Synology 4-Bay (5-bay) NAS Range Compared, Which One Is The Best DS423 Vs DS423+ Vs DS923+ Vs DS1522+ Vs DVA3221

Last updated on 14 Aug 2023 📧 Subscribe
Contents hide
1 What does each of them have different?
2 Synology 4-bay NAS available apps compared
3 PLEX Performance
4 Synology 4-bay NAS Performance compared

 

What does each of them have different?

DS420j vs. DS418 vs. DS423 vs. DS420+ vs. DS423+ vs. DS923+ vs DVA3221.

 

 

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

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. Multimedia Friendly!

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

DS1522+Just like DS923+ but with an extra HDD bay.

DVA3221 – Surveillance NAS, but also very good multimedia NAS thanks to integrated GPU card. It supports everything that DS923+ does, but is half as powerful regarding things like virtual machines or docker.

 

 

DS423
DS423+
DS923+
DS1522+
DVA3221

 

DS423

DS423+

DS923+

DS1522+

DVA3221

CPU
CPU Model Realtek RTD1619B Intel Celeron J4125 AMD Ryzen R1600 AMD Ryzen R1600 Intel Atom C3538
Benchmark <1000 2979 3147 3147 1960
CPU Quantity 1 1 1 1 1
CPU Architecture 64-bit 64-bit 64-bit 64-bit 64-bit
CPU Frequency 4-core 1.7 GHz 4-core 2.0 (base) / 2.7 (burst) GHz 2-core 2.6 (base) / 3.1 (turbo) GHz 2-core 2.6 (base) / 3.1 (turbo) GHz Quad Core 2.1 GHz
Hardware Encryption Engine
Hardware Encryption Engine (AES-NI)
GPU CHIP ARM Mali-G51 MP3
GPU execution units 3
GPU shading units 48
GPU clock 650 MHz
GPU FP32 floating point 72 GFLOPS
Socket SoC
Drystone MIPS 22,168 DMIPS
Max display resolution
4K@60fps
Video decoding H.265 4K@60fps, H.264 4K@30fps, 1080p@60fps
Video encoding H.264 1080p@60fps		 Processor Graphics ‡ Intel® UHD Graphics 600
Graphics Base Frequency 250 MHz
Graphics Burst Frequency750 MHz		 NO NO
NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1650
Memory
System Memory 2 GB DDR4 non-ECC 2 GB DDR4 non-ECC 4 GB DDR4 ECC SODIMM 8 GB DDR4 ECC SODIMM 8 GB DDR4 non-ECC
Memory Module Pre-installed
 4 GB (4 GB x 1) 8 GB (8 GB x 1) 8 GB (4 GB x 2)
Total Memory Slots
 1 2 2 2
Maximum Memory Capacity
 6 GB (2 GB + 4 GB) 32 GB (16 GB x 2) 32 GB (16 GB x 2) 32 GB (16 GB x 2)
Storage
Drive Bays 4 4 4 5 4
Maximum Drive Bays with Expansion Unit
 9 (DX517 x 1) 15 (DX517 x 2) 14 (DX517 x 2)
M.2 Drive Slots 2 (NVMe) 2 (NVMe) 2 (NVMe) NO
Compatible Drive Type* (See all supported drives) 3.5″ SATA HDD
2.5″ SATA SSD		 3.5″ SATA HDD
2.5″ SATA SSD
M.2 2280 NVMe SSD		 3.5″ SATA HDD
2.5″ SATA SSD
M.2 2280 NVMe SSD		 3.5″ SATA HDD
2.5″ SATA SSD
M.2 2280 NVMe SSD		 3.5″ SATA HDD
2.5″ SATA HDD
2.5″ SATA SSD
Hot Swappable Drive*
External Ports
RJ-45 1GbE LAN Port 2 (with Link Aggregation / Failover support) 2 (with Link Aggregation / Failover support) 2 (with Link Aggregation / Failover support) 4 (with Link Aggregation / Failover support)
4 (with Link Aggregation / Failover support)
USB 3.2 Gen 1 Port* 2 2 2 2 3
eSATA Port 1 2 2
PCIe
