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NAS drives have been more than just a depository for files for some time with manufacturers adding more and more features, turning them over time from mere storage devices to powerful multifunctional devices. With the TVS-473, QNAP has given us a strong hint as to where NAS design and function might be heading in the not too distant future.
The feature list reads more like a desktop PC than a storage vehicle; powerful quad cored SoC with decent integrated graphics, four DDR4 memory slots, support for SSD caching, M.2 SSD support, hardware-assisted 4K video decoding and encoding and by using the PCIe slots, 1oGbE network connectivity.
QNAP quote throughput figures on their website for the TVS-473 as up to a massive 1035MB/s for reads and 644MB/s for writes for a 10GB file transfer, but as they say the devil is in the detail. These figures are achieved by using a 10Gbe NIC and four SSDs. Using the four Seagate drives that came pre-installed and a single NIC, the NAS showed a very consistent level of performance in the ATTO benchmark never deviating from the 118-119MB/s mark for reads and writes regardless of the array the drives were built in.
The latest 4.3 version of QNAP's QTS OS improves on what was already one of the better NAS operating systems around. The most important of these improvements is a move to a 64-bit architecture but there is a 64-bit compatibility tool you can download from the QNAP website if you are running 32-bit applications and are not sure if they are supported.
Amongst other tweaks and refreshes, the Control Panel has had a revamp so it now provides more information and is easier to use, as is the Resource Manager which has had a polish so now it too is easier to navigate around to get the information you require. System warnings and other alerts are now available without logging into the NAS via a variety of means; SMS, email, browser pop-ups and voice alerts.
We found the QNAP TVS-473-16G configured with four Seagate 2TB NAS disks as QNAP sent it to us for £1,568.40 inc VAT at Span.com HERE.
Discuss on our Facebook page, over HERE.
Pros
- Hardware specification
- QTS OS
- Futureproof potential
Cons
- Expensive
Kitguru says: The QNAP TVS-473 is a powerful NAS for either home or small business and with its PCI-e slots and M.2 SSD support it also offers a good degree of future proofing in both storage and connectivity functions.
Scrolled down to the comments expecting to see the chap who trawls the internet to post his negative story on QNAP C&P’ing his woe but he’s not made it yet.
*waits*
I feel like I’ve been waiting forever for a proper review of this device—so it’s great to see your review (and that you rate it!) 🙂
I really like the TVS-x82 series with it’s dedicated SSD (and M.2) slots, but couldn’t justify the price. Although still expensive, at least this is somewhat cheaper yet still has M.2 slots for caching etc. Nice compromise, imo. The R7 graphics are also interesting.
well I have this and I’m getting only 33mb transfer speed
What is the frame rate of the the graphics chipset? I know the TVS-471 was 30 FPS so I am hoping this is markedly better and therefore better suited to also serve as a media center on top of separately being a media server.
Also which memory configuration did you end up getting, 8 GB, 16 GB, or 64 GB? Does QNAP take the cheap way out and populate all 4 SODIMM slots with the smallest possible RAM modules possible for each system memory size which thereby forces you to replace all four SODIMMs when you come around and upgrade them? Or, are they civilized and only use two of the four available SODIMM slots so you can simply add 2 more SODIMMs without wasting any RAM?
Using the built in File Station app, I got 100+mb rates from NAS to NAS.