QNAP TS-262 NAS Review - Next Gen Home NAS?

[@fdg394]

I know it's a bit late but... just to let you know I just bought this NAS and it has 2 memory slot (DDR4) and it's fully upgradable to 32 Gbyte.. (despite what QNAP says). I'm currently use this NAS with 2x Hitachi 10 TB in RAID 1 with 2x M2 1TB as read and write cache disk and memory expanded to 32 GB. It works like a dream... I think it's currently one of the best choice on the market (paid £279 on amazon).

[@xlserret]

I noticed the second slot and I was curious about it as well, I'm glad somebody else did it. May I ask, what specs on memory and Cache did you expand it to? I'm looking to do a similar configuration on mine, thanks in advance!

[@fdg394]

@@xlserret Hi there, I bought 2x Crucial RAM 16GB DDR4 3200MHz CL22 (or 2933MHz or 2666MHz) Portable Memory -from Amazon- CT16G4SFRA32A and 2x WD_BLACK SN770 1TB NVMe M.2 SSD, M.2 2280 NVMe SSD, for the cache. Regarding the memory, I did a test and you can mix and match (ie if you have 4 Gb, you can add a 16 GB stick of memory and your TS will 'see' 20 GB of RAM. Now, someone says that you will benefit from the additional memory only of you do virtualization but this is not true; I've ssh into the NAS and saw that the memory is used as IO cache as well speeding up enormously the operations. This is really really a good NAS, I'm very happy with it

[@jvonengeln]

RAM is no longer soldered in on these TS-262 units. I just bought one and swapped the 4GB out for 2 x 8gb sticks and now have 16GB of RAM.

[@migry]

Does this make a difference for the average user (like myself)?

[@AgarthanNephilim]

Some of us 'home user' NAS aficionados are basically content hoarders, for whom 'too many Terabytes' is a foreign concept. For such as we, what NAS solution do you recommend? My current workhorse (a QNAP TS-669 Pro running 6x 4Tb in RAID-6, giving 16Tb usable storage) is groaning under the weight of many large files, including 4K video. I have almost zero need of anything a modern NAS offers except the basics: (a) centralised bulk storage which is (b) accessible by all local devices and which (c) can be relied upon to NOT fail for years on end. There is only ever a single user, and my NAS' typical workload consists of either (1) utter idleness or (2) up to 4K video streaming from a local Twonky client. That's about it. I did toy with remote media access, but really only need the ability to initiate remote shut-downs of the unit when electrical storms approach our area (semi-regular events in certain seasons). For my 'version next', I've been considering a 6-bay (or even 8-bay) in RAID-6 again, but this time populated with ~22Tb HDDs, yielding [(6-2)x22=] 88+Tb of usable storage. BUT, any current QNAP (preferred as I'm familiar with the OS) units with 6 or more bays are quite expensive, given I will use almost none of the fancier facilities QNAPs all come with. I do need continuing hassle-free, almost-never-fail, convenient bulk media storage, but little else besides. M.2 cache sticks? Nah. Hypervisors? Forget it. So... where should I aim now? Should I go for fewer bays but larger drives? More than 1 actual NAS? Abandon RAIDs altogether and go JBOD? Try a different brand? The options boggle... so long as I have fallback positions to guard against mass data loss**, I'm open to suggestions! (**and yes, I'm conscious NAS Backup. My old NAS was a TS-569 in RAID-6 with 2Tb HDDs, so the (new) TS-669 viewed it as 'backup', but the 16Tb array filling up killed that illusion. Oh, to afford TWIN 8-bay, RAID-6, 22Tb drives =132Tb-each NAS units, one as backup for the other. All that would cost me at least 3 months' pay. I'm sure 130+Tb would last me a few more years...!)

[@ZajaxFilms]

I already bought a NAS. I have 2. But I watch everyone of these now

[@Revoc]

You should do a video comparing QNAP and Synology customer support/tech support/add warranty. Just went through QNAP tech support and warranty and it was a nightmare compared to Synology just wondering if you had the same experience.

[@DzeiEidz]

What a coincidence! Just yesterday I set an alert when this exact NAS becomes available at my retailer. I did lots of comparisons and in the end it was this or Synology DVA1622. I would use it a lot for security camera purposes. Qnap seemed more file server orientated and it also had enough camera licenses. Price was couple of hundred less too. EDIT: TS-264 is the one, not 262.

