Synology DiskStation DS925+ Review

After spending few weeks with Synology’s latest 4-bay NAS, the DiskStation DS925+, the device brings welcome hardware improvements to the company’s popular Plus series, but introduces some limitations on the hard drive compatibility front which may prove to be a deal breaker for some. Read on as we go into detail of this latest release by Synology.

Hardware: A Substantial Upgrade

The DS925+ represents a significant hardware refresh over its predecessor. At its core sits the AMD Ryzen V1500B, a quad-core, eight-thread processor running at 2.2 GHz. This CPU, previously found only in Synology’s enterprise-class models like the DS1621+ and DS1821+, brings superior multi-tasking capabilities to the 4-bay segment. While it operates at a lower base clock than the dual-core R1600 found in the DS923+, the doubled core count and threads deliver substantially better performance for virtualization, Docker containers, and concurrent file operations.

Benchmark comparisons show the V1500B delivers approximately 47% higher multi-core performance over the R1600, despite a 28% deficit in single-thread performance. According to Synology’s internal benchmarks, the DS925+ achieves impressive performance gains over its predecessor:

• Download speeds are 146.23% faster, increasing from 113.01 MB/s to 278.26 MB/s
• Upload speeds are 40.01% faster, increasing from 112.64 MB/s to 157.71 MB/s

The V1500B also runs cooler with a 16W TDP compared to the R1600’s 25W, resulting in quieter operation and lower power consumption.

Another major improvement comes with networking. The DS925+ finally receives dual 2.5GbE ports, supporting Link Aggregation and SMB Multichannel for combined throughput up to 5Gbps. This addresses one of the most glaring shortcomings of previous generations, which stubbornly clung to gigabit Ethernet long after competitors embraced multi-gigabit connectivity. With these networking upgrades, the system achieves up to 522 MB/s sequential read speed and 565 MB/s sequential write speed.

Memory configuration starts with 4GB of DDR4 ECC RAM pre-installed, expandable to 32GB via two SODIMM slots. The ECC support is welcome for data integrity, though the base 4GB feels somewhat stingy when competitors routinely offer 8GB standard at similar price points.

For storage, the system provides four hot-swappable drive bays compatible with 3.5″ SATA HDDs and 2.5″ SATA SSDs, complemented by two M.2 2280 NVMe slots. The NVMe slots can be utilized either for caching or for creating dedicated high-speed storage pools—a welcome flexibility for users with varying performance needs. However, unlike the DS923+, the DS925+ loses its PCIe expansion slot, eliminating the possibility of 10GbE network upgrades; a significant omission for power users with high-speed network infrastructure.

Expansion capabilities have evolved too, with Synology replacing the aging eSATA port with a more modern USB-C connection (operating at 6Gbps) for connecting the DX525 expansion unit. This allows scaling up to 9 drive bays total, with raw capacity potentially reaching 180TB.

The chassis maintains Synology’s familiar and understated design at 166mm × 199mm × 223mm. Cooling is handled by dual 92mm fans that generate a modest 20.5 dB(A) during operation; practically whisper quiet in real world use. Power consumption rates at 37.91W during active use and drops to 12.33W when drives hibernate, making it relatively energy-efficient for its capabilities.

Unboxing and Installation

Unboxing the DS925+ presents Synology’s typical refined experience. The packaging is sturdy and minimalist, with the NAS securely cushioned between the box inserts.

Inside the box, you’ll find:

• The DS925+ NAS unit
• Two Ethernet cables
• AC power adapter and cord
• Quick installation guide
• Drive bay keys
• Assorted screws for 2.5″ drives

The device itself comes wrapped in a protective cloth bag rather than plastic; a small but appreciated environmental consideration.

Setting up the hardware is straightforward, especially for anyone who has worked with a NAS before. The tool-less drive bays pop out with a gentle pull motion. Each bay features a locking mechanism that can be secured with the included keys-useful for environments where physical security is a concern.

