Both competitors are intended for NAS (Network Attached Storage) hard drives, have an equivalent operating temperature, are compatible with Mac and PC, and perform well for personal and home office in a 24/7 environment. Both are reliable and efficient devices.
WD Red is a complete powerhouse unit to meet all the needs from storing to retrieving & personalizing data. It constitutes NASware 3.0 technology that is aimed to advance reliability and system performance, minimize customer interruption, and shorten the integration process & growth of the drive’s compatibility with the NAS system.
On the other side, the Toshiba N300 supports incomparable reliability for NAS and other highly efficient storage systems. It supports a massive storage capacity for specific, home office, and small-scale business use. It has improved real-time performance. It has RV sensors that diminish the influence of vibration which helps in delivering stable performance.
Table of Contents
Side By Side Comparison:
Compared to Toshiba’s N300, the WD Red has NASware firmware compatibility, is more compact in size & lighter in weight, and consumes lower power whereas its contender is cheaper, versatile in products, has a superior data transfer rate, and slimmer in design.
| Technical Specs | Red | N300 |
| Device type | NAS (Network Attached Storage) Hard Drive | NAS (Network Attached Storage) Hard Drive |
| Interface | SATA 6Gb/s | SATA 6Gb/s |
| Supported bays | 1-8 | 1-8 |
| Compatible devices | NAS Systems | Desktop |
| Unrecoverable Error Rate (bits read) | 4TB = <1 in 1014 | 4 TB = 1 per 1015 |
| Limited Warranty (years) | 3 | 3 |
| Acoustics (idle mode) in decibels (dB) | 4TB = 23 | 4TB = 31 |
Applications
Red;
- Deals with the daily workload.
- Personal, home, and office environments.
- Indolent time available to carry out background actions.
N300;
- Network Attached Storage (NAS).
- Desktop raid and servers.
- Well-suited with multimedia server storage.
- Isolated cloud storage.
- Minor business server and storage.
Features
WD Red;
- Sharing of data in individual and home environments.
- You remain connected to the world and experience improved drive compatibility, dependability, incorporation, and amelioration with NASware 3.0 technology.
- With NASware 3.0 technology, you can optimize your device up to 48TB capacity in an 8-bay system.
- In environments where spare time is available to ensure the background operations, the device can be optimized.
- It is designed to performing a 24/7 environment.
Toshiba N300;
- It is well-suited with a multi-raid system that associates up to rich scalability of 8 hard disks.
- Easily stores and access a large capacity of data by the user 24/7.
- Advanced RV sensors diminish the influence of vibrations.
- It is a multi-functioning device allowing access to multiple users at multiple locations simultaneously.
- High endurance mechanisms ensure better stability.
- Minimal heat production as a result of automatically controlling the browsing speed.
- It has a reserved area for temporarily storing data called a data buffer that is utilized when there is high data access load from many users.
- Toshiba’s dynamic cache technology optimizes the allocation of cache during the read/write operations
- It is intended to convey high capacity and outstanding performance with a three-year prolonged warranty.
By analyzing the mentioned features above, we can say that N300 wins this competition.
Compare these devices with others:
- WD Red vs Red Plus.
- Wd Red vs Purple.
- WD Red vs Seagate Ironwolf.
- Toshiba N300 vs X300.
- Toshiba N300 vs Seagate Ironwolf.
Design & Hardware
WD Red is a portable NAS hard drive having a rectangular shape and constitutes a slimmer body design.
It has three vertical lines, has a white bottom portion with Western Digital written on it, and has silver lustrous corners and black background with the WD logo on its front.
On the other hand, the Toshiba N300 is taller and much slimmer like a tower shape. It has a silver background and a half-white portion with a Toshiba logo on the front.
The bottom portion has two chip-like pictures with N300 written beside.
We believe, that this device takes the lead for having a slimmer design in this seciton.
But keep in mind, that the device is relatively heavier than its contender.
| Parameter | Red | N300 |
| Dimension in inches (LxWxD) | 4TB = 1.028×5.787×4 | 4TB = 5.78×4.01×1.03 |
| Weight, g | 4TB = 571.5 | 4TB = 693 |
| Form Factor | 3.5 inches | 3.5 inches |
| Supply voltage (working/idle) | 4TB = 12V/5V | 4TB = 12V/5V |
| Color | Red | Silver |
Working Environment
The temperature is an important parameter that plays a vital role in influencing the lifecycle span of NAS hard drives. An increased risk of failure can be due to the result of the higher temperature.
