The DS419slim from Synology only supports 2.5-inch drives, which rules out the 3-inch NAS hard drives you'd usually purchase. Laptop drives are an option, but they're slow and aren't designed to run 24/7. Seagate and Western Digital do have NAS solid-state drives (SSD) available, but you can expect to pay a fair amount compared to mechanical counterparts.
Choosing the best 2.5-inch storage drive
There's no best solution when it comes to 2.5-inch drives for your NAS. This all depends on your available budget since SSDs can get really expensive for higher capacity options. If you have the funds available and want something that'll perform better than a 2.5-inch mechanical drive, the Seagate IronWolf NAS SSD (opens in new tab) is a fantastic drive for the Synology DS419slim.
If you can't quite afford an SSD, you'll need to pick up a 2.5-inch mechanical drive, which comes with a slower 5400RPM motor than what's found inside larger 3-inch drives. Still, they'll perform well enough for most scenarios and come with advanced features and tech that consumer drives don't sport in case of power loss, etc.
Rich Edmonds is Senior Editor of PC hardware at Windows Central, covering everything related to PC components and NAS. He's been involved in technology for more than a decade and knows a thing or two about the magic inside a PC chassis. You can follow him over on Twitter at @RichEdmonds.
