Manufacturer: Synology Price: $ 430/$ 310 US Author: Steve Date: 11/20/2012

[ Introduction ]

Today we have the new Synology DS213+ and DS213air on the test bed, which were the first 2-bay models to be released in the x13 series. The DS213+ features similar hardware to the recently reviewed DS413, while the DS213air follows in the DS413j’s footsteps... Just three months ago now Synology began rolling out their latest DSx13 series of NAS servers when they unveiled the DS213+ ($430) on August 24th and then a few days later the DS213 ($320). Both are feature-rich 2-bay NAS servers that support the latest Synology DiskStation Manager software. The more expensive DS213+ model boasts a 1067MHz dual-core Freescale processor with 512MB of memory using a 64-bit wide bus. The cheaper DS213 uses a higher clocked 2.0GHz processor, though it only features a single-core and supports just a 16-bit wide memory bus, though it is loaded with 512MB of memory. Synology then went on to develop the DS213air which was announced on October 2nd. The DS213air is yet another 2-bay NAS from the x13 series, though this is the first model to support built-in Wi-Fi for home and small office users. The DS213air is only slightly more expensive than the DS213 at $330, though it does feature a few hardware downgrades as the processor frequency has been reduced from 2.0GHz to just 1.6GHz, while the memory capacity has been halved. Still for home users the added convenience of being able to access the DS213air wirelessly could be a handy feature worth sacrificing the extra horse power of the DS213 for. With $100 separating the DS213+ and DS213air we are keen to see how they compare in terms of performance and more importantly how they stack up against the recently reviewed $490 QNAP TS-269L.

Table of Contents >>> Introduction <<< Synology DS213+ Synology DS213air DiskStation Manager 4.1 Installation Test System & Power Consumption Benchmarks: File Download Performance Benchmarks: File Upload Performance Benchmarks: File Copy Performance Benchmarks: CrystalDiskMark 3.0 Benchmarks: Atto Disk Benchmark Conclusion Next Page ->

ProX	Posted on: 12/04/2012 08:52 AM I like the idea of the DS213air it could replace a fair bit of crap on my network. I hope Synology makes a similar 4 bay model.

Davie

Posted on: 12/16/2012 03:45 AM I agree the air is a good idea and I can see this being a standard feature amongst NAS devices.

LevelUp

Posted on: 12/16/2012 06:56 AM I just bought one of these and for the most part its great. The classic Synology user interface is great and works well. However its a little slower than I was expecting which is disappointing. Thanks for the review, I should have read it earlier.

Techie

Posted on: 12/29/2012 07:57 AM I bought myself the DS213air for Christmas and I am very pleased. I was tempted to get the DS213+ based on this review but the air is good enough for my needs.

Choka

Posted on: 12/30/2012 10:11 PM I picked up the air for just under $300 - Bargain!

Nemos

Posted on: 12/31/2012 11:38 AM but can you upgrade the memory of the ds213+?

ProX	Posted on: 01/06/2013 10:03 AM Nemos I don't think you can upgrade the memory in these 2-bay models, though the review was not clear on this.

Hajo	Posted on: 01/12/2013 06:55 PM I like this review very much, however I think that regarding WLAN capabilities it is misleading. According to the technical data, this device has 802.11n with 2T2R antennas, making up for 300 Mbit/s with suitable clients, not only 54 Mbit/s, which would be 802.11g.