Buffalo LinkStation LS720
Score: 59/100
Synology DS223 2-bay
Score: 76/100Rankings
The DS223 offers 36 TB of raw capacity, 2 GB RAM and a familiar DSM experience in a compact 2-bay chassis. It's a solid, budget-friendly choice for backups and file sharing, though network speed and lack of SSD cache keep it from high-performance scenarios.
The Buffalo LinkStation 720 is a 2-bay NAS that ships with drives pre-configured in RAID 1, offering simple plug-and-play storage with 2.5 GbE and basic backup features.
| Attribute | | |
|---|---|---|
16 TB | 36 TBbest | |
2best | 2best | |
2.5 Gbpsbest | 1 Gbps | |
6best | 4 | |
2 GBbest | 2 GBbest | |
| ↓ lower better | 48 W | 16.31 Wbest |
| ↓ lower better | — | 18.2 dBbest |
2 yearsbest | 2 yearsbest |
Click an attribute name to sort · Green = best, red = worst (relative to this comparison)
| Attribute | | |
|---|---|---|
Security(1) | ||
OS Compatibility | Proprietary | DSM 7.x |
Performance(3) | ||
CPU Cores | 6 | 4 |
Ethernet Speed (Gbps) | 2.5 Gbps | 1 Gbps |
Power Consumption (Active) (W) | 48 W | 16.31 W |
Build & Design(1) | ||
Weight (kg) | 2.31 kg | 0.88 kg |
Storage & Capacity(3) | ||
Maximum Raw Capacity (TB) | 16 TB | 36 TB |
RAID Support | RAID 0, RAID 1, JBOD | RAID 0,RAID 1,Basic,SHR |
Supported Drive Types | SATA III 3.5" HDD | 3.5" SATA HDD,2.5" SATA SSD/HDD |
Products in the top-left offer the best value (high score, low price).
Reviewers commend its plug-and-play simplicity and solid transfer speeds, but note the lack of an app ecosystem and limited advanced features.
Users love the quick setup and RAID-1 reliability, while some complain about fan noise and limited extensibility.
“"Preinstalled drives with RAID 1 redundancy out of the box"”
“"The fan can be "sometimes noisy""”
“"Getting the NAS operational in under 15 minutes"”
Professional reviewers praise the DS223 as an excellent entry-level NAS that delivers the core Synology experience at a competitive price, but note the single 1 GbE port, lack of SSD caching, and insufficient hardware for transcoding or virtualization.
Everyday users consistently commend the straightforward setup, dependable operation, and quiet fan, while complaints focus on limited network speed, absence of SSD caching, and the cap on maximum drive capacity.
