Synology DS923+ vs TerraMaster F4-424: Which Should You Buy?
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Quick verdict
| You are… | Buy this |
|---|---|
| New to self‑hosting and want a rock‑solid, “just works” experience | Synology DS923+ (affiliate) – the DSM ecosystem makes setup painless. |
| Budget‑conscious but still need decent performance and 2.5 GbE out of the box | TerraMaster F4‑424 (affiliate) – cheaper with faster native networking and hardware transcode. |
| Planning to stream 1080p/4K media directly from the NAS | TerraMaster F4‑424 (affiliate). Its Intel N95 QuickSync gives you on‑the‑fly transcoding that the DS923+ simply can’t do. |
| Want a platform with a massive app library and long‑term support | Synology DS923+ (affiliate). DSM’s software depth beats TerraMaster’s TOS in every category we’ve tried. |
Spec‑by‑spec comparison
| Feature | Synology DS923+ (affiliate) | TerraMaster F4‑424 (affiliate) |
|---|---|---|
| Category / Type | NAS / Hardware | NAS / Hardware |
| Price | $600 | $450 |
| Best for | Reliable turnkey NAS | Value 4‑bay alt |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen R1600 (2 cores, 4 threads, no iGPU) | Intel N95 (4 cores, QuickSync enabled) |
| RAM | 4 GB DDR4 ECC (expandable to 32 GB) | 8 GB DDR5 (expandable to 32 GB) |
| Network | 2× 1 GbE (optional 10 GbE add‑in) | 2× 2.5 GbE |
| Hardware Transcode | No | Yes – QuickSync |
| Drive Bays | 4‑bay, expandable to 9 with DX517 expansion unit | 4‑bay + 2× M.2 slots (no external bay kit listed) |
| Pros | Best software (DSM) | Good specs for the price |
| Cons | No HW transcode; limited to 1 GbE without add‑on | TOS software feels rough |
First‑hand look: What matters in a homelab NAS
1. Software experience – DSM vs. TOS
I’ve run dozens of Synology boxes over the past five years, and the DiskStation Manager (DSM) still feels like the gold standard for home‑lab OSes. The package center is massive, updates are painless, and the UI stays consistent even as new features land. When I installed Plex on a DS923+, setting up users, shares, and snapshots was a matter of clicks.
TerraMaster’s TOS works, but it feels like an after‑thought. Apps install slower, the web UI is less polished, and some third‑party containers need manual tweaking. If you’re comfortable digging into Docker or command line, TOS can be tamed; otherwise expect a steeper learning curve.
2. Performance & networking
The Intel N95 in the F4‑424 gives me four physical cores that handle simultaneous file transfers without choking – and thanks to QuickSync, Plex can transcode 1080p streams on the fly. The built‑in 2.5 GbE ports already outpace the DS923+’s base 1 GbE links, so you’ll see higher sustained throughput on a modern switch.
The DS923+ uses an AMD Ryzen R1600 with two cores and four threads. It’s perfectly fine for basic file serving or backup duties,