compare

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

8.0

PROS

👍🏻Desktop Ryzen Powered Solution
👍🏻Dual NVMe M.2 cache
👍🏻PCIe Gen 3 x8 PCIe Equipped
👍🏻Great RAID Options (inc SHR)
👍🏻Excellent choice of Apps
👍🏻DDR4 ECC Memory up to 32GB
👍🏻Numerous Backup Software Options
👍🏻Huge Virtualization Support
👍🏻3yr Warranty and Extendable to 5yrs

CONS

👎🏻1Gbe Ports seem a bit limited now
👎🏻Shame it does not support 1/2 x DX1215
👎🏻NVMe SSDs cannot be used for RAW storage

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

8.4

PROS

👍🏻Supports MOST of the Synology App Suite
👍🏻Support of SHR, BTRFS and Snapshots
👍🏻Low Power Consumption
👍🏻Lovely Compact Design and Noise Level
👍🏻Large HDD & SSD Compatibility
👍🏻Three USB Ports & Copy Button
👍🏻Warranty can be extended
👍🏻Very Capable, despite ARM CPU

CONS

👎🏻1GbE, 5Gb/s USB & No SD Card Slot
👎🏻2GB Memory is fixed
👎🏻No expansion Support
👎🏻No Plex App Support (Yet)

SOFTWARE - 9/10
HARDWARE - 8/10
PERFORMANCE - 6/10
PRICE - 9/10
VALUE - 9/10

8.2

PROS

👍🏻Supports MOST of the Synology App Suite
👍🏻Very Affordable
👍🏻Support of SHR, BTRFS and Snapshots
👍🏻Low Power Consumption
👍🏻Lovely Compact Design and Noise Level
👍🏻Large HDD & SSD Compatibility
👍🏻Three USB Ports & Copy Button
👍🏻The warranty can be extended
👍🏻Very Capable, despite ARM CPU

CONS

👎🏻1x 1GbE ONLY, 5Gb/s USB & No NIC Upgrade Support at all!
👎🏻1GB Memory is fixed
👎🏻No expansion Support

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 - 8/10
PRICE - 8/10
VALUE - 8/10

8.4

PROS

👍🏻HUGE Storage Potential
👍🏻Prioritizes Storage, whilst still providing a good CPU+Memory Server combo
👍🏻Full access to the complete DSM Software Packages & Services
👍🏻Lots of upgrade options
👍🏻ECC Memory at this storage scale is appreciated, and 3200Mhz rated
👍🏻Excellent ventilation throughout
👍🏻PCIe slot is Gen 3×8, so plenty of bandwidth to play with
👍🏻Surprisingly compact for 12 Bays of storage

CONS

👎🏻1GbE is feeling rather outdated in 2022 and for those futureproofing, seems shortsighted
👎🏻Ambiguity in how the system operates and support when using 3rd party media
👎🏻Living in the shadow a bit of the enterprise DS3622xs+ NAS

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

7.6

PROS

👍🏻Affordable 6-Bay Solution
👍🏻Incredible low footprint in your environment
👍🏻Supports Plex Media Server
👍🏻4K Media Playback and Transcoding
👍🏻LAG/Trunking Support
👍🏻Supports 15mm Drives
👍🏻VERY quiet
👍🏻Supports DSM 6.2.2 Very Well
👍🏻2.5″ Focused, but very capable

CONS

👎🏻Shame it’s not the 4-Core J3455
👎🏻Only 2x RJ45, Bottleneck for Faster Media
👎🏻10Gbe would have made this INCREDIBLE

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

8.6

PROS

👍🏻DSM 7/7.1 (and DSM7.2 Around the corner) still continues to be an absolute tour-de-force of NAS Software
👍🏻Most Affordable 10GbE upgradable Synology NAS in the market!
👍🏻ECC Memory Support and scalability to 32GB is completely unparallel at this price point
👍🏻The design of the DS723+ NAS still continues to be market-leading
👍🏻The New CPU architecture allows great PCIe3 bandwidth to be afforded to the rest of the hardware, inside and out
👍🏻Low Noise, Low Physical Impact and Intelligent Automatic Power Use Adjustment Settings
👍🏻Increased Support for macOS in Synology Drive and Active Backup Suite (DSM 7.2)
👍🏻Synology C2 Cloud Services, 1st Party Backup/Sync Tools and Collaboration Suite App = Complete 1st Party Eco-system that can rival Office365 and Google Workspace
👍🏻PCIe Gen 3 M.2 NVMe SSD Support as Storage Pools!!! FINALLY!
👍🏻Tremendously User-Friendly!!!

