Synology DS423+ NAS - 1 Year Later

[@epicka]

Hurry up synology. I need a NAS and I don't want to settle for this!

[@JoeyMe]

This!

[@moralreality7328]

Diy?

[@damianthomson6402]

Agree, this feels like it was designed during COVID and pushed out after, too many compromises for a £500ish device

[@Anomaliayt]

Xpenology. Instead of selling my old PC, I repurposed it into a beautiful mini itx NAS. It’s probably more powerful than most synologys. 6 bay, i7 16gb, 2.5gbe (can upgrade to 10gbe). Cost me nearly nothing. No NVME tho.

[@KarlRock]

I made the rookie mistake and bought the 2-bay version. Now I need to upgrade to 4. But then I'm worried I might need 6-bay 😂

[@john_in_phoenix]

Same here. Didn't do an inventory of my blu-ray collection and went from 2 bay with 12tb drives to DS423+ with 4 bays filled with 16tb drives. The Exos drives are by far noisier than the NAS even when the fans are set on max.

[@tonizombie]

The only problem i have with mine is the noise from seagate exos drives, the system dosent let them sleep thus making noise every 5 seconds (I assume its the drive head moving) The drives also resonate very well with my desk making the noise even louder

[@7rich79]

It's the lack of networking options and processing power that has prevented me from upgrading from my ds918+

[@christerwiberg1]

Me too, quite happy with med 918, but would like 10 GBe, I know I can add a card to 923, but still the switches are a bit on the expensive side. Maybe next year Synology have a upgrade and 10 GBe switches are cheaper

[@BrunodeSouzaLino]

@@christerwiberg1 You can buy a used Arista 7050S-52-R switch for quite cheap these days. It can get somewhat expensive since you'll need the SFP modules, but still.

[@peteradshead2383]

I've joined the club on that , I use a ds918+ for long term backup and use proxmox running as a nas , wanted something with 10gbt and lots more ram.

[@veritas44]

Wait… I did add 16GB of RAm though, what am I missing?

[@The_Dude_1]

you can put in as much as you want but it will only recognize and use up to 6 GB total.

[@veritas44]

@@The_Dude_1 Under Control Panel --> Info Center --> General, I do see 18GB though

[@john_in_phoenix]

Intel doesn't support it, however it frequently works. I guess the real question is does synology software use it. I have the officially supported 6 gig in mine and so far haven't found any issues with memory usage. I will also note that I primarily use it for Plex, and haven't tried any containers.

[@AABB-oi7hv]

​@@The_Dude_1 that's simply not true, i use 3 VM's each with 4GB on ds423+ at the same time

[@ZubinSaxena]

@@The_Dude_1you’ve no clue what you’re talking about.

[@BryanMack]

Just a side note, with link aggregation you can get the network up to 2gbps; still would rather have 2.5 integrated (in each port!) or a 10gbps, but doubling it up to 2 is better than leaving it at 1. Upgrading from 2gb to 6gb of RAM made a world of difference for me, but I'd still like it to be higher. I've read some people put in a 16gb chip and it works, but for my small plex "server" that streams no more than 2 things at once (which is my primary use) this thing has been flawless since implementing link aggregation & adding 4gb or ram.

[@topgazza]

I regret selling my 920+ but ended up with an F4-423 Terramaster. As I only use my NAS for Plex it does an excellent job. Whilst I do store some photos Plex is the thing that I do need transcoding every now and then. DSM is the leading OS for sure but once set up the Terramaster just sits there and plays my movies and TV shows without a complaint. Synology lost the general consumer plant after the 920+. Especially with the proprietary shift.

[@mpmarvin999]

I regret no buying the 920+ in the first place. I bought the 220+ because it was on sale around black friday and I was just dipping my toes in the NAS world for the first time. As much as I knew about RAID and storage etc. you would think I would have known better. In actuality I figured they'd have something I could upgrade to later if I wanted to. Didn't know they would kill one of my main use-case scenarios by killing CPU's with built-in GPU

[@skribbleskills]

Man I'm confused... I want to setup my first NAS, I want it to run PLEX as best as possible (since we use that a LOT), but also use it for my video editing and general storage, I want it to be fast and reliable and not spend a billion dollars if possible... not sure where to land. I thought this model might be it, but I'm not sure now.

[@zephyrkhambatta]

me too.

