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Beelink ME Pro 2-Bay NAS Mini PC vs Synology DiskStation DS423

Researched, not hands-on tested.How we review ›

all judged against NAS at a similar price

The Beelink ME Pro 2-Bay NAS Mini PC scores 6.2/10 overall, ahead of the Synology DiskStation DS423 at 4.8/10.

The Beelink ME Pro 2-Bay NAS Mini PC leads on storage capacity (bays, M.2), CPU and transcoding, networking, memory ceiling and openness.

The Synology DiskStation DS423 leads on software and ecosystem.

The biggest difference is networking, where the Beelink ME Pro 2-Bay NAS Mini PC scores 8/10 to the Synology DiskStation DS423's 4/10.

Beelink ME Pro 2-Bay Hybrid NAS Mini PC, Intel N95/N150

Beelink ME Pro 2-Bay NAS Mini PC

6.2/10verdict: good, not the best

The Beelink ME Pro suits homelabbers who want a small, quiet Windows-based NAS with fast networking and plenty of M.2 slots. It fits people who plan to run containers or a few services on 16GB of fixed memory. It is a poor fit for anyone who needs upgradeable RAM or a dedicated NAS operating system.

Typically about £419 in the UK when we researched itCheck price at Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)

Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Details

DiskStation DS423

Synology DiskStation DS423

4.8/10verdict: skip

The DS423 is for people who want a four-bay Synology NAS for file storage, shared folders and backups. It suits those who value DSM and Btrfs more than raw hardware power. It is less suited to anyone planning containers, virtual machines or video transcoding.

Typically about £351 in the UK when we researched itCheck price at Amazon UK (opens in a new tab, affiliate link)

Affiliate link. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Details

Scores, criterion by criterion

CriterionWeightBeelink ME Pro 2-Bay NAS Mini PCSynology DiskStation DS423
Storage capacity (bays, M.2)20%7/106/10
CPU and transcoding20%6/104/10
Networking20%8/104/10
Memory ceiling15%4/103/10
Software and ecosystem15%5/107/10
Openness10%6/105/10
Overall6.2/104.8/10

Specifications

SpecBeelink ME Pro 2-Bay NAS Mini PCSynology DiskStation DS423
Drive bays2 x SATA bays for 2.5 or 3.5 inch drives4 x 3.5-inch SATA HDD or 2.5-inch SATA SSD, hot-swappable
CPUIntel N150, quad-core 4 threads, up to 3.6 GHz turbo, 24 EU Intel UHD graphicsRealtek RTD1619B, 4 cores, 4 threads, 64-bit, 1.7 GHz, with hardware encryption engine
Memory16GB LPDDR5 at 4800 MHz, soldered and not upgradeable2 GB DDR4 non-ECC
Networking5GbE plus 2.5GbE dual ports, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.42 x RJ-45 1GbE LAN ports
M.2 slots3 x M.2 2280 NVMe slots: one PCIe 3.0 x2, two PCIe 3.0 x1not listed
Expansionnot listed2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports
Operating systemWindows 11 Home (pre-installed)Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM), Btrfs file system

Strengths and weaknesses

Beelink ME Pro 2-Bay NAS Mini PC

  • + Three M.2 NVMe slots plus two SATA bays
  • + 5GbE and 2.5GbE dual ports
  • + Owners report quiet running and a compact, well-built case
  • − 16GB RAM is soldered and cannot be upgraded
  • − Owners report boot, BIOS and power supply concerns
  • − Windows 11 Home is the only OS listed

Skip it if:

  • Buyers who want upgradeable RAM for several VMs
  • Anyone wanting a dedicated NAS operating system out of the box
  • Buyers who need four or more drive bays
Read the full Beelink ME Pro 2-Bay NAS Mini PC review ›

Synology DiskStation DS423

  • + Four hot-swappable bays for 3.5-inch HDDs or 2.5-inch SSDs
  • + Runs DSM with the Btrfs file system
  • + Lists 4.97 W power draw with drives hibernating
  • − Only 2 GB of RAM, and no maximum listed
  • − 1GbE ports only, with nothing faster listed
  • − No M.2 slot or hardware transcoding listed

Skip it if:

  • Buyers who want hardware video transcoding for a media server
  • Anyone planning several containers or virtual machines on limited RAM
  • Users who need faster-than-1GbE networking or M.2 cache slots
Read the full Synology DiskStation DS423 review ›

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