Synology 4-bay NAS (DS420j, DS418, DS423, DS420+, DS423+, DS923+)

 

What each of them have different?

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https://nascompares.com/answer/synology-4-bay-5-bay-nas-range-compared-which-one-is-the-best-ds420j-vs-ds418-vs-ds420-vs-ds923-vs-dva3221/

 

DS420j vs. DS418 vs. DS423 vs. DS420+ vs. DS423+ vs. DS923+

 

DS420j – Good for multimedia, but limited to one or two things running simultaneously

DS418 (replaced by DS423) – Good for multimedia using Synology Apps (h264 + h265 support)

DS423   Good for multimedia using Synology Apps (h264 support) (Plex and h265 seem to be an issue)

DS420+(replaced by DS423+)  Good for multimedia and easy backup functions and is upgradeable. Has high availability option

DS423+  Good for multimedia and easy backup functions and is upgradeable. Has high availability option. Now two extra CPU cores for faster speeds and VMs./ Dovker

DS923+ Good for multimedia and easy backup functions and is upgradeable, expandable, has high availability option. Good for video editing and VMs/ Docker.

 

 

DS420j
DS418
DS423
DS420+
DS423+
DS923+

 

A Comparison of Synology 4-Bay NAS: DS420j, DS418, DS423, DS420+, DS423+, DS923+

When it comes to network-attached storage (NAS) devices, Synology is a well-known brand for delivering reliable and high-performance solutions. Their 4-bay NAS devices are popular among home and small business users who need to store and manage data efficiently. In this article, we will compare the specifications and features of the following Synology 4-bay NAS models: DS420j, DS418 (replaced by DS423), DS423, DS420+ (replaced by DS423+), DS423+, and DS923+.

DS420j

The DS420j is a budget-friendly NAS device that is suitable for multimedia usage. It is powered by a Realtek RTD1296 processor with a clock speed of 1.4 GHz and has 1 GB DDR4 non-ECC memory. It supports 3.5″ SATA HDD, 2.5″ SATA HDD, and 2.5″ SATA SSD. The DS420j also comes with a hardware encryption engine and a hardware transcoding engine that can handle 10-bit H.265 (HEVC), MPEG-4 Part 2, MPEG-2, VC-1 with a maximum resolution of 4K (4096 x 2160) and a maximum frame rate per second (FPS) of 60. However, it is limited to running only one or two things simultaneously.

DS418 (replaced by DS423)

The DS418 is now replaced by DS423, but it is still worth mentioning. It is similar to DS420j in terms of hardware specifications, but it has 2 GB DDR4 non-ECC memory and supports 3.5″ SATA HDD, 2.5″ SATA HDD, and 2.5″ SATA SSD. It also has a hardware encryption engine and a hardware transcoding engine that can handle 10-bit H.265 (HEVC), MPEG-4 Part 2, MPEG-2, VC-1 with a maximum resolution of 4K (4096 x 2160) and a maximum frame rate per second (FPS) of 60. DS418 is good for multimedia using Synology Apps with h264 + h265 support.

DS423

The DS423 is an upgrade to DS418 and is good for multimedia using Synology Apps with h264 support. It is powered by a Realtek RTD1619B processor with a clock speed of 2.0 GHz (base) / 2.7 GHz (turbo) and has 2 GB DDR4 non-ECC memory. It supports 3.5″ SATA HDD and 2.5″ SATA SSD. It has a hardware encryption engine and a hardware transcoding engine that can handle 10-bit H.265 (HEVC), MPEG-4 Part 2, MPEG-2, VC-1 with a maximum resolution of 4K (4096 x 2160) and a maximum frame rate per second (FPS) of 60. However, Plex and h265 seem to be an issue.

