The Top 5 6-Bay and 8-Bay NAS of 2017
Some NAS buyers really like to take their storage seriously. If you are looking for real future proofing in terms of network and internet accessible storage for your desktop, then a 6-Bay or 8-Bay network storage device is very much the sweet spot for capacity Vs ability. They may seem a little bulky and something that only the serious business user will consider, but with costs slowing coming down and the sheer size of multimedia files getting bigger it is all to easy to imagine factoring 6 or 8 bays of storage into your long term setup. Don’t believe me? It is worth noting that:
- 4K movies at 6-12GB are pretty common
- Professional and ameteur SLR cameras producing 100-200MB raw photo at the least
- Phone cameras producing 4K and HDR that produce 25-50MB photos
- Single music tracks reaching 12-15MB, making albums 200-300MB each
These files add up very quickly indeed and a 2 and a 4 Bay NAS will lose 1 HDD to a good RAID configuration to maintain redundency. Likewise the cost fo the devices are actually not too bad, with most cases being that it is on average around £100+ more than the 4-Bay counterpart per 2 drives (so around £200+ for the 8-Bay) but still getting the exact same or better hardware ports and hardware of the 4-Bay. So:
- Much better RAID options than smaller 2-Bay NAS and more than the 4-Bay
- Much better hardware options that more compact 2-Bay NAS options, as well as the same or better than the 4-Bay
- Much larger total capacity options than 4-Bay NAS devices even after RAID
- Much better Storage scaling than smaller NAS, as you can often increase storage, memory and more gradually over time than both the 2-Bay and 4-Bay as there will be more slots and bays to gradually fill up as needed
- Almost always a better Price Per Gigabyte/Terabyte than 2-Bay and 4-Bay devices after RAID
As you can see, there is a whole bunch of reasons for the growth in popularity of 6-Bay and 8-Bay NAS. But the choice is still pretty big, with fewer 6 and 8-Bay NAS released than the other sized devices, it is still a large range to sort through and it pretty intimidating without a little more knowledge on the devices.
What are the best 6-Bay NAS and 8-Bay NAS of the year?
What is the best NAS you should buy? Luckily NASCompares is here to help with that. We have literally looked at thousands of NAS devices over the years, have spoken with all the major NAS brands, reviewed and compared hundreds of the latest releases and below you will find the best 6-Bay NAS and 8-Bay NAS you can buy right now – each with their specialised selling point and what makes them special. So, without further ado, let’s get started.
The Best 6-Bay and 8-Bay NAS for everything this year – The QNAP TVS-882 and TVS-1282 NAS
 QNAP TVS-882
£1250+ ex.VAT
QNAP TVS-1282 £1500+ ex.VAT
Price – 7/10 Hardware – 9/10 Software – 8/10
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Easily one of the most adaptable and creative NAS I have ever seen, the QNAP 82 series is a collection of NAS that just continues to leave me rather stunned. Available in 4, 6 and 8 HDD chassis, the device just doesn’t stop surprising you. Over the last year we have seen several forms that this hardware has undertaken and each has been very, very well researched by the boffins at QNAP NAS. With an unparalleled level of hardware choice and options throughout the range, it is little wonder that they have topped out 6-Bay and 8-Bay NAS of the year chart. Here are just a few reasons why:
DEdicated 2.5″ SSD bays, Dedicated M.2 SSD Bays, triple HDMI, PCIe expandability (including graphics cards for the unit to utilize), 10GBe Ports, built-in speakers, LCD panel, incredible ventilation and cooling, Thunderbolt 2 and 3 connectivity, Blu-Ray optical Bay, 450W PSU Options, Enhanced Audio in/out…the list goes on and on. WIthout over 30 different configurations of bays, internal and external hardware, you can scale your needs and only pay for what you need., as well as add stuff later when you need more. Easily the most proficient and equipped NAS I have ever seen. Dual-core Intel® Core™ i3-6100 3.7 GHz Quad-core Intel® Core™ i5-6500 3.6 GHz Quad-core Intel® Core™ i7-7700 3.7 GHz 450W PSU option 8-64GB DDR4 Memory 2-Year Warranty Score Based on Units sold, Review and User Feedback |
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The Best 6-Bay and 8-Bay NAS for Graphics and Rendering – QNAP TVS-673 and TVS-873
 QNAP TVS-673
QNAP TVS-873
Price – 8/10 Hardware – 9/10 Software – 8/10
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QNAP NAS have been in the business of NAS for many, many years now and we have seen many an innovative idea from them when it comes to how and where you access your data. Their biggest rival tends to focus on network only access and as good as this is, there is no denying the sheer versatility and imagination of the boffins in R&D at QNAP. Features like HDMI, Direct Attached USB access, Speakers, remote controls, PCIe, LCD, SSD bays, USB 3.1 Gen 2, Audio In/Out, m.2 SSD and more – all these are ideas that have featured on different QNAP NAS over the last 3 years.