PCIe Expansion 1 x Gen3 x2 network upgrade slot
1 x Gen3 x2 network upgrade slot
File System
Internal Drives Btrfs
EXT4		 Btrfs
EXT4		 Btrfs
EXT4		 Btrfs
EXT4
External Drives Btrfs
EXT4
EXT3
FAT
NTFS
HFS+
exFAT		 Btrfs
EXT4
EXT3
FAT
NTFS
HFS+
exFAT		 Btrfs
EXT4
EXT3
FAT
NTFS
HFS+
exFAT		 Btrfs
EXT4
EXT3
FAT
NTFS
HFS+
exFAT
Appearance
Size (Height x Width x Depth) 184 mm x 168 mm x 230 mm 166 mm x 199 mm x 223 mm 166 mm x 199 mm x 223 mm 166 mm x 230 mm x 223 mm
166 mm x 250 mm x 237 mm
Weight 2.21 kg 2.18 kg 2.24 kg 2.7 kg 4.92 kg
Others
System Fan 80 mm x 80 mm x 2 pcs 92 mm x 92 mm x 2 pcs 92 mm x 92 mm x 2 pcs 92 mm x 92 mm x 2 pcs
120 mm x 120 mm x 1 pcs
Fan Speed Mode Full-Speed Mode
Cool Mode
Quiet Mode		 Full-Speed Mode
Cool Mode
Quiet Mode		 Full-Speed Mode
Cool Mode
Quiet Mode		 Full-Speed Mode
Cool Mode
Quiet Mode		 Full-Speed Mode
Cool Mode
Quiet Mode
Brightness Adjustable Front LED Indicators
Power Recovery
Noise Level* 20.6 dB(A) 19.8 dB(A) 22.9 dB(A) 22.90 dB(A) 28.3 dB(A)
Scheduled Power On / Off
Wake on LAN / WAN
Power Supply Unit / Adapter 90 W 90 W 100 W 120 W 250 W
AC Input Power Voltage 100V to 240V AC 100V to 240V AC 100V to 240V AC 100V to 240V AC 100V to 240V AC
Power Frequency 50/60 Hz, Single Phase 50/60 Hz, Single Phase 50/60 Hz, Single Phase 50/60 Hz, Single Phase
50/60 Hz, Single Phase
Power Consumption 32.41 W (Access)
4.97 W (HDD Hibernation)		 28.3 W (Access)
8.45 W (HDD Hibernation)		 35.51 W (Access)
11.52 W (HDD Hibernation)		 52.06 W (Access)
16.71 W (HDD Hibernation)
43.92 W (Access)
28.43 W (HDD Hibernation)
British Thermal Unit 110.52 BTU/hr (Access)
16.95 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)		 177.64 BTU/hr (Access)
57.02 BTU/hr (HDD Hibernation)
149.86 BTU/hr (Access)
97.01 BTU/hr (HDD Hibernation)
Temperature
Operating Temperature 0°C to 40°C (32°F to 104°F) 0°C to 40°C (32°F to 104°F) 0°C to 40°C (32°F to 104°F) 0°C to 40°C (32°F to 104°F)
0°C to 40°C (32°F to 104°F)
Storage Temperature -20°C to 60°C (-5°F to 140°F) -20°C to 60°C (-5°F to 140°F) -20°C to 60°C (-5°F to 140°F) -20°C to 60°C (-5°F to 140°F)
-20°C to 60°C (-5°F to 140°F)
Relative Humidity 5% to 95% RH 5% to 95% RH 5% to 95% RH 5% to 95% RH 5% to 95% RH
Certification FCC
CE
BSMI
VCCI
RCM
UKCA
EAC
CCC
KC		 FCC
CE
BSMI
VCCI
RCM
UKCA
EAC
CCC
KC		 FCC
CE
BSMI
VCCI
RCM
UKCA
EAC
CCC
KC		 FCC
CE
BSMI
VCCI
RCM
UKCA
EAC
CCC
KC		 FCC
CE
BSMI
VCCI
RCM
EAC
KC
Warranty 2-year hardware warranty, extendable to 4 years with Extended Warranty Plus 3-year hardware warranty, extendable to 5 years with Extended Warranty Plus 3-year hardware warranty, extendable to 5 years with Extended Warranty Plus 3-year hardware warranty, extendable to 5 years with Extended Warranty Plus
3-year hardware warranty, extendable to 5 years with Extended Warranty Plus
Environment RoHS Compliant RoHS Compliant RoHS Compliant RoHS Compliant RoHS Compliant
Packaging Content Main Unit X 1
Accessory Pack X 1
