Synology DiskStation DS723+ vs. DS720: Which NAS is best?

Synology launched the DiskStation DS723+ to kick off 2023, replacing the older and highly rated DiskStation DS720+. In this guide, we’re going to look at the Synology DiskStation DS723+ vs. DS720 to see which NAS is best and whether you should upgrade from the older Intel NAS to the AMD enclosure.

Aside from the processor and supported RAM, the two NAS are almost identical. Looking at the DiskStation DS723+ and DS720+ and it’s clear to see good reasons to choose one over the other. If you’re wanting the latest and greatest, the DS723+ is for you.

If you need to transcode 4K media, the DS720+ may be the better NAS. There’s more to it than that so let’s take a deeper look at the two Synology NAS.

Synology DiskStation DS723+ is the newer NAS

Because the Synology DiskStation DS723+ is the newer NAS, we’re looking at the AMD Ryzen R1600 processor, which can be found in a few Synology enclosures for the 2022/23 season. It’s an excellent dual-core CPU with a boost speed of 3.1GHz, compared to just 2.7GHz with the older Intel Celeron J4125.

You may notice that we’ve not listed anything for the GPU and that’s because the Synology DiskStation DS723+ doesn’t have one. You will find integrated Intel UHD Graphics 600 with the DS720+, however. An integrated GPU is brilliant at offloading some tasks from the CPU itself like media transcoding.

	Synology DiskStation DS723+	Synology DiskStation DS720+
CPU	AMD Ryzen R1600 (2 cores, 3.1 GHz)	Intel Celeron J4125 (4 cores, 2.7 GHz)
GPU	–	Intel UHD Graphics 600
RAM	2 GB DDR4-3200 (max 32 GB)	2 GB DDR4-2666 (max 6 GB)
Drive bays	2x SSD/HDD 2x M.2	2x SSD/HDD 2x M.2
Capacity	40TB	40TB
Expansion support	1x DX517	1x DX517
Cooling	1x 92 mm fan	1x 92 mm fan
Ports	2x 1Gb LAN 1x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 1x eSATA	2x 1Gb LAN 1x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 1x eSATA
PCIe slots	1x PCIe 3.0 x2	❎
Power draw	~21.07 W	~16.44 W
Dimensions	166 x 106 x 223 mm	166 x 106 x 223 mm
Weight	1.51kg	1.51kg
Price	$450	$400

Now, that doesn’t mean the DS723+ cannot transcode media well, it’s just not as efficient as a modern CPU with integrated graphics. Any tasks that make good use of QuickSync will be able to leverage this GPU. The AMD Ryzen CPU simply has to power through everything with brute force.

It’s a more powerful processor that also draws more power from the PSU. This results in the 5W increase in power draw as stated by Synology. But because we’re talking about a more powerful and modern CPU, Synology has been able to add in a PCIe slot for 10Gb networking, as well as the two M.2 SSD slots.

Grab the DS720+ on sale to save money

Because we’ve got a new two-bay NAS from Synology, the predecessor should go on sale more often to clear out old inventory. This may provide an opportunity for you to save a considerable sum of money. The storage options when using the best NAS drives between the two NAS are identical. You can install two drives and two M.2 SSDs.

The ports are also the same, which is a shame for 2023. Sure, Synology is offering the optional 10Gb LAN expansion card, but where are the two integrated 2.5Gb ports? There are still two 1Gb LAN ports brought across from the DS720+. If the Synology DiskStation DS1522+ is anything to go by, however, that 10Gb link is going to be rapid.

If you’re serious about Plex Media Server and have a lot of content that would require on-the-fly transcoding on the NAS, you may be better off with the older DS720+. For everyone else, the DS723+ would be the better NAS of the two to buy.