For at least 2 years there has been much anticipation surrounding the release of a new 4-bay performance model NAS and it’s finally here. Is it worth your consideration? Definitely.
Compared to its predecessor (DS918+), the DS920+ may bear only subtle tweaks but they should make a world of difference. The Intel Celeron CPU provides faster clock speeds and we now have the inclusion of DDR4 rather than DDR3 – hinting at a brand new chipset/platform. Both elements offer a boost in performance, which is what we want to see from a performance unit.
When examining the building blocks to success, to some extent the hardware spec takes place. It is the software which predominately takes centre-stage. Acquiring hardware isn’t difficult, but designing an intuitive, all-encompassing software suite is where many fall by the wayside, but not so for Synology. Not only is the OS seamless, easy to configure and navigate but it offers a multitude of advanced tools for administrators. The “Package Center” which allows you to browse available apps/tools has in excess of 50 Synology developed applications and there are a plethora of third party solutions too.
We’ve seen DSM change over the years and the latest version reveals a consistently strong software suite which translate to a very positive NAS experience. Regardless of whether you’re a home or business user there are an abundance of tools and options available which will cover a vast range of uses/activities. In this review we’ve showcased two packages which most users are likely to install and use – we’ve only really scratched the surface, but this should highlight some of the capabilities that such a unit has to offer.
The only slight disappointment with this particular model is the omission of 10 Gigabit Ethernet. Rival models utilise it and routers/motherboards and other devices are now supporting faster networking interfaces, so it would be a shame to have the central file server create a bottleneck. We expect a performance model to have faster networking ports!
DS920+ can be purchased for £550 GBP | $559 USD | $930 AUD – populating it with storage drives will need to be factored in, and will ultimately take the figure over the $£1000 USD/GBP mark. Synology offers a 3 year warranty with this model which should provide consumers with a good degree of confidence.
DS920+ is a solid 4-bay NAS which pairs up very well with Synology’s DSM software to offer the very best NAS experience.
Pros
+ Elegant design
+ Great build quality
+ Quad-core support
+ Can house up to 64TB raw data
+ 2.5” and 3.5” drive support
+ USB 3.0 port on the front
+ Excellent performance
+ Low fan noise
+ Feature rich operating system
Cons
- Still using 1GB Ethernet ports
+ Elegant design
+ Great build quality
+ Quad-core support
+ Can house up to 64TB raw data
+ 2.5” and 3.5” drive support
+ USB 3.0 port on the front
+ Excellent performance
+ Low fan noise
+ Feature rich operating system
Cons
- Still using 1GB Ethernet ports
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