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Beelink ME Pro 2-Bay NAS Mini PC vs Synology DiskStation DS124

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 DS124 at 5.0/10.

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 DS124 leads on software and ecosystem.

The biggest difference is storage capacity (bays, M.2), where the Beelink ME Pro 2-Bay NAS Mini PC scores 7/10 to the Synology DiskStation DS124's 3/10.

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

Beelink ME Pro 2-Bay NAS Mini PC

6.2/10verdict: wait for deal

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

Synology DiskStation DS124

Synology DiskStation DS124

5.0/10verdict: wait for deal

The DS124 is for people who want a very simple, single-drive NAS running full Synology DSM. It suits a home or small office that needs network file storage, Btrfs snapshots or Surveillance Station. It does not suit anyone who needs RAID, redundancy or heavy workloads.

Typically about £140 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 DS124
Storage capacity (bays, M.2)20%7/103/10
CPU and transcoding20%6/105/10
Networking20%8/106/10
Memory ceiling15%4/103/10
Software and ecosystem15%5/108/10
Openness10%6/105/10
Overall6.2/105.0/10

Specifications

SpecBeelink ME Pro 2-Bay NAS Mini PCSynology DiskStation DS124
Drive bays2 x SATA bays for 2.5 or 3.5 inch drives1 x 3.5" SATA HDD or 2.5" SATA SSD (2.5" needs an optional holder sold separately)
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 upgradeable1 GB DDR4 non-ECC
Networking5GbE plus 2.5GbE dual ports, WiFi 6, Bluetooth 5.41 x RJ-45 1GbE LAN port
M.2 slots3 x M.2 2280 NVMe slots: one PCIe 3.0 x2, two PCIe 3.0 x1not listed
Expansionnot listedNo expansion slot listed; 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports
Operating systemWindows 11 Home (pre-installed)Synology DiskStation Manager (DSM)

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 DS124

  • + Full DSM with Btrfs snapshots and Surveillance Station
  • + Four-core CPU with hardware encryption engine
  • + Manufacturer lists 3.44 W in HDD hibernation
  • − Single bay means no RAID and no redundancy
  • − Only 1 GB of RAM, with no upgrade listed
  • − One 1GbE port and no expansion slot listed

Skip it if:

  • Buyers who need RAID or drive redundancy in the NAS itself
  • Anyone planning to run several containers or virtual machines
  • Users who want multi-gigabit networking or hardware transcoding
Read the full Synology DiskStation DS124 review ›

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