Legit Reviews

I'm looking for a feature-rich, 5-bay NAS server. Right now I'm looking at the QNAP TS-509 Pro.

I want to fill it with 1TB or 1.5TB hard drives that will be in RAID 5. I have also read a review on this one that directly compares it to the Thecus 5-bay NAS server that Nate reviewed, but the QNAP blew it away on features, usability, and performance.

I also plan on getting a Gigabit/Wireless 'n' router to get the best transfer speeds.

heard some good things about the synology line;

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822108012

I love my QNAPS-409, would highly recommend QNAPS for the support, features, and performance. The faceplate would occasionally start rattling on mine, but it uses the old design before they implemented key locks on the HDD trays. The network share folder access permissions are also a little funky to work with when setting up restrictions (XP/Vista/W7 each differently handle how hidden/protected network shares show up, compounding the issue) but it's workable with some configuring.

Supposedly they have an Atom-based version on the way as well, oddly enough.

Illuminati,

Did you ever decide on a NAS? I just noticed the Seagate Black Armor NAS is out, havent seen any reviews on it though. Maybe LR can get one for a review

Good lord is that equipment expensive. $900!?! Any reason you didn't just build a file server for that price?

Darkstar wrote:Illuminati,

Did you ever decide on a NAS? I just noticed the Seagate Black Armor NAS is out, havent seen any reviews on it though. Maybe LR can get one for a review

I have not made a purchase yet, but I'm still most interested in the QNAP 509.

Skippman wrote:Good lord is that equipment expensive. $900!?! Any reason you didn't just build a file server for that price?

A couple of reasons, I like the form factor since this will be put in my basement on a cluttered shelf next to my routers. I also like the feature list and the setup and usability is supposed to be very easy according to other reviews I've read... all web-based. Plus we are talking about true hardware raid... once you take into consideration that desktop hardware raid cards come in either 4 port or 8 port flavors, counting the price of an 8 port desktop card will quickly put the price difference within range to take advantage of the ease-of-use factor.

To me it seems worth an extra couple hundred to have a backup file server that is designed to "just work" than for me to take the time to setup my own linux server and automated scripts.

After using my TS-409, I agree it's definitely a better alternative than using an old outdated computer and turning it into a NAS. QNAP seemingly provides everything, from the ability to use it as a websever to a online photo gallery to simply tieing/syncing the NAS with a free DNS server for remote access.

The performance has been great, and there are power recovery options in the event of a power failure. There are also options to sync the device to a capable UPS for automated shutdowns. The thing does run silent but allows custom fan profiles. The end result is it would take a good deal of work to implement the same functionality on a desktop, and even so the power consumption would be much greater.

I just looked at the TS-509 and I see it uses a Intel Celeron 1.6 GHz... I'm not sure if that's going to be any better than a dedicated, good Marvell SoC controller? Certainly more power hungry. Apparently the TS-439 Pro uses a 1.6Ghz Atom processor.