QNAP TS-219P II Turbo NAS Review

Performance Analysis

During our performance testing, the QNAP TS-219P II proved to be very quiet, although the 70cm fan isn't as adept at remaining unnoticed in your living room as the huge 92mm model on the Synology DS211+. Even so, it's one of the quietest we've tested and shouldn't interrupt movie viewing. You're also able to adjust the fan speed profile in the operating system - a handy feature if you're finding it to be a little too loud. With hard disk temperature monitoring thrown in too, fine tuning the noise/cooling ratio will be a simple task.


Speed-wise, the QNAP TS-219P II was, overall, extremely fast, keeping up with the fastest examples we've tested. In the large file read test - dealing with 5GB of large video files, it recorded a speed of 86MB/s - second only to the Thecus N2200XXX and double the speed of the original QNAP TS-219P. Writing the same files was a similar story - its speed of 66.8MB/sec was beaten only by the Thecus and was miles ahead of the QNAP TS-219P, which only managed 27MB/sec.

In the small file tests, however, in which it deals with 5GB of photos, documents and other clutter, the QNAP TS-219P II wasn't quite up there, performing similarly to its predecessor. It recorded a read speed of 20MB/sec - less than half that of the Thecus, although only a couple of MB/sec off the pace of the latest examples from Synology. Writing the files saw it claw back some ground, though, with its speed of 22.9MB/sec claiming fourth place, behind the premium Synology products, the DS211+ and DS210+, and the Thecus. Meanwhile, in terms of power consumption with our single test hard disk installed, the unit drew 15W from the wall at peak, dropping to 11W at idle.


Conclusion
The TS-219P II is another classic NAS from QNAP, and one that doesn't disappoint. It's well made and feels more like a product you'd expect for the price than previous models. Plus, while QNAP hasn't added a great deal to its operating system, it still boasts the same fantastic ease of use, coupled with links to forums and user guides, which makes the TS-219P II one of the best introductions to the world of NAS boxes.

Its price is steep, of course - at nearly £300, many will no doubt claim that a cheap PC would be a better option, especially as the QNAP TS-219P II comes unpopulated, and a couple of 2TB hard disks will add around another £100. However, the QNAP TS-219P II ticks practically all the boxes as far as BitTorrent, media streaming and other features are concerned, and the addition of Squeezebox server support gives it even greater appeal. Its speeds are what you'd expect from a high-end dual-bay NAS too - it wasn't all-conquering, despite its beefy spec, but it was rarely far from the top of the tables.

As it stands, the QNAP TS-219P II is good, but not great. If you're using powerline adaptors, the chances are that the additional speed it offers simply won't benefit you, in which case we suggest looking at the cheaper Synology DS210+. Given the choice of a high-end NAS box, Synology's DS211+ also has a sizeable edge in terms of cooling, noise and speed. While the QNAP was slightly ahead in the large file tests, the Synology cleaned up in the small file tests and costs the same amount of money too. However, if you're new to NAS boxes, and you're looking for a sturdy and easy-to-use NAS that offers decent performance, then the QNAP TS-219P II is still a solid choice.