Prime Day is returning soon — these are the NAS servers you need to consider
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Prime Day was just two months ago, but Amazon isn't done with its annual sales event; like previous years, the retailer is launching a second round of deals, and this is great news if you've missed out on the initial sales event. The second round of Prime Day is slated for October, and it will also be a 48-hour event.
There will be thousands of products on sale, but the ones I'm interested in are home NAS servers. The category has seen a meteoric rise in recent years, and that's understandable; data needs are going up, and a NAS offers an easy way to centralize data. While I don't have details on which NAS enclosures will go on sale during Prime Day — I'll have that information ahead of the event — I can recommend products you need to consider.
So if you've been thinking of getting a NAS, or have one and want to switch to a model with better hardware or just need a new NAS hard drive, these are the products that should be on your horizon.
ASUSTOR AS5402T
I get to use dozens of NAS servers, and the ASUSTOR AS5402T is among the best in its category. The Taiwanese brand did a great job with the hardware; it has a powerful Intel platform with transcoding, 4GB of RAM, and dual 2.5GbE connectivity.
What's also interesting is that you get four M.2 slots in addition to the two 3.5-inch drive bays, giving you the ability to add fast SSD storage in addition to regular mechanical drives. And while ASUSTOR's software efforts have been lacking in the past, that isn't the case in 2024. The brand overhauled its software, and the new ADM interface looks polished and has plenty of great features.
Coming in at $369 on Amazon, the AS5402T is a great choice in its own right, but I estimate the NAS to get a 20% discount during Prime Day, making it a real bargain.
ASUSTOR AS5402T: $369 at Amazon
The AS5402T continues to be among the best 2-bay NAS servers, and the inclusion of four M.2 slots and dual 2.5GbE connectivity gives it a distinct edge.
DiskStation DS923+
The DiskStation DS923+ is a standout product, and a big part of its allure isn't the hardware — it doesn't have the best hardware in its segment. The reason the DS923+ outsells its rivals by several magnitudes is the software; the DSM interface is the best you'll find in this industry, and it just makes things easier. You have all the software packages you need, the interface is clean, and you get container management, giving the DS923+ a lot of extensibility.
The hardware is decent enough; the Ryzen platform is fast, and you get 4GB of RAM and dual M.2 slots. The Gigabit Ethernet ports are annoying — I would have liked 2.5GbE instead — but there is a way to add a 10GbE network card. The DS923+ doesn't have transcoding, but other than that, it makes a phenomenal Plex media server.
The DS923+ isn't exactly affordable at $598, but it should go down to $499 during Prime Day, and at that price, there really is no reason to buy any other server in this segment.
Synology DiskStation DS923+: $598 at Amazon
The DiskStation DS923+ debuted nearly two years ago, and it continues to be the best-selling 4-bay server today. That's down to the combination of hardware and software, and if you need a powerful home Plex server, this is the best choice. The NAS should go down to $499 for Prime Day. View Deal
DiskStation DS223j
You don't have a NAS yet and want to see what all the fuss is about, so you need something on a budget. That's where the DiskStation DS223j comes in; it is the ideal gateway into the world of home servers, and you get a good inkling of what a NAS delivers in daily use.
Predictably, the DS223j doesn't have the best hardware — the main reason for buying this is to get a sense of the software, and all the ways you can integrate a NAS in your home. As such, it is ideally suited to back up data from various connected devices, and it does a decent enough job as a media streaming device.
Retailing at $189, the DS223j is a great value, and it usually is available for $159 during Prime Day.
Synology DiskStation DS223j: $189 at Amazon
The DiskStation DS223j is a great starting point if you don't have a NAS server and are interested in seeing what features are available. This server was heavily discounted during earlier sale events, and I predict that will be the case during next month's Prime Day as well. View Deal
Much more to come
We are still a month out from Prime Day, so I don't have details on all the products that will go on sale. That said, having covered previous sales events, I can say with some confidence that the deals are usually better than the summer events, so if you held out on upgrading until now, there will be plenty of great deals on servers as well as storage drives. I'll have much more to share in this area over the coming weeks, so stay tuned.