The Toshiba N300 seems to have a lower operating temperature of 5°C (which is a temperature for storing) which is considered to be an ideal room temperature.
On the contrary, the WD Red has a comparatively lower temperature which is cooler and not worthy.
Toshiba N300 takes the lead for having an ideal and controlled operating temperature.
The non-operating temperature of both the contenders is the same.
Both competitors are suitable for personal and home offices but N300 takes the lead as it also performs well in small-scale businesses.
| Parameter | Red | N300 |
| Temperature (Operating / Non-Operating) | 4TB = 0 to 60°C / -40 to 70°C | 4TB = 5 to 65°C / -40 to 70°C |
| Environment | Personal and Home Office NAS systems | Personal, Home Office, and Small Business |
System compatibility
Both opponents are compatible with Mac and PC ensuring the faster transmission of data.
The Toshiba’s device is also compatible with Linux which is an open-source OS that benefits Mac in terms of flexibility, confidentiality, improved personalization, and easy customization.
Additionally, it is unaffected by malware. Hence, it wins this contest for having compatibility with an improved and superior OS.
| Operating System | Red | N300 |
| Mac | Yes | Yes |
| Linux | No | Yes |
| PC | Yes | Yes |
Interface
Interface establishes a connection between two unrelated units or entities.
Both contenders support the SATA 6Gb/s interface which is the third generation of SATA, the principal interface that connects host bus connectors to mass storage devices such as hard disk drives, optical drives, and solid-state drives.
Hence in this scenario, both competitors ended up in a stalemate.
Side Note:
SATA stands for “Serial ATA” or “Serial Advanced Technology Attachment.” And the “6Gb/s” ensures simultaneous data transfer speeds of 6 gigabits per second and extended performance in high-bandwidth applications such as streaming high-graphics video.
Rotational Speed
The rapidity at which the platters travel inside the hard drive is determined by rotational speed. The faster movement of platters makes the data bits move past the read/write head quicker which in turn delivers higher data rates.
Toshiba N300 has an incomparable rpm of 7200 which means it has better data transfer rates as compared to its competitor here.
| Parameter | Red | N300 |
| Rotational speed | 5400rpm | 7200rpm |
Power Consumption
Red utilizes relatively lower power than its competitor which lowers the electricity consumption, making it less costly, prolonging the lifespan of the drive, and making it more efficient in performance.
| Parameter | Red | N300 |
| Power Consumption Idle Average (W) | 4TB = 3.1 | 4TB = 4.04 |
Data Transfer Speed
Toshiba N300 has a relatively higher data transfer speed than its contender. Hence it allows the faster transfer of data from one place to another.
| Parameter | Red | N300 |
| Data Transfer Speed | 4TB = up to 180Mb/s | 4TB = 232Mb/s |
Storage Capacity
Toshiba N300 offers versatility in products and has a massive storage capacity ranging from 4TB – 18TB while its competitor has a product range of 2TB – 6TB.
It has 8 sizes while its contender has 4 sizes available.
Hence, it takes the lead for being more versatile in sizes and having a massive storage capacity.
| Specification | Red | N300 |
| Capacity | 2TB, 3TB, 4TB, 6TB | 4TB, 6TB, 8TB, 10TB, 12TB, 14TB, 16TB, 18TB |
Price Comparison
Even though Red has a compact design, NASware firmware compatibility, and consumes relatively less power, its higher price is still unjustified.
Despite being a cheaper storage device, Toshiba N300 offers more storage capacity, more product versatility, a higher data transfer rate, and better Operating System compatibility.
Quick Summary
Both competitors;
- have an equivalent non-operating temperature.
- are compatible with Mac and PC.
- are designed for NAS (Network Attached Storage) systems.
- support 1-8 drive bays.
- workload rate limit of 180.
- have an interface of SATA 6Gb/s.
- offers 3 years of warranty.
- have 3.5 inches form-factor.
Red;
- NASware firmware compatibility.
- consumes less power.
- is more compact and lighter in weight.
- has lower power consumption.
N300;
- Is a more economical choice.
- has a slimmer design.
- ideal and controlled operating temperature.
- is more compatible with Operating Systems.
- has a superior data transfer rate and rotational speed.
- offers more storage capacity and product versatility.