Asustor

[Enquiries]

I have a Synology DS920+ with 4-8TB drives in a SHR configuration which I use for a media server with LAN and WAN connections up to 1080p (maybe 4k in the future). At most I have 2-3 family users active at one time. It's kind of a hobby for me. I would like a 6 bay so I can have a hot spare but that is not required. I am considering getting another brand to toy with and maybe move away from Synology since they removed video station and almost dropped support for 3rd party drives. The best management software seems to be Asustor. I am considering the Asustor AS5404T or a Lockerstor Gen 2. Do you have a recommendation? Thank you.

[ed]

That setup sounds great, and you’re absolutely right Asustor has become one of the better alternatives to Synology lately, especially with their ADM software catching up in usability and flexibility.

Between the AS5404T and the Lockerstor Gen 2 (AS6704T), the better choice depends on what you want out of it:
• The AS5404T uses the Intel Celeron N5105, which is excellent for media servers. It has built-in hardware transcoding for 1080p and even light 4K Plex streams, supports NVMe cache, and has dual 2.5GbE ports. It’s a very efficient home and hobby system.
• The Lockerstor Gen 2 (AS6704T) bumps up the CPU and memory support (up to 16GB), offers HDMI 2.0b out, and a more mature platform overall. It’s slightly faster in multitasking, virtualization, and docker workloads, so it’s better if you plan to expand beyond basic Plex and file hosting.

Both systems support full third-party drives and easy drive swaps, unlike Synology’s newer models.

If your main goal is a Plex or multimedia server with some future headroom, the AS6704T Gen 2 is the safer and more capable pick. If you only want something compact and efficient for day-to-day media use, the AS5404T gives you nearly the same experience at a lower price.