Pros: FEATURES - For a diskless enclosure, its a bit spendy but worth every last penny. After experiencing this unit i would pay $400 for it. The Software is amazing, Domain/Active Directory intergration or you can create your own users/groups to give access to certain folders. You can let every user have their own personal website, You can stream multimedia to any DLNA capable device. Use this device for backups using the included software, sync your Music/Photos to their respective folders on the DS211 and have a nice web interface that generates thumbnails for you to share along side a Blog or Videos with no data limits like Picasa or facebook aside from filling up the drives you put in. There are 3rd party packages you can download and install like a simple mail or squeezebox server. There is a MySQL Server, Surveillance app to connect to network cameras and record, iTunes app to store, organize, stream to devices. Overwhelming, amazing and simply put.. WOW!

Cons: I've had a quirky bug with the Blog posting, So even though the software is very mature and stable at version 3, its not perfect but the closest NAS to perfect that i've experienced. There is also a great community forum should you have problems or questions, the only thing i've discovered that i dislike is the fact that posts are submitted and reviewed for approval before posting for all to see. I'm an impatient man and when im working on something and resort to a forum it means i'm in need to assistance and that usually means i want it NOW! (This doesnt mean it takes days, but i've waited from 10 to 60 minutes for the post to appear + that same time wait for a prospective response) I couldnt figure out how to open the case without referring to the quick start guide as i wasn't about to force it when not knowing which direction and where it should be moving. The CON in my need for the guide is that it comes only on the CD or web download so i had to stop to throw it in the drive

Overall Review: The product from what i've seen is stable and the hardware is well built. There is a software toggle for the interior fan based on if you install 2.5 or 3.5 hard drives, i've installed 3.5" 1.5TB drives and the appropriate fan speed and can still hear the faint clicking of the hard drives over the fans so it is very quiet. There is also temperature sensors for each of the drives so you can monitor that if you so desire. ALSO: DS Audio or DS Photo are 2 applications you can pick up on your Android or iOS devices to which i installed on my Evo and my iPad with great success! I think the purpose of these apps are self explanatory! I'm excited to install this for my client and seeing their reaction, the "cons" i posted are very trivial and insignificant. Spend a little more for the current DS211 over the DS209 or DS211J as the CPU/Memory bump in this unit has a HUGE and NOTICEABLE impact on performance

Pros: Cheap, and gives access to all 8 of the SAS/SATA ports to which i hooked up 4x 15,000 drives with 29 pin SAS to 2 SATA plugs.

Cons: I went through 3 trying to get them to be able to create/read an array of drives without any luck Sometimes it would read a couple drives, next time it would read different drives, never was i able to consistently use these SAS hard drives and the only way i could use the system was by utilizing the standard SATA ports and a RAID configuration with that controller.

Overall Review: Save yourself the time and hassle, spend a little more and get the hardware LSI Raid chip in the 1078, you will get much better performance. If you somehow make this 1068 work, congrats! (I tried each one on 2 separate Asus Z8PE-D12 boards, all of the 15,000 RPM drives i used work perfectly fine now)

Pros: Chose this because it came preinstalled with Windows 7 Pro and i didnt have to mess with downgrade rights. Second requirement was dual monitor capability with a solid CPU and adequate HDD space, a wonderful business PC!

Cons: Biggest thing that annoyed me, was the fact that it talks about Dual Displays (but these are my first slim Lenovos so i just didnt know) utilizing Display Port but no adapter or converter which would've been useful for so many of the "legacy" displays out there still. Its nice they dont require an active adapter so any passive adapter is functional from 12$ + online. Also you wouldn't even know that the second video output is display port if it werent for the pictures!

Overall Review: As with any PC, you spend the first 30 minutes uninstalling the garbage such as trial AV etc, cant complain about a little uninstall time to let these vendors pass savings on to us

Pros: This is a large, over the top look at me type of case, but crack it open and you will see an amazing amount of choices for cable management! Run those cables behind your motherboard! hard drive trays are 90 degrees facing you directly and a very nice/useful set of Fan controller/switches on the top of the case to use!

Cons: Bigger than the case needs to be with the fancy plastic eating up valuable space

Overall Review: Comes with adequate cooling, large top mounted exhaust fan is very nice. Coming in black/white doesnt limit enthusiasts

Pros: These devices are amazing, I picked up the DS211J which simply has a slower CPU inside of it. but these boxes have ALL the features and performance you could possibly want from a NAS box! Deciding factor for me was Active Directory intergration, why mess with creating and maintaining a 2nd set of users/passwords/groups/permissions when it can all be done in one place.

Cons: Slower CPU than the DS211 unit, but thats why this device is cheaper. I have one of each and i cant honestly tell the difference unless you are big into using the web server, picture/audio stations etc. Those are the only situations where i can tell the more expensive units are better.

Overall Review: Please get yourself a dual drive unit for RAID-1, why stress yourself out with a failed hard drive. I have a few fancy Wireless security cameras and this software is wonderful for combining all of these feeds to a single "multiplexor" like look/screen! Audio Station, Picture station with thumbnails and comments, web server with many downloadable plugins to create your own forum or store etc. I will be purchasing another Synology device, next time the 4 bay rack mountable version. FYI all of the software packages are identical, the price difference is all in the hardware!

Pros: I was trying to look for some fancy HSF for my E5540's but i eventually decided on getting a pair of these and they are always cool to the touch, very minimal on the noise

Cons: Aluminum, not copper but not many people buy Xeons to overclock so whats the point!

Overall Review: I would purchase these Heatsinks again, You can mount them with the fans blowing in any direction you deem best.