Let’s face it, the CPU+Mmeory combo is one of the biggest and earliest reasons that many users have been comparing the DS720+ and DS723+, as Synology surprised all of us with its choice of internal hardware in their latest diskstation release. To give you a little bit of history, Synology has always (well, for at least a decade or so) presented the plus series of 2-Bay and 4-Bay solutions with an Intel x86 processor with integrated graphics on board (i.e an extra component that is designed to be better suited to graphical data tasks, rather than use the normal/typical power of the processor as a whole. Indeed, the Synology DS720+ NAS arrives with exactly that, an Intel Celeron J4125 Processor, 4 Cores, 2.0Ghz frequency that can be burst when needed upto 2.7Ghz and on-board Integrated graphics. At the time of release, this was pretty much the ‘main’ Intel Celeron that was in use in the NAS market and provided an excellent middle ground between cost vs power vs efficiency in a NAS (other brands providing the same). So, when discussions of a follow up to the DS720+ were beginning to be raised, many (myself included) assumed it would be another Intel Celeron inside (originally hypothesizing the N5105 or J6412). However, the confirmed CPU inside the DS723+ is the AMD Embedded Ryzen R1600, Dual Core, 2.6Ghz frequency that can be burst when needed to 3.1Ghz.

Moving away from the CPU, we CAN talk about one thing that is likely to arrive onboard the Synology DS723+ NAS – potential 10GbE support. Now, before we get too excited, it’s really important to highlight that this would be delivered via an OPTIONAL single 10G Copper (10GBASE-T) module. The DS723+ will almost certainly arrive with 1GbE network ports, which will definitely disappoint some users who were hoping that 2022/2023 would be when Synology finally adopts 2.5GbE – especially when 2.5GbE is available on the Synology Router, arriving on many ISP routers, value routers, switches and more. It is not totally out of the question that Synology will surprise us and integrate 2.5GbE into this system, but realistically, they have been pretty clear about how little interest they have in it and I think they would see optional 10G on the DS723+ as a far more palatable choice – even on a comparatively bandwidth light 2x SATA bay system like this. 2.5G is now more than a fad in 2022. As greater than gigabit internet connectivity is becoming increasingly common (even ‘affordable’), so the thought that a NAS has the potential to be capped at 1GbE (109MB/s) when a particularly well-connected internet cloud service could exceed that is pretty disheartening. Still, the option of 10GbE would be very welcome, though in this case. some might wonder why they didn’t just roll this in and increase the DS723+ NAS price a fraction. Overall, the software support in DSM on the DS723+ is going to be very good and the depth of the hardware available means that although it will be a pinch less suitable for highly graphical tasks, it DOES have alot more capability in file handling and transmission – which is precisely what Synology want for this device and makes it increasingly appealing to traditional storage users. Equally, the architecture of this CPU inside the DS723+ allows its resources to be spread a great deal further (threads and simultaneous tasks) towards using the full range of services that DSM includes. The cloud/hybrid services too will greatly benefit form this architecture too and once again mean that this Synology NAS will bring a tremendous sense/feeling of ‘local’ storage to this network/remote server. Finally, it is worth highlighting that the DS723+ and it’s R1600 CPU benefit form more PCI lanes at PCIe3 rather than the PCIe2 of it’s predecessor, with allows better bandwidth availability to the hardware resources onboard (such as those m.2 NVMe bays) The Synology DS723+ NAS – Release Date and Price? I, too, am awaiting a new Synology box that provides 4 or 5 discs with at least one 2.5Gbs network connection and a processor/GPU configuration that supports fast video decoding. Without that option, I have no need to upgrade. Synology’s focus is not on multimedia so I look to the near future with doubt. Perhaps Intel will eventually create new devices with this market in mind. This new unit delivers impressive performance and capability for its size," said Michael Wang, Product Manager at Synology. "With its extremely compact form factor, it will certainly appeal to those that have smaller storage requirements but don't want to give up on the convenience of centralized storage and the possibility to scale in the future." Storage platform with expandability options

