Been looking for a NAS and this one is on sale. Might be helpful to someone though note that this seems to be newer model (old one is the 920?) and is quite a lot more expensive compared to the sale price of the old one (~$700).
CamelCamelCamel.
I have the older DS918+, which I believe like the DS920+, supported 4K transcoding - whereas this model (DS923+) does not. If you plan to use this NAS as a Plex server, which I assume many who purchase this use it for, consider that this model will not do hardware transcoding - which will mean if you try to play 4K content on a device which does not support it (older devices, crappier TVs), or over bandwidth which cannot support it (i.e. slow connection) this NAS may struggle as it will only do software transcoding (converting 4K to lower quality like 1080p)
If you're using it at home, to stream all your 'content' to local devices - you likely will never have a problem. If you want to play 4K stuff on older devices, or "share" content with friends/family - I'd recommend trying to source a DS920+ instead.
+1 highly recommend hardware transcoding for any NAS that will be running a Plex server.I upgraded my Synology NAS to get this feature.
Thanks a lot for the tip!
They also started soldering RAM on the 920 I believe.
The 920+ has one replaceable RAM slot. The other one is internal and potentially soldered
This is true, but I am happily running 20GB RAM (16+4) on the DS920, which is more than the CPU can ever reasonably use.
Why would they not support hardware transcoding on a new model?
I have a DS918+ that I would of upgraded otherwise!
In any case, I am having issues with my DS918+ / Plex as I get stuttery playback as it transcodes 4k to 1080P. 4k streams fine to a 4k tv, but lots of trouble transcoding to 1080 from a 4k source.
It’s because they switched to AMD Ryzen chips, which unfortunately don’t have integrated GPUs needed for hardware transcoding.
They’re releasing a DS423+ which keeps the same Celeron chip as the DS920+, but with a paltry 2GB RAM.
If you need a new Synology box that does transcoding, it’s recommended you snap up a DS920+ before they’re gone. I suspect they’ll see a big drop in sales of the DS9xx+ line due to this. Hopefully that will lead them to support hardware transcoding again in the next hardware iteration.
They switched from a celeron with transcoding support, to an amd chip without it on the new models. Seems like a major backwards move, I agree.
As to your 918+, if the files are 10bit hevc, hdr or some other more exotic format it might cause issues with transcoding. The chart here is helpful — the 918+'s chip is apollo lake.
Thanks for the chart! I have a 920+ and it was struggling with certain compressed formats. This makes it a bit clearer
Damn it I have a lot of 10bit HEVC and most of my current phone videos are output in 10bit too!
What a weird oversight.
@Telios: Just play the files directly - what is your target device that can't cope with 10bit HEVC ?
@DnA-bargain: Well you only need to transcode the format into a degraded format if the playback device can't play it or your connection is too slow. These are both solved problems.
These problems were common some years ago, but today you can just about play any format on anything.
Turn off transcoding.
One upside of the AMD Ryzen platform on these is that it supports ECC RAM.
At least you can be sure of error-free stuttering when transcoding now!
@soupiejr: I agree it seems somewhat of a misstep given the target audience and popular usage of these for home media use. It probably comes down to it being cheaper for them to consolidate platforms on their low-mid range NAS products.
I also got a DS918+ 4 years ago and still going strong
While I don't use it as video streaming / storage, been using everyday as the server for all IP cameras (via DS Cam)
very easy and handy to use with the dedicated app (only that need to purchase one-time licenses for extra cameras)
Also using as a photos management and backup service by photo stations (with both onshore USB drive backup and offshore AWS glacier)
And run the Home Assistant via docker which control all home IoT devices (especially useful to link with AppleTV making all devices working with Apple HomeKit)
Silly me and I thought all NASs did was file storage. Seems they're just servers now that may lack some ports. Looks like it might be hard to install your own OS directly on the bare metal though. Models offering OOB management might be better for that I'm guessing.
Are you able to transcode 4k HDR x265 files on the 918+ with a bit rate of 40-50 Mbps?
I have an old 5 bay Synology NAS that just keeps going. Was looking at buying a new one that would also do Plex transcoding but decided against it at the end. I let Synology do a range of services for downloading and data management but you are much better off using something else for Plex. I use an Optiplex Micro 9060 for Plex and it does a fantastic job with ability to stream multiple 4K videos concurrently without breaking a sweat. Bought it via one of the OZB eBay deals, job done for $250 with the benefit of a spare desktop pc.
Still buying a new NAS as my Synology is a 1513+ (10 years old) but options are much easier without the need for GPU. Comes down to NAS capabilities which is better aligned to my use cases. The Synology NAS is the best but of IT kit I have bought for the house as far as value return is concerned. I just need something faster now. Waiting for 1821+ to drop in price or hoping for a newer 8 bay model that does not cost $3k (ie 1823xs+)
if you have a modern smart TV (build in the last 3-4 years), Apple TV or a Firestick then they don't rely on transcoding anyway and streams the original file unless you specifically downgrade the video quality through the app or your device doesn't support the codec.
Only other instance I can think of why you would need transcoding nowadays is when you stream your media library on a mobile network outside of the house through Plex.
