QNAP TVS-471 [Intel i3 3.5GHz] vs Asustor (AS7004T) [Intel i3 3.5GHz]

[iunlock]

Update:

Despite the lack up support on this thread, I've received enough input elsewhere to make a final decision. The verdict is that Asustor is out of the picture for many reasons that I've discovered.

Instead of a 4-Bay, I went ahead and jumped up to a 6-Bay for a lot of reasons. (Story for another day)

I'm now a happy owner of the TVS-671 (i7-4790S) Quad Core 3.2Ghz (up to 4.0GHz) with (6x) 4TB WD Red's and with 16GB of RAM. This thing is a speed monster. It doesn't break a sweat and runs cool!

Why I went with the 6-Bay over what I originally wanted (4-Bay)?

• I wanted to future proof it so that "when," I need more space I can upgrade accordingly with bigger drives.
  
  
• CPU was upgradable so I did while I was at it with maxing out the RAM. It took some work.
  
  
• Now the only thing I need to ever upgrade are the Drives, because the specs now can't be touched in this league (price point) of NAS's. Nothing can touch it.

-

Now it's between the:

QNAP 4-Bay TVS-471 (i3),
QNAP 6-Bay TVS-671 (i3),

...or even the...

QNAP 6-Bay TVS-671 (i5)

Any users of the 6-Bay TVS-671 with either the (i3) or (i5)? I like that the (i5) is a Quad Core, however, upon comparing them on a reputable CPU site, the (i5) isn't that much faster, which means in a NAS environment the difference in performance should be even more unnoticeable. However, correct me if I'm wrong if you have any experience with either model in enlightening me with real world usage info on the performance. Is it worth the $350 to upgrade to the (i5)?

Thanks.

================================================================

It's past game time. I need to purchase another NAS like, yesterday.

The two finalists I've boiled it down to in the ~$1,000 price range are:

QNAP TVS-471 w/ the Intel i3 vs Asustor AS7004T w/ the Intel i3

• Similar CPU (Intel i3 @ 3.5GHz, except the QNAP version of the CPU is newer.)
• QNAP comes with 4GB of RAM | Asustor comes with only 2GB of RAM
• I will for sure max out the RAM as I always do. Both are upgradable to 16GB.

{Considering that price is not an issue...}

I have two DL4100 (24TB) at the moment, one at my office and the other at home. They've been great so far...The only reason I'm considering another one is because I'm able to buy a maxed out WD DL4100 (24TB) for ~$1,200.

The question is, would the DL4100 with its Atom processor be able to transcode well for ~10 users? On paper the 1.7GHz Atom CPU doesn't seem like much, but in real world performance, so far it looks like it can hold its own. The read and write test speeds on the charts are only a hair below the Intel i3's running at 3.5GHz. Of course at the end of the day under heavy heavy load, the atom is a child compared to the i3.

I'm looking to diversify a little and upgrade...but the decision is down to whether to buy an already populated 24TB NAS for ~$1200 or buy an empty bay of the QNAP or Asustor for ~$1000 and spend another ~$1000 for 6TB x4 WD Red Drives. Yes I know...it's double the price point, but that's okay....

What's running in circles in my mind: "Would the WD DL4100 w/ the Atom 1.7GHz CPU be adequate to be a PLEX server and be able to handle transcoding etc... or am I going to kick myself for not jumping up to a real processor with some horsepower?"

For those who have experience with with both QNAP and Asustor, would you buy the Asustor over the QNAP? (Again price is not an issue...)

Cheers.

 

[System Error Message]

the i3 is obviously better especially if you want to have a stream server but for just files the atom is fast enough. Its more of a question of which brand do you prefer or think is more reliable for your use.

 

[iunlock]

the i3 is obviously better especially if you want to have a stream server but for just files the atom is fast enough. Its more of a question of which brand do you prefer or think is more reliable for your use.

Indeed. I have the WD DL4100 now and it does well for what I need it to. However, instead of buying another one of the same kind, I've been considering the Asustor (although double the price) in order to future proof it a little. - I would not recommend the Asustor if it's on your short list. Do some digging and you'll learn a lot. To save time just demo the user interface that they've completely ripped off of QNAP. It has this windows 95 pukeness about it. Shame on them. NAS is not all about the hardware. It's about having the balance of both.

I'm pretty sure the i3 @ 3.5GHz coupled with 16GB of RAM (which I'll definitely upgrade after purchase) would future proof it longer than the WD DL4100...that would apply for the other popular brand units as well I presume.- The more I've researched and with having hands on time to play with varies models, I've quickly learned how the words WD + Business Class + High Performance all have been an oxymoron this whole time. I'm very ashamed to have bought the WD's in the first place, because it can't handle anything beyond the simple tasks that it's been doing. The two that I have will quickly become my redundancy drives sitting in the basement and/or selling them, when they sell. The Atom cpu's in their "business line," NAS is a joke.

Decisions decisions....

