THE TS-453MINI-8G

For a 4 Bay NAS model the 2kg heavy glossy enclosure of the TS-453Mini is quite compact and measures just 200mm in height, 210mm in depth and 151mm in width.

Some people will like the plastic enclosure of the TS-453Mini while others will probably like the plastic and aluminum enclosure of the rest of the QNAP NAS line.

At the top end of the fascia we find the IR sensor, power LED, drive activity LEDs, LAN activity LED, USB activity LED and the blue Skyline LED indicator.

The power on/off switch, one-touch backup button and a USB 3.0 port are placed on the lower end of the fascia.

You can start the installation of the unit just by scanning the 2D barcode found on the left side.

The rest is all gathered at the rear of the enclosure so here we find the DC in port, two USB 2.0 ports, reset button, two RJ45 LAN ports, two USB 3.0 ports and the HDMI v1.4a port.

Turning the unit over we see 4 quite tall rubber feet.

If you get the 4GB version you can add more memory through this compartment (our sample came with two 4GB modules).

Mounting the drives is very easy since the top cover is kept in place via 4 small magnets.

All four drive trays can be removed just by pulling upwards.

Quality wise these may not be made out of aluminum like we've seen in the past in other models by QNAP but they are very sturdy.

2.5" drives require to be secured on the trays with screws but for 3.5" drives you just need to remove the side brackets, mount the drive and place the brackets back in.

With all 4 drives mounted we're good to go.

Oh worth mentioning is the IR remote which can be very useful if you don't want to use a keyboard and a mouse.