Best QNAP 2-Bay NAS of 2018

Best 2-Bay QNAP NAS in 2018

Best 2-Bay QNAP for Performance in 2018

When it comes to buying any NAS, chief among your questions will which NAS offers the best performance? It is all too easy to assume that the most expensive NAS server offers the best performance and the cheapest NAS will be the least powerful. But all too often that is not the case and it is when you hit the middle of the NAS market that things get interesting. The trade off between NAS CPU and NAS RAM are often when the Network Attached bargains can be had. If you look below you will see that right there in first place is the QNAP TS-253B-4G NAS. Offering the more efficient AES-NI encryption system, Dual HDMI, 4GB of DDR3 memory and that 4K enabled quad core x86 CPU – this is both the best overall NAS and the best Plex NAS.

TS-231P2	TS-228A	TS-251+	TS-251A	HS-251+	TS-253Be	TS-253B
$$	$	$$	$$	$$$	$$$	$$$$
2-8GB	1GB	2-8GB	2-8GB	4-8GB	2-4GB	4GB-8GB

As we look further through the pack though, we see that the QNAP TS-231 and it’s superior brother, the QNAP TS-231+ NAS hold tight and give you an excellent scope for productivity and hardware, whilst still keeping the budget costs low.

Best 2-Bay QNAP for USB, HDMI and PCIe in 2018

Network Attached Storage is such a popular form of data storage these days that is it all too often the case that we overlook that you will occasionally wish to connect to the device DIRECTLY. QNAP NAS is well regarded as the best NAS manufacturer for those who want a great NAS server but also fantastic direct attached options – not to be confused with DAS. The units in this range of 2017 NAS units from QNAP all feature different connections ranging from HDMI, USB 3.0 and IR remote control all the way through to USB 2.0, eSATA and multiple LAN ports for link aggregation and failover support. However when it comes to overall connectivity, the best 2-bay QNAP NAS in 2017 so far is still the TS-253B-8G. Along-side those 4 USB 3.0 ports for external devices and peripherals, it also features 2 gigabit LAN ports and two HDMI ports for extended desktop and mirrored screening – excellent for surveillance needs and other business video monitoring!

Special mention should also go to the new QNAP TAS-268 as it features several USB 2.0 ports, a USB 3.0 port, SD Card reader to empty your camera with 1 touch back-up at the end of the day, IR remote control included and the option to run the Android operating system simultaneously with the QNAP NAS OS via the HDMI port and have access to all the advantages of the Android app store (Google Play). Definitely a great home NAS for those looking to expand in less traditional NAS tasks.

Best 2-Bay QNAP for Power Consumption in 2018

Stepping away from the concerns of Power and top NAS hardware, we can look at the two most popular deciding factors for small home users and small businesses looking to buy NAS. Namely, which Network Attached Storage 2-bays of 2017 use the least power and make the least noise. These units ill sometimes be on for days or weeks and many will ponder how much they will pay on their electricity bill for the privilege of having 24/7 data storage access!

The PSU of each unit is in BOLD, the Power consumption whilst then unit was idle/standy is in GREEN and whilst in full-access, is in BLUE.

For sheers power efficiency (taking into account the hardware and value for money at all times) this has to be a tie between the TAS-228 and the TS-228. Both units feature excellent NAS features whilst at the same time consuming noticeably less power both in NAS access and in standby and hibernation. Either of these NAS 2-bays will give you a good level of NAS server access and ability whilst keeping your power bill low.

Best 2-Bay QNAP for Speed and Power in 2018

If your data is important – you need RAID. Not to be confused with Backing up, RAID gives you the ability to save your data in the rare and unfortunate event of one of your hard drives failing. All of the 2-bay NAS devices in the QNAP 2017 NAS range offer JBOD, RAID 0 and RAID 1 options, but once the RAID is set up, it can affect your transmission (rad and write) speeds accordingly based on the units hardware.