AC Power Adapter X 1
AC Power Cord X 1
RJ-45 LAN Cable X 2
Quick Installation Guide X 1		 Main Unit X 1
Accessory Pack X 1
AC Power Adapter X 1
AC Power Cord X 1
RJ-45 LAN Cable X 2
Quick Installation Guide X 1		 Main Unit X 1
Accessory Pack X 1
AC Power Adapter X 1
AC Power Cord X 1
RJ-45 LAN Cable X 2
Quick Installation Guide X 1		 Main Unit X 1
Accessory Pack X 1
AC Power Adapter X 1
AC Power Cord X 1
RJ-45 LAN Cable X 2
Quick Installation Guide X 1
Main Unit X 1
Accessory Pack X 1
AC Power Cord X 1
RJ-45 LAN Cable X 2
Quick Installation Guide X 1
Optional Accessories 3.5″ SATA HDD: HAT5300/HAT3300
2.5″ SATA SSD: SAT5210
Surveillance Device License Pack		 DDR4 non-ECC SODIMM: D4NESO-2666-4G
3.5″ SATA HDD: HAT5300/HAT3300
2.5″ SATA SSD: SAT5210
M.2 2280 NVMe SSD: SNV3410
Surveillance Device License Pack		 DDR4 ECC SODIMM: D4ES02-4G/D4ES02-8G/D4ES01-16G
Expansion Units: DX517
3.5″ SATA HDD: HAT5300/HAT3300
2.5″ SATA SSD: SAT5210
M.2 2280 NVMe SSD: SNV3410
10GbE Network Upgrade Module: E10G22-T1-Mini
Surveillance Device License Pack		 DDR4 ECC SODIMM: D4ES02-8G/D4ES01-16G
Expansion Units: DX517
3.5″ SATA HDD: HAT5300/HAT3300
2.5″ SATA SSD: SAT5210
M.2 2280 NVMe SSD: SNV3410
10GbE Network Upgrade Module: E10G22-T1-Mini
Surveillance Device License Pack
DDR4 ECC SODIMM: D4ECSO-2666-16G
Expansion Units: DX517
3.5″ SATA HDD: HAT5300
2.5″ SATA SSD: SAT5210
Surveillance Device License Pack
Notes
All memory modules will operate at the maximum frequency specified by the CPU manufacturer.
Storage Management
Maximum Single Volume Size* 108 TB 108 TB 108 TB 108 TB
Maximum Internal Volume Number 64 64 64 64
M.2 SSD Storage Pool Support*
SSD Read / Write Cache (White Paper)
SSD TRIM
Supported RAID Type Synology Hybrid RAID
Basic
JBOD
RAID 0
RAID 1
RAID 5
RAID 6
RAID 10		 Synology Hybrid RAID
Basic
JBOD
RAID 0
RAID 1
RAID 5
RAID 6
RAID 10		 Synology Hybrid RAID
Basic
JBOD
RAID 0
RAID 1
RAID 5
RAID 6
RAID 10		 Synology Hybrid RAID
Basic
JBOD
RAID 0
RAID 1
RAID 5
RAID 6
RAID 10
RAID Migration Basic to RAID 1
Basic to RAID 5
RAID 1 to RAID 5
RAID 5 to RAID 6		 Basic to RAID 1
Basic to RAID 5
RAID 1 to RAID 5
RAID 5 to RAID 6		 Basic to RAID 1
Basic to RAID 5
RAID 1 to RAID 5
RAID 5 to RAID 6		 Basic to RAID 1
Basic to RAID 5
RAID 1 to RAID 5
RAID 5 to RAID 6
Volume Expansion with Larger HDDs Synology Hybrid RAID
RAID 1
RAID 5
RAID 6
RAID 10		 Synology Hybrid RAID
RAID 1
RAID 5
RAID 6
RAID 10		 Synology Hybrid RAID
RAID 1
RAID 5
RAID 6
RAID 10		 Synology Hybrid RAID
RAID 1
RAID 5
RAID 6
RAID 10
Volume Expansion by Adding a HDD Synology Hybrid RAID
JBOD
RAID 5		 Synology Hybrid RAID
JBOD
RAID 5		 Synology Hybrid RAID
JBOD
RAID 5
RAID 6 (with Expansion Unit)		 Synology Hybrid RAID
JBOD
RAID 5
RAID 6
Global Hot Spare Supported RAID Type Synology Hybrid RAID
RAID 1
RAID 5		 Synology Hybrid RAID
RAID 1
RAID 5		 Synology Hybrid RAID
RAID 1
RAID 5
RAID 6 (with Expansion Unit)
RAID 10 (with Expansion Unit)		 Synology Hybrid RAID
