In early 2023, Synology has presented the DS723+, a 2-bay NAS under €600 that offers some attractive upgrades compared to its predecessor.
Published by Synology DiskStation DS723+ January 10, 2023 The 2-bay NAS is now on sale worldwide. To give you an overview, Synology provided us with a copy that we had a chance to try out.
The NAS server is available for €514.99 including VAT at major retailers such as Amazon or Boulanger. Like its other servers, Synology offers a three-year warranty with the DS723+, with an option to extend it up to five years.
What’s new for the Synology DS723+ NAS?
Packaging DiskStation DS723+ More stable: In addition to the NAS, Synology provides screws for installing 2.5-inch drives and two Cat 5e Ethernet cables. While servers like the DS1621+ have an internal power supply, most Synology models come with an external power supply, which is the case with the DS723+ and its 65W charger.
The big news here is that you can use both bays with 2.5″ M.2 SSD storage (as well as regular 3.5″ hard drives, up to 18TB per bay). This is a big change for the brand, which in the past only allowed M.2 to be used for SSD caching. Note that Synology restricts the hard drives you can use with the DS723+ Official list However that includes the best models from Seagate, WD or Toshiba.
The DS723+ comes with 2GB of DDR4 ECC RAM (up to 32GB), two Gigabit Ethernet ports, two USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports on the front, and an eSATA connector on the back for connecting an external drive bay. DX517).
On the processor side, there’s the AMD Ryzen R1600, the same chip found in the 5-bay DiskStation DS1522+, one of the best home NAS servers out there right now. With a base frequency of 2.60 GHz and a boost of 3.10 GHz, one lane at AMD. However, the Ryzen R1600 lacks an integrated GPU, which means the DS723+ misses out on a key feature: Plex hardware transcoding, depending on your needs.
Additionally, the DS723+ has a PCIe Gen 3 x2 slot that enables up to 10 Gigabit Ethernet (rear), similar to the DS923+ and DS1522+ NAS. Future proof option if you plan to use a network interface card. First tests of the DS723+ show that it reaches practically 220 MB/s on a 1 Gb/s interface and around 1 GB/s with NVMe SSDs and an optional card.
On the other hand, the DS723+ It retains the same design as its predecessor. We have a discreet NAS, matte black, which blends well with the decor. Although the server is mostly made of plastic, it offers a good quality. These dimensions are quite perfect, as it is only 166 x 106 x 223 mm with a total weight of more than one and a half kg.
The front of the DS723+ is minimal, with LED indicators for the bays, a system status indicator and a power button located at the bottom. Note that you’ll only find one USB port on the front of the DS723+.
The assembly is well ventilated to provide passive ventilation in the chassis. However, the single 92mm fan on the back does a great job, and its design ensures that the NAS doesn’t overheat under light load.
A NAS that is as easy to set up as it is to use
How easy is it to install the drive? Everything is supplied in the box, remove the bay and its two small plastic tabs, insert the HDD, put the tabs back on the sides and install the drive in its bay. Again, if you’re using a 2.5-inch HDD or SSD, you’ll find screws on the package to mount the drive to the bay.
Then connect it and go to find.synology.com to set up the configuration which takes fifteen minutes. As usual here, Synology’s main selling point is the software area. Of course, the DiskStation Manager (DSM) software comes with a NAS with many useful features.
So, the DS723+ works DSM 7.1.1 and has an extensive list of features such as Synology Photos, a kind of offline alternative to Google Photos and those in .HEIC).
We can also mention Active Backup for Business or Video Station (a great alternative to Plex), Audio Station (a powerful audio streaming solution), etc. It’s all accessible from the Package Center, not to mention adding more useful packages like syncthing or tailscale.
The DS723+ is a 2-bay NAS under €600
DS1522+, DS923+ and now the DS723+, Synology now offers a wide range of servers to the general public equipped with the Ryzen R1600, a processor that has already proven its worth. On the other hand, the DS723+ has the advantage of offering M.2 slots for storage, which is far from (most) cases.
There will be a subset of users who won’t be happy with the move to AMD due to the lack of an integrated GPU that doesn’t allow for Plex transcoding, even though playing content directly on all devices from my house works perfectly.
For everyone else, the DS723+ is the best choice for a 2-bay NAS server in 2023. The feature set combined with the excellent DSM software makes it an easy recommendation to use M.2 storage and switch to 10. A GbE network for an extra hundred euros is a great argument.
The DS723+ can be purchased for between €514.99 and €569 at most third-party retailers (Boulanger, MacWay, NASExpert, etc.).
