QNAP 4-Bay NAS Buyers Guide - Get It Right, First Time!

[@micksmithson6724]

I've owned a number of NAS, TS253A, TS453A, DS220, WD Mycloud. Moved house and bought a TS233 as a cheap storage device, liked it so much I then bought a TS433, (4GB RAM, ARM CPU with Neural engine for Qumagie, 2.5Gbe and 1Gb, stuck a 14TB and a 16TB (Both enterprise) and a pair of 1Tb Samsung 870EVO SSD using Qtier and I love it. Has enough power to run Pihole on container station, runs Qumagie, Time machine, QSync, Plex, Note station. It (and the 233) are brilliant.

[@kikeaMoldova]

Your video was published just few hours after I ordered the TS-473A version. My goals are: the able to use M.2 NVME disks as cache, the ability of network to have the nearly speed of SATA3, the ability to run containers and VMs, good enough processor to maintain the transfer speed of LAN networks and maintain the work of vms + containters, silence enough because it will in the living room, good power efficiency because almost time it will be just connected without any workload. Optionally was welcome the ability of using ECC memory and welcome was the ability of expansion via pci slots. Thank you for your works! You just confirmed almost choices that was the rights one.

[@FakeName39]

anyone ever asking me about NAS etc.. i just point to your channel. detailed great info and just a wealth of knowledge on it

[@edgecrush3r]

I absolutely adore my 472xt with QTS Hero. It has everything i needed and gets most of the basics right: ZFS, LP GPU support (i am running with a Tesla P4), SSD options, TB3, 10Gbe and 2,5Gbe, Upgradable CPU (installed a 9500T vs standard G5400). And best of all.. Got mine 2nd hand, half-price from some IT company 😊

[@preacherplays]

OK Robbie, I did it finally. Came to THIS video just so I could click the link to buy the QNAP TS-431KX for our church. Thank you so much for your coverage. you've taught me so much and I have a ton to learn. My quest for my best home unit continues.

[@alexsarbu3978]

About the TS-473a - it's indeed limited in what graphic cards it can support (a few nVidia based ones, particularly if you want transcoding) but you can just get a Quadro, say a P400 or a T400. The 6 and 8 bay models have more space, but none of them can support graphic cards which requires separate PCIe power: the QNAP power supply simply don't have the corresponding cable. Another point for these models is that they can use the ZFS based QuTS Hero. And, of course, you can put ECC RAM in (they come with non-ECC).

[@ElkinGuillermoForeroRosado]

TS 464 is the one for me, I have been dreaming with this NAS

[@id104335409]

Nice! I love straight comparisons, not " well it depends" videos.

[@iamjtphoto4851]

Thank you! I probably need to watch this again before I make a purchase. Im probably doing things backwards which may complicate my options. I just purchased the QNAP 4 bay DAS TR-004 just to have more storage. Now I have to figure out which of these features makes the most sense moving forward. If anyone cares to throw in their advice, I'm using it primarily for photography and some video editing.

[@rdbjr52]

I have a TS-264, it was purchased to get a feel for the Qnap OS. I'm not IT literate, but find the software not at all cumbersome to handle. Synology is a none starter with their chose of CPU's . I really want the TVS-H474, but I'm having trouble digesting the price. Other than two extra bays, the TS-464 really doesn't do much more than the 264. I don't have a lot of storage needs, so, probably stick with what I got . Thanks Robbie, cheers

[@km3481]

QTS 5.1 is Release candidate is released - they much be getting close!!! Sweet... QNAP seems energized like a totally different company to me than it did a year ago. They are driving real hard in a lot of areas, QTS is a much different product as well. Security is vastly improved, closed the security holes and cleaned up the UI. Lots of updates in the last year to get to this point and the Beta was totally solid, used that for a while.

[@EduardBobrik]

I'm considering the QNAP TS-464 NAS. However, the fact that they capped the memory to 8GB max makes it less scalable in the near future. For that reason, I'm more inclined to go with the TS-433, which is $200 less expensive.

[@preacherplays]

YES! I'm so glad to see this on Qnap! I would have loved to have their 4bay rack mounts included in this roundup as well. Maybe the next video?

[@CanuckQuest]

Brilliant!

[@CanuckQuest]

I keep thinking I want/need Thunderbolt. AT least USB-C of some kind at a minimum. I probably need to learn more.

[@steeez0]

Great video. Looking to move all of my movies, movies pics etc to a nas. Just bought the TS-462 and 2 ironwolf 8tb drives. Cant wait to get started

[@alexsarbu3978]

Just in case it wasn't obvious: you can expand the RAM in the 4GB TS-464 (to up to 16GB), but not on the 8GB version. Which is weird, but... that's how it is.

[@alexsarbu3978]

I would avoid the TVS-472XT; it's older, and the earlier motherboard revisions were affected by an Intel-related issue which leaves them unable to boot. The TVS-h474 should be a better choice.

