The Ultimate Guide to Selecting Top 2-Bay NAS Drives for 2023-2024
In the quest for a new data storage solution, a 2-drive NAS often emerges as an ideal balance of cost and storage, particularly for beginners or first-time personal server owners. Overcoming the initial limitation of a 50% storage reduction (due to RAID 1 across two hard drives), recent years have seen remarkable advancements in 2-bay NAS systems. Previously underestimated until around 2017-2018 due to their limited capacity and throughput, these systems have significantly evolved. The latest 2-Bay NAS models, including those released in the last year, boast impressive features like 10GbE support. Additionally, with NAS-specific hard drives like Seagate Ironwolf and WD Red now offering up to 20-22TB, these compact servers are not just powerful but also offer substantial storage capacity. This article aims to guide you through the best 2-Bay NAS drives of this year, helping you find the perfect fit for your home or business, with a focus on the best in software, hardware, and combined offerings.
Best 2-Bay NAS of the Year
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What Sets Apart the Top 2-Bay NAS Drives?
Despite the wide range of 2-Bay NAS drives available, not all are created equal. The market is flooded with budget options that may initially seem attractive but often fall short in quality and reliability. Here are key features that distinguish the best NAS systems, applicable whether youāre considering our top three recommendations or exploring other options:
Certainly! Hereās a revised version of the key features section with individual bullet points for clarity:
- Integrated Hardware and Software: Includes the physical NAS device along with a comprehensive software suite that features a web browser interface, mobile apps, and desktop client apps. This suite covers various functionalities like backup, media streaming, surveillance, and file management.
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Compatibility Across Operating Systems: All recommended NAS systems are designed to work smoothly with multiple operating systems, including Windows, Mac, Android, and Linux.
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Standard Warranty with Extension Option: These NAS drives typically come with a 2-3 year warranty, which can be optionally extended up to 5 years.
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Local and Remote Network Access: Each NAS drive supports local network access, and secure remote access is facilitated through brand-supported services without additional costs.
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Support for Large Hard Drives: The top NAS systems are compatible with the latest high-capacity NAS hard drives, like the Seagate Ironwolf 22TB and WD Red 22TB.
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Multiple Drive Configuration Support: These NAS drives offer support for various RAID configurations, enhancing both performance and data protection.
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Regular Software Updates: Expect regular updates for the NAS systems, enhancing their security features, overall functionality, and service offerings.
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Cloud and Business Service Synchronization: The NAS solutions are compatible with popular cloud services (Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive) and business/enterprise services (AWS, Azure, Backblaze, etc).
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Shared Drive Hosting Capability: Allows for hosting a shared drive on your PC, mobile, or laptop, which is synchronized with the NAS and appears in your native file manager (like Mac Finder or Windows Explorer).
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Direct Access via Ethernet/Network Cable: These NAS solutions can be accessed directly through an ethernet/network cable connection from your computer system to the NAS, supporting 100MB/s speeds or higher.
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Backup and Synchronization Tools Included: The NAS drives come with backup and synchronization tools that can be installed on your local computer, allowing regular backups of files and system data.
With these features in mind, you can confidently choose a 2-Bay NAS drive that meets your home or business needs in 2023-2024.
Remember, if youāre considering a NAS not covered here, ensure it includes these features to avoid settling for an inferior product. Now, letās explore the best 2-Bay NAS drives to buy in 2023-2024.
Honourable Mention: Terramaster F2-423 NAS
0-44TB, 2-Bays, M.2 NVMe 2280 x2, Intel N5105 Celeron CPU, 4-32GB Memory, 2x 2.5Gbe Port, 2yr Warranty
Current Price/Availability on Amazon ā $379
Hardware Review āĀ LINK
YouTube Video Review āĀ Watch
What I said in my review 4th Feb ā23:
Terramaster still continues to be the most affordable fully-featured provider of the whole NAS market and although a number of their solutions have always felt a little rough around the edges, you always got the impression that you were getting a good deal for the hardware that was available from QNAP and Synology. Now in 2022/2023, the same continues to be true but in the F2-423 NASā case, you are actually getting some pretty top tier (for the Home/Prosumer) market at a price tag that is really tough to argue with. Terramaster has clearly been watching their bigger competitors and cherry-picked the features that people have been asking for (2.5GbE, USB 3.2 Gen 2, M.2 NVMe SSD bays, etc) for this new generation. In terms of software, things are a little less convincing and although TOS 5 (currently in Beta at the time of writing) still continues to evolve into something genuinely fully featured and impressive, TOS 4 that the F2-423 includes at launch is usable (if unexciting) platform that provides the base level services that a new NAS user would want, but lacks killer apps that their competitors are offering right now (File Streaming, AI photo recognition, Surveillance, etc).
Most of these ARE included in TOS5, but until it arrives much later in 2022 in a full release, the F2-423 feels like a powerful NAS that doesnāt have the software to show off its strengths yet. If you are reading this later in 2022 or 2023, this might well be irrelevant though, as the brand rolls out their bit firmware update to ALL Terramster NAS devices. Overall, I definitely CAN recommend the F2-423 NAS for its hardware, for Plex Media server or as an affordable multi-tier backup solution, but if you are looking for a NAS for more tailored data access or in a much more fully-featured package ā hold out a little longer till TOS 5 gets released first.