Synology has you covered

When it comes to Hard Drive compatibility, the compatibility lists of the DS723+ and DS720+ are a little different. The DS720+ features several more compatibility drives (eg the likes of the WD Red 14TB Red Pro or Seagate Ironwolf Pro) that do not appear on R1600-powered 22/23 gene systems like the DS1522+. Now the DS723+ full HDD/SSD compatibility list is still unavailable, but newer generation devices from Synology released in the 2022 series and afterwards have been having an odd habit of not listing many 3rd party drives above 16/18TB (including their own HAT5300 drives and 3rd party Surveillance drives such as WD Purple and Skyhawk, and the enterprise tiered drives). Now, the argument could easily be that testing and certification are not full completed yet, but there is no avoiding that, as it stands, the DS720+ is seemingly compatible with more drive types. We have performed ALOT of tests on the DS1522+ (same architecture as the DS723+ and DS923+, but 5 Bays) with WD Red/Gold 18TB, 20TB and 22TB drives and found them to work perfectly, yet they do not feature on a compatibility list, so when you install them in your DSM 7.1 (DSM 7.2 in Q1 2023), you might see a brief alert from your system about using non-compatible drives on your Synology. Again, this is a very small point and every possibility that it will iron out in the messaging from the brand as the DS723+ establishes itself, but it is certainly a point worth highlighting. The Synology DS723+ vs DS720+ NAS – Ports and Connections Synology Moments – Manage your photos and videos with deep-learning algorithms that automatically group photos with similar faces, subjects, and places. With the DS723+, Synology is solidifying its position in the home category. Between the DS1522+, DS923+, and now the DS723+, there's a good selection of servers targeted at home users, and the best part is that they share the same Ryzen R1600 hardware, making the purchasing decision a little easy. The DS923+ and DS723+ have the added benefit of utilizing the M.2 slots for storage, and that is a huge deal — considering just how long it took the brand to roll it out. Creating M.2 storage pools requires the use of Synology-verified SSDs, which are rigorously tested under extreme temperature conditions. Thermal parameters for SSDs and NAS units are fine-tuned to ensure optimal management of thermal conditions under I/O-intensive environments. ( Learn more) The continued moves by Synology to prioritize 1st party hardware and software services may put some users off

Both NAS are completely compatible with Windows, Android and Mac systems, as well as acting as a bring between software platforms to share and distribute files for migration and file sync (with improvements in newer DSM 7 recently for Mac Finder file streaming and file pinning

Get extra protection with Extended Warranty Plus

Hybrid cloud capabilities provided by Synology Hybrid Share allow users to merge the benefits of on-premises and cloud by storing cold data in the cloud while keeping frequently accessed files cached on the local device for access at LAN speeds. The AMD Emb.Ryzen instead of a Intel Celeron (with Integrated Graphics) will be a dealbreaker for alot of users

Both are multi-bay, RAID enabled devices NAS devices that support JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1 and SHR (Synology Hybrid RAID), as well as supporting the very latest SATA based Hard Drives from brands like WD Red, Seagate Ironwolf, Western Digital UltraStar and Seagate EXOs media. Though the full extent of compatibility of the latest 20TB and 22TB HDDs varies officially Such absolutely pointless decisions on their part. Ah well. I should have held off longer and waited for a USB 4 storage option as this unit is a complete and utter disappointment! Passive airflow is definitely a big focus on the design of this chassis, with almost every side of the case featuring ventilation of one sort of around, with the Synology logo being vented. As this system will be in operation 24×7, it is heavily reliant on the rear fans to push air effectively through the system and over the assortment of internal heatsinks as effectively as possible and this chassis does that very well indeed. The Diskstation series at the 2/4 Bay level has always done a great job of melding modern design with necessary system temperature management and the DS723+ is no exception. I’ve been using Synology NAS for 11 years on a 1Gb/sec wired network and am a Plex user. I’ve experimented with various setups to maximize 4K video delivery to various output sizes, as in iPad/iPhone, PC/Mac, 4K smart TV and 1080p projector. Any time a 4K video had to be transcoded to another size, the Synology CPU was buried. By one user. I found out that the Apple TV 4K also performs transcoding of 4K input to match the display it’s connected to. So the server no longer needs to perform the transcoding (unless I’m on my iPhone/iPad, which requires transcoding, and it isn’t pretty)! This means that the Synology NAS needs less processor cores/speed (in most cases) when transmitting video media. The external connectivity of the Synology DS723+ and DS720+ NAS are, at least on day 1, near enough IDENTICAL! Both arrive with two-gigabit ethernet connections (a little disappointing in 2022/2023, but lets move on), two USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gb/s) ports for storage and supported accessories and an eSATA port that is used for attaching the official Synology DX517 expansion chassis (mentioned earlier). Now, after that, we can discuss the big, BIG difference between the DS723+ and DS92+ NAS: How do the Synology DS720+ and DS723+ NAS Compare in their Ports and Connections? NAS ModelI have always been a big fan of the Synology Diskstation chassis for it’s minimalistic, yet attractive and efficient design. The absence of a USB copy button still irks me a little and the largely plastic design is not going to be to everyone’s taste, but you cannot fault the amount of R&D that has gone into the construction here. Let’s discuss the ports and connectivity of the DS723+ NAS. Seagate drives have been tested up to a capacity of 12TB. This included Skyhawk and Ironwolf drives.