

Numerous vendors make NAS enclosures with some of the best models coming from Synology, QNAP, TerraMaster, and ASUSTOR. Generally, you'll want to steer clear on single-bay NAS enclosures because we always recommend at least two drives to be installed for a RAID configuration to better safeguard against data loss - RAID is a redundancy measure that makes sure if one drive fails, you'll not lose any data. The higher the number of bays, the more drives you can install, and the more capacity you can have for storing all your stuff. The second-most important factor in the decision-making for a NAS enclosure is the number of drive bays. These little server units can start at affordable prices, but when you factor in uprated internals, features like M.2 slots, and upgradable RAM, you can quickly see the price spiral out of control. Synology DiskStation DS419slim - Best portable: ARM CPU, 4 bays, 512MB RAM, 1Gb LAN.Ĭhoosing the best NAS for your home is primarily driven by the price of enclosures.QNAP TVS-872XT-i5 - Best performance: Intel CPU, 8 bays, 16GB RAM, 10Gb LAN.TerraMaster F2-221 - Best value: Intel CPU, 2 bays, 2GB RAM, 1Gb LAN.Synology DiskStation DS120j - Best affordable: ARM CPU, 1 bay, 512MB RAM, 1Gb LAN.QNAP TVS-H1688X - Best capacity: Intel CPU, 16 bays, 8GB RAM, 10Gb LAN.QNAP TVS-672XT - Best for Plex: Intel CPU, 6 bays, 8GB RAM, 10Gb LAN.

ASUSTOR NIMBUSTOR 4 (AS5304T) - Best runner-up: Intel CPU, 4 bays, 4GB RAM, 2.5Gb LAN.Synology DiskStation DS220+ - Best overall: Intel CPU, 2 bays, 2GB RAM, 1Gb LAN.We've rounded up the best NAS from Synology, ASUSTOR, QNAP, and other brands to help you choose the right one for your home. You can spend very little on a simple enclosure that'll handle file storage or thousands on range-leading servers with impressive performance. Network-attached storage (NAS for short) is a small server that can be connected to your home network to create your very own media center, cloud file storage, or even a surveillance platform.
