QNAP Vs Synology for NAS

[Deactivated] on 16/04/2020 - 09:27
Last edited 23/04/2020 - 00:35 by 1 other user

First of all, apologies for asking the same old question.

After missing out sooooo many deal on these NAS, I finally decided that I needed one, and that is not a FreeNAS.

I am currently comparing between DS918+ and TS-453BE. My budget is under $700, if possible under $600.

I am a Windows and Android user and prefer that flexibility, and read advice from NAScompare that Windows user will be much happier with QNAP, yet editor choice goes to DS918+.

My question is: it is said that Synology cannot open rar, mkv, and other formats, just like Apple won't. Is this true? How about it is connected through Windows as a shared network drive?

I am a rather technical person and happy to fiddle a bit but not too much.

I am happy to hear any recommendations for NAS under $700, my use case are:

  • Plex media server, FHD is ok, but 4k for future proof would be nice.
  • IP camera system, whichever kind is ok.
  • VM - need to run VMs from time to time.
  • Cloud storage - Accessible anywhere via internet.
  • Web hosting - host my low traffic web page and mail server (preferred not a must since web hosting are cheap anyway)
Computing NAS QNAP Synology

Comments

  • SwarleyAUS on 16/04/2020 - 10:21

    VMs will struggle on the Celeron…
    Can't find anything to suggest you can't unzip files with DownloadStation though. Not sure what you mean by open mkvs.

  • Rumbaar on 16/04/2020 - 10:22

    For my usage, I have a TS-453A and TS-832XU and separate system for my EMBY server. I've always found that getting this 'prosumer' NAS' to perform extra functions beyond a fancy NAS resulted in under-performances. But it all falls down to budget.

    Transcoding and running a PLEX server will usually put a strain on the low spec hardware in these NAS'

  • stratbargain on 16/04/2020 - 12:10
    +1

    Have a look at Docker. I run a DS918+ with 16gm ram and it happily does:

    Plex (Transcoding)
    NZBGet
    Sonarr
    Radarr
    HomeAssistant
    Pihole
    Deluge
    Web Server
    Reverse Proxy
    3 Security cameras

    Probably some other stuff I can't remember. Never really breaks a sweat. A great NAS/Server. VM works but can be slow without a cache drive. I'd stick with Docker and use VM's on your desktop.

    Any questions feel free to ask.

    • [Deactivated] on 22/04/2020 - 17:47

      Thanks buddy, I decided to try my luck and skill at building freenas from existing pc. If newer version comes out and affordable, I might buy them.

  • autolux on 27/04/2020 - 09:25

    they'll do those things you want, but not having the knowledge to do them easily yourself can easily get you in trouble in other ways, with their simplified approach. the truth is both of them are terrible, but people have very strong brand opinions about them, where synology is like apple — people will tell you they're the greatest and everything just works… and qnap is like android, less user friendly but more configurable/powerful under the hood. this is largely down to personal opinion.

    i find that largely true, in that you get a bit more bang for your buck with the qnap, especially in media center terms but honestly at the 'prosumer' level and running plex, you'll be needing a full license to get hw transcoding for them to be of use, and it'll be a fine line upto a point, but most 1080/4k/x265.10bit files should be ok. beyond a file server and maybe a half decent media center, and or basic security camera station, i wouldn't trust them for much else.

    what it really means is tho, they are both woeful in terms of security and unless you want to be hacked you should not run any of their services open to public facing internet, ever. never ever run their included apps for smartphones to open up access, and only access them via secure vpn to your location. they also have decent failure rates, in particular with a number of their most used CPU lines being the intel ones which had serious flaws. this is slowly, getting better but still exists in current lines. point being, they are not a "backup" in themselves, each have their own hideous recovery issues, and you always need to treat them as such.

    • [Deactivated] on 27/04/2020 - 13:23

      Thanks mate.

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