QNAP TS-473A: Introduction
The QNAP TS-473A was originally released in 2021, when AI in home networks was still a thing of the future. Many competing models from that time have long since disappeared from the market, but this NAS has stubbornly maintained its position on the bestseller lists to this day. While newcomers like UGREEN are enticing customers in 2025 with sleek designs and integrated NPUs, QNAP is focusing on raw flexibility through PCIe slots.
We put this "old iron" to the test again in 2025 to see if it could keep up with modern standards. Our test unit was equipped with two 2 TB Seagate IronWolf hard drives and, the real innovation for 2025, the latest QNAP AI accelerators QAI-M100 and QAI-U100.
QNAP TS-473A: Design and Hardware
The case is a classic, black tower. The body is made of robust metal, the front panel of plastic. Visually, it appears functional and utilitarian, more of a device that would disappear into a server rack or under a desk.
Behind the dark front panel are four hot-swappable drive bays. The bays are individually lockable, and, as is typical for QNAP, the installation of the hard drives is very simple.
- 3,5-inch HDDs: Can be installed completely without tools using side clamping strips. It's quick and holds extremely securely.
- 2,5-inch SSDs: These require traditional screw mounting (screws are included).
One particularly appealing detail is the dedicated LEDs on the front panel. In addition to the usual indicators for LAN, USB, and the four hard drives, the TS-473A has its own status LEDs for the two M.2 slots. This allows you to see at a glance whether the NVMe cache or the SSD volume is active, without having to log into the web interface.
Turning the NAS over, you'll see a large 120mm fan that cools the hard drives and remains pleasantly quiet during normal operation. Since the Ryzen processor generates a considerable amount of heat, there's also a small 60mm CPU fan inside. This setup works exceptionally well thermally, but it has one drawback: under full load, the TS-473A is more audibly noticeable than entry-level NAS devices. More on that later.
Removing the three case screws reveals a surprisingly tidy internal layout. The two RAM slots (SO-DIMM) are easily accessible, as are the two PCIe slots. QNAP demonstrates here what service-friendly hardware should look like.
QNAP TS-473A: Connections and Expandability
On the back are two 2,5 GbE ports (RJ45). This is easily sufficient for typical home use, allowing data transfer speeds of approximately 280 MB/s. With three USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports (10 Gbps), two on the back and one on the front, as well as a USB-C port (5 Gbps), also on the back, there are plenty of options for fast backups to external drives.
Professionals benefit from two PCIe Gen3 x4 slots. In this price range and form factor, that's almost exotically good in 2025. Those needing more speed can, for example, install a 10GbE card. What's missing is an HDMI port. Anyone wanting to use the NAS as a media player directly with their TV is out of luck or will have to add a graphics card.
Inside, there are also two M.2 NVMe slots in the 2280 form factor. However, the platform's age is noticeable here, as the slots are only connected via PCIe Gen3 x1. For an SSD cache, where short access times and high IOPS are paramount, this is perfectly adequate.
Anyone hoping to use ultra-fast NVMe SSDs with speeds of several GB/s will be disappointed. Due to the x1 interface, realistic transfer rates are around 800 MB/s, meaning modern 7.000 MB/s SSDs are running far below their potential. However, this is perfectly adequate for the operating system, apps, and caching.
QNAP TS-473A: QTS or QuTS hero
When it comes to the operating system, QNAP offers a choice between the classic QTS and the professional system QuTS hero.
QTS is based on the Linux ext4 file system and is QNAP's "bread and butter" system. It is fast, uses little memory, and supports all the apps and functions that a home user needs.
Applications like Container Station (Docker) or our test app QuMagie run absolutely smoothly here, without the system stuttering. SSD caching (Qtier) can also be flexibly configured.
Those in the know, however, tend to opt for QuTS hero, which is based on the enterprise file system ZFS. Its advantages include "self-healing" against gradual data decay (bit rot), inline data compression (saving space), and extremely efficient snapshots. In business environments or for critical data archives, it's the gold standard.
ZFS is also extremely memory-intensive because it uses RAM as a fast cache. While QuTS hero can be installed with the pre-installed 8 GB of RAM, it will run at its limit. For productive use with QuTS hero, at least 16 GB, ideally 32 GB of ECC RAM, is recommended.
Since the TS-473A is x86-based, TrueNAS Scale or Unraid can also be installed as alternatives. A USB stick is sufficient as a boot medium. The hardware is therefore also suitable for users who prefer QNAP hardware but want to use other software.
