How to choose the best ASUSTOR NAS

This is how to choose the perfect ASUSTOR NAS.

ASUSTOR has numerous network-attached storage (NAS) servers available in its catalog, so where does one start when looking at what would best suit their needs? Thankfully, like most NAS vendors, ASUSTOR makes it pretty easy to differentiate between them all using easy-to-follow model numbers. This guide will run you through a few of them and let you in on what to look for.

Breaking down the numbers

ASUSTOR's model numbering is pretty straightforward. Each NAS has a prefix of AS. The next three digits represent the family that specific NAS is from. Generally, the higher, the more powerful and capable. Then you have the number of drive bays. Lastly, the suffix denotes whether it's a rack or standard tower. An example would be AS6404T, the 640 ASUSTOR NAS with four bays.

Comparing models

Here's a comparison table with a few of the latest models from ASUSTOR.

Category	AS1002T	NIMBUSTOR AS5304T	AS6404T	LOCKERSTOR 10 AS7110T
CPU	Marvell ARMADA-385 Dual-core 1.6GHz	Intel Celeron J4105 Quad-core 1.5GHz	Intel Celeron J3455 Quad-core 1.5GHz	Intel Xeon E-2224 Quad-core 3.4GHz
RAM	512MB (512MB)	4GB (4GB max)	8GB (8GB max)	8GB (64GB max)
Drive bays	2	4	4	10
Capacity	32TB 2 x 16TB	64TB 4 x 16TB	64TB 4 x 16TB	160TB 10 x 16TB
Transcoding	-	H.264 (AVC) H.265 (HEVC) MPEG-2 VC-1 4K 30 FPS	H.264 (AVC) H.265 (HEVC) MPEG-2 VC-1 4K 30 FPS	H.264 (AVC) H.265 (HEVC) MPEG-2 VC-1 4K 30 FPS
Ports	1x 1Gb LAN 2x USB 3.2 Gen 1	2x 2.5Gb LAN 3x USB 3.2 Gen 1	1x 1Gb LAN 4x USB 3.0 (1x Type-C) 1x HDMI 2.0 1x S/PDIF	3x 2.5Gb LAN 1x 10Gb LAN 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 2x USB 3.2 Gen 2
Warranty	Three years	Three years	Three years	Three years
Price	$150	$502	$460	$2,400

More affordable ASUSTOR models like the AS1002T won't be powerful enough for advanced services like Plex and 4K media transcoding. They are better suited for file storage. More expensive options like the AS6404T and AS7110T are able to handle such tasks, but you'll need to part with considerably more funds.

Choosing the right ASUSTOR NAS should primarily come down to price and how much you're willing to spend. You'll also need to factor in the cost of hard drives too. We've also got a useful guide for choosing the best hard drives for a NAS.

Affordable NAS

AS1002T

$150 at Amazon

An incredible value NAS

The AS1002T isn't the most potent NAS from ASUSTOR. It's one of the weakest with an ARM processor, but this does mean it's affordable and a perfect choice for someone looking to buy their first NAS.