Best drives for the Synology DiskStation DS923+ in Canada
By Devin Chua · Data checked by Owen Nakamura · Updated · Prices checked For the Synology DiskStation DS923+ fit CMR NAS drives like WD Red Pro or Seagate IronWolf Pro across all 4 bays up to 96 TB raw. Synology's 2025 drive policy applies only to models launched from 2025, so the DS923+ takes third-party hard drives and 2.5-inch SATA SSDs as it always has. At 4 × 8 TB the DS923+ keeps 21.83 TiB usable in SHR, about CA$2,288 in drives. Since its AMD Ryzen R1600 (2 cores, 4 threads) has no integrated GPU, so it cannot hardware-transcode video; it is built for Synology's apps, containers and a light VM or two, faster 7200 rpm drives genuinely earn their keep in the DS923+.
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Want to know whether the DS923+ fits your actual storage plan? Open the NAS Builder with this model weighted.
CMR NAS drives for the DS923+
Only new SATA drives from families with confirmed CMR recording and a 24/7 rating, in stock on Amazon.ca and within the DS923+’s published limits. SMR drives are kept out. CA$/usable TB assumes all 4 bays filled with equal drives in SHR.
| Model | Capacity | Recording | Price | CA$/raw TB | CA$/usable TB (4 drives, SHR) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 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 DS923+'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$80.04/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 DS923+'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$88.00/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 DS923+'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$88.33/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 DS923+'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$88.57/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 DS923+'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$90.59/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 DS923+'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$91.67/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 DS923+'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$92.81/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 DS923+'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$93.33/TB | Buy on Amazon |
 Seagate IRONWOLF 6TB NAS 3.5IN 6GB/S SATA 256MBNew CMR, SATA 3.5-inch drive for the DS923+'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$94.00/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 DS923+'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$94.28/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 DS923+'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$94.49/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 DS923+'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$95.35/TB | Buy on Amazon |
What sets the DS923+ apart
The predecessor many bought for the drive policy, and still the only four-bay DiskStation with a genuine 10-gigabit upgrade slot. The Ryzen R1600 has only two cores: strong as a file store with ECC RAM, weak for many containers.
Who the DS923+ is for
The DS923+ runs the AMD Ryzen R1600 (2 cores, 4 threads), and Plex users need one fact first: these embedded Ryzens carry no integrated GPU, so the DS923+ cannot hardware-transcode video. It is built for a different job: Synology's app suite, Docker and a light VM or two, backed by 4 to 32 GB of ECC memory. Choose the DS923+ as a dependable ECC all-rounder; for hardware transcoding in this price band, an Intel-based UGREEN or QNAP is the better tool.
How the DS923+'s network shapes the drive choice
The DS923+ ships with 2 × 1GbE, expandable to 10GbE with the E10G22-T1-Mini add-in card, 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 DS923+, 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.
Drive policy: Synology's 2025 drive policy applies only to models launched from 2025, so the DS923+ takes third-party hard drives and 2.5-inch SATA SSDs as it always has. The DS923+’s full compatibility rules.
Keep calculating
To see how much capacity is left after parity, the DS923+ capacity calculator is preset to its 4 bays and RAID types. For the DS923+, 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 DS923+ can actually do: Plex, Immich, Docker, VMs? See what the DS923+ can run.
Frequently asked questions
Can I put third-party drives in the DS923+?
Yes. Synology's 2025 drive policy applies only to models launched from 2025, so the DS923+ takes third-party hard drives and 2.5-inch SATA SSDs as it always has.
Which drives fit the DS923+?
The DS923+ 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 × 1GbE, expandable to 10GbE with the E10G22-T1-Mini add-in card, a 7200 rpm Pro drive is worth the premium in the DS923+.
How much capacity is usable in the DS923+?
In the DS923+, 4 × 8 TB in SHR gives about 21.83 TiB usable and survives 1 drive failing; the balance is parity.
Can the DS923+ run Plex with hardware transcoding?
No hardware transcode. The DS923+'s AMD Ryzen R1600 (2 cores, 4 threads) has no integrated GPU, so Plex must transcode in software: fine for direct play and one light stream, not for multiple 4K streams. For hardware transcoding at this level, an Intel-based NAS with Quick Sync is the better choice.
Is a Pro drive worth it in the DS923+?
Yes. The DS923+'s 2 × 1GbE, expandable to 10GbE with the E10G22-T1-Mini add-in card 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)