Benchmarks: Power Consumption
For many users - particularly those at home - power consumption is becoming an increasingly important factor.
Taking the similar specifications into account, we aren't surprised to see little-to-no difference between the two units.
Both the Thecus N4200 and QNAP TS-439 Pro feature built-in disk power management functionality, allowing the user to enable installed disks to power down after a period of inactivity. Denoted by our graphs as standby mode, both NAS solutions consume as little as 20 watts when all four disks spin down. Highlighting the value of the power management feature, that's a saving of nearly 50 per cent over a standard idle mode.
In terms of noise, the Thecus N4200 features a 10cm fan that's temperature controlled. It remained quiet throughout our testing, but as expected noise levels rise rapidly with disk activity. The noise should become inconspicuous in a medium-sized office, but home users may want to find a suitable spot in which to keep it - the constant hum can be distracting in a quiet room.
