Promise SmartStor NS4300N 4-Bay NAS

This 4-bay SATA II NAS device shares its data via Gigabit Ethernet, and supports the common RAID modes 0, 1, 10 and 5. It has a backup button, which can trigger a feature to back up selected folders on designated PCs. There also are snapshot and data synchronization features, as well as NAS to NAS replication, which makes this product more advanced than the majority of NAS boxes.

Promise also supports UPnP and DLNA to allow digital content sharing and streaming in the digital home. If you want to share the storage box with other family members and friends you can define quotas, also via Microsoft's ADS. Finally, we also found an AMD Live Ready logo on the datasheet. The product is available in five different colors, including white and a wooden look.

Thecus: 3-Bay NAS Box

The N3200 is the latest NAS product by storage expert Thecus. It supports up to three drives and has a temperature-controlled 90 mm fan. It might even offer an upgrade option, which would allow users to play back video directly on the N3200 and send it out via HDMI.