Results

With the NS4300N, Promise has put together a solid NAS unit that gets extra points for its well-structured Web interface. As can be seen from the benchmarks, operating the NS4300N in a RAID 5 configuration is not a good idea, as the performance is not sufficient for this mode. You can also expect, at best, average values in the multimedia sector. It is, however, good when working with lots of small files, the type of scenario that occurs in a typical office environment. Thus the NS4300N is less suited for a home network and is better suited to a SOHO (small office / home office) environment or small company situations.

In view of the thin plastic used for the housing and the workmanship of the materials, there is nothing to complain about. The plastic used is, as you can see from the drive cages, very flexible, yet still robust and will not damage easily. Nevertheless, a metal housing would be better and would lift the entire image of the NS4300N.

The price tag of $420 is competitive. Users considering a purchase must, however, remember to add on the costs for the hard drives as well. If you use four 1 TB drives at $100 each, the overall costs are in excess of $800. Even if that seems like a lot of money, the result is a solid NAS unit with plenty of storage capacity and only minor performance weaknesses. In view of the competition, the Promise is a reasonable middle-of-the-road option, though not the best we've seen.