When installing 3.5″ hard drives, no tools are required; simply snap off the side brackets, insert your drive, and reattach the brackets. For 2.5″ SSDs, you’ll need to use the included screws to secure the drives to the bottom of the tray.

The Synology DS925+ maintains the same front layout as the DS923+ with the power button and USB 3.1 port conveniently located if you wanted to plug in an external USB drive.

The M.2 NVMe slots are located on the underside of the device, requiring you to turn the NAS over and remove the bottom panel for each slot.

The rear panel houses the dual 2.5GbE ports, USB 3.2 Gen 1 port, USB-C expansion port, power connector, and Kensington security slot. The ports are well-labeled and easily accessible, with enough spacing to accommodate bulkier cable connectors.

Once the drives are installed and the NAS is connected to your network and power, setup proceeds through Synology’s web-based interface. Accessing find.synology.com from any browser on the same network will locate your new NAS and begin the DSM installation process. Alternatively you can download the Synology Assistant in case the above method fails.

The entire hardware setup takes approximately 10-15 minutes, with the software installation requiring an additional 20-30 minutes depending on your internet connection speed.

For those new to Synology systems, the initial DSM setup includes helpful wizards for creating user accounts, configuring storage pools with appropriate RAID levels, and setting up basic file sharing. The interface guides you through each step with clear explanations and recommendations.

While the hardware installation is intuitive and user-friendly, it’s during the drive configuration that new users will encounter compatibility restrictions as stated in the beginning of this article. This is where you’ll need Synology-approved drives to proceed with setup options, which leads us to the next section’s discussion of the drive compatibility introduced by Synology with this latest iteration of their NAS devices.

Synology’s Drive Compatibility Requirements

Now for the contentious issue that’s impossible to ignore. With the DS925+, Synology has formally implemented its restrictive drive compatibility policy for Plus series models. Only drives listed on the official Product Compatibility List (PCL) are fully supported, and at launch, this list contains exclusively Synology-branded storage drives.

Unless you’re migrating from an old Synology NAS, the DS925+ will not allow the installation of non Synology branded drives.

Synology justifies this restriction by citing improved reliability metrics—claiming up to 40% fewer storage-related issues and an 88% reduction in severe disk anomalies when using validated drives. According to Synology’s documentation, the DS925+ “is engineered as a full-featured system to deliver consistent performance and reliability with Synology hard drives” following “a carefully curated drive compatibility framework backed by over 7,000 hours of rigorous testing.”

While there may be technical merit to these claims, the policy undeniably serves to lock users into Synology’s storage ecosystem. This necessarily isn’t a bad thing as some are claiming, however can prove restrictive to certain users. The financial impact is less severe than initially feared, though still notable when it comes to enterprise grade drives, while the plus series drives can be found cheaper than Seagate Ironwolf drives. As Synology expands on their production operation of these drives, we can hopefully expect to see drive prices to come down on their enterprise drives to match the competition.

At the time of writing a Synology HAT3300 6TB drive can be bought for AUD$ 289 while a Seagate Ironwolf 6TB retails around AUD$299.

On the other hand the Synology HAT5310 8TB enterprise grade drive retails around AUD$609 while a Seagate Exos 7E10 8TB drive can be purchased for AUD$479. This makes the Synology HAT5310 8TB approximately 27% more expensive than the Seagate Exos 7E10 8TB which is considerable when you need to invest on 4 drives.

Both options offer similar warranty coverage and reliability specifications, making the ecosystem lock-in more about vendor choice than dramatic cost implications. From Synology’s perspective bringing their devices into a single eco-system does help in making their support, future software offerings, testing etc. much more streamlined.

The restriction applies to NVMe drives as well and this is where the cost difference becomes quite significant. Synology NVMe drives are on average 4 – 5 times more than competing products. Wish this restriction wasn’t extended to NVMe drives at least if the user only wanted to setup read cache only.

The company has indicated plans to expand third-party validation, but as of this writing, no timeline or partner announcements have been made.