All speeds below are in MB/s, and are based on using ALL available LAN ports per NAS. Additionally, all WRITE speeds are in GREEN, and READ speeds are in BLUE.

For an excellent balance of RAID setup against Read and Write speeds, we at nascompares.com recommend the QNAP TS251+ and the QNAP TS253A as both have superior NAS CPU’s as well as quicker RAID Build and Re-Build speeds.

Best 2-Bay QNAP for Transcoding in 2018

Whether you want to buy a Plex NAS or you want to buy a NAS that can comfortably and quickly transcode your media to your Network Attached devices, buying a transcoding NAS can be expensive. However the QNAP 2017 2-Bay range makes things easier when buying a NAS. For transcoding we recommend the QNAP TS-253B as it can transcode 4K natively and for a Plex Media Server NAS it can transcode 720p and 1080p to your iPad, iPhone, Android smartphone and tablets well indeed.

However if you do not care about 4K NAS and want to buy a transcode NAS that is better suited to just 720p and 1080p transcoding, you should consider the QNAP TS251+ as it has the quad core intel 2.0GHz (which can boost upto 2.4GHz when needed) and transcode 3 HD media files at a time (offline too for later) on the fly. So once again, for a Plex Media Server that requires transcoding to your devices as well as native transcoding to the QNAP mobile apps, go for the QNAP TS-251+-2G or the QNAP TS-253B-4G for NAS transcoding.

Best 2-Bay QNAP for a Plex Media Server in 2018

The best Plex NAS for a Plex Media Server comes down to a few factors but more than any it comes down to the CPU. If you want to view and transcode Plex library movies in HD quality (720p and 1080p Plex Media) then you will have to choose between the QNAP TS-251+-8G and the TS-253B-8G as both of these devices have the best x86 NAS CPU’s inside their hardware.

*May struggle with dense and high bitrate media in this format, such as .MOV and .MKV

Best Plex Media Server NAS 2018

Of the two, if you intend to transcode more HD than anything else, go for the QNAP 251+ as it’s 64bit CPU architecture is better suited to this. If you want to view 4K media with the option for native transcoding as well as the odd HD Plex Media transcoding, buy the QNAP TS-253B NAS – which has 4K NAS support.

Best QNAP 2-Bay NAS for Kodi in 2018

If you are looking for a NAS as a means to watch your KODI library over HDMI, this is still possible. It is no longer supported by QNAP officially, but the KODI application is still available via the QNAPClub store for free and easily installed. QNAP does not support using this application for watching, streaming or distributing illegal or copywrite infringed content.

Always be aware that you are installing an unofficial application and do so at your own risk, as it could invalidate your warranty.

Kodi and Netflix on QNAP NAS in 2018

Best 2-Bay QNAP for Surveiilance and CCTV in 2018

Surveillance NAS is fast becoming the best Surveillance solution. Will almost all NAS devices from QNAP this 2017 giving you multi camera support as well as real-time CCTV IP Camera access via your web browser, phone or tablet device over the internet – it is fast becoming standard for people to buy NVR solutions from nascompares.com via the big NAS names like QNAP and Synology. All the QNAP NAS servers below arrive with camera licences to access your IP Cameras via QNAP’s popular Surveillance Station NAS software. Multiple camera feeds can be viewed at one, along with motion tracking, sms and email alerts as well as integration with existing popular security CCTV setups.

BOLD number is the number of camera licences that are included

BLUE is the maximum number of cameras you can access at once

The best NAS to buy for surveillance for those looking for the best Network Video Recording NAS solution will be the TS-253B-4G from QNAP as the unit arrives with a quad-core CPU to handle heavy write operations from 24/7 CCTV recordings and keeping surveillance logs, as well as arriving with 4 camera licences at no additional cost. Definitely the best Surveillance NAS solution for small businesses or those looking to improve their home security.

What you need to know about IP Cameras for your NAS