Synology Beestation Plus Model Revealed – 8TB and Intel Powered

The Synology Beestation BST170-8T NAS Coming Soon

The range of solutions on offer from Synology, arguably the most popular brand in the world of Network Attached Storage (NAS), is pretty diverse. Though the brand has been rather restrained in recent years in terms of its consumer hardware, they are still one of the most well-regarded brands in terms of their user-friendly and responsive software. Last year, we saw the brand launch a new entry-level pre-populated NAS series called the BeeStation BST150-4T. This was a separate product line from their popular DSM-equipped systems in the DiskStation series, instead arriving with a much more streamlined home/consumer-level platform called BSM (Beestation Manager).

 

Category	Specification
Model	Synology Beestation Plus (BST170-8T)
Storage	1-bay, pre-populated with 8TB Synology HAT3310 Plus Series HDD
Expandable Storage	Not expandable; HDD is non-replaceable (warranty void if removed)
Form Factor	Compact, matte black casing; fanless design
Processor	Intel Celeron J4125 (Quad-Core, 2.0–2.7 GHz, x86 architecture, integrated graphics)
Memory	4GB DDR4
Cooling	Passive cooling (no fans, silent operation)
Ports	1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gb/s) + 1x USB-A 3.2 5Gb/s
	1 x 1GbE RJ45 Ethernet port
Network Speed	1Gbps
Software	Beestation Manager (BSM)
Features	– Multimedia conversions (HEIC/HEVC support; official extension may be required)
	– BeeFiles and BeePhotos applications
Power Consumption	(To be confirmed, but expected to be low due to fanless design and single HDD)
Target Audience	Entry-level users, home/consumer storage needs
Release Date	Expected Q1 2025 (TBC)
Price	Approx. $399 (ESTIMATED!)

It will come as no surprise to anyone that Synology has not limited this software and series to a single product and has now revealed an improved version called the Beestation Plus. This fresh entry into this relatively new series is a scaled-up model in several ways and, alongside promising improved performance on what BSM is capable of in this new architecture, it also promises improved storage capacity. However, is the Beestation Plus enough to tempt new/existing users away from the already popular DiskStation series solutions of a similar scale? Let’s discuss what we know about the Beestation Plus NAS.

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Synology Beestation Plus Hardware Specifications

Much like the BeeStation BST150 that came before it, the new Beestation Plus is a pre-populated 1-bay NAS solution (featuring a single 8TB Synology HAT3310 Plus Series HDD inside), doubling the capacity of the 4TB first release. There had been hopes of this being a 2-bay device, and this information is still yet to be fully officially confirmed—but all images of the system and official information cards at the official CES-adjacent event ‘Pepcom’ in Nevada point towards this being a 1-bay device that lacks any RAID functionality. Also, much like the current Beestation BST150, the HDD inside the Beestation Plus cannot be replaced or removed unofficially. That is to say, the system arrives with a Synology HDD that has the OS install tailored to it, you cannot install a newer/faster/bigger HDD at a later point, and if you open up the Beestation case (as it is not hot-swappable), it will invalidate your hardware warranty.

The Beestation Plus arrives in the same compact casing as the original Beestation BST150. This is a fanless, single-slot casing that holds the HDD in place internally via four screws. The casing has a matte black finish and an exceptionally small footprint for a NAS. Additionally, the system features ventilation at the top and bottom but lacks any active cooling fan—so noise is much lower than any other Synology NAS (practically silent). I have always been a fan of this casing for this ‘setup in 10 minutes and go’ solution, though it can seem a little sparse (single LED on the front and nothing else).

That said, one area of notable improvement in the Beestation Plus over the previous release is the CPU. The Beestation BST150 arrived with a 64-bit ARM processor (the RTD1619b), whereas this new release is using an Intel Celeron Processor—the J4125. This is a quad-core x86 2.0–2.7GHz CPU that features integrated graphics and is therefore capable of significantly more system operations than the BST150. That said, this processor is going to lead to mixed reactions from new/old Synology NAS users. On a positive note—this is easily the most powerful and capable CPU that Synology has EVER put in a 1-bay NAS and will result in practically no bottleneck whatsoever with regard to BSM’s feature set! Plus, the additional integrated graphics will be a huge benefit to graphical or multimedia operations (such as multimedia conversions, thumbnail generation, and HEIC/HEVC-supported operations). All that said, the extent of those media conversions is going to be debatable, as Synology has been changing its stance on a lot of the support for HEVC conversions in several of their appliances, changing many to require an official extension (thereby reducing the extent of controllable usage outside of select apps and service use).