 DEAL WATCH ā Is It On Offer Right Now?These Offers are Checked Daily
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Asustor Nimbusor 2 Gen 2 NAS ā Best 2 Bay NAS for Storage
0-44TB, 2-Bays, 4x M.2 NVMe 2280, N5095/N5105 4Core 2.9Ghz CPU, 4-16GB Memory, 2x 2.5Gbe Port, HDMI 2.0b, USB 10Gb/s, 3yr Warranty
Current Price/Availability on Amazon ā $340
Hardware Review āĀ LINK
YouTube Video Review āĀ Watch
What I said in my review of the Nimbustor 2:
In terms of hardware, I am genuinely astounded at how much Asustor have crammed into the Nimbustor 2 NAS. Arriving at a comparable price point to other featured 2 Bays in the market, this is a very, VERY impressive selection of hardware at this price point. Even WITHOUT the 2.5Gbe, it still arrives at a price lower than the Synology DS224+ and QNAP TS-262 NAS ā neither of which have the N5105 CPU and 4GB DDR4 Memory combination that the Asustor AS5302T have. Add to this that buying the Nimbustor 2 means you are using a network connection 2.5x larger in speed (potentially 5x with Link Aggregation) and you are looking at some seriously affordable NAS with serious future proofing for things like Plex Media Server, inclusive surveillance, true 4K playback and media enjoyment in many forms too. But the real show stealer is the additional 4x Gen 3 M.2 SSD Bays, effectively making this a 6 Drive NAS System!
Nothing is perfect of course. Little things that can be overlooked, like an LCD panel on the front and/or the ability to upgrade with a PCIe slot would be nice, but at this price point, it makes it very hard to complain about these physical issues. Just remember that to take advantage of the 2.5Gbe increased network coverage, you will need to upgrade your network to 2.5Gbe or 10Gbe over copper (RJ45) accordingly.
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DEAL WATCH ā Is It On Offer Right Now?
Asustor Nimbustor 2 Gaming Inspired Network Attached Storage AS5202T, Intel J400 Amazon  UK 20 OFF (WAS 299) [LINK] ASUSTOR NIMBUSTOR 2 (AS5202T) 2-Bay NAS Enclosure, Dual Core 2.7GHz CPU, 2GB DDR Amazon UK 12.05 OFF (WAS 395) [LINK] ASUSTOR NIMBUSTOR 2 Gen2 AS5402T - NAS-Server Amazon  USA 8.1 OFF (WAS 403) [LINK] ASUSTOR NIMBUSTOR 4 Gen2 AS5404T - NAS Server Amazon USA 5.91 OFF (WAS 578) [LINK] These Offers are Checked Daily
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QNAP TS-264 NAS ā Best 2-Bay NAS for Hardware and Expandability
0-44TB, 2-Bays, 2x Gen 3Ć1 M.2 NVMe 2280, Intel N5105 Celeron CPU, 8GB Memory, PCIe 3Ć2 Slot, 2x 2.5Gbe Port, HDMI 4K 60FPS, 3yr Warranty
Current Price/Availability on Amazon ā $450
Hardware Review āĀ LINK
YouTube Video Review āĀ Watch
What I said in my review April ā22:
The TS-264 boasts exceptional hardware for its tier in the NAS market, a strength that QNAP has consistently demonstrated. Even when looking back just 5 years, the level of hardware scalability and ease of upgradability offered by the TS-264 is impressive and remains largely unmatched in 2023. The 2-Bay NAS is a logical choice for those looking to move away from the limitations of subscription-based cloud services like Google, OneDrive, and Dropbox, and instead, opt for a more flexible and fully-featured private server. The TS-264 offers unbeatable value for the money in terms of hardware. In terms of software, the situation is less clear-cut. QTS 5 is a feature-rich operating system that can be accessed via a web browser, with multiple mobile and desktop clients, and hundreds of apps that can be easily installed.
However, it can be a steep learning curve for some users, and its interface can be overwhelming. For those who desire a highly customizable system that can present data in various ways, and offers a wide range of third-party support, QNAP and QTS 5 offer unique services that are not available elsewhere. Keep in mind that setting up and customizing the system will require some time and effort.
