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-873A | ✓ | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | ⓘ | ⓘ | ✓ | ✓ | ⓘ | ✓ | ⓘ | ⓘ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⓘ | |||
| DS1821+ | ✓ | - | - | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ⓘ | ⓘ | ✓ | ✓ | ⓘ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ | ✓ |
LATEST PRICE LIST
| TS-873A | ||
| DS1821+ |
BEST FOR Virtualisation
| NAS | CPU | Cores | Threads | Speed (GHz) | Docker/VM | Score | ECC |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TS-873A | AMD Ryzen™ Embedded V1500B quad-core 2.2 GHz proce... | 4 | 8 | 2.2 | Docker/VM | 4584 | NO /8 GB DDR4 SO-DIMM DDR4 (1 x 8 GB) |
| DS1821+ | AMD Ryzen V1500B | 4 | 8 | 2.2 | Docker/VM | 4584 | ECC /4 GB DDR4 ECC SODIMM |
BEST FOR MULTIMEDIA
| NAS | GPU | Base_GHz/Max | Codec | FPS | Transcoding | Plex |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TS-873A | / | 0 | 1080p | |||
| DS1821+ | / | 0 | 1080p |
BEST FOR FILE STORAGE
| NAS | BAYS | Bandwidth | HDD storage | expansion | Drive mixing | File System |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TS-873A | 8 HDD | 5Gbit (2 ports combined) | 176TB | ✓ | EXT4 | |
| DS1821+ | 8 HDD | 4Gbit (4 ports combined) | 176TB | ✓ | ✓ | 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 | Microsoft | encryption | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TS-873A | folder | face | ✓ | ✓ | HDD/volume /folder | |
| DS1821+ | folder/barebone | ✓ | face+object | ✓ | ✓ | volume/folder |
BEST FOR VIDEO EDITING
| NAS | MAX LAN speed | Ports | transcoding | PCIe | NVMe |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| TS-873A | 2.5Gbit | PCIe-Slot =2 Slot 1: PCIe Gen 3 x4 Slot 2: PCIe Gen 3 x4 | 2 x M.2 2280 PCIe Gen3 x1 slots | ||
| DS1821+ | 1Gbit | 1 x Gen3 x4 | 2x NVME Gen3 x2 |
BEST FOR SURVEILLANCE (CCTV)
| NAS | HDMI | QVM | transcoding | AI |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TS-873A | pcie | ✓ | ✓ | |
| DS1821+ |
BEST FOR SMART HOME/ AI
| NAS | Virtual switch | Docker/VM | HDMI | S/PDIF / AUX |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| TS-873A | ✓ | Docker/VM | pcie | |
| DS1821+ | Docker/VM |
LATEST VIDEOS RELATED
AVAILABILITY / RELEASE DATE
| Brand | Model | TW | USA | UK | Released |
| Qnap | TS-873A | • | • | • | 2021-02 |
| Synology | DS1821+ | • | • | • | 2020-11 |
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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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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-873A | ||
| DS1821+ |
 DEAL WATCH - Is It On Offer Right Now?Synology DS1821+ 8-Bay Diskstation NAS (AMD Ryzen V1500B Quad-Core 2,2 GHz 4 GB Amazon  USA 21.49 OFF (WAS 1082) [LINK] QNAP TS-873A NAS Tower Ethernet/LAN Noir V1500B Amazon  UK 54.95 OFF (WAS 1099) [LINK] QNAP TS-873A-8G 8-bay Desktop NAS, AMD Ryzen Quad-core 2.2 GHz CPU- with 2.5GbE Amazon UK 60 OFF (WAS 1169) [LINK] Serwer NAS TS-873AeU-RP-4G 8-Bay AMD Ryzen V1500B 2U Amazon UK 208.2 OFF (WAS 1991) [LINK] Synology DS1821+/32TB IW 8 Bay DT Amazon UK 10.71 OFF (WAS 1966) [LINK] Synology DS1821+ 64TB 8 Bay Desktop NAS Solution, Installed with 8 x 8TB HAT5300 Amazon UK 24.31 OFF (WAS 3867) [LINK] These Offers are Checked Daily |
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