NAS Drive Compatibility

Western Digital Red 5TB

NAS HDD

Part number WD50EFRX - 68L0BN1 · Red series · 3.5" SATA HDD. If your machine is listed below, this drive is officially supported — not a forum workaround.

RedNAS HARD DRIVE3.5" SATA HDDWESTERN DIGITAL

Part of the Western Digital Red series →

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129
Compatible NAS models
129 Syn · 0 QNAP · 0 Asus · 0 TM
By vendor
5 TB
Listed capacity
Western Digital
Manufacturer
NAS (older line)
Product line (manufacturer rating)
5400
Spindle speed (RPM)
CMR/SMR
Recording
256 MB
Cache
180 TB
Rated workload / year

Specifications are the manufacturer's published ratings for this product series; verify the exact part number before purchase.

Strong pick as a cold copy

Recording for this series is mixed CMR/SMR — it varies by exact model number. Verify the exact part number before buying a cold copy: SMR drives throttle writes once their internal cache is full, which is exactly what a full-library backup pass does — a 16 TB cold-copy backup that takes days will slow to crawl on the last terabytes. For the off-site slot of a 3-2-1 plan, prefer the CMR variant of the same capacity; the 3-2-1 guide and the backup tools encyclopedia cover the rest of the chain.

Compatibility verdict

It appears on the official compatibility lists of 129 machines and series — 129 Synology. This is a NAS-class drive: built for 24/7 operation with vibration compensation for multi-bay enclosures — the right tier for most 1-8 bay home or small-office NAS units. Its series rating is on file as SMR (shingled) — the one trait that slows large RAID rebuilds and full-library copies.

Compatible NAS models

Synology DS1010+5-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS1019+5-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS110+1-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS110j1-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS1111-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS1121-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS112+1-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS112j1-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS1141-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS1151-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS115j1-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS1161-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS1181-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS1511+5-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS1512+5-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS1513+5-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS15155-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS1515+5-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS15175-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS1517+5-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS1812+8-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS1813+8-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS1815+8-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS18178-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS1817+8-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS2015xs See its full HCL → Synology DS210+2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS210j2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS2112-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS211+2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS211j2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS2122-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS212+2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS212j2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS2132-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS213+2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS213air2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS213j2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS2142-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS214+2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS214play2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS214se2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS215+2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS215j2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS216+2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS216+II2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS216j2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS216se2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS2182-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS218+2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS218j2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS218play2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS220j2-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS2411+12-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS2413+12-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS2415+12-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS3018xs12-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS3611xs12-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS3612xs12-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS3615xs12-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS3617xs12-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS4104-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS410j4-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS4114-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS411+4-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS411+II4-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS411j4-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS412+4-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS4134-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS413j4-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS4144-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS414j4-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS415+4-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS415play4-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS4164-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS416play4-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS4184-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS418j4-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS420j4-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS710+7-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS712+7-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS713+7-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS7157-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS716+7-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS716+II7-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS718+7-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS916+4-bay See its full HCL → Synology DS918+4-bay See its full HCL → Synology RS10613xs+ See its full HCL → Synology RS18016xs+ See its full HCL → Synology RS212 See its full HCL → Synology RS214 See its full HCL → Synology RS217 See its full HCL → Synology RS2211+ See its full HCL → Synology RS2211RP+ See its full HCL → Synology RS2212+ See its full HCL → Synology RS2212RP+ See its full HCL → Synology RS2414+ See its full HCL → Synology RS2414RP+ See its full HCL → Synology RS2416+ See its full HCL → Synology RS2416RP+ See its full HCL → Synology RS3411RPxs See its full HCL → Synology RS3411xs See its full HCL → Synology RS3412RPxs See its full HCL → Synology RS3412xs See its full HCL → Synology RS3413xs+ See its full HCL → Synology RS3614RPxs See its full HCL → Synology RS3614xs See its full HCL → Synology RS3614xs+ See its full HCL → Synology RS3617RPxs See its full HCL → Synology RS3617xs See its full HCL → Synology RS3617xs+ See its full HCL → Synology RS3618xs See its full HCL → Synology RS4017xs+ See its full HCL → Synology RS411 See its full HCL → Synology RS810+ See its full HCL → Synology RS810RP+ See its full HCL → Synology RS812 See its full HCL → Synology RS812+ See its full HCL → Synology RS812RP+ See its full HCL → Synology RS814 See its full HCL → Synology RS814+ See its full HCL → Synology RS814RP+ See its full HCL → Synology RS815 See its full HCL → Synology RS815+ See its full HCL → Synology RS815RP+ See its full HCL → Synology RS816 See its full HCL → Synology RS818+ See its full HCL → Synology RS818RP+ See its full HCL →

Same-capacity alternatives

Other drives listed at 5 TB capacity, ranked by how many machines list them:

Toshiba MG04ACA500E 348 machines · MG04ACA**** Western Digital HUS726050ALE610 281 machines · Enterprise Seagate ST5000NM0084 274 machines · Enterprise Capacity Toshiba MD04ACA500 267 machines · MD04ACA*** Western Digital H3IKNAS500012872SJ (0S03838) 233 machines · Deskstar NAS Western Digital HUS726050ALE614 233 machines · Enterprise Western Digital H3IKNAS500012872SE (0S03836) 230 machines · Deskstar NAS Western Digital H3IKNAS500012872SA (0S03837) 227 machines · Deskstar NAS

Quick answers

Is the WD50EFRX - 68L0BN1 officially compatible with my NAS?

It appears on the official compatibility lists of 129 machines and series — 129 Synology. Every machine page linked below shows the vendor's own list entry, refreshed daily.

Is the WD50EFRX - 68L0BN1 CMR or SMR?

As a Western Digital Red drive, it is rated CMR/SMR varies by model. CMR (conventional magnetic recording) is what a RAID array wants: SMR drives slow rebuilds dramatically. This series mixes both, so verify the exact part number before buying — the <a href="/faq/cmr-vs-smr-nas-drives/">CMR vs SMR guide</a> has a part-number lookup.

Is the WD50EFRX - 68L0BN1 a good NAS drive?

This is a NAS-class drive: built for 24/7 operation with vibration compensation for multi-bay enclosures — the right tier for most 1-8 bay home or small-office NAS units. Its series rating is on file as SMR (shingled) — the one trait that slows large RAID rebuilds and full-library copies.

Can I use the WD50EFRX - 68L0BN1 for a 3-2-1 cold backup copy?

Recording for this series is mixed CMR/SMR — it varies by exact model number. Verify the exact part number before buying a cold copy: SMR drives throttle writes once their internal cache is full, which is exactly what a full-library backup pass does — a 16 TB cold-copy backup that takes days will slow to crawl on the last terabytes. For the off-site slot of a 3-2-1 plan, prefer the CMR variant of the same capacity; the 3-2-1 guide and the backup tools encyclopedia cover the rest of the chain.

What are alternatives to the WD50EFRX - 68L0BN1?

At the same capacity, the most widely listed alternatives are Toshiba MG04ACA500E (348 machines), Western Digital HUS726050ALE610 (281 machines), Seagate ST5000NM0084 (274 machines). The full ranked list is below.