Synology DiskStation DS923+ vs. QNAP TS-464: Which NAS is best?
Synology DiskStation DS923+
$504 $600 Save $96
The Synology DiskStation DS923+ is the spiritual successor to the popular DS920+ with a new AMD processor, M.2 slots, and the same excellent DSM operating system. This is one powerful compact NAS with the ability to run just about everything.
Pros- Powerful AMD processor
- M.2 slots for storage and caching
Cons- No integrated GPU
- No 2.5 GbE networking
QNAP TS-464
The QNAP TS-464 is a brilliant and powerful NAS, rocking an Intel Celeron processor, 4GB of RAM out of the box, and even two M.2 slots and a single PCIe expansion slot. It has everything you need to run a Plex Media Server, including dedicated HDMI output.
Pros- Powerful Intel CPU for transcoding
- M.2 slots for storage and caching
The Synology DiskStation DS923+ is one of the latest four-bay NAS from the company and switches out the Intel Celeron chip for an AMD Ryzen processor. The QNAP TS-464 is more of a traditional Intel-powered enclosure with a focus on providing as much performance for running services such as Plex Media Server. QNAP’s NAS is in an interesting position in that it’s more affordable than the DS923+ from Synology, yet offers faster networking connections with two 2.5GbE ports. However, either NAS would make for an excellent place to store countless files at home or in the office.
Price, specs, and availability
As we were able to confirm in our testing and in-depth review, the Synology DiskStation DS923+ is technically one of the best Synology NAS available if you’re after a powerful four-bay enclosure. Compared to the QNAP TS-464, it’s clear to see just where the Ryzen CPU is more capable than Intel’s Celeron chip. The AMD CPU can handle double the system memory at 32GB compared to just 16GB, at least officially. Synology kept its 1GbE networking ports, which simply isn’t anywhere close to what QNAP offers with the TS-464. Then there’s the PCIe 3.0 slot, giving the QNAP NAS some serious expansion support.
Synology DiskStation DS923+ QNAP TS-464 Brand Synology QNAP CPU AMD Ryzen R1600 Intel Celeron N5095 Memory 4 GB (max. 32 GB) 4 GB DDR4 (max 16 GB) Drive Bays 4 4 Expansion 2x M.2 slots, 1x eSATA, 1x PCIe (for 10GbE LAN adapter) 1x PCIe 3, 2x M.2 Ports 2x 1GbE, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 1x eSATA 2x 2.5GbE, 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2, 2x USB-A 2.0, 1x HDMI Caching 2x NVMe slots Yes OS DiskStation Manager (DSM) 7,2 QNAP QTS Price $599.99 $549 Dimensions 166 x 199 x 223 mm 168 x 170 x 226 mm Weight 2.24 kg 2.26 kg
Design: A different take on a similar look
The Synology DiskStation DS923+ looks like any other DiskStation NAS. It’s a sturdy box of black metal with tool-less access to not only the drive bays (and installing drives) but also the RAM and M.2 storage slots. The front of the DS923+ provides access to the aforementioned bays, as well as a visual indication of the NAS status and network/drive activity. The sides are bare aside from Synology branding, doubling as ventilation. The rear of the NAS has two fans, an array of ports, and DC input from the external power supply.
QNAP attempts to add a little styling to its enclosures and the QNAP TS-464 is a prime example of this done right. It’s a similar black metal ordeal to the Synology NAS until we get to the front panel. A gold strip on the right plays host to all the status LEDs, a USB port, and a power button. Then there’s a magnetic semi-transparent cover that can be quickly removed to gain access to the four bays. The sides of the NAS are bare, and so too is the top. Like other NAS servers, the rear of the TS-464 has all the ports and a single cooling fan.
As covered in our specification comparison, the QNAP TS-464 has double the number of USB ports of the Synology DiskStation DS923+, but instead of the eSATA port for expansion, QNAP added 2.5GbE networking and a PCIe 3.0 slot. It’s possible to add a proprietary 10GbE connection to the DS923+, but this is available separately and without it, you’ll be relying on two 1GbE links.
