Which 2 bays nas?

[Thomas84]

Hi

I'm looking forward to but my first nas. I'm decided for a two bays. The two models I have in mind are the ts-251 and the ts-253a.

I don't need on the fly transcoding but will use the nas as media center through hdmi or through a rpi3. I'm wondering if the 1gb of the 251 is enough or will I have to upgrade it?

My question is would the 251 be enough for a classic home/family use or should I go for the 253a?

Thanks for your help.

[dolbyman]

depends on the files you want to play back(codecs and resolution)..generally I would not keep a noisy blinky nas close to the tv and only use it as the playout server not the playback device

raspi is also getting a bit long in the tooth for a media player (no hevc support)

[Trexx]

It depends on your use case. I wouldn't go with a dual-core box if you are doing any media usage (Plex, Kodi, etc.) as transcoding will kill it.

You may also want to look at the TS-251+ box as well. It is basically using the same processor that the previous generation TS-x53 Pro used (predecessor of the x53a family). Better overall CPU performance (higher clock speed) 2.0Ghz vs. 1.6Ghz, but 1 generation back embedded HW transcoding capability and no HW encryption offloading (if you encrypt your drives).

[Thomas84]

Thanks for your quick answers.

The nas will mainly be used for storage, the media player is really secondary. As I told you transcoding is not a need as my video files are quite lights ( 1080p max, no 4K ) and my TV can read them.

How noisy these nas are? Would you leave them in the living room next to the tv?

I've seen the 251+ but the price get closer to the 253a ( and this one come with 4Gb ram ) so I would directly go for the 253a if the 251 doesn't fit.

My needs are really storage and access to the files at home for a 3 person family.

[dolbyman]

I would go with a 4 disk arm system then ...lower in heat production ..cheaper in price

I have a super old arm unit..works just fine to stream 4k videos with it

431+ or 431x should be great for streaming then

[Thomas84]

Things are getting bigger I can see...

And not cheaper as I planned a 2 bay nas with 2x4tb. So the nas will cost the same as a 253a and I'll have to buy 4 hd ( even if smaller ). So I always come back to that 253a but I just don't want to be overpowered for my use.

If the nas is just used for storage and the reading/transcoding is done but the device I read the video on which kind of power should I need?

Actually as raid is not essential to me I've even been looking at the 131p. But is it powerful enough to provide at least 2 connexions at a time from devices on local network? Same question for the 251 and 253a?

[dolbyman]

the 131p is more powerful than my NAS (419p+)so 2 streams should be no problem for CPU (and single drive),
but if that one drive goes you have to start from scratch, the only sensible way to work a two bay NAS is RAID1, so you still only have the space of one drive (but if one of them has issues the system is still running and that drive can be replaced)

with a 4 bay NAS you could get 4 of he best storage for dollar drives (is that 4TB right now?) with the effective space of 2 drives (n-1 for RAID5)

[Thomas84]

Yes I've been through these raids solutions and issues. Of course in case of a 2 bays nas I will go for a raid1 with 2x4tb. In case of a 4 bays ( which is very unlikely to happen ) I would have gone for a raid5 but with 4x1tb or 4x2tb I couldn't say.

But as I said the nas is more a storage device who will be provider of data. But all the backup is and will be done on external hd.

Then I guess that If a 131p is enough for my needs I should take the 251 and not the 253a.

[Rhialto]

Then I guess that If a 131p is enough for my needs I should take the 251 and not the 253a.

251+

[Thomas84]

Actually there's only 100€ from the 251+ to the 253a and I get a 4Gb nas. So why would you specially go for a 251+ and not a 251? And why shouldn't I then go for the 253a instead of the 251+?

[Rhialto]

Any one those would fit. I was like you a year ago looking for a first NAS to store/share common multimedia files and wanted RAID1 and endend up buying a 251+ when it got on sale and was cheaper than 251. Not sure you need to pay more for the 253a unless you plan to encrypt data, while both unit can do encrytion, the 253a does it better and would be the way to go only if you are a heavy user and the unit would always encrypt/decrypt data.

My NAS is very silent running 2 x WD Red, it is currently next to my computer screen and I can't really hear it unless there is lot of disk access so next to a TV it would be perfect. If you connect with HDMI to TV then 251+ also comes with a remote, 251 no.