QNAP TS-473A: Performance and Benchmarks
The TS-473A is powered by an AMD Ryzen V1500B, a processor that's almost legendary in the NAS scene. With 4 cores, 8 threads, and a clock speed of 2,2 GHz, it will still offer respectable multi-core performance in 2025, making many modern entry-level CPUs (like the Intel N100 with only 4 threads) look outdated when handling parallel tasks.
To test the performance of the built-in hardware, we tested the NAS in two network scenarios. First, the NAS was connected in the traditional way to a Fritzbox 7590 with a 1 Gbps LAN port. As expected, the router was the limiting factor here. CrystalDiskMark showed symmetrical read and write speeds of 118 MB/s. This corresponds to the maximum technical speed of the interface.
Things got more interesting with the direct 2,5 Gbit connection to the PC. In CrystalDiskMark, we achieved a read speed of 296 MB/s and a write speed of 228 MB/s. These values were also confirmed by the NAS Performance Tester, with average speeds of 295 MB/s (read) and 236 MB/s (write) for a file size of 1.000 MB.
The fact that the network card itself is working flawlessly and is not the bottleneck was proven by the pure bandwidth measurement using iPerf3. Here, the data throughput stabilized at 2,37 Gbit/s to 2,44 Gbit/s. The hardware is therefore utilizing the 2,5G specification perfectly. Anyone wanting higher throughput will definitely need to upgrade to a 10GbE card. The CPU has plenty of headroom for this.
Thanks to its 8 threads, the TS-473A doesn't break a sweat even when a backup is running in the background while users are simultaneously accessing files. This is where the Ryzen architecture demonstrates its strengths compared to weaker ARM processors.
One drawback of multimedia with Plex or Jellyfin is the lack of an integrated graphics unit (iGPU), meaning that hardware-accelerated transcoding is not supported out of the box. Without a GPU, the processor has to handle the calculations in software, which just about works for 1080p material, but reaches its limits with 4K content.
The only solution is to upgrade to a graphics card via one of the PCIe slots. Other systems, such as the UGREEN DXP4800 or Synology's Plus series, have an advantage here because they support transcoding out of the box.
QNAP TS-473A: QAI-M100 and QAI-U100
Since the built-in Ryzen CPU lacks a modern NPU (Neural Processing Unit), QNAP offers the QAI series AI accelerator cards. The QAI-M100 is installed directly in the NAS as an M.2 module, while the QAI-U100 connects via USB. Both models deliver AI performance of approximately 3 TOPS.
Considering the prices of around 80–100 euros per card and the fact that many current NAS and mini-PC platforms already have significantly more powerful NPUs integrated into the processor, often with 30–40 TOPS and more, upgrading the TS-473A is more of an option for specialized applications or tech enthusiasts.
For the test, we loaded 1.000 unsorted vacation photos into the QNAP photo app QuMagie and measured the time until indexing and AI analysis were complete. The test was conducted in three scenarios: without accelerators (CPU only), with one card, and in "dual-stack" mode with both cards (M100 + U100).
The performance values (time for 1.000 images)
| scenario | Face recognition | object detection | Similarity recognition |
| Without accelerator | 17 Min | 4 Min | 2 Min |
| With 1x QAI card | 11 Min | 2 Min | 1 Min |
| With 2x QAI cards | 7 Min | 2 Min | 1 Min |
Using a second card is worthwhile almost exclusively for facial recognition. Here, the time is reduced from 11 to 7 minutes. For object and similarity recognition, however, the effect of the second card is almost completely negligible. Therefore, investing in two accelerators is hardly worthwhile for private users.
Face recognition
The recognition of named individuals (family, friends) works very reliably. QuMagie finds faces even in difficult lighting conditions. However, the AI tends to overshoot its mark. In photos of public places (e.g., pedestrian zones), the system attempted to identify blurry passersby in the background as relevant individuals. Here, the software "hallucinates" importance where none exists, making manual sorting tedious.
Object recognition and similarity recognition
While Apple Photos and Google Lens now work almost flawlessly, QNAP sometimes makes bizarre mistakes. The large display board at Frankfurt Airport was identified by the system as a "menu." A photo of a monkey in Thailand was tagged as a "squirrel." It's sufficient for rough sorting ("car," "food," "animal"), but for precise searches, object recognition still isn't on par with cloud providers, even in 2025.
The detection of duplicate or nearly identical burst shots works and helps enormously in sorting out burst shots and freeing up storage space.
