Synology DS923+ vs DS423+ vs DS920+ NAS Comparison

Synology NAS and Accessories in the 2023 Series - Rumours & Our Predictions

Video Chapters
00:00 - The Start
00:24 - #Disclaimer!
01:52 - #Price and Value Compared
02:21 - #Isn't the Synology DS920+ NAS End Of Life?
04:14 - #Value and What You Get for your money
10:28 - #M.2 NVMe SSD Service and Features Compared
13:03 - #Warranty and Support
15:31 - #DSM Performance
16:55 - #Plex, Emby and Jellfin Multimedia Support?
19:45 - #HEVC and Forced Conversions on the Server Side
21:20 - #What ALL THREE give you?

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[CraigHarris]

I've been shopping to replace my ancient DS413j. I use my NAS for home file storage and media streaming. Until now I've been keeping my PC on 24/7 running streaming software with my NAS just as a storage device. I've been wanting to run the streaming app on my NAS. I bit the bullet last month and purchased the discontinued DS920+ even though I had to pay $150 USD over MSRP for it. I think I made the right choice as it best meets my present needs. I like some of the future proofing features of the DS923+ but it is less capable for what I want to do today. NASCompares has been very helpful in my decision making.

[MR.GM.Goodwrench]

Ive' been on the fence with adding a Synology to my collection.
I guess I never new about the trans-coding with integrated video for streaming directly from the NAS and that helped a lot.
Thanks for the in depth review. I've been a very long time fan of the channel and appreciate your efforts.

[ehusic]

Hi, I bought DS923 and just to say for info that everything is running great, very smooth. I made upgrade to 32GB ram, 2x4TB WD RED (personal files), 1x 8TB RED (Plex), 1TB SSD (Business, VM, etc) and M.2 256GB cashe. I use Plex with OpenVPN and it runs very nice. Very different if you use it without OpenVPN... and If there are 4K movies in some cases, not that often, but there is a client that can handle it. At the end I am very satisfied with DS923+ from the business side (Backup, security, Snapshot, Virtual machine, etc.) and from a personal side (Photos, Plex, etc.). In the beginning I thought that I will have some problems but I organised everything how will be in use and now I am satisfied. 👍

[ViraDrama]

Thanks, I’m thinking about buying 4 bay NAS.

[DuaneDouglas]

Great comparison video. I have a DS920+. Thus, the DS923+ is probably my best option for a seamless fail over solution.

[serenadenphoto]

I'm in the process of getting a new NAS. This video was very helpful to understand what to look for. Thanks!

[elodiecemoi]

Good and interesting review.
I have a DS1821+ with 32Gb RAM, 10Gb board, running DSM-7.1, and I am very satisfied.
I may be wrong, but the problem with our review when you talk about the possibility to create a Storage Pool on NVMe drives, is that you must buy the very expensive Synology branded NVMe sticks !!
Unless I have been told something wrong, you can't use third party NVMe sticks, and this is a VERY bad news !
I am not going to pay the huge extra cost just to get a synology sticker on the NVMe drives, so unless somebody finds a hack, I will look to another brand, just because of this problem artificially created by Synology... and I would prefer to stay with Synology (so hackers are welcome !)

[peterorr]

Useful info, thanks. As a photographer with half a million image files, I’m currently using a DS920 with 40TB to store them securely. However, the move to 10Gb with the 923 will speed up the system when editing in Lightroom plus the memory expansion will help I’m sure. But I’m not sure whether your points concerning the lack of integrated graphics on the 923 is relevant in the case of Lightroom image storage and editing rather than the video streams case. Any info/suggestions on this?

[BeBoe]

I bought the DS923+ and installed 32GB RAM and took a WD RED 1TB SSD for the system. The main data is stored in RAID1 on 2x WD RED Plus 14TB and an 18TB WD Ultrastar as a data grave.

Photos, Plex, Docker and VMM run great and I am very satisfied.

Thanks here for the great and informative videos. Keep up the good work.✌👍

[basdfgwe]

I wish there was an overlay saying which one was which, had to keep rewinding back.

[wfp]

You are too kind. The move from Intel for the 923+ means it is still borne for me. The 920+ is simply fantastic and great value for money. The 423+ is a bet meh as well. And for more money than the 920+. Fortunately I am not likely in the market for another NAS for a good while. I hope Synology sales reflect this and they realise the consumer market should be given a decent option without having to buy into am enterprise level system.

[rxblitzrx]

I always had fomo for buying the 923 bc of “integrated graphics” but this video makes it clear that I don’t need it. I’d rather use client side transcoding (if ever needed) and faster file transfer any day.

[jerrywatson]

Wow, just what we need a comparison of the top Synology drives for home or SMB use. Thanks for this.

[timsandman]

Thank you Robbie. I have had a DS 920+ for about a year. Cracking machine.

[notreallyme]

My 920+ is still going strong! I wouldn’t run any VMs on it, but it’s great for Docker containers.

[muskatkeks]

I think about the ds423+
Two questions:
1. Is it possible to use any (kind of) nvme ssd for volumes? Or only on synology nvmes?
2. Can you make a test about how much mem i can really install? Usually in this cases it is possible to add some extra memory like 8GB instead of 4GB. What do you think?
Thanks. Great video like always

[_-Ruki-_]

Wow that was amazing, thanks for the vid! I really enjoyed the granular breakdowns.

[drooner]

Great review - BUT a wish for improvement: I don't watch whole videos actively, I often wash dishes or don't concentrate fully on the video while watching videos (that are not purely visual). And you always point on a NAS and say 'this is better than this' or 'in this case you want this'.
Now if someone listens more to the audio - he won't understand which one you refer to.

Saying '923 is better than 920' or 'in that case you want the 920' - would be a much better.

Thanks and keep up the great work.😊

[anticosmopolitan]

Do drives that sit in an expansion unit perform slower than those sitting in the main unit (because of all that cabling between the units)? I.e. do expansions come with a performance hit relative to housing all your drives inside the main unit? I.e. is buying a bigger main unit up front better than counting on expanding it later (if money is not an issue)?

[jamiesedgefield]

You are a mind reader, I was struggling to understand what was the difference between these - legend.