NAS : Synology - QNAP - Asustor.. which one do I choose?

[Yakousei]

Hopefully I'm getting this out correctly.. So - like most, I too have lost some pictures / files during my years tinkering with PC's (since early 90's).

And for a loooooong time I've been thinking of getting an NAS system linked to my house (2TB+2TB | Raid1).

The thing is... Linus's NAS videos are either outdated (a bit), there's no comparison or just way too OP for my use.

And I'm super glueless on which device to choose, what I should be looking at and who delivers the best bang for £$€¥.

Being a long time unemployed person and possibly starting school (again -.-) in the fall I do need to look for the value and can't go for the top shelf stuff.

But then again I don't want to sacrifice too much on the quality - still with me?

 

The use it will go for / should be for is (max 2 accessing at the same time) :

1 Home PC (My personal frankenstein)

1 TV PC (Acer Revo RL80)

1-2 Laptops

1-2 Samsung Tab's

1 Samsung Phone

via Asus RT-N56U & Cisco EPC3825 @ 100/10MB connection

 

Everything is and will be streamed via the home PC as it's on 24/7 - so no real need for HDMI output or streaming as the Win8.1 shait on TV PC does the job.

Just want to safely store all my pictures and other, not so relevant stuff and not to be afraid of power spikes / HDD crash destroying our memories.

Also a plus would be that there's an working Android App that could get access to pictures possibly, so I could clear my dropbox and possibly autosync new pictures to the NAS straight away.

 

So far my search for the device has given the following manufacturers to choose from :

Synology - QNAP - Asustor and to go with the system WD Red 2 TB SATAIII 64MB - 3.5".

 

Just fallen short on which way to go because no one is telling...:

- What is the noise level these have

- Will they have overheating issues

- What's the difference between 512 vs 1024 mem in this use and will it make a real difference

- How much should I look into processors when choosing the device

- How safe are these? I mean on the encryption part.. And how "visible" they will be to the outside world?

- What are the important stuff I should focus on when choosing a NAS for home use?

 

Something from these...?

DS215j - DS214se - DS214play - DS214

TS-251 - TS-251C - TS-231+ - TS-231 - TS-212P

AS-202T - AS-202TE - AS-302T

 

But again, do I need fast USB copy feature, should I go for the 1GB or stick with 521MB.. Or opt for upgradeable on the Ram end?

Does the .2GHz, .4GHz difference really effect me when it comes to packing the stuff up and possibly checking / copying something from there few times a month?

 

So HDD's will be the WD Red 2TB's (unless someone has way better bang for buck on that end to suggest).

And the manufacturer will be Synology, QNAP or Asustor.. Asustor is on the cheaper end and the look ok.

QNAP.. well I don't really like the white stuff, but "big boys" say that these are better. And that Synology is battling on the top position with it when it comes to home NAS's.

 

Any input / suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Hopefully there's someone out there that could help in this (and someone that could benefit from this post after me).

 

PS : Attached a pic of my current Win Drive and Storage Drive (streaming stuff / games too on that) stats..

Sooo I'm kinda serious on the part that I want that friggin back up and soon

Oh and losing 50GB's of Dropbox in five months.. Kinda on a schedule here on that front too.

 

Oh lord.. Wall of text. Hopefully someone will still get trough it *fingers crossed*

[lani100]

If you want to go for a solid easy and plug and play option go for the Synology or the Qnap.

My Synology runs fairly quiet, but they have multiple fan control options.

If the Nas has more ram and a better cpu it will mean that it will transfer data faster.

I would take a look at a 4 bay model if you have the budget.

[Yakousei]

My local shop is selling Synology DS214 for 297€ (198GBP | 379CAD | 323USD).

So that's one option.. The 2x 2TB WD Red's are 118€ (£84 | 160C$ | 128$) a piece.

 

Think the 4 bay ones go tad too high on the budget.. This is stretching it, but should be doable after saving a month.

 

Synology specs do look nice.. Need to do few rounds of comparisons before picking the one to go with.

(and choose if I'll buy it from the local vendor or get it tad cheaper online.. after shipping most likely not possible).

[Tass]

@Yakousei

 

Happy owner of the ds214se with 2x 3tb WD red. DSM is a great and easy to use system, recommended.

 

As for the server itself. for home file use the ds214se does exactly what you need. it is not the fastest but on a 100mbit connection you will never notice it..

Temps are never a problem for me. 30 - 35c on HD and 35 - 45c system with fan on low noise. (ambient can be anything from 18 - 30c)

Noise level is somewhere around 30-32dB. pretty quiet, and not noticable at all with the television running.

I use mine as fileserver, media server and download server. when downloading several files the cpu does lack a bit of power. as i said, it is not the fastest.

 

The 214se is very good at its Price when on a budget. For a bit more demanding use the ds214 is the better option with stronger cpu and more memory.

 

Hop this helps you out a bit. happy hardware hunting.