HOWEVER, it wasn’t until we saw the release of the QNAP TVS-673 and TVS-873 that we saw ALL of these innovations and ideas pooled into a single NAS device. The 73 series is more than just a good NAS, it represents years of development across other devices. Weeding out the stuff that no one wanted or failed and through a process of evolution building the ideal NAS. As if that wasn’t enough, like all Gold QNAP NAS, this device arrives with a power Quad Core AMD CPU that carries a substantial graphics enabled element. So jobs like rendering, transcoding, editing over 10GBe on the NAS and more are performed with ease. Not enough? WHy not stick a graphics card in the PCIe and make it even more powerful internally! Just a shame they left Thunderbolt off the menu. AMD R Series RX-421BD Quad-Core 2.1 GHz (Turbo Core up to 3.4 GHz) 8GB DDR4, upto 64GB 2 Year Warranty Score Based on Units sold, Review and User Feedback |
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The Best SFP+ 10GBe NAS – The QNAP TS-831X
 TS-831X
Price – 9/10 Hardware – 7/10 Software – 8/10
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When it comes to 6-Bay and 8-Bay NAS, it is fair to say that QNAP NAS have done very, very well this year. Largely dominating out Top 5 NAS of the year in these catagories, it will be unsurprising to you that their 10GBe SFP+ enabled NAS is the best 10GBe file server NAS for your money you can buy right now. The TS-831X is rather underwhelming at dfirst glance, with it’s ARM based CPU, even despite the range of between 4 and 16GB of memory. But whereas the previous TVS-x73 unit was designed with graphics and rendering in mind, this device is about SPEED and more importantly acting as a file server and backup server for your 10GBe network. Easily the lowest priced NAS currently available that supports the rather enterprise SFP+ connection, the CPU and Memory on offer are fantastic for high volume iOPS, snapshot backups and managing file exchanges speedily.
Still not convinced? Still don’t think it’s fast enough? How about installing a single SSD in one of the 8 available Bays – even a tiny one like a 128GB or 512GB. Thanks to QNAP’s smart storage manager, it will store common access files here or just be used as cache storage space in the long run, meaning that frequently accessed files will be accessed even faster over 10GBe.With the added bonus that this device is lower in price than many 4-Bay NAS, it is easy to see why this device has been so popular. Annapurna Labs Alpine AL-314 Quad-core 1.7 GHz Cortex-A15 processor 2/8/16GB Memory Two 10GbE SFP+ ports 2 Year Warranty Score Based on Units sold, Review and User Feedback |
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The Best RJ45 10GBe NAS – The Buffalo Terastation 5810 8-Bay
 Buffalo 5810Terastation
Price – 9/10 Hardware – 8/10 Software – 6/10
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Lowest Priced RJ45 10GBe NAS by miles! Featuring a 1.7 GHz Quad-Core CPU and 4 or 8 GB DDR3 with ECC Memory
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The Best Easy 8-Bay NAS of the Year – The Synology DS1817+
 Synology DS1817+
Price – 8/10 Hardware – 8/10 Software – 10/10 |
It may have taken a while, but the Synology NAS server has made it onto our 8-Bay NAS list for the year. It shouldn’t really be a huge surprise that Synology and the DS1817+ NAS are in our Top 5 NAS, but I think it is fair to say that their 8-Bay NAS did not sell as well as it deserved. For a start, when it was announced, many users were a little out off by the CPU as it had not changed since the 2014 released DS1815+, as well as the slight panic around the chip itself back in late 2016. However once you move past these matters you start to see why the DS1817+ is actually a pretty impressive bit of kit. One of the lowest priced NAS devices in our Top 5, this eight hard drive NAS arrives with 4 LAN ports, a PCIe upgrade slot, can be upgraded to a massive 16GB of DDR3 memory and can transcode beautifully in Plex, host VMware and more.
