CONCLUSION

   The brand new TS-451+8G offers roughly the same performance and features as the TS-453Mini-8G which we reviewed a while back but does so by using up less power and producing lower noise levels (surprising since the TS-453Mini is advertised as the silent model). Sure it’s nothing special in terms of design, has 4 horizontal drive bays (not vertical and tool-free ones), two USB 3.0 ports (instead of 3) and it’s slightly larger and heavier but at the end of the day do these really matter that much? Well QNAP obviously seems to think so since they have both models in their inventory but for the majority of users out there I think the TS-451+8G will do just fine especially if it comes at a lower price tag. Now I still don’t know why the Surveillance Station is not available in the two QTS 4.2.1 Beta versions we used (I will ask our friends over at QNAP about that) but even at beta this version packs quite a few interesting features and so far we’ve experienced no problems with it (we’ve been using it with other QNAP NAS models as well).

   After checking online we found that the TS-451+8G retails for USD649 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and for 624Euros inside the EU (Amazon.co.uk) a price tag which places it right next to the TS-453Mini-8G which is roughly USD20/20Euros more expensive. With that in mind both models exchange blows so in the end chances are people will decide based on appearance rather than the number of available USB 3.0 ports. Regardless however both NAS models offer excellent performance levels with a plethora of features even most enthusiasts could ever hope to use and that’s why the TS-451+8G gets our Platinum Award.

PROS

- Build Quality
- Intel Celeron J1900 Quad Core CPU
- Excellent Performance
- Features
- 8GB DDR3L RAM (Our Sample)
- Bundled IR Remote
- Power Consumption / Noise Levels
- 2 Gigabit Ethernet Ports
- 2 USB 3.0 Ports & 2 USB 2.0 Ports
- HDMI v1.4a Output
- RAID 0/1/5/6/10/5 + Hot Spare
- SATA III (6Gb/s)
- QTS 4.2(.1) OS

CONS

- Surveillance Station Issue in QTS 4.2.1 Beta