Specifications

The NAS is equipped with Intel's Atom SoC CE5335 dual-core processor, which is clocked at 1.6 GHz. This processor is actually a SoC (System on a Chip) that features Hyper-Threading, an PowerVR SGX545 IGP (Integrated Graphics Processor), and a hardware H264 transcoder with hardware AES encryption. The H264 transcoder highly boosts the multimedia-streaming capabilities of the DS214play, allowing the unit to stream HD content with ease.

The DS214play comes with 1GB of RAM, which is enough for use at home. It can take up to two HDDs and supports the older and slower SATA II protocol and all RAID levels that can be created with two HDDs. The unit uses a single gigabit Ethernet port for networking, and while two Ethernet ports would have been nice, including another would have also increased cost. Most home users also won't bother with LACP (Link Aggregation Control Protocol) since it requires fairly specialized equipment to work properly. You had then better look at the DS214+ or high-end DS712+ if you need higher networking speeds with multiple clients connected.

Featuring several I/O ports, including two USB 3.0 and a single USB 2.0 port, the NAS also has an eSATA port and very useful SD card reader, which Synology tucked into the front. This NAS server's dimensions are pretty compact since it can only take two HDDs and because it isn't equipped with an internal PSU. It comes with an external power brick that can deliver up to 65 W instead. Considering its very low power consumption, the 65 W power brick is more than enough for the needs of the DS214play, and we believe that the same applies to the 92 mm cooling fan. Common to most NAS servers, this NAS only comes with a two-year warranty, and its price looks quite intimidating given the unit is meant for use at home—it is more expensive than any competing product with a similar feature set.