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GENERAL NAS FEATURE COMPARISON

NAS Plex (local 4K) Plex HD (remote) Plex 4K (remote) BACKUP (MS/GOOGLE OFFICE) BACKUP (BAREBONE) PHOTOS (OBJECT AI) VIDEO EDITING (4K) VIDEO EDITING (8K) DOCKER VIRTUAL MACHINES PC MODE (QVM) 2.5GbE 10GbE 25GbE Thunderbolt NVMe Pcie Expansion HDMI Drive Mixing
TVS-h474 - -
TS-873 - -
DS423+

LATEST PRICE LIST

TVS-h4741409 GBP1199 USD
TS-873
DS423+499.99 GBP519.22 USD

BEST FOR Virtualisation

NAS CPU Cores Threads Speed (GHz) Docker/VM Score ECC
TVS-h474 Intel® Pentium® Gold G7400 2-core/4-thread 3.7 GHz... 2 4 3.7 Docker/VM 6786 NO /8 GB DDR4 SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 8 GB)
TS-873 AMD R-Series RX-421ND quad-core 2.1 GHz processor ... 4 4 2.1 (MAX:3.4) Docker/VM 3575 NO /4 GB SO-DIMM DDR4 (2 x 2 GB)
DS423+ Intel Celeron J4125 4 4 2 (MAX:2.7) Docker/VM 2982 NO /2 GB DDR4 non-ECC

BEST FOR MULTIMEDIA

NAS GPU Base_GHz/Max Codec FPS Transcoding Plex
TVS-h474 Intel® UHD Graphics 710 300/1.35 H.264 60 4320 1080p
TS-873 / 0 720p
DS423+ Intel® UHD Graphics 600 250/750 H.264 60 2160 2160p

BEST FOR FILE STORAGE

NAS BAYS Bandwidth HDD storage expansion Drive mixing File System
TVS-h474 4 HDD 5Gbit (2 ports combined) 88TB ZFS/EXT4
TS-873 8 HDD 4Gbit (4 ports combined) 176TB EXT4
DS423+ 4 HDD 2Gbit (2 ports combined) 88TB EXT4 BTRFS

*All NAS support multiple RAID/ volume groups, if you want to mix different size drive on non supported model.

BEST FOR BACKUP

NAS Level HA AI Google Microsoft encryption
TVS-h474 folder face HDD/volume /folder
TS-873 folder face HDD/volume /folder
DS423+ folder/barebone face volume/folder

BEST FOR VIDEO EDITING

NAS MAX LAN speed Ports transcoding PCIe NVMe
TVS-h474 2.5Gbit Slot 1: PCIe Gen 4 x16 (CPU) Slot 2: PCIe Gen 3 x2 (PCH) 2 x M.2 2280 PCIe Gen3 x2 slots
TS-873 1Gbit Slot 1: PCIe Gen 3 x4 Slot 2: PCIe Gen 3 x4 2 x M.2 2280/2260 SATA 6Gb/s slots
DS423+ 1Gbit 2x NVME gen2 x1 ???

BEST FOR SURVEILLANCE (CCTV)

NAS HDMI QVM transcoding AI
TVS-h474 1, HDMI™ 1.4b (up to 4096 x 2160 @ 30Hz)
TS-873 pcie
DS423+

BEST FOR SMART HOME/ AI

NAS Virtual switch Docker/VM HDMI S/PDIF / AUX
TVS-h474 Docker/VM 1, HDMI™ 1.4b (up to 4096 x 2160 @ 30Hz)
TS-873 Docker/VM pcie
DS423+ Docker/VM

LATEST VIDEOS RELATED


AVAILABILITY / RELEASE DATE

Brand Model TW USA UK Released
Qnap TVS-h474 2022-09
Qnap TS-873 2020-07
Synology DS423+ 2023-03

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RELATED REVIEWS

SOFTWARE - 10/10
HARDWARE - 7/10
PERFORMANCE - 8/10
PRICE - 7/10
VALUE - 7/10


7.8
PROS
👍🏻Synology 4-Bay NAS with a 4-Core Intel Integrated Gfx Processor - Lovely stuff!
👍🏻Runs Everything in the Synology DSM Catalogue (Active Backup, Surveillance Station, VMM, Drive, Collab Suite, etc)
👍🏻Great Plex, Emby and Jellyfin Media Server Performance
👍🏻Supports M.2 NVMe SSD Storage Pools
👍🏻Broad HDD/SSD Compatibility with Synology drives AND Seagate+WD
👍🏻Low Impact chassis, low noise in operation (HDD dependant) and efficient power use
👍🏻Runs exceedingly well on just 2GB of Memory
👍🏻More affordable than the DS923+ and DS723+
👍🏻Long-running DSM Support beyond the Hardware 3yr Warranty
CONS
👎🏻No means to upgrade network connectivity and 1GbE by default
👎🏻Memory maximum cap at 6GB as original 2GB is fixed (non-upgradable)
👎🏻Too similar to the DS920+
👎🏻Non-Expandable
👎🏻2019/2020 Gen Intel CPU

