QNAP TVS-x63 (TVS-463-8GB): AMD Powered NAS

Conclusion

QNAP has alway know how to design a NAS that fits the need of the enthusiasts and the average consumers. Not only that the TVS-x63 is one of the prettiest NAS on the market with its gold metallic look, it is also packed plenty of features. QNAP high-end NAS has always been aesthetic pleasing with its metal body but the gold finish on the TVS-x63 is just stunning. Clearly, QNAP’s plan with the NAS is not just a little box that you toss to the corner of the room but the all-in-one system that compliments everything you own. And the good looks on the TVS-463 certainly helps to get the unit fit into your living room decor.

Of course, look can only get you so far if it is not packed with enough power house to satisfy the demand of the enthusiasts. Luckily, QNAP is not crippling the TVS-x63 at the hardware level. Being the first NAS with the AMD SoC, the performance of the unit is very good thanks to the quad core processor and the Radeon GPU. Taking the advantage of the more powerful x86 processor over the the ARM, the TVS-x63 is capable of keeping up with whatever you are throwing it. The transfer speed is very fast for the single client mode and even with encryption, the unit is still able to keep up with the performance without any issue. The unit is also packed with 5 USB 3.0 ports, dual Gigabit ethernet ports, dual HDMI ports, and front panel LCD that not only delivers information about the unit but also can be used to configure the unit. In addition, it has the ability to expand via PCIE add-on card for aggregating 4 gigabit ethernet ports or add a dual 10-GB Ethernet ports. Not only that there is easy to access memory slot that can support up to 16GB of RAM.

Software features and the user interface is yet another strength for QNAP. The latest QTS continues to be easy to use. It is even more user-friendly to the mobile devices and touch-based devices. NAS is packed with a lot of features and functionalities but QNAP’s software UI is simple for average users to understand and use. Yet there are plenty of advanced features that would satisfy enthusiasts and business users. The QvPC, hardware assisted transcoding, Virtual machine turns the NAS into more than just simply a file server. It turns the NAS into a secondary PC, a media server/streaming device, or a powerful productivity system. QNAP also compliments the unit with useful mobile Apps so that you can access and manage contents on the NAS on your mobile device not just locally but also remotely. The fact that unit supports 4K display via HDMI is another plus albeit its limitation where it will not able to playback or transcode 4K contents.

The only issues I can see with the TVS-463 would be its higher power consumption. While it is not terrible, it is just not as efficient as what Intel or ARM’s offering. In addition, QNAP’s Smart fan profile for the NAS that optimize for low noise-level over temperature could means that our system runs a bit hotter despite its near silent operation. Luckily this is an easy fix by manually adjust the fan profile and while the internal components dos run hot, it does not cause overheating in our testing environment.

We are glad to see AMD entering the NAS market. NAS has been dominated by ARM for the low-end and Intel for the high-end. With AMD enters the market, there should be more competition. With the TVS-x63, QNAP essentially created a new high-end NAS for small business and home server without the high price tag. The TVS-463 that we have here today is retailed about $750 (Amazon), which is about $100 to $200 cheaper than other units with similar features. It would be hard to find a NAS wish similar performance and features that is equal to the TVS-463.