pro drive mainly buys warranty, not speed.
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)