SOFTWARE - 9/10
HARDWARE - 10/10
PERFORMANCE - 10/10
PRICE - 7/10
VALUE - 8/10


8.8
PROS
👍🏻ZFS and EXT4 Support
👍🏻Pentium Gold Processor 4-Bay - NICE
👍🏻Graphics Card Support
👍🏻PCIe Gen 4 Lanes and a 4x16 Slot
👍🏻2.5GbE by default
👍🏻Massive Memory Support
👍🏻LCD Panel Always Useful
👍🏻USB 10G Ports
👍🏻m.2 NVMe SSD Slots for Caching OR Storage Pools
👍🏻Best Plex 4-Bay NAS in 2022/2023 by a good distance!
CONS
👎🏻Expensive!
👎🏻Still waiting for an I3 option
👎🏻Power Hungry and a pinch noisy in operation

In terms of these two brands, there is been a long-running theme all the way through that Synology has focused on FIRST-PARTY (i.e. Synology-brand) software and hardware priority, then supporting THIRD-PARTY services/hardware when they haven’t got a viable alternative in-house – to mixed degrees of popularity. Whereas QNAP has been a much more level playing field where they have released their own innovative hardware/software (occasionally a little too quickly) and singing its praises, but also tried to keep customization and flexibility for 3rd parties as open as possible and shouting loud-and-proud about that too – which can be a tad overwhelming for the less tech-savvy. Both brands have done an incredible job evolve their platforms as much as they have to date, especially when Microsoft, Google and Amazon are pouring BILLIONS into the SaaS (and PaaS and IaaS – Platform and Infrastructure as a Service) in order to create entirely streamable ecosystems for businesses, with NAS brands like Synology and QNAP not only integrating with them but also thriving alongside them as a local/bare-metal failsafe. These are all very lofty ideas and ones that most home or small business users will likely have little time for right now (aside from where NAS fits in with their Google/Office 365 office tools like documents, email and spreadsheets at a pinch) and for those users, who the NAS stands on its own two feet is what is going to matter most. Synology is earning its position in the market as the complete 1st party software and hardware package, with a genuinely groundbreaking range of available services, but still managing to make NAS accessible for all in DSM 6.2/7.0/7.1. That said, the trends we are seeing in those sub-enterprise services that are slowly receding in support of popular 3rd party hardware, software and services, making using a Synology NAS alongside your own existing setup in a frictionless way cannot be ignored and leading some to think Synology is shifting their industry position towards something higher.

QNAP NAS on the other hand, although maybe trying to cover too many bases at once, is still trying to cover as much as it can to appear to their audience. Their support of considerably more 3rd party platforms/software/services, even when they have their own software available, is certainly admirable and aside from rather aggressive pricing on their QVR Pro surveillance platform, are still the better choice for those who want a much more adaptable and customizable platform. Its a pretty understandable fact that most people who buy a NAS will be arriving with an existing collection of software in their daily workflow (Office 365 for docs, Gmail for their email, Plex for their media, Chromebook for their commute, Skype/Whatsapp for their communication, TB3 for their editing, etc) and it has to be said that QNAP keeps a more open platform to adapt a NAS into this mix than Synology – occasionally less intuitively and not without a little setup-friction, but certainly to more customizable results. Unsurprisingly, I am going to tell you that both Synology and QNAP NAS are good NAS brands and have earned their place at the top of the industry (whilst both making their own respective moves to integrate into the next tier – ie SaaS providers, Hyperscale environments and Boundless cloud storage), but there is no denying that no one brand has managed to do EVERYTHING to perfection. So, if in double, below is how I would recommend QNAP and Synology NAS to you, for each user case scenario and I hope this guide and my recommendations help you with your next big data storage purchase.

Why Choose Synology NAS?

Better Surveillance Software

More Intuative and User-Friendly Design

EXCELLENT 1st Party Alternative Apps to Existing 3rd Party Tools

(including Synology Chat, Mail, Office, Drive, Calendar and more)

Greater Support/Migration with VMware & Hyper-V

Better Redundant System Options (SHA)

Greater Support on Amazon Home Hardware

Synology Hybrid RAID for flexibility in Media Upgrades

BTRFS on Most systems

Longer Warranty Available on More Systems

First Party SSD and HDDs Available

Typically Quieter Operation

Why Choose QNAP NAS?

Better 1st Party/Hosting Virtual Machines

Better Plex Media Server NAS

More Adaptable and Customizable

Wider Support of Surveillance using AI Recognition

EXCELLENT KVM Support

More Camera Licenses

ZFS or EXT4 File System Choice on many systems now

2.5Gbe Network Interfaces at 1Gbe Cost

Allows NVMe SSD Storage Pools and Volumes

Support of QTier for intelligent Data storage for Access

Greater 1st and 3rd Party Hardware Upgrade Compatibility

(including Graphics Cards, WiFi 6 and Thunderbolt)


LATEST PRICE LIST

TVS-h4741409 GBP1199 USD
TS-873
DS423+499.99 GBP519.22 USD
DEAL WATCH - Is It On Offer Right Now?

Synology DS423+ 4 Bay Desktop NAS Storage Server Amazon usa USA 30.78 OFF (WAS 550) [LINK]
QNAP TVS-h474-PT-8G Intel Pentium Gold Processor, 8GB RAM, PCIe Gen 4 expandabil Amazon usa USA 31 OFF (WAS 2321) [LINK]

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