I need help deciding between these NAS devices

[TicTacFloof]

Hi there, i am thinking of buying a synology NAS for my home network. I am unable to decide whether to buy the DS418 or DS218+.

The main uses that i will use this for are:

• Backup from other PC's on the network,
• Stream 4k or 1080p videos on multiple device,
• Acting as cloud storage for me and my friends for school.

Also, is 2GB of RAM enough for a 10TB RAID array ?

[SkyHound0202]

DS218+ is a cheaper dual-bay NAS with an Intel Celeron J3355 CPU, while DS418 is a slightly more expensive quad-bay NAS with a Realtek ARM based RTD1296 CPU.

 

A quad-bay NAS offers more flexibility for hard drive selection, however its ARM based processor and soldered onboard RAM means there's no hardware upgrade, virtualization support and may become a bottleneck when running multiple add-on packages.

 

The dual-bay NAS has more functionality thanks to the (relatively) power X86 CPU, but its limited by its only two bays, meaning you have to run it with a very basic dual-drive RAID setup, thus nullifying its performance advantage for VM and add-on.

 

Ideally (if budget allows), you should go for things like a DS418play. But if you have to choose between the two you've mentioned, I would go for the DS418 since it will better function as a storage device with few add-on installed.

25 minutes ago, TicTacFloof said:

Also, is 2GB of RAM enough for a 10TB RAID array ?

Yes if you only use it as a storage device. And if you do need to add more, DDR3 price has dropped dramatically. Not all Synology NAS are upgradable anyway.

[TicTacFloof]

Thanks for the reply, i will look into the DS418Play as it is not as expensive as the DS418 on the website i am looking at.