[@bruxis]

It would be great to have a video discussing the options per use-case (or a video per primary use-case, ie. Plex) at various price points across brands I'm trying to figure out now if I should go QNAP, Synology, ASUSTOR, etc., or a custom build. There's so much information it's hard to figure out

[@john_in_phoenix]

If your primary use is for Plex, this is a great system. Adding things like containers, not so much. Even 4k videos don't require a network interface above a gig. The drive compatibility complaint is not a big deal to me, provided the hardware is reliable (one of the reasons I chose Synology). I have 3 Synology NAS, and none are running "compatible" drives. For anyone interested, Exos 16tb drives are far noisier than the 423 even with the fans on max.

[@IntoxicatedVortex]

The DS423+ is actually a really good choice for a huge chuck of those using a NAS. When you really look at what one does with a NAS its more than sufficient. What most do is look at their computer needs and they apply those thoughts to a NAS. The only reason I have an RS1221+ is for its 8 bays and rack mount form factor (you really can't beat rackmount deployment density). It actually doesn't fill me with joy looking at its constant sub-3% CPU usage and flatline 12% RAM usage.

[@john_in_phoenix]

Indeed, filled with 16tb drives, mine works well for the primary purpose that I purchased it for (Plex). Even expanded with the additional memory, I have an N100 based system with 2.5 ethernet running Ubuntu for containers. In other words, I didn't think it had enough resources for much of anything else. Your mileage may vary.

[@weholmes5315]

I was considering the DS-423+ or DS-923+, but I'm keeping my old DS1815+ STILL running but who knows how much longer😅

[@EgroegNosnhoj]

At least it has an Intel CPU (I need transcoding), but not powerful enough to replace my DS916+ (now getting long in the tooth). Hopefully some of the Synology releases this year will include CPU with GPU capability - fingers crossed for a Plex- friendly DS924+ or DS1524 (unlikely though)! If not, then will be abandoning Synology Brand for NAS to replace/upgrade 916+ - have been following your uGreen videos with interest - lovely Plex-friendly hardware........ I will miss DSM 7.2 (which I love)! 😃

[@Cyberarmy-53]

Thanks for the video. Yes the negative points you mentioned are true and Synology disappointed me a lot. They use old hardware for expensive money. Sorry I have already switched and am waiting for my new Nas which comes out in June. 👍

[@AdamLynnPowell]

I’ve got one packed full of IWP 18s and it’s running like a champ. Plex server and general data hoarding.

[@AlbertoLucchi]

Could be a new DS923+ coming this year?

[@AZOVIDZ]

elo sir, i got DS418, i want to buy DS423+ for next server. Does i need setting again for switch HDD to new server or just plug and play?

[@notreallyme425]

Sounds like I’m sticking with my 920+for awhile.

[@PatrickBijvoet]

I have the 1522+. Did you make a simular year old video on that device or are you planning to?

[@InvisibleJiuJitsu]

be nice if synology ever brought out some up to date models :/

[@dominick253]

Old laptops. Replaced the DVD drive with SSD trays. So one boot drive and two 2.5" drive bays. Enough for 4.5 TB with some leftover hdds and ssds I had laying around. Not the best performance but it will saturate my gigabit network so I'm happy for now. Definitely would love to upgrade everything to raid of spinning drives. They're just so consistent compared to cheap ssds. A solid 1-200 MBPS is light years better than something that starts at 500 and drops up and down all the time.

[@sandgroper1970]

Australian, and most Modem Routers the ethernet ports available are 1gbe, maybe a small number with 2.5, yet alone 10 gbe. You can get switches with 10 GBE , but at a home level , most people would be using 1gbe

[@Warlock_UK]

I like that it had an easier way to get 2.5/10GB networking but the CPU of the 920 was better for video transcoding. *edit, turns out the 923+ doesn't support 2.5-10GB either. D'oh*

[@Corinthians-1910-SCCP-y9u]

Have one too.😊

[@ZubinSaxena]

On this very own channel you’ve shown us how to add 16g RAM, 2.5gig adapter, and non synology nvme as storage pool. Of course all of this is unofficial but it works, so I’m not sure any of those negatives actually matter.

[@SparWiz_Khalifa]

Yes, I really wonder why he doesn't add that. Are the 16GB sticks not being utilised? I'm just upgrading from 4 to 16 stick, so it would be good to know

[@jasperverkroost]

Thanks for the 1 year review! The story is slowly getting old, but still I see no real innovation from the 918+ I currently own. Hopefully the x25+/x26+ models finally will offer something new. Can you share some details on the foam pad you have the 423+ NAS standing on?

[@_Jem_]

Do we have a new synology model that replaces this model?