RAID 1
RAID 5
RAID 6
RAID 10
File Services
File Protocol SMB/AFP/NFS/FTP/WebDAV SMB/AFP/NFS/FTP/WebDAV SMB/AFP/NFS/FTP/WebDAV
SMB/AFP/NFS/FTP/WebDAV
Maximum Concurrent SMB/AFP/FTP Connections 200 500 1,000 2,000
Maximum Concurrent SMB/AFP/FTP Connections (with RAM expansion)
 1,500 2,000 2,000
Windows Access Control List (ACL) Integration
NFS Kerberos Authentication
Account & Shared Folder
Maximum Local User Accounts 1,024 2,048 2,048 2,048
Maximum Local Groups 256 256 256 256
Maximum Shared Folder 256 512 512 512
Maximum Shared Folder Sync Tasks 4 8 16 32
Hybrid Share
Hybrid Share Folder Number 5 10 10 10
Hyper Backup
Data & Folder Backup
Entire System Backup
Notes Full-system backup requires DSM 7.2 or later. Full-system backup requires DSM 7.2 or later.
Full-system backup requires DSM 7.2 or later.
High Availability
Synology High Availability
Log Center
Syslog Events per Second 400 800 800 800
Virtualization
VMware ESXi 6.5 and VAAI
Windows Server 2022
Citrix Ready
OpenStack
General Specifications
Networking Protocols SMB1 (CIFS), SMB2, SMB3, NFSv3, NFSv4, NFSv4.1, NFS Kerberized sessions, iSCSI, HTTP, HTTPs, FTP, SNMP, LDAP, CalDAV SMB1 (CIFS), SMB2, SMB3, NFSv3, NFSv4, NFSv4.1, NFS Kerberized sessions, iSCSI, HTTP, HTTPs, FTP, SNMP, LDAP, CalDAV SMB1 (CIFS), SMB2, SMB3, NFSv3, NFSv4, NFSv4.1, NFS Kerberized sessions, iSCSI, HTTP, HTTPs, FTP, SNMP, LDAP, CalDAV
SMB1 (CIFS), SMB2, SMB3, NFSv3, NFSv4, NFSv4.1, NFS Kerberized sessions, iSCSI, HTTP, HTTPs, FTP, SNMP, LDAP, CalDAV
Antivirus by McAfee (Trial)
Central Management System
Synology Chat
Maximum Number of Concurrent Users
 100 100 100
Document Viewer
Download Station
Maximum Concurrent Download Tasks 80 80 80 80
SAN Manager
Maximum iSCSI Target Number 128 128 128 128
Maximum LUN 256 256 256 256
LUN Clone/Snapshot, Windows ODX
Synology MailPlus / MailPlus Server
Free Email Accounts
 5 (Licenses required for additional accounts) 5 (Licenses required for additional accounts)
5 (Licenses required for additional accounts)
Maximum Number of Concurrent Users
 100 100 100
Maximum Server Performance
 1,224,000 emails per day, approx. 37GB 1,224,000 emails per day, approx. 37GB
1,224,000 emails per day, approx. 37GB
Media Server
DLNA Compliance
Synology Photos
Facial Recognition
Object Recognition
Notes
Object recognition requires an upgrade of memory capacity to a minimum of 4 GB.
Snapshot Replication
Maximum Snapshots per Shared Folder 256 1,024 1,024 1,024
Maximum of System Snapshots 4,096 65,536 65,536 65,536
Surveillance Station
Maximum IP cam (Licenses required) 30 (including 2 Free License) (see all supported IP cameras) 40 (including 2 Free License) (see all supported IP cameras) 40 (including 2 Free License) (see all supported IP cameras)
40 (including 2 Free License) (see all supported IP cameras)
Total FPS (H.264) 900 FPS @ 720p (1280×720)
600 FPS @ 1080p (1920×1080)
300 FPS @ 3M (2048×1536)
200 FPS @ 5M (2591×1944)