Additionally, we cannot ignore the elephant in the room that even those moderately aware of Synology NAS will want to highlight. The Intel J4125 Celeron is by no means a new CPU (launched back in 2019 and has since been widely abandoned by other brands in favor of the N5000 series in 2022/2023 and then even further abandoned with the wide availability of the Intel Alder Lake series (N95, N100, etc.). Synology launched two solutions in 2023/2024 with this CPU (the DS423+ and DS224+), and even then, complaints about this CPU choice were already underway. So although its appearance on this 1-bay NAS marks a positive upgrade on previous 1-bay solutions AND over the BST150 Beestation that came before it—it is not exactly a breathtaking hardware choice.

That aside, the Beestation series is not a range that is designed to target the same audience as DSM-equipped devices. BSM is designed around simple storage deployment that is both GENUINELY turnkey and GENUINELY ‘out of the box’ ready. So there might well be the argument that even the J4125 is ‘overkill.’ Additionally, we do need to acknowledge that the system arrives with 4GB of DDR4 memory, which is surprisingly high when compared to pretty much every other Synology J4125 NAS system that arrived with 2GB (aside from the DS920+/DS1522/DVA1622). It would appear that this memory cannot be expanded, but nevertheless it is a pretty decent amount of baseline memory for such a modest box and a significant increase over the previous Beestation BST150-4T NAS.

 

The rear of the Synology Beestation Plus features similar ports and connections to the original BST150 Beestation. There is a USB-C 5Gb/s 3.2 port that supports connecting a USB drive for additional storage, sharing, and simplified backups. There is also a single network interface slot, but it is 1GbE—which is somewhat of a bottleneck, even for a 1-bay HDD-equipped NAS system.

I can appreciate that this system is designed to be entry-level, but it is still rather limiting for the wider network. There is an argument, of course, that the target audience for a device like this will have low enough average bandwidth traffic and data demands that 2.5GbE or higher would have been enormous overkill. Equally, only the more technologically versed would actually notice that the network connection is a little limited—but it is still rather underwhelming for the more tech-savvy.

It is very hard to judge a system like the Beestation Plus with any kind of comparative measurement against any other Synology (or indeed 3rd party) NAS solution, as the target demographic for this NAS is significantly less demanding and/or tech-worrisome! Equally, I know I am not technically the target audience for this solution, as my own data demands and requirements are higher than what this box can provide. That said, the previous Beestation left me mostly impressed by how much such a modest system could do, as well as how well the BeeFiles and BeePhotos applications worked with a modern hardware spec. So, with that in mind, the Beestation Plus is a massive leap over the CPU/RAM of the older device—which can only add up to an improved software experience! For those that are not aware, let’s discuss the Beestation Manager (BSM) software a little and what the hopes are for what the Beestation Plus system can do.

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Beestation Plus NAS Release and Pricing

Currently, we have no official indication of where Synology is planning to go with the Beestation Plus. The original Beestation BST150-4T arrived at the $199 price point (not including tax) RRP. The Beestation Plus is twice the capacity, with a better CPU/RAM internally. Therefore, the price point is likely to sit at around $399 or thereabouts. Additionally, although official release dates are still heavily TBC, Synology RARELY shows off consumer-grade products at trade shows unless they are approaching release relatively soon, so I would bank on sometime in Q1 2025. Still, everything is TBC, so until we get further official source confirmation, treat all this with a pinch of salt. Right now, the question is whether Synology’s further development of BSM systems will lead to a change in support for DSM appliances (both hardware and software). Will we see more consumer-focused applications migrate over to BSM? Will some Plus series devices in DSM slowly become BSM system alternatives with pre-populated storage, and DSM-powered systems will err more towards SMB (small/medium business) system devices only? It is simply too early to say. I DO like the BSM series and I DO think there is an audience/market for BeeStation and BeeStation Plus—but not at the expense of DSM systems. Let’s see what Synology does with the 2025/2026 release series of DiskStation solutions, and we will be able to gauge how/where the brand plans on heading with BSM and DSM in parallel.

 

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