• Synology DiskStation DS923+

    Source: Synology

    Synology DiskStation DS923+

    The default choice for home offices

    The new DS923+ takes the best of the DS920+ and brings you an upgraded and even more capable package. This four-bay NAS is the new default choice for most home offices, where it can be used for both work and play or even for a small team in your office. 

    Pros

    • NVMe SSD can be used in the storage pool
    • Excellent performance
    • DSM OS is clean and versatile
    Cons

    • Included network ports are still 1GbE
    • No integrated GPU
  • Synology-DiskStation-DS920-plus

    Synology DiskStation DS920+

    This one is a keeper

    The good-old DS920+ may have been discontinued, but it still holds its own, whether streaming media at home or storing your office files. It is also quite efficient for demanding tasks like running multiple security cameras, plus it can handle Plex streaming (even in 4K) like a breeze.

    Pros

    • Solid quad-core Intel processor
    • DSM works well across the board
    • Built-in GPU
    Cons

    • NVMe drives can only be used for caching
    • No way to upgrade the 1GbE network ports

ANDROID POLICE VIDEO OF THE DAYSCROLL TO CONTINUE WITH CONTENT

The Synology DiskStation DS920+ has long been a fan-favorite NAS enclosure. That’s mainly because of how well-suited it is for running a Plex server. In fact, the DS920+ was our default choice for streaming your movie collection. But Synology recently replaced the DS920+ model with the DiskStation DS923+ as the new mid-tier champ with some major inside changes that could affect its Plex performance.


The new processor on the DS923+ is actually beefier than the outgoing model, making it better at handling certain kinds of apps. And it may not be entirely bad news for those looking to set up a Plex media server, either. In this comparison, we’ll see how the DiskStation DS923+ stacks up against the DS920+ and if its Plex compatibility is anything to worry about.


Price, availability, and specs

The DiskStation DS920+ came out in 2020 and was a notable addition to Synology’s lineup of top NAS enclosures for consumers. This three-year-old model has been officially discontinued, but it’s still so sought-after that its unsold stock and renewed variants are available for a hefty markup (which we don’t recommend going for).

Interestingly, the DS920+ launched at $700, then it was quickly slashed to $600, and it has stuck to that price ever since. Its follow-up, the DS923+, came out last year with the same $600 price tag, which is good news for buyers as it gets you better internals for the same upfront cost.

  • Synology DiskStation DS923+ Synology DiskStation DS920+
    CPU AMD Ryzen R1600 Quad-core Intel Celeron J4125
    Memory 4 GB (max. 32 GB) 4GB, expandable up to 8GB
    Drive Bays 4 4 bays supporting up to 16TB each
    Expansion Two M.2 slots, One eSATA Yes
    Ports Two 1GbE, Two USB 3.2 Gen 1, One eSATA 2x 1Gbe LAN, 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1, 1x eSATA
    Caching Yes 2x NVMe slots
    OS DiskStation Manager (DSM) DSM 7
    Price $599.99 $550

Design

If we don’t tell you which NAS is which, you probably won’t be able to tell them apart. Besides their names printed on the front, the only thing differentiating the DS923+ from the DS920+ is the additional PCIe slot on the back of the DS923+. Other than that, they look exactly the same, with four bays on the front to access your hard drives. The bays are easy to use and don’t require any additional tools to secure your HDDs; the M.2 slots to insert your NVMe drives are located at the bottom of both NAS models.

Synology-DiskStation-DS923-plus-vs-ds920-plus- 5

Over on the back, the port situation is also pretty much the same on the DS923+ and the DS920+. There is a pair of 1GbE network ports that support link aggregation, one of the two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, and an eSATA port that you can use to attach a drive expansion unit from Synology.

Synology-DS1522plus-10gbps-addon

As mentioned earlier, the DS923+ also comes with a PCIe slot that you ca