Best drives for the QNAP TS-464 in Canada
By Devin Chua · Data checked by Owen Nakamura · Updated For the QNAP TS-464 fit CMR NAS drives like Seagate IronWolf Pro or WD Red Plus across all 4 bays. QNAP locks no drive brand on the TS-464: its list is advice, not a gate. At 4 × 8 TB the TS-464 keeps 21.83 TiB usable in RAID 5. 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, faster 7200 rpm drives genuinely earn their keep in the TS-464.
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CMR NAS drives for the TS-464
Only families with confirmed CMR recording and a 24/7 rating, in stock on Amazon.ca and sized for the TS-464. SMR drives are deliberately kept out.
What sets the TS-464 apart
The most interesting QNAP for self-deciders: the PCIe slot makes 10GbE an upgrade, and with QuTS hero the same box runs ZFS instead of ext4. If you choose QuTS hero, the RAID-Z calculator applies, not the RAID calculator. QNAP has no SHR equivalent: mixed drive sizes waste real capacity here.
Who the TS-464 is for
The TS-464'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-464 suits a household that wants its media server and its drives in one quiet box.
How the TS-464's network shapes the drive choice
The TS-464 ships with 2 × 2.5GbE, expandable to 5GbE or 10GbE via the PCIe slot, and that rewrites the maths. Ten gigabit is about 1,100 MB/s; a single drive gives 150 to 280 MB/s and a 4-drive array three to four times that, so you close much of the gap without ever quite saturating the link. On the TS-464, for the first time, a 7200 rpm Pro drive earns its price — and the NVMe cache earns its slot by keeping hot data off the spinning disks.
A worked configuration for the TS-464
Seagate IronWolf Pro or WD Red Plus in every bay is the recommendation for the TS-464. At 4 × 8 TB in RAID 5, the TS-464 lands 21.83 TiB usable, gives up 8 TB to parity, and survives 1 drive failing. Step the same 4 bays of the TS-464 up to 16 TB drives and it holds roughly twice that, at the CA$/TB the live table above shows.
RAID 5 or RAID 6 in the TS-464?
With 4 bays the TS-464 gives a real choice. In RAID 5 it keeps 21.83 TiB of the 4 × 8 TB and survives one failure; RAID 6 spends one more drive for two. The trade tips with large drives: after a failure the TS-464 must read every surviving drive in full to rebuild, which on 20 TB drives runs the better part of a day under peak load. So from 16 TB per drive up, RAID 6 is the calmer choice in the TS-464.
One rule holds on every NAS, the TS-464 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-464
unrestrictedOpen. QNAP locks no drives; the compatibility list is guidance. QNAP only warns that unlisted drives may affect stability.
The TS-464 at a glance
| Bays | 4 × 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 runs per forum reports but is not endorsed by QNAP. |
| M.2 NVMe | 2 slots 2 × M.2 2280 NVMe (PCIe 3.0 x1), freely populated |
| Network | 2 × 2.5GbE, expandable to 5GbE or 10GbE via the PCIe slot |
| Operating system | QTS 5.2 or QuTS hero (ZFS) |
| RAID types | Single, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, RAID 10 |
Keep calculating
To see how much capacity is left after parity, the TS-464 capacity calculator is preset to its 4 bays and RAID types. For the TS-464, 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-464?
Yes. QNAP locks no drive brand on the TS-464 — its compatibility list is guidance, not a gate — so any CMR NAS drive works.
Which drives fit the TS-464?
The TS-464 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 to 5GbE or 10GbE via the PCIe slot, a 7200 rpm Pro drive is worth the premium in the TS-464.
How much capacity is usable in the TS-464?
In the TS-464, 4 × 8 TB in RAID 5 gives about 21.83 TiB usable and survives 1 drive failing; the balance is parity.
Can the TS-464 run Plex with hardware transcoding?
Yes. The TS-464'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-464?
Yes. The TS-464's 2 × 2.5GbE, expandable to 5GbE or 10GbE via the PCIe slot can carry the extra throughput of a 7200 rpm Pro drive, and in a 4-bay array that speed is real, not theoretical.
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)