[@hamrtme]

Love the cat. 😃 Very informative video. Thank you. Though I have already acquired a TS-464 on your recommendation.

[@JudgeD-hc9vw]

Excellent. 464 for me

[@LivingSmallLivingMobile1]

Awesome video. Thanks for sharing

[@Artquad]

I was thinking about 6 bay version of TS-464 but because of the security issues from the past I moved to Synology.

[@MrCaldwell2003]

Can you point me in the direction of info on any of the security issues that were not user error?

[@alexsarbu3978]

The security issues are easily avoided by not exposing the NAS to the Internet, and by keeping your software up to date. Which is something you should do with Synology as well. No, Synology is not bulletproof either.

[@km3481]

The newer versions of QTS, start much more secure (similar to Synology) these days. So even nontechs are better off. But all NAS's need to be around a hardware firewall and protected.

[@km3481]

Awesome video thanks, very helpful. From your video I would say the 453E/464 and when you outgrow it go to 474/674. I still think for most users the 453E hits the target best. Then go for a beast once you realize you outgrew memory and processor. The 674 will be my next NAS and the 453E would be backup and surveillance.

[@TitchgamerRG]

Thanks for this, really helped!

[@g1598]

your cat couldnt resist and had to get in on the vlog

[@nascompares]

I know right...

[@theroboticscodedepot7736]

Nice summary video!

[@rogerwilco2]

Thanks a lot.

[@davidtucker4044]

As usual, great video. Was about to pull the trigger on a TS-464 but after watching your recent video with SpaceRex, I'm now concerned about the security aspect. Can you do a video on QNAP security? (or vs Synology) . I'll be the only one accessing remotely from my phone on a very rare occasion but still worried about being hacked. Keep up the great reviews!

[@km3481]

QNAP is much more secure now, even the default install has everything turned off. The big issue is setting up a hardware firewall and when you turn something on facing the outside world you understand what you are doing. There a some decent videos out there stepping your through setup and security... Off the top of my head QNAP, Storage guys, Mike Faucher, and others. Just keep everything up to date and watch some video and your good to go.

[@RedBeardOps]

Thanks for this! I'm interested in the TS-464-8G... My main curiosity comes down to the comparisons of companies and software... I'm between the TS-464-8G vs the DS923+ and Asustor Lockerstor 4 Gen 2... Does Asustor and QNAP get anywhere close to Synology in size and usability? Being a NAS novice I'm looking for a turn key option.

[@km3481]

It really comes down to what you want to do with it. If you do any Plex or media your best with the QNAP or Asustor. If you want just file serving the Synology makes a lot of sense. The best all around NAS is the QNAP it has the best value and overall capability. I like the QNAP 453E because it does most of what users want right out of the box. Most setups and users won't exceed 6 Gigs for the network (the QNAP has 2 2.5 GBE and has multichannel built in to QTS 5.1) as a bonus you get more m2.nvme speed. Size and usability for what? Depends - the QNAP and Synology will do the same thing (one favoring 3rd party and the other 1st party to do so). Expansion is going to be totally on the QNAP side, so if you want to add 10gbe, more m2.nvme, or other functions you can just add a card. The Synology only has a proprietary port for just 10gbe. Synology now has entered the m2.nvme storage game (with there stuff only) and that is all it will do, QNAP has QTier (pretty sweet option to me) and AI card support so you can turn this into a device that typically costs at least twice the cost. The Synology will yield slightly better IO speed (assuming your purchase the 10 GBE) because of the AMD. My definition of usability clearly favors QNAP, but that's me...

[@marcopolo6668]

I have a TS469Pro since 2013 and it works fine for mainly file storage and surveillance...I'm just contemplating whether to go for the h474 as I have a couple of WD Red 6TB, 2 x 512SSD and 32GB modules laying around doing nothing. Do you expect this model to stay with the Gold processor in the 4bay for it's life?...just concerned my device is getting a bit old now and lacking support and app updates.

[@mrguiltyfool]

is TS-431K-US the same as ts-431kx?

[@RedBeardOps]

When do you think the replacement for the DS423+ will come out?

[@km3481]

Looking at their release schedules in the past, not for at least a few years. I would recommend the TS-453E it is what the 423 should have been really. Instead it is a joke at best. My 453E has been exceptional...

[@RedBeardOps]

@@km3481 Thanks for the tips and suggestions. I've been going back and forth on the software side... They do seem pretty darn similar... I'm also trying to think long term; which company will still be around when I want to upgrade to a new system and who spends more time improving their software.

[@km3481]

@@RedBeardOps DSM feels slicker, but feature and functionality wise QTS just has more options. For me I setup the NAS and rarely ever go into the interface, it just does it's job on the network so the interface isn't important really. Now factor in the hardware and options for me it was an obvious choice. If you look at both DSM and QTS in the last 12 months, QNAP clearly has improved their software more and hasn't stripped out useful features like Synology have been in the habit of doing. My next NAS will be the 674, looking to begin 8k video in the next few years so that will be fun. Good luck!