Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Offloading HDDs and other functions to remote NAS or servers is increasingly popular
Post Reply
suchageek
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 142
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2005 12:25 pm
Location: St. Louis, MO

Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Post by suchageek » Sat Feb 01, 2014 6:40 pm

I am going to be getting a Synology NAS. I have narrowed down my choice to either a DS214
http://www.synology.com/en-global/products/spec/DS214 or a DS213J
http://www.synology.com/en-global/products/spec/DS213j.

DS213j 17 dB(A) Power Consumption 19.82W (Access)3.65W (HDD Hibernation)
DS214 19.9 dB(A) Power Consumption 22.64W (Access)9.12W (HDD Hibernation)

The DS213J is supposed to be quieter and has three fan modes. Cool Mode, Quiet Mode and Low Power Mode (In HDD Hibernation fan will stop if it's cool enough).

The DS214 has two fan modes. Cool Mode and Quiet Mode. No Low Power which means it never turns off. It's also dual core and has USB3.

Am I going to notice 2.9 higher decibel level? I have no way of knowing this. For a reference, I have a quiet PC. It's not silent because I a have a GTX 560Ti. I have 2 SSD drives, a 2.5" 5,400 RPM drive I pulled from my laptop. I have a Fractal R4 and run 3 system fans at 7v with the door closed. I can barely hear it.

I have read that some folks have changed out their fans, but I don't know 1) If it voids the warranty 2) How hard it is to replace it. Found a link. It looks a little tedious since a plastic pry bar is involved. The thread is also 2 years old so I don't know if Synology stayed with T.S.Tech fans. http://forum.synology.com/enu/viewtopic ... 40&t=45825

I don't really have anything to compare noise levels with. My Fractal Silent Series 2 fans are rated at 18.5 dBA in normal mode. http://www.fractal-design.com/home/prod ... s-r2-140mm They are also 140mm versus 92x92mm.

I read a post here about someone not even liking the fan noise on the DS211j. :!: Mine would be placed on my open equipment shelf about 4' away and on the middle shelf so it would be at least a foot below desk level. I am hoping that would help and I can get a foam mat.

Does anyone here own a DS214?

In addition to being dual core and USB3, it's a 2014 model. The DS213J is a 2013 model. Pretty simple naming scheme. I have read that updates to the DSM OS has about a 3 year life cycle before it can no longer run the newest software release.

I really want the DS214 but I also don't want to go nuts with a loud fan. It will not be in 24x7 operation. Is 19.9 dBA always running a deal killer versus 17 dBA and shutting off in HDD hibernation? I guess I better head over to the fan thread...

quest_for_silence
Posts: 5275
Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2007 10:12 am
Location: ITALY

Re: Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Post by quest_for_silence » Sat Feb 01, 2014 9:43 pm

suchageek wrote:Am I going to notice 2.9 higher decibel level?

Providing the difference is actually about 3dB, definitely yes: as it may be unpleasant, it can not be predicted, it's highly a subjective matter.

suchageek wrote:I can barely hear it.

It depends of noise floor and distance: and the same it goes for the upcoming NAS.

suchageek wrote:I don't know 1) If it voids the warranty

Definitely yes.

suchageek wrote:2) How hard it is to replace it.

It won't be an easy day, in such a cramped space, but I can't help about.

suchageek wrote:Is 19.9 dBA always running a deal killer versus 17 dBA and shutting off in HDD hibernation?

More probably that not, it shouldn't be so, but as already said, it cannot be predicted as it's a highly subjective matter: just for example, I swapped a video card for maybe about 1-2dB of more noise, as simply I cannot stand it, but in my experience the vast majority of other people wouldn't do so, not even by mistake.