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DEAL WATCH ā Is It On Offer Right Now? QNAP TS-264-8G | 2-Bay, Intel Quad-core CPU, 2 x M.2 Slots, 2.5GbE Desktop NAS, Amazon UK 12.01 OFF (WAS 469) [LINK] These Offers are Checked Daily
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Synology DVA1622 NAS ā Best 2-Bay for NAS Software
0-44TB, 2-Bays, Dedicated NVR HDMI/KVM Output, 8 Camera Licenses, Intel J4125 CPU, 6GB Memory, 1x 1Gbe Port, DSM & Surveillance Station 9, AI Surveillance Tasks and Analysis,Ā 3yr Warranty
Current Price/Availability on Amazon ā $550-559
Hardware Review āĀ LINK
YouTube Video Review āĀ Watch
What I said in my review June ā23:
In conclusion, the Synology DVA1622 makes a compelling case for being the best 2-Bay NAS from Synology, despite its price increase over the DS720+ and DS723+. Its ability to run DSM 7.2 on par with its counterparts, while also executing Surveillance Station exceptionally well, sets it apart from the crowd. The added benefits of AI recognition, live AI analysis of recordings, people counting, and intelligent intrusion guidelines are features that can be invaluable to businesses and home users who prioritize their security. Along with these perks, the 8 included surveillance licenses, a significant bump from the 2 that come with other Synology NAS devices, provide excellent value, considering they would cost around $200-250 on their own. The integrated graphics within its CPU offers enhanced multimedia playback capabilities, not only in DSM but also in HEVC recordings in Surveillance Station 9.1. Additionally, the local HDMI/KVM support grants standalone surveillance access, a feature rarely found in other Synology NAS devices. The DVA1622 outclasses the DS720+ by coming with 6GB of memory in its default model, compared to their 2GB. This robust offering, combined with the excellence of Surveillance Station 9.1, one of the worldās best surveillance software, enables the DVA1622 to deliver one of the best experiences of this software. Access to both DSM and Surveillance Station on the DVA1622 equips you with a full suite of NVR/CCTV services, as well as the backup, syncing, sharing, and security capabilities of DSM 7.2.
However, the device isnāt without its limitations. It has only two USB ports, which may limit your flexibility for KVM setup with the HDMI and other USB-dependent tasks. Its single 1GbE port could potentially bottleneck your network, especially when running extensive camera setups and other network-heavy tasks. Additionally, the maximum memory of 6GB could hit a ceiling if you are running several services in DSM 7.2, operating 16 cameras, and managing 2 AI tasks simultaneously, considering the CPU supports up to 8GB. The lack of expandability with the Synology DX517 expansion chassis also limits storage potential, with a 2-Bay NAS typically implying a RAID 1 setup and halving the possible maximum storage. Despite these limitations, the DVA1622 stands as an excellent choice for a 2-Bay NAS. It is highly recommended for both surveillance and standard Synology DSM usage. However, it is essential to remember its lack of local connectivity and scalability when compared to the DS723+, which offers 32GB maximum.
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DEAL WATCH ā Is It On Offer Right Now? Synology Deep Learning NVR DVA1622, W127023602 Amazon USA 18.12 OFF (WAS 693) [LINK] These Offers are Checked Daily
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Need More Help Choosing the right NAS?
Choosing the right data storage solution for your needs can be very intimidating and itās never too late to ask for help. With options ranging from NAS to DAS, Thunderbolt to SAS and connecting everything up so you can access all your lovely data at the touch of a button can be a lot simpler than you think. If you want some tips, guidance or help with everything from compatibility to suitability of a solution for you, why not drop me a message below and I will get back to you as soon as possible with what you should go for, its suitability and the best place to get it. This service is designed without profit in mind and in order to help you with your data storage needs, so I will try to answer your questions as soon as possible. Just enter in a few details of your setup, storage requirements and (in the case of buying a new solution) your budget ā then me and Eddie the Web guy can help you with your question. This is a completely free service, is NOT provided with profit in mind and is manned by two humans (no bots, no automated replies, etc). Assistance might take an extra day or two (the service gets a lot of visitors) but we do try to answer every message. If you want to support this service, you can find out how to donate HERE. Otherwise, you can still just message us for free advice anyway!
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i prefer terramaster 1000 times again
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When using these systems, are you always using hard drives that are listed on Synology’s compatability list or will other brands work as well?
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which one would be easier to use with the mobile app? synology or qnap? I just wanna upload photos and videos in an easy way remotely
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Hey! Is the long review of these still planned? Thanks for all the info you folks put out there!
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My 2 bay Qnap ts251+ has finally broke down after many years using for mainly streaming movie and music backups across my network, what would you recommend as an up to date upgrade in 2024?
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Thank you so much for the details
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Thanks for detailed review!
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I want to get a flash NAS, but it’s hard to pass up the $ per GB. It’s twice the price for nvme drives. I think I’m gonna go with the 4 bay, raid5, and nvme cache.
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DS923+ that I just bought. partially for cameras…
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Thanks Robbie, well done I was going to upgrade to a 4 bay, but I’m not a storage hound After this review, I’m just going to keep it
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I just setup a QNAP TS-264 NAS and am very happy with it running 2x Seagate Exos X14 14TB drives and 2x 1 TB nvme cache storage, so far I am very pleased.
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I’ve been reviewing your vides (mainly this one) for about 2 weeks now. Regarding Qnap TS-264-8g…
You really do a superb job with your information and of course your wit! ????
I received the Qnap NAS yesterday (Tuesday, 2/27/2024) and was blown away… when opening it… I discovered an updated (2) two SODIMM slots within! ???? I don’t know anyone else who would care, or know what I was specifically referring too, but I just needed to tell someone.
As expected, the Qnap TS-264 is working very-well! ????
I have been looking at NAS’s for years but never felt confident enough to green light it. This is my first NAS.
Thank you for your videos (on this topic). They offer and angle of insight and encouragement that is eye-wateringly informative.
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From a performance perspective the desktop app is way better than the web interface.. Can’t stand using the web interface once using that.
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If for not the license cost I would probably buy this. Make it $10 and okay. At $50, hard pass, that is half the cost of a camera.
