Synology DS723+: An All-new and Dual-bay Powerful NAS Server

Synology today announced the official US availability of its model year 2023 dual-bay extension-ready NAS server, the DiskStation DS723+ — that’s DS723 Plus.

As the name suggests, this is a dual-bay server that can hold two internal disks — 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch hard drives (HDDs) or 2.5-inch solid-state drives (SSDs) — by itself and then can host a 5-bay DX517 extension unit. So it can handle up to 7 drives by design.

As such, the new server is about half of the DS923+ in terms of storage capacity and physical footprint. But its capability is almost identical.

Synology DS723+: An all-new 2-bay server of its family

Like the case of the DS923+, as well as the DS1522+, the new DS723+ is totally different from the previous models in the family.

Specifically, it has the following that is new in the product line:

• It runs on an AMD CPU, the first among its siblings, instead of an Intel CPU.
• It’s the third — after the DS1522+ and DS923+ — from Synology to feature the all-new 10GbE Quick Upgrade Slot to host an E10G22-T1-Mini module.
• It runs DSM 7 right out of the box. You won’t be able to run DSM 6 on it, not that there are many reasons you want to do that.
• It’s the second — after the DS923+ — from Synology that offers NVMe storage ^(*). In the previous servers, including the DS720+, the M.2 slot can only be used for caching.

The new server is very similar to the DS923+ in processing power and hardware specs, as you will note in the table below.

Synoloyg DS723+ vs DS923+: Hardware specicications

	Synology DS723+	Synology DS923+
CPU	AMD Ryzen R1600 Dual-core 2-core 2.6GHz / 3.1 GHz (turbo)	AMD Ryzen R1600 Dual-core 2-core 2.6GHz / 3.1 GHz (turbo)
System Memory	1x 2GB DDR4 ECC (installed)	1x 4GB DDR4 ECC (installed)
Max Memory	32GB  via two  memory slots  (16GB x 2)	32GB  via two  memory slots  (16GB x 2)
Dimensions	6.53 x 4.17 x 8.78 in (166 x 106 x 223 mm)	6.53 x 7.83 x 8.78 in (166 x 199 x 223 mm)
Weight	3.33 lbs 1.51 kg	4.93 lbs (2.24 kg)
Drive Bays	2	4
Expansion Support	Yes  (1x DX517)	Yes  (1x DX517)
Drive  Interface	SATA 6Gbps/3Gbps (hot-swappable)	SATA 6Gbps/3Gbps (hot-swappable)
Built-in M.2 Slots (NVMe)	Two	Two
Drive Support	3.5″ SATA HDD 2.5″ SATA SSD/HDD M.2 2280 NVMe SSD (cache & storage)	3.5″ SATA HDD 2.5″ SATA SSD/HDD M.2 2280 NVMe SSD (cache & storage)
RAID Types	Hybrid RAID (SHR), Basic, JBOD, RAID 0, and RAID 1	SHR,  Basic, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1,  RAID 5, RAID 6, RAID 10
Ports	2x RJ-45 1GbE LAN,  1x USB 3.0,  1x eSATA	2x RJ-45 1GbE LAN,  2x USB 3.0,  1x eSATA
PCIe  Expansion	None	None
Add-on Card (not included)	10GbE  E10G22-T1-Mini module	10GbE  E10G22-T1-Mini module
DiskStation Manager (operating system)	DSM 7	DSM 7
File System (internal / external)	Btrfs, EXT4 /  Btrfs, EXT4, EXT3, FAT,  NTFS, HFS+, exFAT (via app)	Btrfs, EXT4 /  Btrfs, EXT4, EXT3, FAT,  NTFS, HFS+, exFAT (via app)
US Price (at launch / diskless)	$449.99	$599.99
Warranty	3 years	3 years

Likely a familiar Synology experience

Other than the fewer drive bays, both natively and via expansion, and all that implies, the DS723+ is expected to deliver the same performance and overall experience as the DS923+.

In fact, as a server that runs on DSM 7, you can expect it to behave remarkably similarly to previous NAS servers running the same operating system version. They only differ in the storage space they can hold, their network port speed, and processing power.

As a server powered by an AMD CPU, the DS723+ will outperform previous Intel-based versions. Conventional wisdom might have that will not do as well in video transcoding though that hasn’t proved to be the case in my experience with the DS923+ and other AMD-based servers.

All things considered, the DS723+ is a compact powerhouse for a home or small business that needs a modest amount of storage space and essential redundancy.

You can expect a lot of advanced features and functionalities from it via apps. That includes the ability to run virtual machines (VM Manager), comprehensive PC-less downloads (Download Station), a robust media streaming server (Video Station), a security system (Surveillance Station), a personal cloud storage server (Synology Drive Server), and much more… all at the same time.

Clearly, some upgrades are in order if you want to get the most out of this server.

I’d recommend maxing out its RAM and getting a 10GbE E10G22-T1-Mini module. The NVMe storage is always a bonus though that’s not a must unless you intend to run virtual machines, such as a Windows server, within it.

The DS723+ shares the same hardware upgrades as the DS923+. For more on how to pick the best Synology NAS server for your needs, check out this post.

Availability and pricing

The new Synology DiskStation DS723+ server is available now worldwide. In the US, it goes for $459.99 (diskless).

Considering the cost, I’d pay another $100 to get the four-bay DS923+, but this server will do for those with modest storage needs.

For more on what you can expect from it, including its storage performance via RAID 0 or RAID 1, check out the in-depth review of the DS923+ — its quick rating box below will give you an idea.