1. How is the interface on the Asustor? Is it as intuitive and well polished as the WD? - No. It is not. In my opinion, the best words to describe Asustor's interface is that it's the epitome of a, "cheap chinese knock off." It's exactly that rolex knock off of QNAP's interface. At least what WD has going for it is their simple, unique and ORIGINAL interface. I'll give them (WD) that...well and of course their awesome HD's.
   
   
2. From what I understand the team at Asustor are comprised of former employees from the other popular brands? I could only assume that they know what they were doing. They've nailed the "offering the biggest bang for the buck for sure..." - Well trusted and reliable brand? - No. Come to find out that Asustor has 'some' former employees from QNAP, hence the knock off interface. What their going for is the typical new kid on the block formula with offering a lot of hardware, along with a longer warranty to entice buyers. Do they have potential? Yes. But that doesn't come over night and like I've said above, a NAS to any serious tech minded person is more than just the hardware itself.
   
   
3. How does Asustor compare in quality & reliability against QNAP, Synology, WD etc...? - I've seen the Asustor up close and I mean up close as in taking the case off. The unit is well built, so it seems, but a lot of the components seem to be just thrown together. They have this huge over sized fan (not necessarily a bad thing) and the overall configuration of placements of varies "things," are just...strange. Why the huge fan? Perhaps poor and/or rushed product planning? I guess the best way to sum it up is that the engineering is not all there. At least IMHO.
   
   
4. From what I've seen so far the Asustor AS7004T NAS is the most powerful 4-Bay NAS you can currently get? True? - It ranks up there among the top 3 for sure from a power perspective, in its class. But raw-straight line speed isn't everything. A lot of these tests that I've seen online are all very one dimensional. It doesn't do any justice to the over experience. ie...at a 1/4 mile drag strip it'll hold its own, but take it on the Nurburgring along with the others (QNAP etc...) the very things that it lacks will cause it to under steer like crazy due to it not being completely tuned for the "overall," obstacles of the track. Make sense? - If not, just go open one up, play with it...you'll get what I'm saying.

I will be purchasing another NAS in a few days, therefore, any other info would be greatly appreciated. - I'm extremely happy with my decision to go with the QNAP TVS-671 powered by an Intel i7 Quad Core and feel like all the in depth research of "everything NAS," paid off. Originally I wanted to build my own NAS, which I could have easily done, but having what I have now gave me the best of both worlds. Especially with the i7 transplant, 16GB of RAM and a well thought out user interface. I also love that the mobile apps, actually work, all the time. Unlike WD's and from many reviews Asustor's.

Thanks.

 

[System Error Message]

ive never used a NAS like that so i cant really comment on it. If you have the budget and want to try it than go ahead and try it but make sure that you have warranty for it.

 

[stevech]

I'd limit decision to Synology or QNAP.
Either will likely do well.
I've been happy with my 2-bay Synology for 2+ years, and with their support.

 

[iunlock]

I agree. I've boiled it down to QNAP and it's between the 4-Bay TVS-471 with the (i3) or the TVS-671 with either the (i3) or even the (i5).

I'm still debating....

As for WD....I'm done with them LOL. I've returned the DL4100 and am replacing it with a real NAS. Like the QNAP TVS series. Why would WD put a petty Atom processor in a Business Line of their NAS? It just baffles me...very poor decision, because that thing was a snail. It could barely handle 2 simultaneous streams. Pathetic at the least.

I'm with you Steve....Synology or QNAP. That's it.

 

[stevech]

NAS Vendor Opinion:
WD, Seagate, LG, Drobo, Netgear - 90% marketing, 10% good engineering

 

[iunlock]

NAS Vendor Opinion:
WD, Seagate, LG, Drobo, Netgear - 90% marketing, 10% good engineering

Lol....so true. Atom processors? Really? Come on...SMH. Shame on them. Those should be sold at Toys R Us.

 

[sfx2000]

The Silvermont based Intel small cores are a major step forward - the J1800/J1900 Baytrail-D chips aren't that bad, esp. for NAS duty... the J1800 can actually handle 5 streams with transcoding without issue... J1900 is twice the number of cores...

If you're using client based transcode - even an ARM based NAS can support many streams...

 

[iunlock]

The Silvermont based Intel small cores are a major step forward - the J1800/J1900 Baytrail-D chips aren't that bad, esp. for NAS duty... the J1800 can actually handle 5 streams with transcoding without issue... J1900 is twice the number of cores...

If you're using client based transcode - even an ARM based NAS can support many streams...

Indeed. Those little J1900's are pretty impressive for the weight it can handle.

I also, unfortunately, have two WD DL4100's (both 24TB) for just minor tasks and storage. There has been more times than I can count on my finger when I wanted to chuck them out the window. The decision to go with an Atom in a Business Line NAS was a grave mistake by WD. The only thing that can justify this is a constant reminder that one could get a fully loaded 24TB WD DL4100 NAS for ~$1200 (currently on sale and what I got mine for), which is half the price of a real NAS.