01-08-2026, 04:20 PM
You’re absolutely right that the DS224+ is not a meaningful upgrade from the DS220+. Both units use almost identical Intel Celeron chips, and in real-world use you wouldn’t see any improvement in Home Assistant performance, VM responsiveness, or Surveillance Station.
If your goal is specifically faster Home Assistant VM performance while keeping your existing 4TB drives, then the first model that gives a real upgrade is the DS725+ (formerly DS723+). It uses a Ryzen-based CPU, which is far more capable for virtual machines, automation workloads, and heavier indexing. You can move your drives directly into a DS725+ with no issues.
If you want even more headroom, especially with 5 cameras and Plex, the DS1525+ is a very comfortable long-term jump. Same Ryzen platform, more bays for future expansion, and much better multitasking when running HA, Plex and Surveillance Station together.
If your goal is specifically faster Home Assistant VM performance while keeping your existing 4TB drives, then the first model that gives a real upgrade is the DS725+ (formerly DS723+). It uses a Ryzen-based CPU, which is far more capable for virtual machines, automation workloads, and heavier indexing. You can move your drives directly into a DS725+ with no issues.
If you want even more headroom, especially with 5 cameras and Plex, the DS1525+ is a very comfortable long-term jump. Same Ryzen platform, more bays for future expansion, and much better multitasking when running HA, Plex and Surveillance Station together.