The DiskStation DS223 is a solid entry-level NAS, but enthusiasts and businesses should look elsewhere
The DS223 sits almost at the bottom of Synology’s huge NAS range, with only the single-slot DS124 and the more basic two-slot DS223j variant sitting below it. Accordingly, it’s not particularly well specified, with only two SATA drive bays and no NVMe slots. There’s 2GB of RAM onboard, which can’t be upgraded, while all the processing work is done by a lowly four-core Realtek CPU clocked at 1.7GHz. Perhaps just as significantly, this NAS has just a single 1GbE network port, immediately putting it at a disadvantage to 2.5GbE devices when it comes to fast file serving.
Still, the DS223 is designed and built with Synology’s usual quality. Pull off the front panel and its two drive caddies slide in and out smoothly – they’re tool-less for 3.
