Specifications, Availability and Pricing

Judging from the hardware specifications alone, the TS-419P will be the fastest 4-bay NAS we have tested to date. Gigahertz plus speed processors are generally kept for much more expensive units, so the TS-419P is a bit of a rarity. The NAS comes with 512MB of RAM which is in line with other products in this price range. If you decide to start using more than a handful of the software features, you may think about adding more RAM to the system to keep everything running smoothly.

Per the QNAP standard, the TS-419P also has a LCD display that gives the user the ability to setup the basics without a PC connected. The display also gives other useful information like system status and IP information while the system is running. The Dual Gigabit Ethernet ports are also used in this system, another feature normally found on higher cost systems.

When it comes to the software, QNAP could have made it easier for us if the spec list just stated Everything Plus the Kitchen Sink. If someone were to make an Ethernet connected sink, I am sure QNAP would have an app on their NAS to control it and if not then one of the many unofficial programmers that make third party apps would come up with something. The QNAP software community is quite large and if there is something that you could dream of that QNAP doesn't include out of the box, just like the iPhone commercial goes, "There is an App for That."

Newegg currently stocks the TS-419P Turbo NAS and it comes in just shy of 600 USD without drives. With 640GB drives available for less than 40 Dollars and 1TB drives now at 85 Dollars or less, you can have a fully configured RAID 5 server to store all of your digital keepsakes for less than 900 Dollars.

The good thing is that NAS servers last a very long time and for home users there really isn't a strong need to upgrade after you get a really good one. 900 Dollars may seem like a significant investment, but once you really start to consider how long it will stay in service, say 5 years, your monthly cost for peace of mind comes out to around 15 Dollars a month.

The question now is, is this the right NAS for you? Let's have a look at the hardware.