DS420+ (replaced by DS423+)

The DS420+ is a mid-range NAS device that is good for multimedia and easy backup functions. It is powered by an Intel Celeron J4025 processor with a clock speed of 2-core 2.0 (base) / 2.9 (burst) GHz and has 2 GB DDR4 non-ECC memory (upgradable up to 6 GB). It supports 3.5″ SATA HDD, 2.5″ SATA HDD, 2.5″ SATA SSD, and M.2  2280 NVMe SSD. The DS420+ also has an Intel HD Graphics 600 GPU for hardware-accelerated 4K video transcoding, and it can handle up to two concurrent 4K video streams. It has a hardware encryption engine that can achieve read/write speeds of up to 225/174 MB/s. The DS420+ also features dual 1GbE LAN ports, which can be aggregated for faster transfer speeds, and it supports Synology’s Snapshot Replication for easy backups.

DS423+

The DS423+ is an upgrade to the DS420+ and is a powerful NAS device suitable for small businesses and demanding multimedia applications. It is powered by an Intel Celeron J4125 processor with a clock speed of 4-core 2.0 (base) / 2.7 (burst) GHz and has 4 GB DDR4 non-ECC memory (upgradable up to 8 GB). It supports 3.5″ SATA HDD, 2.5″ SATA HDD, 2.5″ SATA SSD, and M.2 2280 NVMe SSD. The DS423+ has an Intel HD Graphics 600 GPU for hardware-accelerated 4K video transcoding and can handle up to two concurrent 4K video streams. It also has a hardware encryption engine that can achieve read/write speeds of up to 451/415 MB/s, making it one of the fastest 4-bay NAS devices available. The DS423+ has dual 1GbE LAN ports and supports Synology’s Snapshot Replication for easy backups.

DS923+

DS923+ comes with an AMD Ryzen R1600 processor with a benchmark score of 3246. It is a 64-bit system with 2-core 2.6 GHz (base) / 3.1 GHz (turbo) and features AES-NI encryption. This version of the DS923+ has no GPU, but comes with 4 GB DDR4 ECC memory (with one slot occupied by a 4GB module and the second slot free), which is upgradable up to 32 GB (16 GB x 2). It supports up to 14 drives with the DX517 expansion unit and can handle 3.5″ SATA HDD, 2.5″ SATA SSD, and M.2 2280 NVMe SSD Gen3 x1 (2GB/s). The DS923+ also has two NVMe slots with 2GB/s per slot, which can be used for either cache or storage. It features dual 1GbE LAN ports and an additional Gen3 x2 slot for 10gbe NIC2. It supports Btrfs and EXT4 file systems and produces noise at 22.9 dB(A). It has a maximum power consumption of 100W.

Synology 4-bay NAS specs compared

Model

DS420j

DS418 (replaced)

DS423 (new)

DS420+ (replaced)

DS423+(new)