[R1skNt]

I got mine (DS415+) 4-way about 4 months ago it has a powerful quad-core CPU but only 2GB of ram probably enough and with WD-RED HDD made for NAS.

the system works just fine no compline and I'm happy with it worth the 590$ 

 

think you might wanna get a lock here all spec about the operating system they use it's amazing

https://www.synology.com/en-us/dsm/5.2/main

[Darren]

QNAP guy here, I'd go for the QNAP TS-251. I have the 451 myself and love it. Was recommended to me by my Sysadmin at University, and is backed up by a few IT companies my friends work at and my workplace is associated with, so yeah, QNAP all the way.

 

- What is the noise level these have

Pretty quiet, drives are the loudest part of it when you start doing some heavy read/writes.

- Will they have overheating issues

Nope.

- What's the difference between 512 vs 1024 mem in this use and will it make a real difference

Not really.

- How much should I look into processors when choosing the device

If you're transcoding on the device, more the better. If it's simply going to be a fileshare then not too relevant.

- How safe are these? I mean on the encryption part.. And how "visible" they will be to the outside world?

Encryption isn't something I've looked into, I don't use it.

- What are the important stuff I should focus on when choosing a NAS for home use?

Cost, speed, quality of firmware. QNAP is very solid on this, there's another thread of Synology screwing up yet again.

[Tass]

 

Cost, speed, quality of firmware. QNAP is very solid on this, there's another thread of Synology screwing up yet again.

 

 

"screwing up yet Again"

3 synology servers for roughly 6 years, and this is the first time with issues. and it is a simple file access causing HD activity.

It is not like Qnap (And everyone else) does not make a small mistake every once and a while. So lets keep everything in the right proportion here please.

 

Qnap and synology are BOTH very good options. Whether someone wants DSM or QTS is preference. Both have loads of apps for easy use etc. DSM is often easyer for a first time NAS to learn, but beginners as well as experienced users like both systems.

[dfsdfgfkjsefoiqzemnd]

Don't forget to look into WD.  My EX4 has the personal cloud, android app and can be configured for TV (so any TV that is connected to your network can access the NAS). 

I'm pretty sure they have a 2-bay solution too if the 4-bay is stretching your budget too much, but @Captain_WD probably knows the lineup better than me.

[Tass]

Don't forget to look into WD.  My EX4 has the personal cloud, android app and can be configured for TV (so any TV that is connected to your network can access the NAS). 

I'm pretty sure they have a 2-bay solution too if the 4-bay is stretching your budget too much, but @Captain_WD probably knows the lineup better than me.

 

All true, but remember to consider future upgrades, new (larger) HDD for example, not sure that is possible on the WD solutions. Correct me if i am wrong, not sure on this.

[Yakousei]

Great comments and detailed pro's / con's.. So now it's just down to the ££

Gotta get myself to speed on the saving part then.

 

Now that there's more comments on different devices - how was the first time setup for you?

I mean, I'm a techsavvy and will get er done no problem.. But is there going to be times when I go "wtf just happened?".

Is it 1-2-3-go or is there some hurdles that need to be conquered before you can enjoy a good NAS? 

[Tass]

Edit: removed double quote

 

Great comments and detailed pro's / con's.. So now it's just down to the ££

Gotta get myself to speed on the saving part then.

 

Now that there's more comments on different devices - how was the first time setup for you?

I mean, I'm a techsavvy and will get er done no problem.. But is there going to be times when I go "wtf just happened?".

Is it 1-2-3-go or is there some hurdles that need to be conquered before you can enjoy a good NAS? 

 

DSM systems are very easy to set up. basic knowledge is needed for raid etc, but it guides you through everything pretty well.

DSM is the only system i have started from scratch, so nothing to compare it with on that point.

 

But visit the manufacturer sites, they mostly have guides etc. that tell you how the systems Work, and fora's packed with info and troubleshooting. You should be able to get a baseline on how well the systems are made and ease of use etc.

[Yakousei]

So yeah.. This actually took way more time than I thought - but I finally got it.

QNAP TS-251+ and 2x WD Red 2TB

 

Copying pictures/Karaoke DVD images and whatnot that has been taking my dropbox/HDD space atm.

 

Super easy to setup.. Few things took a moment to actually understand, but still 95% plug&play I'd say.

 

Happy happy joy joy - thanks everyone for your hints, suggestions and comments.

[redstormsju]

On 5/18/2016 at 10:01 AM, Yakousei said:

So yeah.. This actually took way more time than I thought - but I finally got it.

QNAP TS-251+ and 2x WD Red 2TB

 

Copying pictures/Karaoke DVD images and whatnot that has been taking my dropbox/HDD space atm.

 

Super easy to setup.. Few things took a moment to actually understand, but still 95% plug&play I'd say.

 

Happy happy joy joy - thanks everyone for your hints, suggestions and comments.

Hello - looking at this qnap model..as well as the ts-251.  How has it been working?