Synology Disk Station Manager – Software Excellence

Where Synology continues to excel is its comprehensive software ecosystem the Disk Station Manager(DSM). DSM 7.2 to-date remains the gold standard for NAS operating systems, combining an intuitive UI with an extensive suite of applications for everything from photo management to business collaboration.

Synology Photos stands out as particularly impressive, providing a genuine alternative to cloud services like Google Photos with automatic mobile backup, face recognition, and intuitive organization tools.

The system supports conditional albums that automatically collect photos based on criteria like date taken or keywords, and includes features like photo requests to collect images from friends and family. The mobile apps across both iOS and Android platforms remain best-in-class, making data access seamless regardless of device.

Synology Drive offers a compelling alternative to public cloud services with features for file syncing, sharing, and collaboration.

The platform supports versioning with easy to setup flexible policies to ensure efficient storage consumption and includes client-side backup capabilities for endpoints. The integration with Synology Office enables teams to collaboratively edit documents, spreadsheets, and presentations and the interface is very similar to Google drive if you have used it before.

For business users, the platform supports up to 512 user accounts, 128 groups, and robust access controls. The virtualization capabilities include support for VMware, Hyper-V, Citrix, and Docker containers, with the DS925+ capable of running up to 8 virtual instances (depending on licensing).

Containerization

You can manage your containers through Synology “Container Manager” or via Portainer which I feel is a much more of a matured product if you’re in the game of setting up Docker containers on your Synology NAS.

Plex and Transcoding

After putting the Synology DS925+ through its paces, I can confirm that its video transcoding performance is a mixed bag. Despite lacking an integrated GPU, the AMD V1500B CPU manages to handle Full HD (1080p) content, including HEVC formats with a respectable level of efficiency. However, don’t get your hopes up for high-bitrate 4K, particularly when it comes to HEVC 10-bit files; the system simply isn’t built for that level of heavy lifting.

Conclusion

The DS925+ is expected to retail around AUD$1100-$1200 in the Australian market, positioning it similarly to its predecessor. However, you will need to factor in the additional cost of Synology branded drives if you’re planning on enterprise grade drives as it will significantly increase the total investment compared to competing solutions at the time of writing.

The Synology DiskStation DS925+ represents Synology at a crossroad. The hardware improvements are substantial and address long standing shortcomings, but the restrictive drive policy might draw away some users if they don’t fancy being locked into a single eco system.

For existing Synology users already invested in the ecosystem, the DS925+ offers meaningful upgrades in processing power and networking capabilities. The familiar software experience, robust mobile apps, and comprehensive feature set continue to deliver value beyond the hardware specifications.

There’s been a lot of noise lately about Synology’s decision to tighten up its hard drive policy for consumer NAS devices, and not surprisingly, it’s rubbed a lot of people the wrong way. That said, there are always two sides to every story. Sure, there are some clear downsides, but there are also some real benefits when you look at Synology’s bigger plans. If you’re dead set against being tied to a single ecosystem, then the DS925+ probably isn’t for you. But if you’re willing to keep an open mind, Synology’s latest unit brings some solid hardware upgrades to the table — and for the right user, it’s definitely worth a closer look.

Pros:

• Powerful AMD Ryzen V1500B processor with 4 cores/8 threads
• Dual 2.5GbE ports with Link Aggregation (up to 5Gbps throughput)
• Exceptional software ecosystem with DSM.
• ECC memory support with expansion up to 32GB
• M.2 NVMe slots for caching or storage pools (Be aware of the excessive costs here though)
• Modern USB-C expansion supporting up to 9 total bays
• Quiet operation at just 20.5 dB(A)
• Comprehensive virtualization and surveillance capabilities

Cons:

• Restrictive hard drive compatibility policy
• Higher total cost of ownership with Synology enterprise drives
• Only 4GB RAM pre-installed when competitors offer 8GB standard
• No PCIe slot for 10GbE network upgrades
• No hardware transcoding for media applications