Introduction

We would like to thank QNAP for supplying the review sample.



The TS-453B comes with an OLED screen and a pair of capacitive buttons at its face, but hides more than meets the eye. Inside it is a spare PCIe slot that can accommodate QNAP's QM2 expansion card. There are four versions of this card: the QM2-2S, QM2-2P, QM2-2S10G1T, and QM2-2P10G1T. The most advanced QM2 expansion card offers dual M.2 SSD slots and 10GbE connectivity, which adds incredibly fast M.2 cache and the possibility of 10GbE connectivity with the network to the unit.

The TS-453B doesn't look like any of QNAP's older servers, including the TS-453A. By utilizing both Gigabit Ethernet ports, this NAS can achieve over 200 MB/s read and write (download/upload) speeds, and because of the Intel Celeron J3455 quad-core CPU, which supports the AES-NI instruction set, QNAP states even encrypted file transfers to exceed 200 MB/s speeds. This is something we will test for using our own tools and methodology, but this CPU does in fact support AES-NI, which will have it perform much better than CPUs without the support for the instruction set.

Specifications

A quad-core Intel Celeron J3455 is the brains of the NAS. The TDP of this CPU is only 10 W, so it doesn't need active cooling, which means less noise. This CPU supports up to 8 GB, and there are two versions of the TS-453B, one with 4 GB and another with 8 GB pre-installed. The problem with the 4 GB version, which we had, is that it uses 2x 2 GB SODIMMs, which means you can't use any of these SODIMMs if you want to upgrade the server's memory total since there are only two memory slots.

The TS-453B is equipped with numerous I/O ports, including five USB 3.0, two HDMI 1.4b, a pair of Gigabit Ethernet, and audio input/output, and there's even a free PCIe x2 slot you could use to install fast M.2 SSDs and a 10 Gbit Ethernet port for lighting fast network transfer speeds (provided you have a compatible network switch of course). This NAS also packs an IR receiver, and QNAP threw a compatible remote control into the bundle to make sure you can take full advantage of the server's multimedia capabilities. Lastly, a small OLED screen also equips the TS-453B. This is an extra some users might find useful since it provides access to some controls right at the face of the NAS.

The server's dimensions are compact since an external power brick with a capacity of 90 W is used, which is easily enough. Cooling is handled by a single 120 mm fan QNAP says to only produce 18.8 dBA while spinning at its lowest speed setting. The provided warranty is again two years long and both TS-453B models are priced quite stiffly; however, do take into account that you aren't just paying for the hardware, but the software and support QNAP provides along with this product.

Packaging

The box is large and looks to be sturdy enough to protect the NAS well. There is a large sticker at the front of the box that depicts the TS453B's features and technical details, along with its model number and amount of RAM.

Contents & Bundle

The product is well protected inside the box.


The bundle includes two Ethernet cables, a set of screws for mounting the drives onto the trays, the quick installation guide, a remote control, and the power adapter.


The power adapter is made by Delta Electronics, so we expect it to be of very high quality. Its model number is DPS-90AB-3, and it can deliver up to 90 W of power (7.5 A with 12 V output).

Exterior

The NAS server's externals have nothing in common with those of the TS-453A. We like this new external design, which is elegant and more home-oriented. At the face of the NAS are the power and copy buttons, USB 3.0 and USB Type-C ports, a small OLED screen, and two capacitive buttons.


The front-bay cover can easily be removed.


A sticker on top of the NAS covers its HDD sequence.


The large sticker on the server's side holds the cloud key and instructions on how to initialize the NAS.


The server sits on four rubber feet.


You will find lots of I/O ports around the back. There are four USB 3.0 ports, two audio and two HDMI ports, a pair of Gigabit Ethernet ports, power input, and a Kensington lock. In the top-left corner is a cover for the PCIe expansion slot.


We removed all trays in order to install our disks.


Forget the quality metallic trays of the TS-453A - this one has lower quality plastic trays. There is also no sound-dampening material, which the trays for the TS-453A did include. Finally, although QNAP classifies this NAS as one for the SMB (small and medium-sized businesses) environment, the trays aren't equipped with locks, which are usually a must-have in business environments.

A Look Inside

Taking apart this NAS wasn't that difficult, but there is the ribbon cable of the OLED screen I had to be careful with.


Thankfully, upgrading the RAM is super easy - you don't have to remove any of the plastic casing's parts. You only need to take out the disk trays to access both RAM slots.


The chassis is made out of metal, which makes it pretty sturdy. As has already been mentioned, the casing is out of plastic.


Here's the mainboard's primary side. The filtering caps are provided by Chemi-Con polymer and Sanyo and are all polymer. Both of these brands are known for their high quality products, and we were pleased to see QNAP use reliable capacitors with such an expensive NAS.


The solder side of the board looks empty.


Let's start with the small OLED screen. A PIC microcontroller is used to control its functions.


There are two RAM slots at the front. With the TS-453B-4G, both RAM slots are occupied by DDR3L ADATA 1866 MHz SODIMMs.


The CPU is an Intel Celeron J3455 with four cores that run at 1.5 GHz and can burst to frequencies of 2.3 GHz. This CPU's TDP is only 10 W, so there is no need for active cooling. The small heatsink will do just fine without a fan. Intel's CPU supports up to 8 GB of memory and Intel's Quick Sync Video technology, which will allow this SOC to handle video conversions well.


Here is the BIOS IC.


An ASM1182e PCI express packet switch is there for the PCIe port, and an Asmedia ASM1442K controls the HDMI ports.


This is the board's flash memory. Its model number isTHGBMDG5D1LBAIL. It has a capacity of 4 GB and is provided by Toshiba.


In total, three Intel WGI210AT Ethernet controllers are used. Two of these are on the mainboard's solder side; the other two are on its primary side.


A SATA expansion card occupies this PCIe port. There is another free PCIe port for the expansion cards QNAP provides for this NAS.


Here is the PCIe expansion card that hosts all four SATA ports. On the SATA expansion card are two ASMedia ASM1062 Serial ATA repeaters, which are capable of a bandwidth of up to 6 Gbps.


An ITE IT8528 is used on the mainboard.


This is a Realtek RTL8153 Integrated 10/100/1000M Ethernet controller for USB applications.


The fan is by YS. Tech, and its model number is FD121225LB (120 mm, 12 V, 0.18 A, 1800 RPM, 73 CFM, 34 dBA, 80,000 h MTBF). It uses ball bearings and will, as such, last fairly long.

Initial Setup

There are two ways to initialize the setup procedure. The first is to type "start.qnap.com" into any browser on a client PC that is on the same network as the NAS once the hardware is ready and the NAS has been turned on. You will be asked to enter your cloud key after you have done so. Do and you will get to register the NAS by creating a myQNAPcloud account. You can also start the procedure in Qfinder itself.


You will now only have to follow through on the quick setup guide's steps.


Here is a summary of all of your setup choices.


Sit back and relax as your settings are being applied (and probably do something else while waiting for the setup to finish).


You will be given access to the login page after the NAS has been configured.