Beyond the AI-powered photo analysis, QNAP has also streamlined its standard apps. The Qfile Pro app now serves as the central hub for automatic background photo uploads from smartphones. This worked reliably in testing and is often more important for many beginners than the complex AI sorting feature in QuMagie.
QNAP TS-473A: Docker and Virtualization
Unlike many inexpensive ARM-based NAS systems, the x86 architecture means there are hardly any compatibility problems with Docker containers or virtual machines.
For our test, we used Container Station to simulate a typical smart home environment. We installed Home Assistant, Pi-hole (as an ad blocker), and Paperless-ngx (document management). Thanks to the integrated Docker Hub connection and support for Docker Compose ("applications"), setup is a breeze.
Even when multiple containers are running simultaneously, the web interface remains responsive. The installed QAI accelerators did not interfere with Docker operation during testing, but they also could not be easily passed through to the containers.
For those needing more than just containers, Virtualization Station can simulate complete operating systems. In our tests, an Ubuntu Server VM or pfSense ran absolutely smoothly. The resources are more than sufficient. An upgraded graphics card can be directly routed to the VM via GPU passthrough.
However, this also demonstrates that the factory-installed 8 GB of RAM is very limited for virtualization. As soon as a VM starts (which, for example, reserves 4 GB of RAM) and Docker containers are running simultaneously, the memory fills up in a flash. All the more reason to plan for 16 GB or more of RAM right from the start.
QNAP TS-473A: Power consumption and noise level
Here, the TS-473A can't quite hide its age. The Ryzen V1500B platform (14nm manufacturing process) isn't as efficient as the modern Intel N100 chips (10nm/7nm) found in current competing models.
In our test configuration (2x HDD + 2x AI accelerators), we measured the following values at the power outlet:
- Idle: The system settled at 26 watts.
- File transfer: Power consumption rose slightly to 31 watts.
- AI analysis: Here the value climbed to 35 watts.
A modern entry-level NAS often consumes only 12 to 15 watts at idle. The TS-473A therefore consumes almost twice as much. Calculated over a year (assuming 24/7 operation and €0,35/kWh), operating the TS-473A costs approximately €80, while a more energy-efficient N100 model would cost only about €46.
The TS-473A is also more of a workhorse in terms of noise. The large 120mm case fan is very quiet. The problem lies with the small 60mm fan that sits directly on the CPU. During normal operation, it hums along unobtrusively. However, when the NAS is working (e.g., during AI photo analysis or under VM load), this small fan spins up audibly. It's not an annoying whistling sound, but a distinct whirring noise.
The metal casing, on the other hand, dampens vibrations well, but the plastic inserts do transmit the access noises of the mechanical IronWolf platters (the typical rattling) to the outside.
The TS-473A definitely belongs in a study, a storage room, or a small server rack. I wouldn't place it directly next to the TV or in the bedroom due to the background noise and the blinking LEDs (which can be dimmed).
QNAP TS-473A: Security and QNAP Ecosystem
Anyone who deals with QNAP will sooner or later stumble across reports of past ransomware attacks (Deadbolt, Qlocker). Therefore, the most important question for 2025 is: Is my data on the TS-473A safe?
The short answer: Yes, but QNAP now places more responsibility on the user than before. The system is significantly more paranoid than it was a few years ago. Anyone setting up the NAS 2025 is provided with a whole arsenal of protection mechanisms:
- Security Counselor: An internal "security officer" who scans the system and immediately complains if passwords are too weak or insecure services are open.
- QuFirewall: A fully-fledged firewall that allows geo-blocking (e.g., "Block all access from non-DACH countries").
- Malware Remover: A virus scanner that runs automatically every day.
- Two-factor authentication (2FA): Is now standard and is almost mandatory during setup.
- Snapshots: Whether you use QTS (ext4) or QuTS hero (ZFS), the TS-473A supports block-level snapshots.
- VPN: The TS-473A supports native WireGuard VPNs and services like Tailscale (via container or app). This allows data access from anywhere without having to open any ports on the router.
QNAP has learned from the past and developed its software in a positive direction. Nevertheless, a QNAP NAS is not a "fire-and-forget" device like iCloud. You have to familiarize yourself with the settings (at least once).
Also worth mentioning is Hybrid Backup Sync (HBS 3). This is QNAP's Swiss Army knife for backups. It securely backs up data to Google Drive, OneDrive, Amazon S3, or another NAS. In our tests, the backup jobs ran absolutely reliably in the background. This is definitely an area where QNAP software has a slight edge in usability compared to systems like Unraid or TrueNAS.