DS923+

Estimated Price $299 (18th Jan) $369 (18th Jan) $510 (18th Jan) $499 (15th March) $599 (18th Jan)
Processor model Realtek RTD1296 Realtek RTD1296 Realtek RTD1619B Intel Celeron J4025 Intel Celeron J4125
AMD Ryzen R1600
Number of CPUs 1 (benchmark score: <1000) 1 (benchmark score: <1000) 1 (benchmark score: <1000) 1 (benchmark score: 1708) 1 (benchmark score: 2985)
1 (benchmark score: 3246)
processor architecture 64-bit 64-bit 64-bit 64-bit 64-bit 64-bit
processor clock 4-core 1.4 GHz 4-core 1.4 GHz 4-core 2.0 (base) / 2.7 (turbo) GHz 2-core 2.0 (base) / 2.9 (burst) GHz 2-core 2.6 (base) / 3.1 (turbo) GHz
2-core 2.6 (base) / 3.1 (turbo) GHz
hardware encryption YES YES (AES-NI) (AES-NI) (AES-NI) (AES-NI)
Hardware Transcoding Engine 10-bit H.265 (HEVC), MPEG-4 Part 2, MPEG-2, VC-1; maximum resolution: 4K (4096 x 2160); maximum frame rate per second (FPS): 60 10-bit H.265 (HEVC), MPEG-4 Part 2, MPEG-2, VC-1; maximum resolution: 4K (4096 x 2160); maximum frame rate per second (FPS): 60 10-bit H.265 (HEVC), MPEG-4 Part 2, MPEG-2, VC-1; maximum resolution: 4K (4096 x 2160); maximum frame rate per second (FPS): 60 H.264 (AVC), H.265 (HEVC), MPEG-2 and VC-1; maximum resolution: 4K (4096 x 2160); maximum frame rate per second (FPS): 30 H.264 (AVC), H.265 (HEVC), MPEG-2 and VC-1; maximum resolution: 4K (4096 x 2160); maximum frame rate per second (FPS): 30 NONE
Memory
system memory 1 GB DDR4 non-ECC 2 GB DDR4 non-ECC 2 GB DDR4 non-ECC 2 GB DDR4 non-ECC 2 GB DDR4 non-ECC 4 GB DDR4 ECC
RAM slots soldered soldered soldered 2Gb soldered + 1 slot free 2Gb soldered + 1 slot free
1 slot 4GB + second slot free
MAX RAM upgrades NO NO NO 6 GB (2 GB + 4 GB) 6GB (2GB +4GB) 32 GB (16 GB x 2)
storage device
Expansion Unit NO NO NO NO NO DX517 x 1
Number of HDD bays 4 4 4 4 4 4 +5
Compatible Disk Type 3.5″ SATA HDD
2.5″ SATA HDD
2.5″ SATA SSD
3.5″ SATA HDD
2.5″ SATA HDD
2.5″ SATA SSD
3.5″ SATA HDD
2.5″ SATA SSD
3.5″ SATA HDD
2.5″ SATA HDD
2.5″ SATA SSD
M.2 2280 NVMe SSD (500MB/s)
3.5″ SATA HDD
2.5″ SATA SSD
M.2 2280 NVMe SSD (500MB/s)
3.5″ SATA HDD
2.5″ SATA SSD
M.2 2280 NVMe SSD Gen3 x1 (2GB/s)
M.2 Drive Slots NO NO NO 2 (NVMe) (2GB/s per slot) (CACHE) 2 (NVMe) (2GB/s per slot) (CACHE OR STORAGE)
2 (NVMe) (2GB/s per slot) (CACHE OR STORAGE)
PCIe slot NO NO NO NO NO
1 x Gen3 x2 for 10gbe NIC
external port
RJ-45 1GbE LAN port 1 1 2 2 2 2
USB 2.0 port 1
USB 3.2 Gen 1 port* 2 2 2 2 2 1
USB / SD Copy
Remark
file system
internal disk EXT4 Btrfs
EXT4
Btrfs
EXT4
Btrfs
EXT4
Btrfs
EXT4
Btrfs
EXT4
Power
Noise value* 20.6 dB(A) 20.9 dB(A) 22.9 dB(A) 19.8 dB(A) 19.8 dB(A) 22.9 dB(A)
Power Supply / Transformer 90W 90W 90 W 90W 90 W 100W
power consumption 21.71 W (Access)
7.88 W (HDD Hibernation)
26.49 W (Access)
8.78 W (HDD Hibernation)
32.41 W (Access)
4.97 W (HDD Hibernation)
28.30 W (Access)
8.45 W (HDD Hibernation)
28.3 W (Access)
8.45 W (HDD Hibernation)
35.51 W (Access)
11.52 W (HDD Hibernation)
BTU 74.08 BTU/hr (Access)
26.89 BTU/hr (HDD Hibernation)
90.39 BTU/hr (Access)
29.96 BTU/hr (HDD Hibernation)
110.52 BTU/hr (Access)
16.95 BTU/hr (HDD Hibernation)
96.5 BTU/hr (Access)
28.81 BTU/hr (HDD Hibernation)
96.5 BTU/hr (Access)
28.81 BTU/hr (HDD Hibernation)
121.09 BTU/hr (Access)
39.28 BTU/hr (HDD Hibernation)
APPs and limits
Maximum number of local user accounts 1,024 2,048 1,024 2,048 2,048 2,048
Maximum number of Hybrid Share folders none 5 5 10 10 10
The maximum number of cameras 16 30 30 25 40 40
The maximum number of snapshots none 256 256 1,024 1,024 1,024
SSD TRIM YES YES YES YES YES YES
Synology High Availability NO NO NO YES YES YES
Synology MailPlus / MailPlus Server NO NO NO YES YES YES
Virtual Machine Manager NO NO NO YES YES YES
Warranty 2 years 2 years 2 years 3 years 3 years 3 years
SHR yes yes yes yes yes yes
BTRFS yes yes yes yes yes yes

