Synology DS412+ or DS713+?

Lthinkv on 24/05/2013 - 14:09

Hey guys,

I am currently looking at a NAS and Plex server, and going with a Synology seems to be my best option as I have found some good prices on these units.

However, I am having trouble deciding between the two.
The price difference is roughly $120-$150.

The DS713+ is a newer model, but is a two bay version and the DS412+ is a year older, but 4 bay.

The 713 is made of metal, whereas the 412 is plastic.

The 412 will give me much more space to play with.

The 713 can be extended (~$200)

Here I am thinking out loud, what do you guys think of these?

Computing

Comments

  • MementoMori on 24/05/2013 - 14:21
    -1

    Not sure on these models but I love my DS413+ (and my DS212J before that). Excellent devices.

    • thinkv on 24/05/2013 - 14:24
      +1

      Hi Domcc1, as far as I know the DS413+ has not been released?

  • _Bruce_ on 24/05/2013 - 15:34

    In my opinion, if you are going NAS, you really should have some redundancy. With two drives the only option is 50% capacity, so ask yourself, is 4TB enough?

    If not, get a 4 bay. With RAID 5 you can then run up to 12TB.

    • thinkv on 24/05/2013 - 15:48

      Do you think there would be any performance difference in the devices?
      The comparison shows they have the same hardware, but I don't know if it's one of those things where the older model performs slower than the newer.

      • _Bruce_ on 24/05/2013 - 18:04

        Doesn't make a huge difference, the performance bottleneck is usually the drives you put in it.

  • cheyfi65 on 25/05/2013 - 08:28

    I agree with _Bruce, it depends on how much storage you require. I have an older DS211j which is 2 bay and it has been working perfectly for the last 3 years! Initially, I was also sceptical if the space was sufficient for my use as I had bought 2x 2GB HDD only but it turns out I had more than enough.

  • paulojr on 25/05/2013 - 21:00

    Why not use a hp microserver? I'm runing a HP N54L with Plex and a couple WD red drive very results so far. Although Synology is much better than say Qnap, my experience with these little custom boxes is that when they go wrong, because they are customised rather than being a vanilla linux or windows based operating system, you can kiss goodbye to both your data and configuration. The microserver's are simplier because you pick whatever OS your comfortable with and go from there, format the disks with a standard format like NTFS and the firmware is rock solid unlike many of the NAS solutions that cannot even work with basic green technology drives reliably.

    Yes they are a bit more power hungry to use a microserver and you have to configure any particular apps but I feel the benefits of a flexible open solution is worth it. Just something to consider if your confident setting up a PC.

    • thinkv on 27/05/2013 - 11:19

      Ended up getting the DS412+.
      The reason I didn't build my own, which was my original plan, is that the DS412+ can run plex and other apps straight out of the box, whereas the HP even when specced up a fair bit cannot handle the transcoding required for plex.

  • NWE on 24/07/2013 - 12:30

    Hi,

    I'm looking to buy one of these units and was wondering a) how you find it and b) where did you buy it from?

    Thanks,
    Neil.

  • NWE on 27/07/2013 - 15:46

    Just placed my order for the Synology DS412+ from Officeworks.
    Hope all goes well.
    Now looking for some WD Red 3TB drives - WD30EFRX.

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