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I haven’t seen any NAS with a much higher end cpu, 8 lanes does suck but to get them to run at full speed you’d have to do a DIY home brew. The fact that you can upgrade the ram is great, using the SSD’s as cache is the only thing I can see that’d be useful. With current prices on SSD’s and mechanical there’s no way I’ll get 10TB for $200 in any SSD. I never got hit with the ransom ware attack but I allow local access to the NAS it’s not accessable to users via the internet including myself
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Nobody of reviewers did not show how HDMI works and what apps can be runned on hdmi.
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Can;t wait to see “The safest NAS” review in 2024. Less vulnerable from hackers.
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This sucks because you assume we’ve also purchased the surveillance station software which is expensive. It’s a DVA1622 review so please just focus on the device itself, not other up-sells.
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Thank you for all you do! I have learned so much about Synology, NAS, Surveillance Station, RAID configuration, etc. Currently I have two Synology NAS set up on two different sites, home and a commercial building I manage. Router/switches Unifi system in both locations. For the remote location, I opted for the DVA3221, based on my research and your excellent explanation of the capacity, and the fact that it is a pretty significant deployment. I figure about 25 remote cameras where complete.
What I have found over time is that you start to disregard the notifications when there are so many, which obviously defeats the purpose. With the better analytics, I can be aware of, and more tuned into, things that are issues or threats. For example there are several tenants, but for example I only need to know if an unknown character enters various areas.
What I found in setting up the systems was struggling with CMS or Central Management System. I was easily able to deploy CMS, which allowed me to monitor and configure the basic settings of the remote NAS. However, what I struggled with was remotely dealing with Surveillance Station and adding remote cameras into the monitoring center . It took a call to Synology to realize that there is a separate “CMS” app, specific for SS and even Synology support admitted that the documentation is pretty limited.
I think as multi-site deployment is likely becoming even more prevalent with home users, it may be a great video for you to consider. I am sure others would be interested in this and are searching for more detailed information.
Aside from the actual CMS setup, I still struggle with what is the best configuration for secure and quick connections. Although I am still working through the deployment, getting the cameras to all work over HTTPS and now getting DS Cam to also connect over HTTPS is giving me some headaches. A true complete setup for remote surveillance, with the CMS issues and best connection methods (VPN, Quick Connect?) would be so helpful as even when you get it working there is the lingering concern as to how exposed your setup may be.
Thank you again for all your effort and happy to see your subscriber list growing!
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How many cam license do you have, that extreme expensive
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hi, You looks like Guru of NASs – all “reviewers” knows 10gb NIC, many NVMe slots etc ect BUT You only now declare shortage of PCIe 3.0 !x1! slots – …please help me to choice between the FS6706T, AS5402T and AS6702T – the prodsheets is nothing to me, and I have 1pcs enterprice 16TB HDD so it looks like to forget FS6706T but can You describe differences between the AS5402T and AS6702T? theoreticly they are differ only by facelift – the same CPU, the same NVMe ports, the same HDD ports etc etc – thanks in advance and waiting You solution, regards Mirek
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I got my AS5404T this week. Everything looks good so far. Only issue I have is the fan spins really slow at like sub 400 rpm on auto, and remains at that speed even when I manually change the fan speed to high. Strange.
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Great video! What are the differences between the TS-262 and TS-264?
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Thank you for the video! I love hearing about the variety of NAS even though I have decided and invested in a DS1522+
If you get around to it I would be interested in hearing what people do with their OLD NAS
I have started out with a DS 220j and now I have it sitting on the shelf doing nothing…
What is a good use for such a thing when you already have a much better NAS.
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What about top 2 bay budget NAS š
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I’ve subscribed recently and find incredible that you are able to produce in depth and quite lengthy content to be published about every day. I’m impressed!
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I just got my Asustor AS5402t and am glad I made this choice. I’m running 2 8TB Toshaba NAS drives (RAID1) and, 2 2TB SSDs (RADIE1) and 1 cache SSD. The flexibility and speed (dual 2.5GBE network ports!) of this NAS is amazing. I was happy to find that there is an Omada app available for the NAS (saving $100 over buying the TP-Link module). Finally, there looks to be a decent surveillance app, which I plan to use when I install some cameras at home. All in all, for $369 base price this NAS offers a LOT of power.
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Do you have a referral link or product link for the combo card you briefly mention in the video @8:48?
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Will never touch Synology again. My DS220 plus failed four days after its 2 year warranty expired – Synology support couldnāt give a toss.
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Synology: the worst CPU, the least memory, the slowest LAN, the most expensive and yet, on top 3 list – seriously? who paid for this video? pathetic
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Very helpful.
May give up on the new entrants using CasaOS or even unRAID — both are messing up Docker Compose with their own compose spec.
Just priced on B&H an Asustor Nimbustor 2 bay Gen 2 with Crucial 8gb x 2 RAM, pair of Ironwolf 4gb 5900 rpm & pair of 1 gb Sabrent nvme SSD.