To be honest, I wouldn't worry about not having transcoding support at all if you have a modern TV or use Plex through Amazon Firestick 4K like device. If you are serious about transcoding, you would need a separate media PC / server anyway as per my opinion.
Cheers
Woow. Why did they even change it when its more expensive for the newer model. Thanks for the tip. +1
I was certain on getting a Synology NAS and the DS923, until i found out about the CPU and integrated graphics. I ended up getting a QNAP TS464 on sale, its not as polished as synology unfortunately but the spec for price is very good. I've enjoyed it so far, its working well it has docker installed running ~12 containers, I upgraded the RAM to 20GB and have 2x m.2 drives installed.
honestly if you only have a few drives, just get an optiplex, 2.5gbit nic, and an lp gpu. run unraid/truenas/straight debian. will perform a lot better and 10x cheaper
This is the way.
That’s what I’m running, replaced the cpu cooler with a low profile noctua that is silent too.
Yeh far better performance by going DIY and by grabbing a second hand optiplex better value too.
But giving up performance and value for ease of setup is a trade off many will decide to make, synology does make a number of things a little easier.
Personally I’ve had PCs with raid cards, a couple hp microservers, dabbled in freenas, windows, esx, etc. Also loved my little 712+ and am happy with my 918+, with a dell 7050 micro beside it. Best of both worlds?
But any/all options can be good, just depends what you want/need and what attributes matter to you specifically. Repeating myself now, but whether its something ‘ slow and expensive ‘ but it takes 2 mouse clicks and 20 minutes to set up, or a beast server for $20 that requires reading forum posts for a week, it should suit you, and if not it’s just an object , it’s replaceable,
I'm eyeing an i5 12th gen T model though can that play 4K through plex? If not would it be able to run multiple streams say 3 of 1080p streams? Im thinking of using it as a plex machine with just one 20TB HD.
will you be transcoding? if so then a 12th gen i5 is great and honestly more than you need, but I would recommend putting a low-profile GPU like the 1050ti in it and offloading the transcoding to the GPU. if no transcoding then yeah that should work very well.
It's actually the optiplex 3000 but I dont think I'll be able to fit any GPU in it.
Yes maybe 1 1080p transcode and 1 loca 1080p another 4k which would be local.
@iLikeSales: yeah im not sure as I never cpu transcode. Maybe look for some vids on youtube that show the performance. if it were me, I would do my personal setup again any day - fb marketplace mid-range gaming PC with low-end GPU & 2.5gbe nic, put into a server rack case.
@Leho: Ohh I just thought that you needed to pay for a sub to encode. I dont think I see the option as right now im using my gaming pc in the mean time. I'll try to do that though.
@iLikeSales: Just out of curiosity, what’s your player, or what is the reason you need to transcode 4K or even 1080 in the first place?
Is it to re-encode to match a particular profile or HDR etc? Or do you store in h265 and play in h264 to save disk space?
I moved plex from my optiplex 7050 to the nas coz I wanted to move away from transcode (for heat , power and image quality reasons - gpu encode is tuned for speed over quality ) and as a result the little atom cpu handles it fine.
I have basic needs tho, so what I’m doing may not apply here.
@yahms: I'm not sure why but whenever I play a video say on my TV in the living room it says audio encoding or sometimes when a movie is 4k and i click 1080p instead it says encoding.
@iLikeSales: sorry missed this. maybe have a look at —
https://forums.plex.tv/t/info-plex-4k-transcoding-and-you-ak…
but the tl;dr is remove need to transcode through player/library changes
Price vs. convenience.
I paid $710 last year for my 920+ and very happy with it. Well worth the money.
How many 3.5in drives can you fit in one of those second hand optiplex SFF machines? I feel like the answer is 0 to 1?
You don't actually need to put the drives inside the chassis - if you buy a micro form factor machine, then you can put your drives into an external 4/5/8 bay USB3 enclosure, or if you buy the cheap external WD/Seagate drives then you can just leave them external and connect them to a USB3 hub.
If you really really want your drives inside the case, then make sure you choose a tower form factor machine.
Xpenology
I am so glad I went down the unraid route instead of waiting for the new synology products
I only have experience with my HP Microserver. I think choosing a Synology NAS involves valuing the Apple-esque experience, reliability and security of DSM (the Synology OS); as with Apple, there is often better hardware to be had for less, but that isn't all one should consider.
With the disclaimer that QNAP may not have DeadBolt/ransomware/hacking issues behind them: MSY and Umart have the 4GB QNAP TS-464 for $699 + postage: https://www.msy.com.au/product/qnap-ts-464-4g-4-bay-celeron-… which offers 10GB/s USB 3, 2.5GBe, and an Intel CPU with inbuilt GPU.
2.5GB/s for the Qnap .
I agree I didn't make it clear enough but you'll see that I put 10GB/s USB 3 - meaning USB3.1 Gen 2.
Then there is the 2.5GBe - meaning 2.5GB/s ethernet.
Damn that's a way better deal.
I've always felt the 400 series are to expensive.
Any one know the best price for 920+ ?
Seems normal price
https://staticice.com.au/cgi-bin/search.cgi?q=+Synology+DS92…