Synology chose not to confirm any details about upcoming NAS enclosures during its Synology 2023 and Beyond event. It was a strange omission as we were expecting some form of an announcement or at the very least a tease. Synology competitors have already rolled out refreshed enclosures and we’re only seeing some leaked specs for the Synology DiskStation DS923+.
As this is Synology, one would assume this would hold us all out until the company is ready to make a formal presentation of what’s to come for its portfolio of NAS for 2023, but it turns out the specs aren’t particularly great for what we recommend its predecessor for. The fine folk over at NAS Compares shared details about the mysterious DiskStation DS923+, which is set to replace the DiskStation 920+ (pictured above), one of the best NAS for Plex with 4K transcoding.
Synology DiskStation DS923+ specs
According to the report by NAS Compares, the next Intel-powered four-bay enclosure won’t be powered by Intel at all. Instead, it seems Synology could be on a path of replacing most of its processors with AMD Ryzen. That’s not a negative on its own as AMD chips are fantastic in their own right. It’s what’s not brought along for the ride.
The Synology DiskStation DS1522+ has the AMD Ryzen R1600 processor, but there are no embedded Vega graphics. This is a serious step down for anyone who needs that additional performance for media transcoding and other intensive applications. The best NAS for Plex, and transcoding 4K content, really require dedicated graphics to handle the intense workloads.
| Specification | Synology DiskStation DS923+ |
|---|---|
| CPU | AMD Ryzen R1600 (dual-core, up to 3.1GHz) |
| GPU | – |
| RAM | 4GB DDR4 (max: 32GB) |
| Drive bays | 4 |
| M.2 | 2 |
| Expansion | PCI: 1x PCIe 3.0 (10Gb LAN) Drives: 9 (DX517 x 1) |
| Ports | 2x 1Gb 2x USB-A 3.2 Gen 2 1x eSATA |
| Fans | 2x 92mm |
| Dimensions | 166 x 199 x 223mm |
| Weight | 2.2kg |
Then there are the two 1Gb networking ports. Competitors like ASUSTOR and QNAP have already gone up to 2.5Gb or higher and while it’s good to see an optional 10Gb card that can be installed like with the DS1522+, it’s a shame to see Synology stick to 1Gb ports. With the best NAS available now having faster networking out of the box, Synology could struggle to win over those looking for better value.
Now, installing the LAN card and using a 10Gb connection, the AMD processor will be able to handle the fastest HDDs and SSDs with rapid transfer rates. Just like the DS1522+, we’ll be able to confirm this when we get our hands on the DiskStation DS923+. As well as having good raw power, the DS923+ will ship with the company’s excellent DSM OS.
We’ll hopefully have more details as we approach the end of 2022.