All told between $700 and $800
$369.00 Asustor AS5402T 2-Bay Nas Enclosure
$42.99 Crucial 16GB Laptop DDR4 3200 MHz SODIMM Memory Kit (2 x 8GB)
$93.99 Seagate 4TB IronWolf 5900 rpm SATA III 3.5″ Internal NAS HDD PER DRIVE (x 2 for RAID) — less than $25 a TB
$59.99 Sabrent 1TB Rocket NVMe PCIe 4.0 M.2 2280 Internal SSD PER STICK — $60 a TB
I like the Asustor documentation on their website.
https://www.asustor.com/en/app_central/app_detail?id=754&type=
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Awesome, I’m a possessor of the might 251D from qnap, and still keep watching and be updated with your work, that is very great and super informative, I’m really happy to see how far they goes with the powered cpu’s as well, those are in my opinion too, the best 2 bay nasses of the yer, great choices!
P.S. Other than that, I’m still very happy user of the ts 251D from qnap, updated regularly, upgrade to 32 gb of ram (not officially supported but it works perfectly) with several virtual machine, a lot of containers and it works flawlessly, for my needs I had to replace also the hdd with ssd, sata, for the noises but now all is perfect ????
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First
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Just bought a Nimbustor4, but is not AS5404T… I found no nvme slots… Can I fix this? I transfered data all day long today and at the end of the day i disconnected and open the cage to see where i can put any ssds to make transfer easier… Is there any remedy – mine is AS5304T?
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qnap ts-264 or synology ds224+ with additional 16gb ram? i need run on this 1 or 3 virtual machines.
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Any way to get a feed to output through my home network to a smart TV on the same network? Would only be a single feed with no need to use a cursor on the screen.
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LOL, “Great Video”? Learn to review with authority dude!
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thanks for the informative
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Question, what would you advise, I want to purchase the TS-464-8G or the 2 bay verion all depends on the following.
I also want to use it for my 2 IP camera’s. Would a 2 bay more than enough? Or would you advice to go for a 4 bay so that I use one HDD for the IP camera’s.
Thank you.
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Hello! In this balck friday I planned to buy my first Nas. And I don’t know which one to choose, I’m between these two models: QNAP TS-264 and Synology DS-224+. I want to use it for PLEX and backup photos and maybe 1 or 2 cameras. Thank you
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loving it so far, trying to get the PTZ patrol mode to work with my reolink. was hoping you would touch on this feature. also how to get speakers to work lol
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I hate seagulls too…
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hi Thank you for the videos. I am looking for a NAS for a Plex server. Currently, I have a Synology ds116. I have 16tb $K movies .and want o share it with my friends who is use it to play it in their Home theater. I do have a home theater where i want to play my movies too. Would you be able to suggest some options? I am keen to buy Asustor AS5402 T,. But not sure. do my friends have 4k Dolby atmos in their home, and also full quality in my house?
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I’m left with two questions from these great reviews .. I’m trying to scope a major upgrade of a soho setup of disk backups and ip cameras …
(1) is it too much to expect this unit to run Synology’s DSM as well as the SSM from the DVA1622, or is it best to run 2 NAS’s ????
(2) any advice/experience of sizing NAS HDDs for the DVA1622 ????
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A too expensive Choice..
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Considering that these are designed for gaming and streaming, ADM is good enough.
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Robbie you have earned a NAS PhD the hard-way by earn it.
Oh, I found a guy that’s almost as smart as you are š
Eddie’s DIGIBITE https://www.youtube.com/@DIGIBITE/videos
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I stepped back because of no 10g. Yhen stepped on to the flashtor 12 ???? no moving parts in the drives is a big plus for me.
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I’m running a DVA 3221 at one customer site with 6 cameras at 4K, 1 at 4 MP, and multiple AI analytics (car counting, LPR, facial recognition, intrusion line crossing), and it works like a champ. On the other hand, I have seen some inconsistencies with a DVA 1622 deployed at another customer site that only has three cameras running, and only two LPR tasks (Entry and Exit) on two cameras. The vehicle are detected fine, but the license plates are not consistently captured like with the more powerful DVA 3221.
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what FPS (Frame per Second) are the cameras you are using? I am looking for a devicw that can handle 4K, 1080P, or 4MP with a huge 320Mbps incoming bitrate, CAN any Synology DVR handle this at 30 FPS (Frame per Second)?
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What do people normally use the 2nd ethernet port for usually?
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Just ordered one. Got a bit impatient waiting for the MASSIVE review. Hoping for the best.
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This is an awsome video for an equally awesome software from Synology. Thank you!
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USB-hub!
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This screams SMART system so is this something that can be done using a home network that is offline? If it requires to be connected to the grid then itās a downgrade from the old software.
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Hi @nascompares There is no option to upgrade the RAM and I wonder if 8GB is enough for PLEX and 6 security cameras. Thanks in advance!
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Does it have an android and ios app?
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Haha the brighton seaguls have such a distinctive sound!
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Does anyone know how much power the Nimbustor 4 pulls with only SSDs installed? Or maybe what it pulls without any drives? Trying to decide between the Nimbustor 4 or Flashstor 6.
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Great video as always!
Is there any information about the max capacity per HDD bay?
Idk if I can just plug in a 18 or 20 TB HDD or if I’d need smaller ones due to limitations
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I couldn’t decide between the Nimbustor gen 1 or gen 2. Your video helped me decide and I went with the gen 1 with 2x 4TB IronWolf drives.
