Compare NAS (ts-262 vs ts-462 vs ds723%2B vs ds923%27%5B0%5D%27123)

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	NVMe	Pcie	Expansion	HDMI	Drive Mixing
TS-262	✓	✓	✓	✓		✓	ⓘ		✓	✓	✓	✓	ⓘ	✓	✓	✓	✓
TS-462	✓	✓	✓	✓		✓	ⓘ		✓	✓	✓	✓	ⓘ	✓	✓	✓	✓
DS723+	✓	-	-	✓	✓	ⓘ	ⓘ	ⓘ	✓	✓			ⓘ	✓	✓	✓		✓

LATEST PRICE LIST

TS-262	279 GBP	521.73 USD
TS-462	439 GBP	439 USD
DS723+	447.99 GBP	747.97 USD

BEST FOR Virtualisation

NAS	CPU	Cores	Threads	Speed (GHz)	Docker/VM	Score	ECC
TS-262	Intel® Celeron® N4505 2-core/2-thread processor, ...	2	2	2 (MAX:2.9)	Docker/VM	2378	NO /4 GB DDR4 on board (non-expandable)
TS-462	Intel® Celeron® N4505 2-core/2-thread processor, ...	2	2	2 (MAX:2.9)	Docker/VM	2378	NO /2 GB DDR4 SODIMM DDR4 (1 x 2 GB)
DS723+	AMD Ryzen R1600	2	4	2.6 (MAX:3.1)	Docker/VM	3147	ECC /2 GB DDR4 ECC

BEST FOR MULTIMEDIA

NAS	GPU	Base_GHz/Max	Codec	FPS	Transcoding	Plex
TS-262	Intel® UHD Graphics	450/750	H.264, H.265	60	2160	2160p
TS-462	Intel® UHD Graphics	450/750	H.264, H.265	60	2160	2160p
DS723+		/			0	720p

BEST FOR FILE STORAGE

NAS	BAYS	Bandwidth	HDD storage	expansion	Drive mixing	File System
TS-262	2 HDD	2.5Gbit (1 ports combined)	44TB	✓		EXT4
TS-462	4 HDD	3.5Gbit (2 ports combined)	88TB	✓		EXT4
DS723+	2 HDD	2Gbit (2 ports combined)	44TB	✓	✓	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
TS-262	folder		face	✓	✓	HDD/volume /folder
TS-462	folder		face	✓	✓	HDD/volume /folder
DS723+	folder/barebone	✓	face	✓	✓	volume/folder

BEST FOR VIDEO EDITING

NAS	MAX LAN speed	transcoding	PCIe	NVMe
TS-262	2.5Gbit	✓	Slot 1: PCIe Gen 3 x2	2 x M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 3 x1
TS-462	2.5Gbit	✓	Slot 1: PCIe Gen 3 x2	2 x M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 3 x1
DS723+	1Gbit		1 x Gen3 x2	2x NVME Gen3 x1

BEST FOR SURVEILLANCE (CCTV)

NAS	HDMI	QVM	transcoding	AI
TS-262	1, HDMI™ 2.1 (up to 4096 x 2160 @ 60Hz)	✓	✓	✓
TS-462	1, HDMI™ 2.1 (up to 4096 x 2160 @ 60Hz)	✓	✓	✓
DS723+

BEST FOR SMART HOME/ AI

NAS	Virtual switch	Docker/VM	HDMI
TS-262		Docker/VM	1, HDMI™ 2.1 (up to 4096 x 2160 @ 60Hz)
TS-462	✓	Docker/VM	1, HDMI™ 2.1 (up to 4096 x 2160 @ 60Hz)
DS723+		Docker/VM

LATEST VIDEOS RELATED

AVAILABILITY / RELEASE DATE

Brand	Model	TW	USA	UK	Released
Qnap	TS-262	•	•	•	2022-08
Qnap	TS-462	•	•	•	2022-07
Synology	DS723+	•	•	•	2023-01

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RELATED REVIEWS

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 - 6/10

HARDWARE - 8/10

PERFORMANCE - 8/10

PRICE - 8/10

VALUE - 9/10

7.8

PROS

👍🏻Very compact chassis design, despite large storage potential
👍🏻A BIG jump in hardware and scale from the QNAP TS-251D
👍🏻Easily one of the most hardware-packed SMB/Mid-range 2-Bay on the market
👍🏻HDMI 2.1 Support is fantastically future-proof!
👍🏻m.2 NVMe SSD Bays AND a PCIe Upgrade Slot (no need to choose one upgrade path)
👍🏻8x Included Camera Licenses
👍🏻Includes Anti-virus, Firewall Tool, VPN client tools, Malware Remover, network manager and Security Councilor Tool
👍🏻3 Different Container/VM tools that also feature image download centers
👍🏻10Gb/s (1,000MB/s) USB Ports will be incredibly useful
👍🏻Large range of expansion options in the TR/TL series in 2, 4, 6, 8 and 12 Bays

CONS

👎🏻The PCIe Slot is PCIe 3x2 and the M.2 SSD Bays are PCIe 3x1 (likely limitations of all this H/W on a Celeron+chipset
👎🏻HD Station application needs more updates by the brand
👎🏻Fixed 4GB of memory will annoy some users
👎🏻The QuTS ZFS Platform is not available
👎🏻Software can be a little inconsistent under excessive use and features a steeper learning curve than Synology

SOFTWARE - 8/10

HARDWARE - 8/10

PERFORMANCE - 8/10

PRICE - 7/10

VALUE - 8/10

7.8

PROS

👍🏻Very compact chassis design, despite large storage potential
👍🏻A BIG jump in hardware and scale from the QNAP TS-451D
👍🏻Easily one of the most hardware-packed SMB/Mid-range 2-Bay on the market
👍🏻HDMI 2.1 Support is fantastically future-proof!
👍🏻m.2 NVMe SSD Bays AND a PCIe Upgrade Slot (no need to choose one upgrade path)
👍🏻8x Included Camera Licenses
👍🏻Includes Anti-virus, Firewall Tool, VPN client tools, Malware Remover, network manager and Security Councilor Tool
👍🏻3 Different Container/VM tools that also feature image download centers
👍🏻10Gb/s (1,000MB/s) USB Ports will be incredibly useful
👍🏻Large range of expansion options in the TR/TL series in 2, 4, 6, 8 and 12 Bays

CONS

👎🏻The PCIe Slot is PCIe 3x2 and the M.2 SSD Bays are PCIe 3x1 (likely limitations of all this H/W on a Celeron+chipset
👎🏻HD Station application needs more updates by the brand
👎🏻Base 2GB Memory is quite small!
👎🏻Software can be a little inconsistent under excessive use and features a steeper learning curve than Synology

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