Readynas Duo 500gb vs Linkstation Pro LS-XHL (2009)

[jeffla]

A little background:

I own a cheap coolmax single drive nas for a few years now. It is extremely basic and only offers basic file sharing and ftp access. I would like to upgrade. I have no real use for dual drive capability but I suppose it would be nice. I want a ps3 media server, itunes server, bit torrent client and file sharing of course.

I have narrowed my choices down to two:

Readynas Duo 500gb ($330.00) or Buffalo Linkstation Pro LS-XHL ($230.00) (new for 2009)

Both offer everything that I want out of a nas. I would buy the Buffalo no questions asked, but I wonder if the readynas is worth the $100.00 dollar price premium for MY basic home needs.

I have read countless reviews on the Readynas and am impressed with it's capabilities, but the Buffalo has impressive transfer speeds which would be more important to me. "I'll tell you up front that the XHL has reset the bar for single-drive NAS performance, with about 2X the performance of all other single-drive NASes tested." ---> http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/content/view/30760/75/

Any suggestions would be appreciated.

Jeff



***********************UPDATE: 3/25/2009*************************

I went with the Linkstation and couldn't be happier. It is amazing fast and works flawlessly with my PS3. Everything worked out of box including the Bit torrent client, DNLA support, and itunes server.

Thanks again for your advice/suggestions.




*****************************update 5-29-09*************************************

If only the love I felt for this device could have lasted.

I thought since this thread comes up on google I should update it with how I feel about my LS-XHL purchase.

The XHL is built well and runs very well. Transfers are fast and it has been very reliable. I would buy it again in a heartbeat, except the support from Buffalo is, well, an F. Maybe even an F-.

Iphone support does not work as advertised. Meaning it doesn't work at all.
Bittorrent client is ok, but many have seeding issues.
maintenance email reminders don't work with gmail as advertised.
more issues are known but those are the issues I have.

Buffalo's response to any issue is, "it's a known problem and we are working on it." Of course months later there is still no firmware update to fix the issues. Which brings up why did they ship the device in the first place if it wasn't working as advertised. The answer, spend enough time over at http://forums.buffalotech.com and you will see this is just business as normal for Buffalo. It is too bad that such a great product is ruined by crappy support.

I do wish I had bought the readynas because as a XDA-developers geek and avid forum kind of guy, I like online communities. The readynas has a HUGE online community, the buffalo community is simply filled with 1st time posters asking the same old questions again and again...."why doesn't bit torrent work...why is my linkstation not recognizing my iphone....blah blah blah"

So to anyone pondering the Readynas vs the LS, I guess it comes down to, do you want support?

Jeff

 

[beisser]

if you need the speed, go for the buffalo.. if you need a second disk go for the netgear. its a simple as that if everything else is the same

 

[thiggins]

The ReadyNAS Duo's backup features are more flexible than the Buffalo XHL's in that they can do scheduled backups to/from any networked share (or attached drive), even multiple times a day. The Buffalo's networked backup is only to other Buffalo NASes.

You are getting more storage for your $ with the Buffalo, too (1TB vs. 500 GB). Adding a second drive to the Duo only gets you redundancy, not more capacity.

 

[jeffla]

Thanks guys,

I believe the Buffalo would fit my needs just fine but am concerned about the poor ps3 DLNA compliance. After reading countless threads about Buffalo's slow response to known bugs, I am a little weary of purchasing the Linkstation. I called thier tech support today and the gentleman said that there is a known bug with the ps3 streaming. When asked when it might be resolved he said he didn't know. He said they fixed the issue a month or so ago and once Sony released 2.60 fw for the ps3 it broke again.

I see that the readynas seems to perform slower than the Linkstation XHL, but is that a noticable difference for home use? I don't want to pay 330.00 for an out of date device. For many 330.00 is not big deal, but for me I have to convince my spouse that this is a good purchase.

I appreciate your responses.

Jeff


************************SEE UPDATED 1ST POST*********************