Synology DS225+

It's a good thing Synology lifted its hard drive restrictions; otherwise, this product would be a clear no-go. You have to install the correct drivers for Intel's QSV yourself (via SSH or a script). And contrary to the product description here, the device only has one 2.5g port.

If you're not yet part of the Synology ecosystem, avoid it. The jump from the DS224+ to the DS225+ doesn't bode well for the future. With the exception of that single 2.5g port, this device is, on paper, the same as—and in reality, a downgrade from—its predecessor.

After six years, it was time to upgrade my old Synology NAS. The drives were a bit newer, so I could keep them. Of course, I watched tons of tutorials on how to migrate, but it was a breeze. It's really just a matter of transferring drives and you're done. The DS225+ is fast, not exactly quiet (with the ventilation), but certainly acceptable.

Except for one (no, not two Coolblue!) 2.5g port, this is the same hardware as the DS224+. There's nothing wrong with that per se, except for the price, for example, for a CPU that Apple would label as "Vintage."

I wouldn't advertise the Plex server too loudly, because the Intel drivers are nuked in this version. QuickSync Video is no longer supported (which was the only good reason to use an old Intel CPU anyway), making hardware transcoding in Plex impossible. (Or any other media server that can use QSV, like Jellyfin).

2GB of RAM isn't enough to run an extensive home assistant, a stack of Docker containers, or even a single VM without an upgrade.

Fortunately, the restrictions on hard drive brands/types have been reversed, so I don't need to comment on that.

For a NAS, it's a far too expensive solution, and as a small home server, incompetent for a layperson.

Intel drivers with QSV support can be installed, and RAM can also be added.

Want to use this NAS with HDDs? Buy the DS224+. Don't have any experience with Synology (yet)? Then you can skip this one.