---
title: "I'm still buying used enterprise HDDs for my NAS, and new drives make less sense to me now than they already did"
url: https://daily.dev/posts/i-m-still-buying-used-enterprise-hdds-for-my-nas-and-new-drives-make-less-sense-to-me-now-than-they-llkzsyi6w
source_url: https://www.xda-developers.com/im-still-buying-used-enterprise-hdds-for-my-nas-and-new-drives-make-less-sense-to-me-now-than-they-already-did
type: article
source: "XDA Developers"
published: 2026-08-06T14:01:42.138Z
updated: 2026-08-06T14:02:12.784Z
tags: ["homelab"]
reading_time: 5
upvotes: 1
comments: 0
language: en
---

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# I'm still buying used enterprise HDDs for my NAS, and new drives make less sense to me now than they already did

**[XDA Developers](https://daily.dev/sources/xda-developers)** · 5 min read · 1 upvotes · 0 comments

## Summary

Used enterprise HDDs remain a compelling value proposition for NAS builds, even as new drive prices have risen sharply. By reading SMART data, FARM logs, power-on hours, start-stop cycles, and defect lists, buyers can assess a drive's history before committing. The main trade-offs are shorter or no manufacturer warranty and the risk of fraudulent listings on marketplaces like eBay. Buying manufacturer-recertified drives from reputable resellers like ServerPartDeals mitigates some risk. The author shares real data from two Seagate Exos 7E8 SAS drives pulled from a Dell server, illustrating how transparent the used enterprise market can be when approached carefully.

## Full article

daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: <https://www.xda-developers.com/im-still-buying-used-enterprise-hdds-for-my-nas-and-new-drives-make-less-sense-to-me-now-than-they-already-did>

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---

Tags: [#homelab](https://daily.dev/tags/homelab)

[View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/i-m-still-buying-used-enterprise-hdds-for-my-nas-and-new-drives-make-less-sense-to-me-now-than-they-llkzsyi6w)