- SSD
- HDD
- PCIe Storage
- Desktop Storage (External)
- Portable Storage
- SOHO NAS
- Memory Card
- Workstation
- Accessories
February 21st, 2018 by Lyle Smith
QNAP TS-453B NAS Review
The TS-453B is the 4-bay model of QNAP’s completely redesigned line of versatile consumer and home business NAS devices. Powered by an Intel quad-core processor, the QNAP TS-453B is a QTS-Linux combo NAS that is well-suited for virtualization, centralized storage, backup, sharing, and disaster recovery. We previously reviewed the 2-bay TS-253B model, and found it to have a good mix of performance and capacity for SOHO and smaller businesses.
December 12th, 2017 by Lyle Smith
Synology DiskStation DS1817 Review
The Synology DiskStation DS1817 is a high capacity, full-featured NAS solution that promises to bring high-end functionality and performance to the SMB market, all at an affordable price point. Whereas the DS1817+ is optimized for encryption and intensive tasks, the DS1817 is specced to potentially deliver higher data-transfer rates. It comes equipped with built-in, dual 10GbE LAN and dual Gigabit ports, and support for link aggregation and failover functions. Moreover, with its 8-bay configuration, the DS1817 is a very scalable device as it supports a maximum of 18 drives using two DX517 Synology expansion units for a whopping total of 216TB via 12TB drives.
November 17th, 2017 by Lyle Smith
QNAP TS-253B NAS Review
The QNAP TS-253B is the company’s latest 2-bay NAS solution to hit the market. Completely redesigned with a slick new build, the TS-253B features a PCIe port that can be equipped with a QNAP QM2 expansion card that supports dual M.2 SSDs and 10GbE connectivity, compatible wireless cards to turn the NAS into a wireless access point, and a USB 3.1 10Gbps card for faster backup transfer speeds to and from multiple external storage devices. The TS-253B also comes equipped with a USB Type-C QuickAccess port and a SD card slot, and supports 4K (30Hz) video playback with real-time transcoding.
April 5th, 2017 by Tucker Mindrum
Drobo 5N2 5-Bay NAS Review
The 5N2 is Drobo's 7th new product after undergoing an organizational management overhaul in 2015, which has represented their shift to an emphasis on simplicity and streamlined consumer experience. These new objectives are aptly addressed in their new 5-bay NAS, which seems to have been designed with the user in mind. While the importance of a streamlined user experience can't be understated, the market has come to expect strong performance numbers thanks to companies like Synology, QNAP, Netgear, Seagate and Western Digital. The 5N2 includes several novel features that are worth noting, including mixed drive size utilization and at-a-glance storage monitoring. Drobo also added a few of their business features to the 5N2, including SSD cache and dual Ethernet ports.
December 2nd, 2016 by Lyle Smith
WD My Cloud Pro Series PR4100 NAS Review
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The My Cloud Pro PR4100 is the company's premium 4-bay NAS solution designed for creative teams and small businesses looking to streamline their workflow. This versatile NAS features multiple RAID configurations, password protection, 256-bit AES volume encryption and upwards of 32TB in storage capacity. Though the PR4100 enters a flooded SOHO NAS market, its ease of use through software, such as the WD SmartWare Pro and the My Cloud dashboard, help it to stand out among its competition. Users can also leverage the PR4100 to remotely edit, save and share their projects using the My Cloud mobile app for Android and iOS.
September 19th, 2016 by Tucker Mindrum
QNAP TS-453A 4-Bay NAS Review
QNAP's new QTS-Linux combo NAS provides a unique feature set that is geared towards forward-thinking SOHO users, storage enthusiasts, and IoT (Internet of Things) developers. By supporting the open-source platform that Linux embodies, QNAP has taken steps towards integrating private servers with Internet of Things (IoT) solutions and smart devices. Besides its IoT features, the TS-453A is a fully functioning 4-bay private server that utilizes all of QNAP's QTS applications, empowering users to easily virtualize their storage operations.
July 19th, 2016 by Lyle Smith
Synology DiskStation DS916+ Review
Acting as an upgrade to the DS415+ in both size and components, the DiskStation DS916+ is the latest addition to Synology's Plus Series of NAS solutions designed for media professionals and new and existing businesses that are planning for growth in the future. The DS916+ offers a ton of scalability when leveraging Synology's DX513 expansion units, creating a 9-bay NAS that can house a total raw capacity of 72TB using nine 8TB HDDs. This will certainly allow businesses to lower their startup costs with the capability to at least double their storage capacity when needed.
June 15th, 2016 by Tucker Mindrum
Synology DiskStation DS216+ Review
The Synology DS216+ is equipped with high-quality components and two drive bays giving it a unique appeal to performance-minded users that don't necessarily need a huge storage pool. That being said, users can still enjoy up to 16TB of storage (using two 8TB HDDs), which is certainly enough capacity for the home user and at least through the beginning stages of smaller businesses. Synology has also designed the DS216+ to make the installation of hard drives quick and easy, as it uses a screw-less bays with hot-swappable support to eliminate the need for any tools.
June 14th, 2016 by Lyle Smith
Synology DiskStation DS216j Review
Released in March of this year, the Synology DiskStation DS216j is touted as the more affordable model of the DS216 line (which includes the DS216play and DS216se). Even though this is considered a more budget-oriented model, this 2-bay DiskStation still features a dual-core CPU with a hardware encryption engine, the latter which helps diverts encryption calculation tasks away from the main CPU for optimized efficiency. Synology has specifically designed the DS216j for home users with looking for an effective storage solution that focuses on multimedia streaming as well as seamless file management and synchronization.
May 19th, 2016 by Tucker Mindrum
Synology DiskStation DS416slim Review
The 4-bay DS416slim was designed to serve home users or professionals in need of a compact and energy-efficient NAS. Although the DS416slim is part of Synology's J Series, which is their budget line, it includes everything that a personal user or small business would need. Unlike most of Synology's DiskStation models, the DS416slim uses 2.5" drives, which is key to its compact size. However this comes with capacity limitations versus models that leverage 3.5" drives.