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Stripping the QNAP TS-419P II Turbo NAS from its packaging, I was surprised by how much it resembles the older TS-412, in fact it is identical in design. The unit measures a fairly modest 23.5cm long, 18.0cm wide and 17.7cm tall -- the same dimensions shared by all current QNAP 4-bay NAS devices designed for 3.5" hard drives. Without drives installed, the TS-419P II weighs 3.0kg, making it a bit heavier than the Synology DS411.
The black front and aluminum chassis gives it a very sleek and professional look. You'll immediately get the impression that it's worth quite a lot of money -- and you'd be right. Although it's designed to be a budget NAS, with an asking price of $490 the TS-419P II is still certainly a luxury item for most home users.
Like all good NAS devices, the TS-419P II allows drives to be hot-swapped during operation. The use of individual, detachable 3.5-inch hard drive trays makes adding or removing storage capacity a breeze. The security-conscious should know that the bays can't be locked so drives can be removed at any time.
Each drive also has its own activity and power light on the front of the case, while status, LAN and USB LED indicators sit on top. The TS-419P II’s power button resides on the bottom left and glows blue when active, and there's a USB 2.0 port below it for easy data transfers from portable storage devices.
A useful feature found on the front of the TS-419P II Turbo NAS is called Touch-N-Go PC-less Installation. Using a clever little LCD screen the user is able to complete the first time installation in three simple steps. This LCD screen can then later be programmed to display other useful information.
The rear of the TS-419P II Turbo NAS bears a single 120mm fan grill, a power plug and several connectors, including a single USB 2.0 port, two USB 3.0 ports, dual LAN ports and dual eSATA ports. The inclusion of eSATA as well as USB 3.0 is greatly welcomed and we consider it an essential feature for all NAS devices, regardless of their price tag. |
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