[@kamalkishoresingh9532]

what is good DS423+ or DS1522+

[@martin_wood]

Synology needs to drop a thunderbolt one to catch up to QNap

[@MisterPikol]

I'll stick with my ds1515 and ds411 for now, they both work. those NASes desperately need new cpus, something from the N100 line

[@mvp_kryptonite]

When are Synology going to improve their power connector. Useless thing loves to slip out when I move the unit to clean

[@Zedman3333]

I unfortunately did not have much luck with synology , I had it for just under 2 years for basic home use , files/photos/plex , while the ability of being able get files of it via home network worked fine , I wanted Plex to work so bad and was a constant nightmare, the last straw was trying to get it to update and it sent me in this perpetual loop with this “offline” error , I built my own NAS with an old pc had lying around and used UNRAID , omg the difference in chalk and cheese. I just found synology most of the time just clunky and slow.

[@larry5549]

I used a ds220+ and more recently a ds423+. I had no issues getting Plex to work and the migration over to the new NAS worked great and still no issues with Plex. Sometimes stuff just happens. I am glad you found something that works for you.

[@ZoneProduction448]

I have a 918 & 412. Synology are getting more and more like apple, locking down on what hardware you can use. My next NAS upgrade will be an Ugreen if the software improves over the next few months.

[@PetrKlapper]

No 2.5Gbe inside, no buy. Synology must get it already, single reason I went for QNAP, no additional level of SW will make more impact in a day to day operation for most setup-once-and-just-use people. It's simply nonsense when the interface bottlenecks even a single HDD speed.

[@PetrKlapper]

@tradde11 Yes, more is more ;) And if you want/need it then sure get it. But we're talking basic minimum here at low tier model that's held back with the lowest possible speed (not to mention with no upgrade option, which is another level of crazy). And pure speed is nice but unless you dump and/or work on videos directly from the nas a lot, there are diminishing returns from going above 2.5Gbe for a majority of home/soho users (switches, cards, TB dongles..)

[@AABB-oi7hv]

DS423+, 18GB RAM (2+16), USB 2,5GBe ethernet (github hack) + storage pool Crucial 500GB SSD NVMe (github hack), free virtual Windows Hyper-V Server 2019 with graphics GUI in VMM. F*ck to Synology official compatibility list. It's compatibility list for 5+ years old devices... QNAP TS-462 is much better in this way (except for the native email server)

[@Nasguy-b7q]

This is what finally drove me away from the brand. A rebranded 920. I really thought it was a gag or hoax, then I leaned it was real... Went with QNAP and very happy and well timed move. Now 2 years later, even more satisfied with zfs on a 453e or 464. The 453e really should have been the 423. It would have saved them.

[@mabbaticchio]

More downgrades to come for sure. Welcome to the new era of tech. Make everything worse and raise the prices.

[@tomaszmilos]

Thenks You Stop me to buying pain in my ass - I was thinking to replace my DS718+ and DS214+ to migrate drives to DS423+ to having all data on one server - actualy I think: that is stupid becouse hardware limits of that nas

[@blahorgaslisk7763]

I really only want to use a NAS as a file server. Nothing but a file server. Sure I want redundancy so a failed drive doesn't mean lost data, but no media serving or Plex media servers or anything. Serve files safely and nothing more. Am i so behind the field that I should just go hide in shame or what should I do? I really would like to have something with 12 drive bays or more and redundant power, networking, Raid6 or better and nice performance.

[@john_in_phoenix]

If you don't use Plex, the AMD based options from Synology are pretty darn good.

[@blahorgaslisk7763]

@tradde11 I've built hundreds of servers, but components suitable are much harder to get now that I've retired. A small server used to be a mid tower or full tower with 10 or more places for 5,25" drives in the front. Then you installed drive bays for hot swap hard drives in the front and used a SAS card with 8 to 16 SAS ports and connections for lights on the drive bays. It was easy to build a 8 to 16 drive server with access and error lights for each drive. But now that I've retired this kind of equipment is hard to get as most manufacturers don't want to sell one part to an enduser. If I were to buy a hundred or more it would be easy, but I'm only building for me. Over just a few years also a lot of my old contacts has switched jobs, companies folded or been sold, products changed or discarded. So I've been looking at commercial NAS more now. Shure a 8 bay or better NAS will cost a bit, but at least it should have decent hardware with parts that work as intended.

[@AABB-oi7hv]

@tradde11 if you want to save electricity, it's nonsense

[@svan71]

Synology = Underpowered, overpriced and still rocking 1GbE