Asustor AS-604T – Setup

Unlike many of its rivals Asustor NAS still don’t have a tool-less setup so you will need a screwdriver handy to secure the drives into each bay. That said this only adds a few minutes to the job and once plugged in you simply run Asustor’s ‘Control Center’ software (provided on CD and available for download off its website) which identifies the NAS and starts the browser-based setup wizard.

This process isn’t quite as slick as Synology’s process of simply typing ‘find.synology.com’ into a browser, but again it works smoothly and the wizard lets you specify the NAS’s name, your admin passwords and preferred RAID type. Curiously Asustor describes the RAID options with language such as ‘balanced’ or ‘maximum capacity’ which won’t help pros who want a specific type, but RAID 5 is the predictable default and the right choice for most.

Asustor AS-604T – Performance

So up to now the 604T has shown itself to be a little rough around the edges, but otherwise highly competent. The same can said about its performance.

Transferring large files, the Asustor 604TE achieves strong read and write times of 98.2MBps (785Mbps) and 85MBps (680Mbps) respectively. The former tends to fall within the margin of error as you reach the limits of Gigabit Ethernet, but the latter is a little off the pace compared to the aforementioned DS414 and the Netgear ReadyNAS 314 which hit 97.3MBps and 107MBps respectively.

It is a similar story transferring small files. Using our CPU killing 2GB test folder of over 2,000 files the 604T managed read and write times of 25.4MBps (203.2Mbps) and 22.9MBps (183.2Mbps). Both of these are off the pace compared to the DS414 (44.2MBps and 38.5MBps) and the ReadyNAS 314 (33.3MBps and 28.6MBps).

Make no mistake, the 604T is likely to be more than fast enough for the vast majority of users, but these figures do lag a little behind its biggest rivals.

Ending on a positive though, the 604T is quiet. Much will depend on the drives you fit (we use WD Red drives in testing), but its 120mm fan does a good job with just 31 decibels recorded at a distance of one metre. This is a big improvement on the 40 db recorded from the ReadyNAS 314 making it far more living room friendly and it is close to the 28db recorded from the DS414.

Should I buy the Asustor AS-604T?

Our experience with the 604T is that it is a solid, well featured NAS and Asustor has issued regular software updates during our time with it. The problem for the 604T though is it doesn’t excel in any particular area. It is well built, but doesn’t have a tool-free design, setup is straightforward but not as seamless of some and performance is decent but not exceptional.

Furthermore this extends to the price as the 604T retails for £395 unpopulated. This makes it cheaper than the £419 ReadyNAS 314, but significantly more expensive than the Synology DS414 which can be found online for as little as £340.

Verdict

Asustor has produced a well-made, intuitive and reasonably fast four bay NAS but it doesn’t excel in any particular area. Consequently while buyers are unlikely to be disappointed with their purchase we feel there are better options in this hotly contested price bracket.

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