Netgear falling behind?

While i'm not advocating this to anyone else, I didn't look at the HCL for specific models of either memory or HDD. I looked at the broad specifications when upgrading the memory in the Ultra 4 I own, and when deciding on the SpinPoint F4 drives to put in it. That and the reported reliability of said drives / memory.

Now, this is isn't a tactic i'd reccomend to anyone else, it's just the way I approached it. I was lucky, but given that NetGear aren't likely to purchase (or beg/borrow/steal - delete as appropriate) every stick of RAM or HDD that can theoretically fit into a ReadyNAS, if what's on the HCL you can't (or won't) purchase, your going to have to decide if it's worth taking the risk.

For me it worked out. The Memory has been flawless, as every stick of memory I've ever purchased from Crucial always has been. And so far the HDD's are all running perfectly without issue. YMMV, but it was a gamble that paid off (at least up till now) for me.