Buffalo TeraStation TS3420R
Score: 74/100
Terramaster T9-500 Pro
Score: 87/100Rankings

A 9-bay desktop NAS powered by an Intel i7-1255U, dual 10 GbE, and up to 216 TB raw capacity, targeting creative professionals and SMBs needing high throughput and flexible RAID.
A secure, rack-mountable 4-bay NAS with built-in drives, 2.5 GbE networking and strong encryption, aimed at small offices and home labs, but constrained by modest memory and lack of performance-enhancing features.
| Attribute | Buffalo TeraStation TS3420R | ![]() |
|---|---|---|
32 TB | 216 TBbest | |
4 | 9best | |
2.5 Gbps | 10 Gbpsbest | |
— | 10best | |
1 GB | 16 GBbest | |
| ↓ lower better | 100 Wbest | — |
3 yearsbest | 2 years | |
| ↓ lower better | 7.7 kgbest | — |
Click an attribute name to sort · Green = best, red = worst (relative to this comparison)
| Attribute | Buffalo TeraStation TS3420R | ![]() |
|---|---|---|
Security(1) | ||
OS Compatibility | Windows, macOS, Linux | TOS 6 |
Performance(3) | ||
CPU Model | Annapurna Labs Alpine AL214 | Intel i7-1255U |
System Memory (GB) | 1 GB | 16 GB |
Ethernet Speed (Gbps) | 2.5 Gbps | 10 Gbps |
Build & Design(1) | ||
Warranty Period (years) | 3 years | 2 years |
Connectivity(1) | ||
USB Ports | 2 | 4 |
Storage & Capacity(4) | ||
Maximum Raw Capacity (TB) | 32 TB | 216 TB |
Drive Bays | 4 | 9 |
RAID Support | RAID 0,1,5,6,10,JBOD | RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, TRAID, TRAID+ |
Supported Drive Types | 3.5" SATA III | SATA |

Products in the top-left offer the best value (high score, low price).
Professional reviewers view the TeraStation Essentials as a solid, security-focused NAS that delivers enterprise-grade features at a modest price, highlighting its built-in drives, 2.5 GbE port and comprehensive warranty, while noting the omission of iSCSI, failover and SSD caching as trade-offs for its lower cost.
Everyday users praise the device for its straightforward, out-of-the-box setup, reliable support and robust security, but commonly express concerns about limited memory, the default RAID5 capacity reduction and the lack of performance-enhancing features such as SSD cache or 10 GbE.

Professional reviewers commend the T9-500 Pro for its high-end Intel i7 processor, dual 10 GbE ports, and metal chassis, noting enterprise-level performance, while pointing out the diskless nature and less mature TOS 6 UI.
Everyday users rave about blazing transfer speeds over 10 GbE and easy RAID configuration, but note fan noise, a learning curve with TOS, and the need to buy drives separately.
“Pre-configured RAID5 with four 2 TB drives for immediate plug-and-play deployment”
“Only 1 GB DDR3 RAM may limit performance under heavy concurrent access”
“Hybrid cloud integration with Amazon S3, Dropbox, Azure and OneDrive”