CONS

👎🏻The AMD Emb.Ryzen instead of a Intel Celeron (with Integrated Graphics) will be a dealbreaker for alot of users
👎🏻The default 1GbE ports that the system arrives with are tremendously dated
👎🏻The USB port on the system (only x1?!) is older gen USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gb/s) and their support/usability have been quite pared back in recent DSM releases
👎🏻The continued moves by Synology to prioritize 1st party hardware and software services may put some users off
👎🏻Plex Support on the Synology DS723+ is still great for native playback, client-side handling and client devices with relevant multimedia licenses in place, but if server-side media conversions are needed - this system will struggle in comparison with the DS720+ before it

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

8.6

PROS

👍🏻DSM 7/7.1 (and DSM7.2 Around the corner) still continues to be an absolute tour-de-force of NAS Software
👍🏻This latest generation expandable 4-Bay arriving with a 10G Upgrade Option is fantastic
👍🏻ECC Memory Support and scalability to 32GB is completely unparallel at this price point
👍🏻The design of the DS923+ NAS still continues to be market-leading
👍🏻The New CPU architecture allows great PCIe3 bandwidth to be afforded to the rest of the hardware, inside and out
👍🏻Low Noise, Low Physical Impact and Intelligent Automatic Power Use Adjustment Settings
👍🏻Increased Support for macOS in Synology Drive and Active Backup Suite (DSM 7.2)
👍🏻Synology C2 Cloud Services, 1st Party Backup/Sync Tools and Collaboration Suite App = Complete 1st Party Eco-system that can rival Office365 and Google Workspace
👍🏻PCIe Gen 3 M.2 NVMe SSD Support as Storage Pools!!! FINALLY!
👍🏻Tremendously User-Friendly!!!

CONS

👎🏻The AMD Emb.Ryzen instead of a Intel Celeron (with Integrated Graphics) will be a dealbreaker for alot of users
👎🏻The default 1GbE ports that the system arrives with are tremendously dated
👎🏻The USB ports on the system are older gen USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gb/s) and their support/usability have been quite pared back in recent DSM releases
👎🏻The continued moves by Synology to prioritize 1st party hardware and software services may put some users off
👎🏻Plex Support on the Synology DS923+ is still great for native playback, client-side handling and client devices with relevant multimedia licenses in place, but if server-side media conversions are needed - this system will struggle in comparison with the DS920+ before it

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

8.8

PROS

👍🏻Runs BOTH Surveillance Station + DSM
👍🏻All the DVA Task for fraction of DVA3221 Price
👍🏻Supports Local KVM Standalone Access
👍🏻8 Camera Licenses Included
👍🏻No HDD Compatibility Limits
👍🏻Run VERY Quietly
👍🏻MASSIVE IP Camera Support List
👍🏻Easily the \'BEST\' Synology 2-Bay
👍🏻Surveillance Station 9.1 Is Still BRILLIANT

CONS

👎🏻Cannot be Expanded
👎🏻6GB Default/Max Memory is Weird
👎🏻CPU is a little old
👎🏻No M.2 NVMe SSD Support
👎🏻Only 2x AI Tasks at once
👎🏻Only 1x Network Port (no failover)

SOFTWARE - 9/10
HARDWARE - 8/10
PERFORMANCE - 9/10
PRICE - 6/10
VALUE - 7/10

7.8

PROS

👍🏻Incredible Surveillance Monitoring Options
👍🏻Real-Time AI Camera recording saves hundreds of man-hours
👍🏻Internal GTX1650 Graphics Card means this new system can process up to 6 AI tasks, rather than the 4x in the DVA3219
👍🏻8 Camera Licenses included (worth around £300)
👍🏻BTRFS and SHR Support
👍🏻Upto 32GB DDR4 Memory Support
👍🏻Dual Surveillance Station and DSM Support
👍🏻4 LAN Ports for LAG
👍🏻Can be used for VMs, PLEX and rest of the Synology App Collection
👍🏻Great Surveillance Person/Thing tracking
👍🏻Intelligent Motion Tracking
👍🏻Intelligent Counting and Border Control
👍🏻Additional Deep Video Analysis Options

CONS

👎🏻Graphics Card features HDMI/DVI Ports on the card, but they are not available on the DVA3221
👎🏻Quite expensive for a 4-Bay NAS
👎🏻No Keyboard Video Mouse (KVM) support
👎🏻The CPU is a little disappointing
👎🏻Arguably only a marginal increase on the DVA3219