I think Asus in wanting to hedge their bets on both the mechanical HDD and NVMe markets have ended up spreading this unit too thin. As you mentioned they have self-throttled the NVMes to reduce heat and CPU load. It didn’t make much sense to me to buy a model that sits so much on the fence. IMO it’s better to commit to HDD or flash storage and move on.
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Hi Why Should you not Buy a Buffalo NAS? – Not that Qnap and others are not good, but as an overlooked brand. Just a thought.
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Over the years I have had better durability with SSDs than with HDDs, even better than enterprise HDDs. It got to the point where I used to keep spare HDDs around because I knew I would end up needing them. That has not been the case for me with SSDs. I have one last HDD in operation as an external drive for backing up my NAS. When that fails, and it will, it will be replaced by a SSD.
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Has anyone upgrade the ram? If so which ram
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Hi,
Just ordered one (ts 264) and to my surprise, it doesn’t have ram soldered into it, but I do have two memory slots, just like a laptop, one of them is populated with an 8 gb stick, and the other one is free!
Did qnap quietly upgraded their NAS hardware?
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When does the AS5404T release? I canāt seem to see it for sale anywhere currently, even Amazon donāt have it up for sale currently (they just have a product listing)
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Big HDDs are noisy and hot, and I don’t need them running all the time. Can you run the NAS / containers off the SSDs, and use the HDDs for backups? If yes, can you set the HDDs to spin down when not in use?
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I used your link , but had to click the page and go find the nas on there, but I bought it effectively with that link,
I’m hoping that the two bay works correctly with truenas, as thats what I think im going to use,
do you think its more secure as its open source instead of closed and more proprietary?
and will it be easy to Rsync to my synology off site?
or will it just be better to just get another Truenas device for offsite, im not tied to anything other than back up working well
cheers mate
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Can you get a hard drive expansion box for the flashstor products and attach it using the USB 3.2 10gbs ports?
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I have two Proxmox nodes running a ton of LXC’s with Docker and Portainer, as a NAS solution, one Qnap, one Synology, and Cockpit with File Sharing.
Maybe it’s me, but Portainer is so much more convenient than the QNAP and Synology solutions, so I use Portainer agent on both.
The only thing I find better on QNAP is container networking.
Asustor uses Portainer out of the box, it’s a rational decision. Why invent a wheel by unnecessary throwing financial resources making a product more expensive.
Qnap’s video station is such an outdated unreliable crap, good luck with that.
My Dahua cameras are able to use all protocols available today, so it writes all events using NFS provided by File Sharing in Cockpit to an SSD and to an SD card inside, also it sends a notification in case of event “human/vehicle” to DMSS( my choice is VPN but you can use peer-to-peer) and to my email.
Home and small businesses don’t really need 24/7 footage anyway.
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I would wished they used the latest Celeron series like Intel Celeron 7305, low powered and the latest Intel GPU for transcoding, has Thunderbolt 4, which would let you use a external 10GBE card via PCIE passthrough or even eGPU. Moreover it has Intel Deep Learning Boost which would be useful for object detection for CCTV, or even Home assistant.
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Outstanding video, very useful overview and tips, thank you!
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Asus- use something else besides n5105. Asus sells a mini pc with core i3-1220P for $330, usually on sale for under $300. It can’t be that much more to add some drive bays in a bigger chassis to make it a nas. That i3 is 10 cores and 20 pcie lanes, which would eliminate most complaints.
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????
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Too good to be true LOL
I think they are about to introduce Lockerstor gen 3 with N95 CPU
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OMG No “I hate seagulls” in this one!
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When Asustor published its “best practices” to protect your NAS against ransom a couple of years ago, I went through the time consuming “rebuild” of my Nimbustor-4 NAS and addressed all the shortcomings of my initial setup. When Deadbolt hit, I was not affected and all was well with my data. I was so glad I asked myself the question “What if?” and followed through. Hats off to NASCompares for helping me to get my digital life together.
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cool
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Man the seagulls hate you.
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IMO, Any device with NVMe drives really needs 10Gbps otherwise it is just a huge bottleneck vs a small one… This is however exciting and a sign of the future for sure.
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“Short Review” … glances over at the video length… confirms 23 minutes…. ahh ok, I’m in the right place!
#noshortvideoseva
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A short review is 23 minutes long?
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I was actually hoping you’d make a video comparing the LockerStor 2 Gen 2 with the FlashStor 6 for folks who aren’t fully populating the M.2 slots of the FlashStor, but given the similarity between the LockerStor and Nimbustor lines, you addressed some of what I was curious about in this video, so thanks for that! Would you recommend using M.2 drives with DRAM over DRAMless, or do you believe performance is still adequate either way you go?
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But does any company actually offer 10Gbps speeds to non-enterprise consumers? Even 5 gbps? I suppose it depends on the country you’re in, but I couldn’t find anything above 1Gbps in Spain, which makes the 2.5Gbps Ethernet ports kind of irrelevant. Please, correct me if I’m wrong.
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*Note* – I JUST spotted the typo in the title (AS5404T) ! I could redo this video and correct it, but it would add an extra day or two to publish in the schedule and I sure a lot of you didn’t spot it! Enjoy the vid everyone.
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Thanks for this video! I just want to know if you can still use it as a regular NAS if you’re using it as a surveilance station? I’m looking to use it as both NAS and NVR.
