What are the current options? I've been looking but I haven't found any. I have a DS923+ and it works fine, but I can already see what you are talking about.
I've purchased 3 QNAP NAS products over the course of a decade or so, and remain happy to recommend them. Their reputation was damaged by a raft of ransomware attacks in 2021 and 2022, but since then they've been better about improving overall system security and forcing basic security hygiene on users (who often don't know any better).
I just got a Ugreen 2800 to replace a homemade NAS, I had a Synology for a few years but it got slower and slower as the software changed so I ditched it maybe 10 years ago?
One of the things that sold me on the Ugreen was that it is basically just a garden-variety N100 box, upgradeable RAM, supports SATA and M.2, etc.
I built two intel atom nas machines before switching to synology.
One has no linux or windows video drivers (Intel’s fault — no transcoding), and caught fire (not intel’s fault).
The other was one of the ones where the clock signal is basically a doomsday countdown timer. I had to swap it out for a warranty board for some other reason.
So, there’s no way I’d consider an N100. Other options?
In the years between the Synology and the Ugreen I've been running a mac mini from ebay which has slower copy speeds (i had to use drives connected via usb or thunderbolt) but has been very reliable and low-power.
There are a few previous-generation units still available on the market. This article reminded me that I'd meant to track down a DS1522+ before it's too late, and I found a couple on Amazon and other sites.