CONCLUSION

   QNAP, ASUSTOR, Thecus and Synology may be considered to be the leading NAS manufacturers in the world but companies like Seagate also have a good piece of the pie and after testing the NAS Pro 6-Bay DP6 we know exactly why that is. You may miss out on some features like an HDMI video output and the wealth of applications offered by models made by the mentioned manufacturers but at the same time you are getting a device designed by the same manufacturer as the hard drives inside and that alone is enough to guarantee 100% compatibility. On top of that add the extremely easy to navigate and use NAS OS 4 again developed by Seagate and you’ve got yourself what is clearly one of the fastest, almost silent and easy to use 6-Bay desktop NAS models in the market. The DP6 however has some drawbacks like the mentioned lack of an HDMI video output but most significantly the zero upgradability. This may not be really a drawback since the NAS OS 4 is not heavy and we did record excellent data transfer speeds but still 2GB of DDR3 RAM may not be enough to some people (you may be able to replace the default RAM with a larger capacity SO-DIMM module but we didn’t try it). A smaller drawback is the cooling efficiency of the single 120mm fan used which although quite silent it doesn’t do a great job in cooling the HDDs mounted inside (although 47 degrees at load is well within safe levels).

   We already mentioned that the NAS Pro 6-Bay DP6 is currently available in 5 different versions but the diskless (STDF200) and 24TB (STDF24000200) versions currently retail for USD599/USD1599 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 479Euros/1668.99Euros inside the EU (Amazon.de). The diskless version we all agree that it’s priced very well and we even consider it a catch for people looking to get a NAS without multimedia capabilities. On the other hand however we were expecting slightly lower price tags for the 24TB versions since the 6 NAS HDD 4TB drives inside cost roughly USD900/1050Euros so Seagate could have obviously placed a more “tempting” price tag on them. Still the fact that Seagate checks each and every unit prior to leaving their factory means that you won’t experience any issues once you connect the NAS to your local network and to some people (especially businesses) that matters a lot. Overall we would like to see an HDMI output and multimedia capabilities in upcoming models by Seagate but even if that never comes to pass there’s still a specific target audience for such models and since the NAS Pro 6-Bay DP6 is very fast, extremely easy to use, has room for up to 6 drives and is priced just right it gets our Golden Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Excellent Performance
- 6 Tool-Free Drive Trays
- LCD Screen
- NAS OS 4 (Very Easy To Use)
- Noise Levels
- Models With Preinstalled Drives (100% Compatibility Tested)
- Price (For Some)

CONS

- No HDMI Output
- 2GB DDR3 Ram Fixed
- Number Of Available Applications
- HDD Cooling