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Networked Attached Storage (or NAS for short) at first glance seems a rather old-school way of backing up your files and creative work. Essentially, networked attached storage is a very mini server a bunch of hard drives all connected together within a system that is then connected to the network, usually your home internet system, so that anyone also attached to this system, wired or otherwise, can access the files on said hard drives. Many NAS systems come with their own software, so managing, backing up and maintaining files is a very straightforward process.

As creatives, we have a lot of work floating around different versions of files, different linked assets and different catalogues and directories that all need backing up and storing in an area that is quick to access. This is one area where NAS excels, as not only is it safer than cloud storage from a security perspective with RAID backups, it also provides lightning quick access and write speeds so it can deal with large files with ease.

In this round-up of some of the best NAS drives for creatives on the market at the moment, well be looking at a range of specifications, prices and setups, as well as assessing which types of NAS drives suit which creative discipline. Well also look at extra added features and ease of setup, which is an important aspect of recommending each product. Its worth bearing in mind that many of the NAS drives on the market dont come with hard drives (although some weve looked at are diskless or ship with them). Factor the additional cost of NAS hard drives (although standard HDD work too) into the budget when looking at the ones weve featured below.

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01. Synology DiskStation DS1522+

The best NAS drive for creatives right now

Drives: 15

CPU: AMD Ryzen R1600

Max storage: 108TB

Weight: 4.7kg

Excellent speed of data access

Good expansion options

Expensive for the amateur user

Steep learning curve for casual operation

Many of the Synology DiskStation options offer exemplary performance for creatives, with the ability to speedily work on the fly, with excellent transfer rates, a good amount of speed and memory and with the DS1522+, relatively decent value for money if youre a professional who needs to work quickly and has a lot of files to store.

Lots of the DiskStation systems can be upgraded, which also makes it a fairly decent failsafe option for the future. The DS1552+ can be upgraded to 15 drives, with DX517 expansion slots theres also built-in M.2 NVMe slots for SSD cache, which means data can be accessed even quicker during normal operation. As an all-rounder, with plenty of space for expansion, if you have the budget the DiskStation range is hard to beat.

02. Western Digital My Cloud EX2 Ultra

The best NAS drive for creatives right now

Drives: 2

CPU: Marvell 1.2GHz

Max storage: 8TB

Weight: 2.3kg

Affordable

WDs My Cloud OS is easy to use

Good package deals available

Suited to casual use only

Not the fastest device around

For those on a budget, the Western Digital My Cloud EX2 Ultra provides an affordable yet very reliable NAS solution.

It features a user-friendly setup process and with WD's My Cloud OS, managing files and accessing data remotely is fairly effortless for a casual user. Its dual-drive configuration and media streaming capabilities still make it a solid choice for basic storage and sharing needs, whilst not breaking the bank. There are plenty of deals to be had with 8TB hard drive space included for less than 400, which is less than the cost of the many NAS units themselves.

03. Synology DS923+

The best NAS drive for pros

Drives: 4

CPU: AMD Ryzen R1600

Max storage: 120TB

Weight: 2.2kg

DSM interface works well

Easy to install and get going

Compact

Costly without the drives

Only works for 3.5in drives

This is a small diskless unit with a lot of flexibility for home offices or small businesses looking to scale up to more than a one-person operation. Its equipped with an AMD Ryzen R1600 dual-core processor offering performance up to 3.1Ghz, as well as four bays for 2.5in or 3.5in drives. We liked the fact that five extra bays can be added with an expansion unit and the device features two 1GbE ethernet ports for simple integration into existing environments and network systems.

We found it offered impressive performance that ensured smooth multitasking and speedy data transfers, but at more than 500 RRP for the device alone, without hard drives, we felt the device would probably best best suited to a large work environment rather than a purely home backup system.

04. ASUSTOR AS1002T

The best NAS drive for beginners

Drives: 2

CPU: Realtek RTD1296 Quad-Core 1.4 GHz

Max storage: 18TB HDD x 2

Weight: 1.14kg

Easy to get set up

Attractive and quiet

Easy to fit into the home

Only 2 bays

Slower transfer speeds

36TB maximum size

If youre new to the world of NAS drives and youre simply just looking for something to get you started and thats going to be dependable and easy to use, wed certainly recommend the ASUSTOR AS1002T.

The device boasts a straightforward setup process, intuitive interface and entry-level pricing, which makes it a perfect starting point. Although it doesnt have the best expansion options and only provides dual drive bays, it can provide ample storage and basic multimedia features for a casual home user for example, storing photos and movies to watch across devices. We like the stylish look too it hides some of the more techy features away in a black diamond plate cover design the drives themselves are tucked away behind a sliding cover.

05. Synology DiskStation DS3622xs+

The most powerful NAS drive you'll need

Drives: 12

CPU: Intel Xeon D-1531

Max storage: N/A

Weight: 9.8kg

Large scalability

Enormous storage capacity

Good for business environments

Bulkier than some other options

Expensive initial cost

Small and medium business environments are where the DiskStation DS3622xs shines. Featuring a powerful Xeon processor and up to 32GB of ECC RAM, its the most powerful system on this list by a fairly long shot, and we also like the fact it has a large number of connectivity options and up to 36 drives if you so wish with a DX1222 expansion unit.

We think this NAS drive would be ideal for resource-intensive tasks, large-scale storage and demanding enterprise environments in business environments that need to scale up their capacity.

06. Buffalo LinkStation LS220D

The easiest NAS drive to use

Drives: 2

CPU: Marvell ARMADA 370 ARM 800MHz single core

Max storage: 2, 4, 6 or 8TB

Weight: 1.7kg

Easy to use

Plug-and-play with hard drive included

Good media server and torrent client built-in

USB 2.0 not 3.0

Not a massive amount of storage

Simplicity is key for some users, and the Buffalo LinkStation LS220D excels in this regard, as well as surprising with some excellent features such as RAID drive mirroring, which gives you extra peace of mind in the event of one drive failing.

It doesnt necessarily have the most capacity, but what it does do well is its plug-and-play setup - combined with a user-friendly interface, it makes it one of the easiest NAS drives to use. While it may lack advanced features, its straightforward approach to file storage and sharing suits those who would look towards a hassle-free operation. There are a number of sizes available, but wed suggest 8TB for most creatives with a decent amount of stuff to back up.

07. Terramaster F2-223

The best value NAS drive for your money

Drives: 2

CPU: Celeron J3355

Max storage: 40TB

Weight: 1.5kg

Good value without too much compromise

Fast enough to work on intensive files

4K video storage

Lower build quality than top models

Online support could be better

See more here:
The best NAS drives in 2023 - Creative Bloq