Network storage for home and prosumer use.
The Synology BeeStation Plus 8TB is a consumer-friendly NAS aimed at first-timers, a simple alternative to iCloud, Google Photos, and Drive. It ships with a preinstalled drive and preconfigured settings for an out-of-the-box experience.
The QNAP TS-464 is the latest 4-bay NAS and successor to the TS-453D. The TS-464-4G, with 4GB of RAM, retails for S$929 and runs on a quad-core Intel Celeron processor, shipping with cables and mounting screws.
I upgraded my three-year-old 4-bay Synology DS918+ to the 6-bay DS1621+, which Synology refreshed late last year from the DS1618+. The DS1621+ retails for S$1,244 and gives me more room to grow my storage.
Synology, QNAP, and ASUSTOR are my three top-of-mind NAS brands, all Taiwanese. To complete the trilogy, I review the Asustor Lockerstor 4 (AS6604T), a 4-bay NAS on par with the DS920+ and TS-453D, powered by an Intel J4125.
The QNAP TS-453D ships with only 4GB of RAM, too little for containers or virtual machines. I upgraded with a Crucial 8GB DDR4 2666 SODIMM, bought from Amazon.sg during a Black Friday sale for S$31.08.
Ten years ago I chose Synology over QNAP for my second NAS. QNAP wanted my take on the TS-453D against the Synology DS920+, so they sent one over. Both are 4-bay, Intel J4125-powered NAS.
The Synology DS920+ is the flagship 4-bay NAS in the 2020 Plus series, alongside the DS420+, DS720+, and DS220+. Powered by an Intel J4125 with 4GB RAM, this post walks through migrating from an existing DiskStation.
The Synology DS220j is an entry-level NAS for newcomers. Ten years ago I moved from a D-Link DNS-323 to a Synology DS210j and never looked back. At S$249, the DS220j is an affordable starting point.
WD Red was always my go-to NAS drive, but my four WD Red 3TBs in a DS918+ were a nightmare, all RMA'd, some twice. Chalking it up to luck, I switched to Seagate IronWolf drives for my DS220j.
As a Synology fan owning several of their NAS and routers, I rate their DSM and SRM software the best around. For some reason I started collecting their swag, from a USB drive to a luggage tag and SIM holder.
The Synology DS918+ is the flagship 4-bay NAS in the Plus Series, announced at Computex 2017 and released that October. Retailing for S$811 at Fuwell, it costs S$100 more than the DS418play, adding a quad-core processor and 4GB RAM.
My Synology DS415play was showing its age, often failing to stream video via Plex to my Apple TV 4K and forcing a VLC workaround. This post looks at the DS418play, the natural upgrade to address those streaming bottlenecks.
The Synology DS216+, launched on 28th January 2016, succeeds the DS215+ and retails in Singapore for S$499. This high-performance 2-bay NAS for small offices and home users features a dual-core Intel CPU, AES-NI encryption, Btrfs support, and 4K transcoding.
WD makes the best hard drives and Synology the best NAS. I run two Synology units at home with WD drives: a DS210j on two WD Green 1TB since 2010, and a DS413j on four WD Red 1TB since 2013.
I'm a huge fan of WD Red hard drives, running four of them in my Synology DiskStation DS413j with no trouble. WD Red drives are designed and tested for 24/7 operation and the demanding needs of home and small-office NAS.
In my final Synology DiskStation DS413j review, after covering unboxing, setup, and performance, I focus on its multimedia features. These include Video Station, Audio Station, and Photo Station, along with their mobile apps, DS Video, DS Audio, and DS Photo.
In this second part of my Synology DiskStation DS413j review, after unboxing and setup earlier, I cover performance, backup, and CloudStation. I tested file transfer speeds with LAN Speed Test, the DS413j running SHR with WD Red drives.
I've been seeded the Synology DiskStation DS413j with three WD Red drives for a three-part review, beginning here with unboxing and setup. Since the DS413j is a four-bay NAS, I popped to Sim Lim Square for a fourth WD Red.
I bought the D-Link DNS-320 (S$109) and two Western Digital 3.5-inch Caviar Black 1TB drives at S$115 each, at Comex 2011. Despite a bad experience with the DNS-323, I went D-Link again, since this is for my mom's office.
After a week and a follow-up email, D-Link replied. The normal repair is US$61, but out of goodwill they offered 30% off, bringing it to US$42, so I'll repair it and get a Synology DiskStation DS210j too.
I bought my D-Link DNS-323 at Comex 2008 on 1st September, and three days ago it died, just a year and three months on, after its one-year warranty lapsed. Argh! I wrote to D-Link anyway to try my luck.
Comex 2008 ran at Suntec City Convention Centre from 28th to 31st August. I hooted plenty, including Canon colour and black ink for my mom's MX700 printer, plus a D-Link DNS-323 and a Wall-E pickup for myself.