[@tombouie]

Thks &; Yeaps, Synology's latest NASes seem to be handing their fun/home/family/etc NAS market-share over to its competitors (ex: QNAP). However the DS220+ @$300 is still pretty competitive & there's still a glimmer of hope for a DS223+ (don't laugh, it could still happen ;).

[@vincentchisholm6769]

Great review, thank you very much. Love that transition too.

[@rucdoc]

Love the section transitions

[@santoryususanoo7609]

Question. As a newbie to NAS, I’m looking for a “quiet” home use NAS for primarily just storage and streaming videos from. Would the QNAP ts-262 (with two 14TB wd red plus drives) be a good setup for what I’m looking for and for a newbie? I’ve also heard others talk about the Synology DS223+. Would it be better to wait for that one to come out since Synology has better software and from what I’ve heard easier to navigate for beginners?

[@andrewkim9628]

TS-262 is a clear winner against DS723+ vanilla. Dedicated GPU, more ram, pci-e slot, more LAN speed, HDMI with no limit on component brand. Shame on you, Synology!

[@migry]

Might be a silly question. If I were to install a hard disk which was previously in my ASUStor AS4002T is there any chance the data would be readable? My ASUStor NAS has died. The HDD may also be dead, IDK. I am reluctant to buy another ASUStor but if I did it is more likely that the old HD can be read again? The AS4002T is obselete, but I note that the AS5202T can be found on Amazon for £239. I know it's an old product and I would prefer something newer.

[@Georgevideocliper]

can't upgrade ram ? from 4 gb? i think is not enough.

[@davidtucker4044]

Great Videos. Been watching a lot lately as need to upgrade my very old ReadyNas Duo. Can still access the mapped drives but not the box so pretty urgent. (now unsupported TTL or something). You seem to always slant towards Synology but for some reason I'm really drawn to QNAP. Slight problem the Synology looks better and more like a NAS whereas this one looks like my Daughters makeup box. A NAS should look like a NAS.

[@Matthew_is_this_handle_free]

I've just got a 262 and the RAM seems to be socketed with a vacant socket, so perhaps some of there production is actually upgradable.

[@Matthew_is_this_handle_free]

I've just tested it with 2x 8gb sodimms and it's working

[@derred723]

I know Qnap has had ransomware issues in the past. Is there a way to safely remotely access music stored on your NAS by way of something like Music Station or Emby (because Plex charges). Essentially, i'd like to use a qnap as my version of Spotify as i have a large local music library and i'd like to access it from work or in the car but I don't want to expose myself to ransomware attacks. Is it a matter of just changing default passwords, two step verification and/or making sure certain remote access on a qnap are disabled or is it a case where if you want to remotely access your music you are necessarily vulnerable?

[@jacob1000]

why don't you include read/write speed tests with the most common NAS commercial disks like RED's or Ironwolfs? Just to see what the equipment/OS is capable of handling? Having a comparison of filesystems supported by the NAS be it ZFS or EXT4 etc etc comes down to write speeds / (parity) hardware bottlenecks. All in it's own grandure should be included in reviews no?

[@matteoromenghi]

HDMI 2.1 or HDMI 2.0?

[@Airbag888]

Great video but where is the performance testing?? I want to know if it can saturate a 10Gbe link on read and writes plz

[@jacob1000]

i have the same question. This NAS can never reach up to any 10gbe read/write speeds. :)

[@Airbag888]

@@jacob1000 It's as if the topic is avoided on purpose.. meanwhile I backed storaxa on kickstarter... for better or for worse. They expect a 10Gbe upgrade with an i5 12th gen cpu. If that happens that'll be the holy grail for my home setup

[@tonirodrigues1628]

​@@Airbag888 Same question for 10Gbe. Actually I believe the discussion is avoided because there is no Qnap PCIe x2 10Gbe network card. I'm wondering which card is being held on the video when talking about PCIe expansion at 15:52

[@Airbag888]

@@tonirodrigues1628 Most of the time there's no performance testing on the NAS reviewed which is bonkers

[@jvonengeln]

@@tonirodrigues1628there is a 10GBE PCI-E card for this now on QNAPs site.

[@kimsonvu]

Thanks you for your video review.

[@derred723]

Nice review an analysis.