Performance: DSM vs. QTS
The Synology DiskStation DS923+ is powered by Synology’s DiskStation Manager (DSM) operating system. We regard this as the best NAS OS available on prebuilt enclosures. It has full support for countless first-party and third-party apps, many of which are free. Synology also offers a comprehensive cloud platform with features such as password management, automated storage synchronization between NAS, and more. The QNAP TS-464 uses QNAP QTS, which is not quite as feature-rich as DSM with fewer apps, but it’s very much a complete experience for managing your QNAP NAS.
Both operating systems will support just about any device connected to the network for accessing stored files. QNAP and Synology have mobile apps available for managing the NAS as well as transferring files and running automatic backups of devices. Either company would be a safe bet for backing up all your media, sensitive documents, and other files. If you want the very best OS experience, it would be the Synology DS923+ but you will lose out on a few things such as the 2.5GbE networking.
Performance-wise, both NAS enclosures we’re comparing in this guide will happily handle M.2 storage and caching, as well as fully populated drive bays. Synology provides the option to upgrade the networking capabilities of the DS923+ to 10GbE, but this is an additional purchase, whereas QNAP includes up to a 5GbE link as standard. For general file storage, you likely won’t see a difference between the two but the AMD Ryzen processor would come out on top for some tests with heavier loads. For transcoding through Plex, the QNAP TS-464 is the way to go.
Which NAS is best for Plex?
You don’t need much in the form of performance to run Plex Media Server. A single-bay ARM-powered enclosure will likely be able to run the software, but only see positive results for audio streaming. For handling movies and shows, it’s highly recommended to jump up to an Intel Celeron processor with an integrated GPU. This allows Plex to use hardware-accelerated transcoding over software transcoding, which brings with it considerable performance gains by lowering the load on the chip itself. The QNAP TS-464 is perfect for running Plex.
The Synology DiskStation DS923+ shouldn’t be overlooked. As we covered in our Synology DiskStation DS923+ vs. DS920+ guide, the AMD processor can transcode media, but it won’t do so as efficiently as an Intel Celeron with UHD graphics. It’s possible to check your TV or other client devices before purchasing to check if it’s compatible with stored file types and resolutions. It’s also possible to manually convert said files into different formats to avoid the need to transcode. Some hardware is even capable of transcoding locally, taking the load off the server altogether.
Synology DiskStation DS923+ vs. QNAP TS-464: Which NAS is best?
Synology’s move to AMD isn’t a terrible idea on paper. The Ryzen processors are powerful, even more so than some of the Intel Celeron chips they’re replacing, but an issue arises when one wants to utilize an integrated GPU. The AMD Ryzen processors Synology is using for its 2023 NAS are available with integrated graphics processing, but the company opts for SKUs without this feature. Transcoding media, particularly 4K and 8K media, through Plex may see a considerable performance hit on the NAS. For just about most other NAS tasks, the AMD Ryzen chip is excellent.
Synology DiskStation DS923+
$504 $600 Save $96
The Synology DiskStation DS923+ is the spiritual successor to the popular DS920+ with a new AMD processor, M.2 slots, and the same excellent DSM operating system. This is one powerful compact NAS with the ability to run just about everything.
Still, we have to note how the QNAP TS-464 offers considerably more at a lower price, something not often seen with QNAP. The QNAP TS-464 may have an older Intel Celeron processor, but it’s still a quad-core chip with integrated graphics, supports up to 16GB of DDR4 RAM, and is more than capable of handling the single PCIe 3.0 slot. Then there are the 2.5GbE ports, which may be overkill for most home networks but are excellent for future upgrades. Depending on what you’re after with a NAS, the DS923+ or TS-464 could be the better pick. If you’re going to primarily run Plex, we recommend the QNAP TS-464 as the best NAS for Plex out of the two.
QNAP TS-464
The QNAP TS-464 is a brilliant and powerful NAS, rocking an Intel Celeron processor, 4GB of RAM out of the box, and even two M.2 slots and a single PCIe expansion slot. It has everything you need to run a Plex Media Server, including dedicated HDMI output.