Need a Two bay NAS to sync with Google Drive.

[L&LD]

With no base price for the two models you're considering, the 300AUD difference doesn't mean much on it's own.

How much is an expansion module worth?

My opinion? Only four bay NAS's or larger are worth considering and the expandable RAM and quad core processor are essential too for the longest possible use out of the unit without too many compromises in the years to come.

 

[thiggins]

Check the price of expansion cabinets. They're almost as expensive as the base NAS.

 

[fullerms]

With no base price for the two models you're considering, the 300AUD difference doesn't mean much on it's own.

How much is an expansion module worth?

My opinion? Only four bay NAS's or larger are worth considering and the expandable RAM and quad core processor are essential too for the longest possible use out of the unit without too many compromises in the years to come.

TS-251 429 AUD
TS-451 635 AUD
TS-253 pro 629 AUD
TS-453 pro 729 AUD

UX500 Expansion unit costs 599 AUD

The price difference for the TS-451 and TS-253 pro is negligible compared to the TS-453 pro, and I am trying to decide between the TS-251 and the TS-453 pro. The TS-251 has expandable RAM, but Dual core.

Is Quad core necessary for home use?

 

[fullerms]

Check the price of expansion cabinets. They're almost as expensive as the base NAS.

Yes. The UX500 is priced at 599 AUD, and thats what set me thinking.

TS-251 + UX500 = 1028 AUD for 7 bays, Dual core CPU.
TS-453 pro + UX500 = 1328 AUD for 9 bays, Quad core CPU.

I might be able to defer the ux500 for sometime if I get the 453 and keep my existing Buffalo 2 bay NASes.

 

[L&LD]

$599AUD to add a few drives? No (ever).

Home use or not is not the issue. Quad core is necessary for mere smartphones, and for any real compute device it is essential in 2015.

If that was my money, I would be spending the $300AUD for the TS-453 Pro.

 

[fullerms]

$599AUD to add a few drives? No (ever).

Home use or not is not the issue. Quad core is necessary for mere smartphones, and for any real compute device it is essential in 2015.

If that was my money, I would be spending the $300AUD for the TS-453 Pro.

Thanks for that. So 4 bay quad core it is. Does Synology have an equivalent of the TS-453? The feature set in their quad core models seem to be geared towards business use.

 

[Trexx]

The closest Synology equivalent is the 415+, but you lose the capability of running VMs & Home Theater (HDMI/Kodi) directly from the NAS.

Synology just added Docker Container support in DSM 5.2, which QNAP is adding in QTS 4.2 which rumor has coming out in the next 1-2 months.

In terms of HW bang for the buck, QNAP is being very agressive right now. SW is similar and boils down to personal choice. Synology mobile apps are a little more polished than QNAP's, but they both get the job done.

Here is a QNAP comparative chart (by QNAP).

NOTE: I believe Synology has updated their Transcoding statement for the DS415+ since this chart was created, but from what I can tell it only supports 1 stream @720p vs. 5 streams @1080p for QNAP.

More info can be found here: https://www.synology.com/en-us/knowledgebase/faq/577

 

[fullerms]

The closest Synology equivalent is the 415+, but you lose the capability of running VMs & Home Theater (HDMI/Kodi) directly from the NAS.

Thanks for that detailed chart.

The other thing I noticed is that the RAM in the Synology 415+ is not user upgradeable, whereas it is possible in the QNAP without voiding the warranty. Looks like the TS-453 PRO wins on the hardware side of things. Dont have a need for VMs now, but how about the rest of the software? Does QNAP match Synology in functionality and ease of use?

 

[fullerms]

Got the TS-453 PRO today, thanks for all the guidance guys. Is there a site where I could find info on the different RAID levels?

I would probably be starting with two disks and add more later

 

[Trexx]

I think you are really going to enjoy it.

Here is some information on Storage Pools which the 453Pro supports.
http://docs.qnap.com/nas/4.0/SMB/en/index.html?storage_pool.htm

In terms of RAID information, here is a good starting point.
http://docs.qnap.com/nas/4.1/Home/en/index.html?raid_management.htm

Below are a couple places you can also look for help.
QNAP.Community is a relatively new forum for providing QNAP help/support created by some members who used to help moderate the QNAP forum below.

Forum.qnap.com is QNAP's community support forum.

Both are good places to ask question, but as always there is good information in their manual/documentation.

I hope you enjoy your NAS, and feel free to reach out if you have more questions.
T.