QNAP TS-453mini

Whereas the DS414slim is extremely tiny and affordable, the TS-453mini is neither of those things, at least compared to the DS414slim. Even QNAP's smallest 4-bay NAS, the TS-451S, is considerably larger than the DS414slim, at 3.3L versus just 1.78L.

The TS-453mini has a 6.3L capacity, some 3.5x larger than the DS414slim. The TS-453mini is still smaller than a standard 4-bay NAS, around ane liter smaller than the TS-451 for example, and QNAP hasn't just reduced the capacity by a liter and called it a 24-hour interval. The TS-453mini might be much larger than the DS414slim, only it is still very unique in its ain right.

QNAP has developed a space-efficient vertical design with the TS-453mini that sees the hot-swap bays accessed from the top rather than the forepart of the unit. This gives the TS-453mini a much smaller 151 x 200mm footprint versus the 180 ten 235mm footprint of the company's other four-bay 3.5" NAS devices.

In a manner, QNAP has managed to reinvent the dwelling house NAS by borrowing ideas from desktop chassis design.

At the top we take a glossy black magnetic cover which tin can be easily removed without the need for any tools. The magnets are so strong that the console jumps into place one time you go it roughly 10mm into place.

Backside the magnetic top cover are 4 3.v" drive cages which are tool-less when used with 3.5" devices, though they support 2.5" drives besides using the supplied screws.

From the front end we find a sleek looking unit with vii LED indicators at the top, along with a large blue LED light bar that displays when the unit is powered on. The LED indicators testify status, network, USB and difficult drives ane, 2, 3 and 4.

At the bottom we notice a unmarried USB 3.0 port with a "USB Auto Copy" button and the ability push.

Both the left and right sides of the unit of measurement are featureless with the exception of some interesting lines that blend into the blueprint.

Effectually the back the TS-453mini features quite a lot of connectivity. There are 2 USB two.0 ports, two USB three.0 ports, a HDMI (v1.4a) output, dual Gigabit LAN, manufacturing plant reset button and the 12v DC-input.

The HDMI is a especially interesting feature and it is one nosotros suspect home users are really going to bask. It allows users to connect the TS-453mini to a HDTV via HDMI for streaming 1080p content using the supplied applications. HD Station integrates the powerful Kodi media player for smooth 1080p playback with seven.one-surround sound.

Complementing this feature is the supplied QNAP RM-IR002 remote control that enables user-friendly command of the HD Station. Alternatively, mobile devices tin can also be used every bit remotes past installing the Qremote app.

Powering the TS-453mini is the Intel Celeron J1900 quad-cadre processor which operates at 2.0GHz with a burst frequency of 2.41GHz. The TS-453mini comes with either 2GB ($530) or 8GB ($670) of memory, though users are also complimentary to upgrade the memory themselves later using the piece of cake to access panel at the bottom of the NAS.