QNAP TS0-253B
A multimedia muncher
PRICE $ 799 ( EXCLUDING DRIVES) www.qnap.com
If you’re anything like us, you probably use your NAS for two main purposes. First, to back up your super-critical data with redundancy. Secondly, as a media server. The first use is pretty easy for even the cheapest NAS devices, but running as a media server takes a whole lot more grunt, especially if you want to run PLEX. Well, the QNAP TS0253B has more than enough oomph to chew through your PLEX library, which explains why it’s so expensive for a dual bay device.
QNAP has gone for a new look with this NAS. The left side simply slides away to reveal the twin drive bay mounts, which can handle both 3.5mm and 2.5mm drives. On the right of the face is a polished blue plate that includes all of the relevant controls. There’s several LEDs to show the status, as well as a six-in-one card reader, USB 3.0 Type-C and USB 3.0 Type A port. There’s also a small OLED screen showing basic system info.
Heading to the rear reveals another four USB 3.0 Type-A ports, twin HDMI 1.4 out, dual mic in and a speaker out. There’s also twin Ethernet out, which can be link aggregated to double bandwidth. Basically you can plug in a monitor, mouse and keyboard, and use this as a standalone PC, though it obviously doesn’t run Windows.
The reason for the high price is the powerful CPU within, Intel’s Celeron J3455 quad-core, which runs at a base speed of 1.5 GHz, up to 2.3 GHz when things get tough… like running PLEX. There’s a base level of 4GB of DDR3L, but you can easily double this to 8GB. Another unique feature is the inclusion of a PCIe slot, which can be used to handle a 10GbE card, or dual M.2 SSD card, a wireless card or a USB 3.1 10Gbps card.
As usual, the interface is beautiful, and QNAP has really increased the functionality of this unit by developing more software that can be installed. A few key examples are DJ2 streaming software, Virtualisation Station to operate several VMs on the NAS and QmailAgent, which allows you to centralise all of your various email accounts (Gmail, Outlook, etc) into one central account.
It may not be the most affordable dual-bay NAS on the market, but it is one of the most powerful and versatile around. For that reason alone, it’s a cracker if you can afford it, and for a PLEX-ready NAS, it’s actually one of the cheaper ones around. BENNETT RING
more than enough oomph to chew through your PLEX library, which explains why it’s so expensive