Thank you!
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what is the max hdd disk size a single hdd drive can be in this unit?
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thankyou how about the qnap that we can use coral?
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I bought this and had no idea the m2 is capped at 1000 which is such a shame and making me want to get something else.
Is there no way to turn off a usb3.2 port and turn off a m2 port to release the extra bandwidth to a single m2 connection?
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2:00 LOL, all you have to do is to buy any Dahua or Hikvision with embded object recognition, starting from $100.
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can’t see the appeal. is anyone actually buying this things for 600+ usd?
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I have a DVA1622 and have issues with it. For some reason as soon as I enable license plate recognition the RAM slowly starts to fill up, until it’s completely full and the system starts to act EXTREMELY slow and poorly. Anyone else have the same issue? The Synology support was useless as they keep blaming it on my docker container that’s running, but as soon as I stop surveillance station the ram usage drops to under 10%.
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Hmmmm. This is a NAS not a camera. Any AI is only as good as the original camera image. Poor camera, poor lighting, poor image, useless AI. This is a money making fad. The better place to put the AI is in the edge device itself; the camera. Once the AI has identified a person or vehicle you’ll want the camera to move to that object and zoom in on it. That requires a PTZ camera with reasonably good quality optics.
Once the camera has done the pan/zoom all you need then is an NVR to record that video. Notifications can be camera based or camera notifies NVR and that handles them.
I appreciate that an NVR has a lot of storage and therefore could be used as a NAS, but a decent NVR records 24/7 and consumes 100% of the storage for CCTV recordings.
Also, Synology’s camera licenses are way over priced and that’s why it’s so expensive. A company that needs CCTV gets a dedicated NVR and also a dedicated NAS.
I suppose I’m just not convinced by this product.
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Great video! What would be the best combo/ratio of HDs for this NAS? How big should the NVMe cash should be?
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Iāld like to see a comparison between surveillance station & blue iris.
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These videos are sublime ????
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Wow. A huge AI tax. Just added 1 HDMI to DS423+, removed m.2ās, and charges 600?
Synology US sells a refurbished DVR1216 at Newegg for $120. It will work completely fine as an independent surveillance station.
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I really quite enjoy these longer videos!
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Love your seagulls ????
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Over an hour.????
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I really miss being able to set a high speed for playback, then click “next” after each clip, to quickly review all my security recordings in one go. With 9.x I have to change the speed on each clip. RIP my favorite 8.x feature.
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Just say ‘use’ rather than ‘utilise’! Sorry, was just driving me to distraction form otherwise great vids
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Hi, what camera’s are you using / suggest. Could you do a video on these. Thanks
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Serious question is it worth hammering and shortning the life of the drives on a ‘home nas’ (likely only gets use a few hours a day) 24/7 over using a dedicated NVR?
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I used Synology Surveillance Station Time Lapse to compress 24 hours into 2 minutes to highlight the different styles of night vision. It’s just one of the great features!
https://youtu.be/I3UZdiklNhk
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I am very interested in what BC500 functions change on a basic Synology DS918+/20+/23+, etc without the DVA model. Like the facial recognition?????
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If it wasnāt for Surveillance station Iād probably switched to TrueNAS. But Synology really did an amazing job on this.
So happy with my DS1621+ (and DS916+ for backups).
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Hello, we had a fire in our server room which affected our NAS too. Synology team says Motherboard is damaged & they shown us the same.
Now my question is should I buy the New NAS or go for second hand? However my purpose is to just have that for Backup only. Which I’ll be taking only once in a day.
Synology Nas 1821+ – 6 Bay
And should I buy 6 Bay again or 2 or 4 bay is okay?
I’m from India & I don’t know if buying from eBay is good option.
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Can you please confirm if the memory is soldered to the board ? Someone on Reddit says to his surprise it’s not soldered to the board and he got two slots ??? Can you confirm ? Thanks
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Hello,
What is the maximum capacity of the Qnap 264 using only its two bays and 2x nvme?
I am planning to order one with 2x Iron Wolf pro 12 gb + 2 x 2gb nvme to be used independently (no mirroring, just separate storage volumes for different types of data), is it possible?
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Hi @nasccompares, I just got my Ts 264 and while minstalling the m.2 I saw that my ramn is not soldered on like in the video. I can swap it and there are 2 slots. Is that normal and can I upgrade the ram without worrying? thx for the help.
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I am new to the Nas world , I have just got mine few days ago but I didn’t bought yet no Hard drive , my question can i Instal Operating system in the NVME and apps in the SSD is this possible and if yes how many storage i need for nvme to accommodate the qnap nas operating system ? Thanks
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I just got mine, and it’s way better than my EX2 Ultra.
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Is real that the backplane with the sata connector is in reality a pcie card with an asmedia controller? If so can i put a controller, if it fits, with more sata port and convert it to a four (2.5 ssd) bay? It will need same, serious?, mod at the case obviously.
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@55:30 I don’t understand your comment about not utilizing pro series drives or drivers over 10TB, they would be supported so what’s the problem?
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Does it play Emby and JellyFin as well?
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I have a Synology DS718+. Plannig to enlarge hdd capacity. At the same time, I’m interested in switching to this Qnap. New Synology NASes are not very appealing any more.