150 FPS @ 4K (3840×2160)		 1200 FPS @ 720p (1280×720)
800 FPS @ 1080p (1920×1080)
350 FPS @ 3M (2048×1536)
280 FPS @ 5M (2591×1944)
170 FPS @ 4K (3840×2160)		 1200 FPS @ 720p (1280×720)
1050 FPS @ 1080p (1920×1080)
600 FPS @ 3M (2048×1536)
360 FPS @ 5M (2591×1944)
200 FPS @ 4K (3840×2160)
1200 FPS @ 720p (1280×720)
1050 FPS @ 1080p (1920×1080)
600 FPS @ 3M (2048×1536)
360 FPS @ 5M (2591×1944)
200 FPS @ 4K (3840×2160)
Total FPS (H.265) 900 FPS @ 720p (1280×720)
800 FPS @ 1080p (1920×1080)
500 FPS @ 3M (2048×1536)
450 FPS @ 5M (2591×1944)
200 FPS @ 4K (3840×2160)		 1200 FPS @ 720p (1280×720)
1200 FPS @ 1080p (1920×1080)
600 FPS @ 3M (2048×1536)
480 FPS @ 5M (2591×1944)
200 FPS @ 4K (3840×2160)		 1200 FPS @ 720p (1280×720)
1200 FPS @ 1080p (1920×1080)
1000 FPS @ 3M (2048×1536)
600 FPS @ 5M (2591×1944)
300 FPS @ 4K (3840×2160)
1200 FPS @ 720p (1280×720)
1200 FPS @ 1080p (1920×1080)
1000 FPS @ 3M (2048×1536)
600 FPS @ 5M (2591×1944)
300 FPS @ 4K (3840×2160)
Synology Drive
Recommended Number of Concurrent Sync Clients 200 (the number of connections that can be maintained when the recommended number of hosted files was reached) 350 (the number of connections that can be maintained when the recommended number of hosted files was reached) 350 (the number of connections that can be maintained when the recommended number of hosted files was reached)
350 (the number of connections that can be maintained when the recommended number of hosted files was reached)
Recommended Number of Hosted Files 500,000 (applies to files indexed or hosted by Synology Drive. For file access through other standard protocols, refer to the File Services section above) 5,000,000 (applies to files indexed or hosted by Synology Drive. For file access through other standard protocols, refer to the File Services section above) 5,000,000 (applies to files indexed or hosted by Synology Drive. For file access through other standard protocols, refer to the File Services section above)
5,000,000 (applies to files indexed or hosted by Synology Drive. For file access through other standard protocols, refer to the File Services section above)
Synology Office
Maximum Users 200 1,200 1,200 1,200
Video Station
Virtual Machine Manager
Recommended Virtual Machine Instances
 2 (Learn more) 4 (Learn more) 4 (Learn more)
Recommended Virtual DSM Number (Licenses required)
 2 (including 1 Free License) 4 (including 1 Free License)
4 (including 1 Free License)
VPN Server
Maximum Connections 20 40 40 40

 

Synology 4-bay NAS available apps compared

ds423 DS423+, DS923+, DS1522+DVA3221
❌ 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

 

PLEX Performance

Not tested yet. But should perform just like any other NAS with this hardware.

DS423 => just like ds223

DS423+ => just like ds920+

DS923+ tested below

DS1522+ => just like ds923+

 

 

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

 



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