Synology DS1010+ or QNAP TS-659 Pro+

[pedro77]

Hi

I've narrowed it down to these two NAS's and need some help deciding on which one to get. I am planning on using it with 3 or 4x 2TB drives running in RAID 5. I will be using it as a large storage device and for media streaming with the option for expandability down the track.

I did also consider a WHS but like the small form factor of a NAS and realised I'd also need a computer left on to easily run and upgrade a few programs eg Dropbox; iTunes to be able to use iPhone Remote app; LogMeIn, StreamToMe etc. I know you can install some of these as a service on a WHS but a few are annoying to get working.

I am in Australia and the cheapest I have been able to source each is about $990 for the Synology and just under $1400 for the QNAP. Both the NAS machines seem quite good.

Synology DS1010+
Fast and tested in real world tests. Beat previous (non-plus) versions of QNAP
Cheaper
Nice GUI

QNAP TS-659 Pro+
Improved 1.8GHz processor (Unsure of real world performance)
Better build quality
More bays 6 vs 5
More virtualisation options

Has anyone had any experience with the 659 Pro+? What do you think?

Also which drives would you recommend? I can't justify the 3x price for enterprise drives so am considering: Seagate 2TB SATAII Hard Drive 5900RPM (32mb Cache -ST32000542AS) or Western Digital 2TB (EARS) SATA Green Power Hard Disk Drive 64mb Cache or Samsung 2TB F4EG EcoGreen SATA Hard Disk Drive 32mb Cache 5400RPM (HD204UI).

Appreciate your thoughts.

Kind Regards
Pete

 

[pedro77]

I'm still not any closer deciding on the NAS devices but from my further reading, I've narrowed down the HDD choice.

I'm scrapping the WD for numerous reported issues of poor compatibility in NAS and RAID 5 due to the green sleep mode. I'm also crossing off the Seagate for reliability as it's only certified for 50000 start/stop cycles as opposed to 300000 for most and is apparently using older technology for parking of the heads.

The new Samsung HD204UI F4EG isn't on the QNAP compatibility list yet, although its specs look good. There is some discussion on the QNAP forum that because it has "Byte per Sector: 4K Sector with Emulation" this may cause problems with RAID.

So I'm not sure whether it should be fine or I should also reconsider the Hitachi Deskstar 7K2000. I've read this is noisy and have been told anecdotal reports of high failure rates.

So I've taken two steps forward and one back in terms of the HDD's at least Hitachi 7K2000 or Samsung HD204UI.

At this stage probably leaning more to the QNAP but would love to hear your opinions.

 

[PowerMAC]

At the moment, looking at the features of the latest firmwares from both brands, I would probably go for the Synology 1010+. See this thread for more info: http://forums.smallnetbuilder.com/showthread.php?t=3866