Add to that the fact that it performs wonderfully, can support almost anything that the Synology DSM 6.1 and 6.2 can offer and you have not only a low cost powerful NAS, but also a NAS that is remarkably user-friendly and won’t really need an IT guy to support you unless you start to look at rather intensive NAS tasks. Even then it will perform very, very well indeed and really deserved more attention than it got at release. Intel Atom C2538 Quad Core 2.4 GHz 2GB RAM 3 Year Warranty Warranty Extension Available Score Based on Units sold, Review and User Feedback |
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The Best Compact Business 6-Bay NAS of the Year – The Synology DS3018xs
 Synology DS3018xs
Price – 7/10 Hardware – 9/10 Software – 9/10
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I know, I know – this is technically cheating as it is the 6th device. But I really do think the Synology DS3018xs deserves an honorary mention, as it is one of a few NAS devices from Synology that (though a little experimental) really stood out for me this year. Although I cannot tell you that is it better than the five units above (as each was picked on it’s price, hardware, software, connections and ability), the DS3018xs is a good 6-Bay NAS because it is IDEAL for the business user who wants a NAS that they can rely on, upgrade as needed and ignore to do it’s job.
The main reason I like the DS3018xs NAS so much is that it is the first NAS that I have seen Synology release that shows them created a unit like QNAP. Both companies are very different and have a very different approach to design (technically and aesthetically) and this device shows Synology trying to cater to this other market for a change – whilst still maintaining their own core standards and principles. This device has multiple LAN ports, a PCIe expansion slot, can be upgrade to a staggering 30x maximum drives via the DX1215 device via a SAS connection for reliability, it arrives with high spec memory and a Pentium D CPU. So in terms of hardware it is very ‘QNAP’ ish – but then you have the no-fuss synology side with factors like 5 Year warranty, Advance replacement when needed via the SRS service included in the price. There is no denying that this unit arrives with a pricetag that will put many users off, but once you separate that cost across 5 years AND factor in the peace of mind that arrives with it, then you may find the pricetag a little easier to accommodate in the long-run. Intel Pentium D1508 Dual Core 2.2 GHz 2.6GHz (turbo) 8GB RAM 5yr Warranty XS series, so advance replacement service included PCIe slot Score Based on Units sold, Review and User Feedback |
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Where can I buy the perfect NAS, DAS or SAN?
Choosing the right data storage device can be rather difficult. Having to consider everything from budget, total capacity, reliability and of course, ensuring that you get value for money – all of these factors can result in getting lost in a confusing world of NAS, DAS and SAN. Never fear, why not trust the NAS experts. They will provide technical advice, individually tailored solutions that suit your needs, bad sector checks on all hard drives and SSD, firmware installations and RAID configurations, as well as post sales support for years after and checks on your setup later to ensure that the solution best suited your needs – ALL THIS completely FREE. So, why not get in touch with them and make the process of choosing the right data storage solution for your needs a great deal easier.
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