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| 7 Recommended Products | Recommendations | RAM | CPU | USB ports |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 Netgear ReadyNAS 212· · · | 2 | 0 | 2 ( DDR3 ) | ARM Cortex A15 1,4GHz Quad Core | 3 x USB 3.0 |
| #2 QNAP TS-128· · · | 1 | 0 | 1GB DDR3 | ARM V7 1.1GHz Dual Core | 1 x USB 3.0, 1 x USB 2.0 |
| #3 Western Digital My Cloud EX2 Ultra· · · | 1 | 0 | 1GB ( DDR3 ) | Marvell® ARMADA® 385 1.3GHz Dual Core | 2 x USB 3.0 |
| #4 Synology Disk Station 4-Bay· · · | 1 | 0 | – | – | – |
| #5 WD 2TB My Cloud Personal NAS· · · | 1 | 0 | – | – | – |
| #6 Western Digital 4TB My Cloud· · · | 1 | 1 | 256MB ( DDR3 ) | Cortex-A9 ARM 0,650GHz Dual Core CPU | 1 x USB 3.0 |
Pro Great as a media server
It can stream Full HD multimedia files to your computer, smartphone, tablet or smart TV with ease. It can handle video transcoding as well, unlike less powerful NAS units. The large storage volume (16TB) also ensures that you will have more than enough space for your movie and music collection.
Pro Affordably priced quad-core option
This is one of the most affordable quad-core NAS units available. Virtually all other quad-core options are slightly more expensive while only offering little advantage. When compared to Netgear’s corresponding dual-core model, the 212’s media transcoding performance is twice as fast.
Pro Good connectivity for fast data transfer
The Netgear ReadyNAS 212 has three USB 3.0 ports and an eSATA port, useful for attaching extra peripheral storage to the device. While USB 3.0 ports are common on NAS units, eSATA ports are somewhat less common. This is an advantage because eSATA based storage devices are both very popular and pow...
Con Transcoding capabilities are limited
Although it can flawlessly transcode a single Full HD video stream, it cannot do the same with Ultra HD/4K video files. It also cannot transcode to multiple client devices at once.
Pro Good value for money
This is one of the cheapest dual core, 1GB (RAM) single-bay NAS units you can get.
Pro Intuitive, easy set-up process
This unit doesn't come with hard disks preinstalled. To get it set up, you just have to insert the hard disks, plug in the unit, connect it to your router and switch it on. After that, just log on to myQNAPcloud and you’ll have full access to the NAS through the web interface. The interface is...
Con Lost data can’t be recovered
When buying a single bay NAS unit, keep in mind that a drive failure will result in total and permanent data loss. To avoid this, consider investing in a DAS (direct-attached storage) as well. The DAS can be attached to the QNAP TS-128 via USB. It has built-in software to allow you to actually set
Pro Very affordable for a two-bay device
At $159, this two-bay NAS device offers great value. It's virtually impossible to find another solution close to this price with such a good performance.
Pro Users can choose between safety and storage maximization
This unit has two hard disk bays which can support RAID0 and RAID1 configurations. This gives you the choice of maximizing available storage, or halving your storage space in exchange for single-drive failure security.
Con Not as many third-party apps as those found for more well established NAS brands
Western Digital is quite new to the NAS market, so it doesn’t have as many third party applications as other brands. Key applications like Plex Media Server, ARCUS and Dropbox are supported, but you may want to check app availability first before buying this unit.
Con Official documentation is incomplete and unclear
Key aspects such as power consumption or read/write speeds are not available on the official documentation. On top of that, the list of features is unclear and not explained well.
Pro Usability
Product and software work seamlessly with Windows and OS X operating systems. Product Software has easy to follow Icons and GUI that allows users to use it as a VPN, Time Machine, Media Server, etc.
Pro Options
Do you need 2 bays, 4 bays? Diskless, or up to 32TB? While prices will vary between size options, there are enough combinations to choose from for your storage needs.
Con Expensive
While the cost is not as high as some, there are similar storage size options for cheaper prices. This price tag, like most, is for branding and the high quality product you get from Synology.
Con Slow support
Technical support is not the go to option for a solution, with long wait times, and open cases taking up to weeks to resolve (that is with persistent follow up).
Pro Reliability
Easy to setup, user friendly, reliable tech support, and overall a simple experience. Great for people just getting started with large personal storage at home or in a small business.
Pro Good bang for your buck
At roughly $120, the 2TB My Cloud is a great start to building an at home storage that is both reliable and easy to interact with.
Con Software lacks depth
The WD software is simple, and rudimentary enough to get the job done. The software specifically lacks functionality in security settings, OSX compatibility, idle control and power/sleep settings. Keep an eye out for updates from WD, there is a decent bit of room for improvement here.
Con Entry level
This is really an entry level product for those looking to get started with large personal storage and security. There are many other options as far as security and storage. If you are looking to get started and see how this kind of hardware can work for you? Then by all means, make sure you have...
Pro Offers excellent value for money
This NAS unit comes with a 4TB Western Digital Red Hard Disk pre-installed. Considering that a similar 4TB HDD would cost $150 by itself, this $160 NAS offers great value.
Pro Easy access via browser control panel
It has a user-friendly control panel that can be easily accessed with a standard web browser.
Con Slow GUI
GUI is almost unusable due to lag. Moving files around and organizing files already on the drive is a headache.
Con No data protection features
As with most single-bay NAS units, you risk losing all of your stored data in the event of a disk failure. You can still use an external USB drive to manually backup your files every once in a while, though.
Pro An Apple a day...
This is the perfect solution if you are a heavy Mac, iPhone, iPad, or Apple TV user. Store movies, music, backups, and more using Time Machine. Access all of that information just as simply, using the built in software for Mac. It really is a calming feeling when all of your tech just talks to each
Pro Its a time capsule
The software is set up to integrate more transparently with Apple's Time Capsule features of MacOS and iOS, reducing some of the setup needed for a non-Apple brand NAS.
Con Combining multiple needs increases impact during a failure
With both router and backup / NAS in one device, if either part fails you risk losing both services. I had one and had the hard drive fail, which would have meant losing my wireless service while it was out to be repaired, so in the end I lost my backup / central network share capability.
Con Cross compatibility issues with PCs
Apple is notorious for not allowing easy cross compatibility with PC's. That doesn't stop you from connecting your PC to it, you just have to go through some extra steps.
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