 

 

Synology 4-bay NAS available apps compared

DS420j, DS418, ds423 (2GB RAM) DS420+, DS423+, DS923+
Active Backup for Business
Active Backup for Business Agent (DSM)
Active Backup for Google Workspace
Active Backup for Microsoft 365
Active Insight
Advanced Media Extensions
Antivirus by McAfee
Antivirus Essential
Apache HTTP Server 2.4
Audio Station
Bitdefender for MailPlus
C2 Identity Edge Server
Central Management System
Cloud Sync
DHCP Server
DNS Server
Docker
Document Viewer
Download Station
exFAT Access
File Station
Git Server
Glacier Backup
Hybrid Share
Hyper Backup
Hyper Backup Vault
iTunes Server
Joomla
LDAP Server
Log Center
Mail Station
MariaDB 10
Media Server
MediaWiki
Migration Assistant
Node.js v12
Node.js v14
Node.js v16
Node.js v18
Note Station
OAuth Service
PACS
PDF Viewer
Perl
PHP 7.3
PHP 7.4
PHP 8.0
phpMyAdmin
Presto File Server
Proxy Server
Python 3.9
Python2
RADIUS Server
Replication Service
SAN Manager
Secure SignIn Service
SMB Service
SMI-S Provider
Snapshot Replication
SSO Server
Storage Analyzer
Surveillance Station
Surveillance Device Pack
Synology Application Service
Synology Calendar
Synology Chat Server
Synology Contacts
Synology Drive Server
Synology Drive Server
Synology High Availability
Synology Mail Server
Synology MailPlus
Synology MailPlus Server
Synology Office
Synology Photos
Text Editor
Universal Search
Universal Viewer
USB Copy
Video Station
Virtual Machine Manager
VPN Server
vtigerCRM
Web Station
WebDAV Server
WordPress

 

Synology 4-bay NAS Performance compared

SMB 1GbE – Sequential Throughput with HDD (64KB)

MODEL RS422+ DS923+ DS423+ DS423 DS420J
READ 225.77 225.85 226.58 223.90 112.93
WRITE 225.87 225.83 224.00 213.54 112.62

SMB 1GbE – Windows File Transfer with HDD

MODEL RS822(RP)+ RS422+ DS923+ DS423+ DS423 DS420J
WINDOWS DOWNLOAD 87.07 89.22 89.74 87.39 78.23 81.96
WINDOWS UPLOAD 76.36 79.24 80.23 76.00 65.97 68.64

1GbE Web Server – Nginx PHP Response Performance with HDD

MODEL RS822(RP)+ RS422+ DS923+ DS423+ DS423 DS420J
RESPONSES PER SECOND 14,469.82 9,511.32 9,710.53 10,706.80 3,062.56 2,586.49

Check Amazon and other retailers to see if the Synology DS423 NAS is available now using the links to them below (it supports us, costs you nothing extra and me and Eddie who run NASCompares will get a commission that goes directly back into the YouTube channel and blog):




Amazon UK UK 25.54 OFF (WAS 510) [LINK]
Amazon UK UK 43.68 OFF (WAS 622) [LINK]
Amazon usa USA 7.35 OFF (WAS 564) [LINK]



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