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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
TS-233	✓	-	-	✓		✓			✓									✓
DS224+	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	ⓘ			✓	✓		ⓘ								✓
DS1522+	✓	-	-	✓	✓	✓	ⓘ	ⓘ	✓	✓			ⓘ			✓	✓	✓		✓
FS6400	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓	✓			✓				✓	✓		✓

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BEST FOR Virtualisation

BEST FOR MULTIMEDIA

BEST FOR FILE STORAGE

BEST FOR BACKUP

BEST FOR VIDEO EDITING

BEST FOR SURVEILLANCE (CCTV)

BEST FOR SMART HOME/ AI

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AVAILABILITY / RELEASE DATE

Brand	Model	TW	USA	UK	Released
Qnap	TS-233	•	•	•	2022-02
Synology	DS224+	•	•	•	2023-07
Synology	DS1522+	•	•	•	2022-06
Synology	FS6400	•	•	•	2020-06

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SOFTWARE - 10/10

HARDWARE - 8/10

PERFORMANCE - 8/10

PRICE - 8/10

VALUE - 8/10

8.4

PROS

👍🏻8GB of ECC Memory that can be scaled to 32GB – LOVELY STUFF
👍🏻Optional 10GbE Upgrade
👍🏻Continued Support of Synology Hybrid RAID on this scale
👍🏻4x LAN Ports by default
👍🏻Expandable with another 10 Drives down the line (2x DS517)
👍🏻NVMe SSD Bays for Caching will be very useful with this 5-Bay RAID Storage
👍🏻DSM 7.1 is hands down the best NAS software and services in the market right now
👍🏻3 years base warranty, with optional extra 2yrs
👍🏻Numerous storage service advantages inc. BTRFS, Fast RAID Rebuild and Auto-Repair
👍🏻First Party Hybrid Cloud services with Synology C2
👍🏻Exceptionally good surveillance software included

CONS

👎🏻That CPU is going to divide opinion
👎🏻HDD & SSD Compatibility list is a little thinner than I expected
👎🏻Optional 10GbE upgrade is via a heavily proprietary route

SOFTWARE - 10/10

HARDWARE - 6/10

PERFORMANCE - 7/10

PRICE - 8/10

VALUE - 7/10

7.6

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
👍🏻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

CONS

👎🏻No means to upgrade network connectivity and 1GbE by default
👎🏻Memory maximum cap at 6GB as original 2GB is fixed (non-upgradable)
👎🏻Small Jump from the 2020 released DS220+
👎🏻Non-Expandable
👎🏻Lack of M.2 NVMe Support

SOFTWARE - 10/10

HARDWARE - 8/10

PERFORMANCE - 9/10

PRICE - 5/10

VALUE - 7/10

7.8

PROS

👍🏻High Virtualisation
👍🏻SSD Optimized like never before
👍🏻Fantastically Powerful 2x Intel Silver CPU
👍🏻F1 and F2 RAID Support
👍🏻SAS and SATA support
👍🏻2x 10Gbe Ports Included
👍🏻PCIe Slot for more ports, 10Gbe and SSD Caching
👍🏻5 Year Warranty
👍🏻Numerous business apps included
👍🏻Surveillance including multiple camera licences
👍🏻iTunes Server
👍🏻email server
👍🏻Download server (FTP, HTTP, BT,NZB)
👍🏻CMS and CRM systems
👍🏻Office applications
👍🏻Media Center support

CONS

👎🏻No NVMe/U.2 Support
👎🏻No USB 3.1 Gen 2 backup Port
👎🏻This hardware opens the door to 20/25Gbe NICs options from the start
👎🏻VERY expensive

SOFTWARE - 8/10

HARDWARE - 7/10

PERFORMANCE - 8/10

PRICE - 9/10

VALUE - 9/10

8.2

PROS

👍🏻Good value hardware and software at this pricepoint
👍🏻2GB of DDR4 Memory at the affordable tier is very welcome
👍🏻
👍🏻Runs the latest version of QTS 5
👍🏻
👍🏻First Value Tier NAS in the market to use the Cortex A55 Processor
👍🏻
👍🏻Quad-Core Processor is a nice bonus
👍🏻
👍🏻Inclusive AI-powered component built into the hardware
👍🏻
👍🏻USB 3.2 Gen 1 Port and Copy Button always good at the value tier
👍🏻
👍🏻Support for NAS-to-NAS/USB/Cloud backups and also supported Hybrid Storage and mounting

CONS

👎🏻1GbE in 2022 event at the value tier is underwhelming
👎🏻2x USB 2.0 Ports is equally underwhelming

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.

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DEAL WATCH - Is It On Offer Right Now? Synology DS224+ NAS Amazon UK £299 (4% Off) HERE [LINK] QNAP TS-233-US 2 Bay Affordable Desktop NAS with ARM Cortex-A55 Quad-core Proces Amazon USA 39.8 OFF (WAS 199) [LINK] QNAP TS-233-US 2 Bay Affordable Desktop NAS with ARM Cortex-A55 Quad-core Proces Amazon USA 4.16 OFF (WAS 275) [LINK] Synology DiskStation DS1522+ 5-Bay NAS Enclosure - 5 x 3.5 or 2.5" SATA HDD/SSD, Amazon USA 109 OFF (WAS 1299) [LINK] Synology DS224+ 2-Bay Diskstation NAS (Intel Celeron J4125 4-Core 2.0 GHz 2GB DD Amazon UK 80.91 OFF (WAS 700) [LINK] Synology DS1522+ 5-Bay Desktop NAS Solution 5x3,5/2,5" SATA HDD/SSD, 2x M.2 2280 Amazon UK 17.92 OFF (WAS 758) [LINK] Synology DS224+ 32TB 2 Bay NAS Solution installed with 2 x 16 HAT3300 Drives Amazon UK 23.3 OFF (WAS 992) [LINK] These Offers are Checked Daily