Question: I have a Synology D118 as Hyper Backup station. How do I use Synology as backup for Qnap?
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I just got a small Synology 2bay.,..so noisy. How is the noise on this model.
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Is it true that only terramaster brand RAM can be used for expansion?
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Every store I have seen so far has this TS 264 with Celeron N5095 not N5105, and HDMI 2.0 (not even 2.0b) let alone HDMI 2.1 What am I missing?
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Thank you so much for this video. NASCompares, which NAS would you recommend for home user? I cannot help the feeling, that DSM is a bit better – more stable, reliable and safer. However, with their x23 series there’s no offer for home users. You may buy 3 y.o. 720+ or go to Qnap and purchase TS 264+ with good CPU, 8GB RAM, GPU and additional NVME slots, where you may create additional tiers and keep a system on one of them. Am I right? Currently I am using 214play and it’s time to change but not sure, what to do. Could you advice, please? I’m using especially photos, video, note station, smb, vpn, emby, download station, audio, access via on-line. I’d be grateful for your recommendation!
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Can you make a comparison between QNAP TS-264 vs QNAP TS-253E … thanks in advance
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They run slow
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According to Truenas forums and truenas Reddit installing on usb is possible but not recommended, due to usb media isnāt meant for the constant read/writes. In the forums/Reddits people are using a usb to sata/nvme adapter with success.
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Thank you for your content, I enjoyed your review of the terra master. I was intrigued with the hardware being at a lower price point, however when I compared prices of the f2-423-4GB with an extra 4GB, it was within US $30 (7%) of the qnap ts-264-8GB. So at least until the market comes back to reason, I am going to hold off on purchasing. Please keep up the great videos!
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How about doing a 4 bay NAS comparison officially supported hardware between all brands on models released in the last 24 months. Memory upgrades supported, m2 upgrades supported, hard drives supported.
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When are we getting 12th gen CPUs?
I see substantial differences on passmark.
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re: RAM.
1 what would 32GB buy you on this platform.
2. 32 might be for future / new model CPU upgrades
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First! Actually I’m between this and the QNap TS-364. A comparison between these two would be nice! Thanks for the video1
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One thing i have never been able to figure out is how to use the 2nd 2.5gb network port ? I did buy the qnap 2.5 switch, but can only ever get one or the other port to work, not together to get 5gb, and not even having both enabled at same time. So I only have one enabled. Have not been able to find info or video on this setup. Thank you.
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Thank you for this video. Could you do a video installing M.2 for caching, and adding a heat sink ? Along with the software setup ?
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Great video. I prefer a 2 bay nas. I also have the previous qnap 253-d and an older qnap 251-b-4gb. I have been waiting for this new 264 model like many others. The increase from 4gb to 8gb will be very welcome. I worry if the ram will go bad in later years such as 6 years later , the machine can not be fixed ?
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I don’t bother putting the front panel on.
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Hi just thought I’d ask if you heard of the kick-starter for this Storaxa nas? Should be out by summer around $499 dollars.
.
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OMG. You did a fantastic job… I love this NAS. That HDMI is so useful even if it is not fully fleshed out..
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This is easily the most *cocksure* 2 bay NAS currently available. ????
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Something i saw is the resell value. No matter if you buy a 2 bay nas. Years later you can upgrade to a brand new 4 bay with new hardware and sell the old one.
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Hi, I hope you can help me… I have 3 disk on my NAS, the 3rth one it”s just movies and other stuff, but I want to hard reset my NAS, and make a SHR with disk 1 and 2. How could I just do that without losing the info on the 3rth drive? Im planing on formating my NAS without the 3rth disk inserted but after I set up my NAS with disk 1 and 2 , I just insert the third disk on the same bay and Illl have all the info back on that disk or I have to do something else?? Thank you so much
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Nice. very in depth. For me a 2 bay is the clear most likely option. I think i’m more an average person and 2 bay is more approachable especially in these times where everything is so expensive. No real business uses. Just file storage, plex, remote access to music would be a plus and in the future maybe a camera or three. Also as a regular person i too would be concerned about ransomware and file security so maybe i wouldn’t store sensitive documents there at all which would kinda suck to have to do but i’d also very much be trying to lock down my nas as secure as possible while still allowing myself to stream music to my phone when away from home.
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Hi, I have a Qnap 267L running 2 6tb WD Red Plus. I use it for media storage and serving using Twonkey as well as file storage. Given it’s age could you suggest a suitable 2 and 4 drive replacement?
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Can you have it wake over Ethernet?
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Yes please do a video on Qtier. Really curious about what the best implementation of Qtier would look in the 6-bay version of this NAS. 2x NVME 4x HDD 2x SSD? 6x HDD with different NVME for separate tiers? Seems like you’re spoilt for choice with configuration options.
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Is that a re upload?? I remember saying where are the transfer tests of this review specially over 10gbe
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dear NASCompares, which NAS do you use at home? i understand that you have access to every kind of NAS out there, but in the end of the day, which one you chose to store your files on? ????
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I bought the 4 bay version and an external 4 bay expansion, use it for 4k video editing and it’s absolutely great.
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Thks &,
I see the coolest-geeks all wear classic gold calculator signature watches š
Oh, DS223+ OR Bust maybe
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