Minisforum RAID calculator: usable capacity under MinisCloud OS
By Devin Chua · Data checked by Owen Nakamura · Updated · Prices checked With 5 × 8 TB in RAID 5, a Minisforum NAS keeps about 29.10 TiB usable (32 TB in drive-maker terms), and a single drive failure is survivable. Worth knowing: MinisCloud OS has no SHR. Mixed drive sizes cost you real capacity here, because every drive counts only as much as the smallest in the array. The calculator below shows only the RAID types MinisCloud OS actually offers, priced to fill in Canadian dollars.
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RAID 1 (Mirroring)
That is 8 TB the way drive makers label capacity. Your NAS shows you the smaller number because it counts in powers of two.
Drives: from CA$2,860 for 5 × 8 TB (CA$71.51/TB overall)
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 - HDWG780XZSTBCA$5728 TB · CA$71.51/TBBuy on Amazon
What MinisCloud OS does differently with RAID
Minisforum lists RAID 0, 1, 5 and 6 for its NAS line, with RAID-Z1 and RAID-Z2 named as equivalents and 'mixed drive strategies' mentioned without detail. There is no documented SHR-style scheme, so plan on matched drives: in classic RAID every drive counts only as much as the smallest one.
Third-party drives in a Minisforum NAS
Minisforum publishes no drive compatibility list for the N5 Pro and names no brand lock (checked 30 September 2026). Choose CMR NAS drives up to the 30 TB per bay Minisforum rates.
Calculate for your exact model
Bay count matters: a two-bay unit cannot do RAID 5, which needs at least three drives. So each Minisforum model has its own calculator with the bays already set:
And then the drives
Which drives belong in a Minisforum NAS is covered in the buying guides. The short answer: CMR, not SMR, rated for 24/7 use. Why that is not a detail but decides whether a rebuild succeeds is explained under CMR vs SMR.
Frequently asked questions
Which RAID types does Minisforum support?
MinisCloud OS offers Basic, JBOD, RAID 0, 1, 5, 6 and 10, depending on how many bays your model has. A two-bay unit cannot do RAID 5, which needs at least three drives.
Does Minisforum have an equivalent to Synology's SHR?
No. MinisCloud OS has no flexible RAID, so mixed drive sizes cost you real capacity: every drive counts only as much as the smallest in the array. If you have a stack of mismatched drives, Synology (SHR), TerraMaster (TRAID) or Unraid are the more economical platforms.
Can I put third-party drives in a Minisforum NAS?
Minisforum publishes no drive compatibility list for the N5 Pro and names no brand lock (checked 30 September 2026). Choose CMR NAS drives up to the 30 TB per bay Minisforum rates.
How much storage is left with 5 × 8 TB in a Minisforum NAS?
In RAID 5, about 29.10 TiB usable, or 32 TB in drive-maker terms. One drive goes to parity and a single failure is survivable. The NAS shows less than the label because makers count in decimal and the NAS in powers of two.
Which drives belong in this NAS?
CMR NAS drives rated for 24/7 use: Seagate IronWolf, WD Red Plus, Toshiba N300 or their Pro variants. SMR drives do not belong in any RAID array, because they collapse dramatically during a rebuild after a failure.
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)