Specifications

The AMD R-Series RX-421ND quad-core CPU is clocked at 2.1 GHz and features Turbo Core for up to 3.4 GHz. If you decide to replace the pre-installed DIMMs, the server's RAM can be expanded to 64 GB (4 x 16 GB) because of four available RAM slots. This is a lot of memory for a NAS server running a custom-tailored Linux operating system that is light on system resources.

Besides the four bays, there are also two M.2 slots for installing compatible SSDs, which can used as the system's cache for faster network transfers. The two PCIe expansion slots can also take cards that provide additional M.2 slots should you need more. Thanks to those PCIe slots, the TS-473 can also take 10 Gb Ethernet cards or graphics cards (e.g. NVIDIA GT1030). It is nice to see NAS servers capable of upgrading their transcoding and general multimedia capabilities with graphics cards. Lastly, you can also install a compatible wireless network card into the server's PCIe slots, and in combination with the Wireless AP Station application, the TS-473 can even take on the role of a wireless access point.

There our four USB 3.0 ports of which one is conveniently located at the face of the NAS. QNAP also equipped this NAS with two 3.5 mm dynamic microphone ports, a 3.5 mm line-out port, and one more port for connecting external speakers (the NAS already has one). According to QNAP, you cannot use the line-out and speaker port simultaneously.

Internally, there is an IR sensor for compatibility with the optional QNAP RM-IR004 remote control or other smart devices with IR transmitters. At 250 W max power output, the embedded power supply is quite strong for a NAS. Finally, in the cooling section, we find two fans, one with a diameter of 120 mm that cools down the drives and a smaller 60 mm fan for the CPU's heatsink.

With a price close to $680, the TS-473-4G surely is not an affordable NAS. However, it has a rich feature set due to its capable hardware, and we should not forget that the operating system and QNAP applications, along with QNAP's provided support, aren't cheap. If you want good support and a state-of-the-art operating system with constant updates and new capabilities added frequently, you have to pay for it.