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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-432X - -
TS-253E
DS423 -

LATEST PRICE LIST

TS-432X570.42 GBP579 USD
TS-253E497.99 GBP514.99 USD
DS423350.97 GBP369.99 USD

BEST FOR Virtualisation

NAS CPU Cores Threads Speed (GHz) Docker/VM Score ECC
TS-432X quad-core 2.0GHz AnnapurnaLabs AL524 4 4 2 Docker/VM 951 NO /4 GB DDR4 non-ECC
TS-253E Intel® Celeron® J6412 4-core/4-thread processor, b... 4 4 2 (MAX:2.6) Docker/VM 3849 NO /8 GB DDR4 on board (non-expandable)
DS423 Realtek RTD1619B 4 4 1.7 Docker 700 NO /2 GB DDR4 non-ECC

BEST FOR MULTIMEDIA

NAS GPU Base_GHz/Max Codec FPS Transcoding Plex
TS-432X / 0
TS-253E Intel® UHD Graphics for 10th Gen 400/800 H.264 30 2160 2160p
DS423 Mali-G51 GPU / H.264, H.265 60 2160

BEST FOR FILE STORAGE

NAS BAYS Bandwidth HDD storage expansion Drive mixing File System
TS-432X 4 HDD 15Gbit (3 ports combined) 88TB EXT4
TS-253E 2 HDD 5Gbit (2 ports combined) 44TB 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
TS-432X folder face HDD/volume /folder
TS-253E folder face HDD/volume /folder
DS423 folder face /folder

BEST FOR VIDEO EDITING

NAS MAX LAN speed Ports transcoding PCIe NVMe
TS-432X 10Gbit 1 x 10GbE SFP+ 1 x Gen3 x4
TS-253E 2.5Gbit 2 x M.2 2280 PCIe Gen 3 x2
DS423 1Gbit

BEST FOR SURVEILLANCE (CCTV)

NAS HDMI QVM transcoding AI
TS-432X
TS-253E 2 x HDMI 1.4b ( up to 3840 x 2160 @ 30Hz )
DS423

BEST FOR SMART HOME/ AI

NAS Virtual switch Docker/VM HDMI S/PDIF / AUX
TS-432X Docker/VM
TS-253E Docker/VM 2 x HDMI 1.4b ( up to 3840 x 2160 @ 30Hz )
DS423 Docker

LATEST VIDEOS RELATED


AVAILABILITY / RELEASE DATE

Brand Model TW USA UK Released
Qnap TS-432X 2024-07
Qnap TS-253E 2022-06
Synology DS423 2023-03

LATEST POSTS RELATED


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Synology DS423 released (4-bay value series NAS)


RELATED REVIEWS

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


8.0
PROS
👍🏻Exceptional CPU choice for the Scale/Tier
👍🏻8GB of DDR4 Memory
👍🏻2.5GbE (x2) Ports on Day 1
👍🏻Two USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gb/s) Ports!
👍🏻2x M.2 NVMe Slots alongside those 4x SATA Bays for Storage (Caching, Tiered Storage or standalone Pools)
👍🏻Includes VM, Surveillance (8 licenses and upto 32 Cams), Backup, Sync, Multimedia, SaaS sync/migration and office tools (some with added AI services)
👍🏻3-Year Warranty (Can be extended)
👍🏻VERY Compact, low-impact design
👍🏻Supports 1-2x Expansions
👍🏻20TB and 22TB Confirmed Compatibility
CONS
👎🏻
👎🏻Memory Cannot be Upgraded
👎🏻M.2 NVMe SSD Slots are Gen 3 x2
👎🏻Chassis is still a little dated looking

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

TS-432X570.42 GBP579 USD
TS-253E497.99 GBP514.99 USD
DS423350.97 GBP369.99 USD
DEAL WATCH - Is It On Offer Right Now?

Synology DS423 NAS Amazon UK UK £332 (15% OFF) [LINK]
Synology 4-Bay DiskStation DS423 (Diskless) Black Amazon usa USA 15.34 OFF (WAS 385) [LINK]
Synology DiskStation DS423 4-Bay 3.5 Diskless 2xGbE NAS, Realtek RTD1619B 4-core Amazon usa USA 157.61 OFF (WAS 550) [LINK]
QNAP TS-253E Single Memory 8GB Amazon usa USA 461.87 OFF (WAS 1145) [LINK]
Synology DiskStation DS423 4 Bay Desktop NAS Enclosure Amazon UK UK 373.22 OFF (WAS 750) [LINK]
QNAP TS-253E-8G 2 Bay Desktop NAS Amazon UK UK 7.1 OFF (WAS 511) [LINK]
QNAP TS-432X-4G-US 4 Bay 10GbE Desktop NAS with ARM Alpine AL524 Quad-core Proce Amazon UK UK 7.92 OFF (WAS 578) [LINK]
QNAP TS-432X-4G NAS/storage server Tower Alpine Alpine AL-524 4 GB DDR4 Qnap QTS Amazon UK UK 35.74 OFF (WAS 767) [LINK]

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