4 or 6 bay NAS?

[nicholson2002]

I am soon to purchase a QNAP NAS (probably the TVS-x73) but I'm undecided whether I should get a 4 or a 6 bay unit.

If I want, say, 12tb of usable HDD space, it seems that I can achieve this by:

(a) 6 x 3tb RAID6; or
(b) 4 x 4tb RAID5

Given that the relative cost of a 6 bay unit with 6 x 3tb HDDs as against a 4 bay unit with 4 x 4tb HDDs is not that great plus the fact that the 6 bay unit gives me the extra redundancy of RAID6 over RAID5, I am inclined to think that the 6 bay unit might be a better choice.

I'd welcome views? Are there other factors that I need to consider? For example, is the 6 bay unit noticeably noisier than the 4 bay unit? What else?

[Trexx]

I have the 673 and have been very happy with it. I have (6) 3TB drives in it and have been very happy with it.

In terms of $/GB, 4TB drives seem to be the sweet spot in general right now.

One thing to keep in mind is that you can start with (4) 4TB drives in a Raid-5 config on the 673 and later add drives as well as migrate from RAID-5 to 6 if desired. You don't HAVE to start with 6 drives if you get the 673.

Other thing to think about in terms of 4 drives vs. 6 drives is that 6 drive chassis give you more total IOPs (assuming same drives types/etc.) which can come in handy depending on how you will use the NAS.

[nicholson2002]

Thanks Paul, may I ask how you find the noise level with the 673? I expect to have the unit in the living room about ten feet from where we sit.

[Don]

Personally I would go with the 6 bay and larger drives. Maybe 3 6tb or 8tb drives in a RAiD 5. This would give you room to expand and convert to RAID 6 at a later time you also need to think about a backup strategy.

[Trexx]

Thanks Paul, may I ask how you find the noise level with the 673? I expect to have the unit in the living room about ten feet from where we sit.

Noise level will depend on a few things such as cabinet/surface it is on/in, ventilation, HDDs chosen, etc.

In general, I hear a little "white noise" from the fans, but I run mine higher due to m.2 heat and the stand it is in isn't the best for ventilation. I also hear HDD head noise if nothing is playing, but that is the price I have chosen to pay for higher performance 7200 RPM drives. During playback through my home theater, I don't hear any of those noises. Now some of that noise could be removed with dampening feet, having a glass door on my stereo stand, etc. as well.


Regardless of which way you go, RAID isn't a substitute for backups so plan on external USB/cloud backups for your critical data and I always recommend a good UPS as well.

[nicholson2002]

Thanks guys, useful advice.

Yep, you can bet I'll be well backed up.