Abula
Posts: 3662
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:22 pm
Location: Guatemala

Re: Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Post by Abula » Sat Feb 01, 2014 10:14 pm

suchageek wrote:I have read that some folks have changed out their fans, but I don't know 1) If it voids the warranty 2) How hard it is to replace it. Found a link. It looks a little tedious since a plastic pry bar is involved.
Quest_for_silence is correct, 1) swaping fans voids your warranty from what i have read. 2) Will depend on each nas and how is assembled or wired, but i dont think it will be super hard, nor easy, it should be take a good amount of time and careful playing with it.
suchageek wrote:The thread is also 2 years old so I don't know if Synology stayed with T.S.Tech fans. http://forum.synology.com/enu/viewtopic ... 40&t=45825
Its very likely they are using the same fans, check Techpowerup Aug 5th, 2013 Synology DS713+, it has the same fan.

Image

Personally im considering buying a DS713+ for pure surveillance purposes, i would love a single disk version as i dont care about storage space nor reliability, i care more for low power and less noise, but there are no atoms single drive diskstations, and the dual cores from marvel are not enough to handle 8 cameras on higher than 720p (according to synology representative), so was suggested to go with atom dual core unit, still have my doubts if it will be able to handle the 8 cameras on full hd, this is the main reason i havent bought it yet.... having second thoughts.

About the fan i have no idea how it will be, but from past experience 1900rpms is not quiet, given that its 92mm and shouldnt be as loud as longer fan with the same rpms..... i still have my doubts into how quiet it can be, and into how well it undervolts and how much cooling it really needs. Im considering the following fans.

Nexus 92mm Real Silent Case Fan - Sleeved - 1500rpm
NoiseBlocker Blacknoise Silent Pro 92mm Fan - PE-1 -1300rpm
Scythe SP0925FDB12L Kama Flow2 Series 92mm Case Fan - Low Speed - 1200rpm
Scythe S-FLEX SFF92A - 92mm Silent Fan - 1000 RPM - Sleeved - 1000rpm

On PSUs when i do fan swaps i try to find similar specs, maybe a little lower in rpms but not much, and that undervolts well, in here idk really, all those fans are lower than the included 1900rpms, but idk how well those undervolt or how well will they cool, probably the Nexus is the safest bet in terms of being closer in rpms to the original (1900/1500), it was reviewed by SPCR and its on the recommended list. But its tempting the other models with lower rpms, specially the noiseblocker, according to the spec sheets says starts at 5V, so should undervolt well, and the Scythe both lower top rpms than all others.... decision....

suchageek
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 142
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2005 12:25 pm
Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Post by suchageek » Sun Feb 02, 2014 7:41 am

quest_for_silence wrote: Providing the difference is actually about 3dB, definitely yes: as it may be unpleasant, it can not be predicted, it's highly a subjective matter.
At SPCR, we know about how subjective noise is. But some things are just too loud and that's a given. I fell into posting the kind of post I don't care for. :wink:
quest_for_silence wrote:It depends of noise floor and distance: and the same it goes for the upcoming NAS.
I have a 6' wide desk. My shelf/rack sits a few inches to the left of it. The top shelf is almost level with my desk and already occupied. With quick rearranging I could even use the bottom shelf instead of the middle one to move it down another 14". The side of my desk is solid and would shield it a tiny bit.
quest_for_silence wrote:It won't be an easy day, in such a cramped space, but I can't help about.
I remember how hard it was to get the h/s/f off the old retail Pentium slot processors. I never broke the two I removed but I had no space limitation. It was scarey both times as it involved pushing it down hard on a case screw. I'll have to wait until I get it and take a closer look.
suchageek wrote:Is 19.9 dBA always running a deal killer versus 17 dBA and shutting off in HDD hibernation?
quest_for_silence wrote:More probably that not, it shouldn't be so, but as already said, it cannot be predicted as it's a highly subjective matter: just for example, I swapped a video card for maybe about 1-2dB of more noise, as simply I cannot stand it, but in my experience the vast majority of other people wouldn't do so, not even by mistake.
I appreciate your feedback.

suchageek
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 142
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2005 12:25 pm
Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Post by suchageek » Sun Feb 02, 2014 8:41 am

Abula, thanks for the 1900 RPM speed info. That's really helpful and it sucks. :wink:

I share your concern about how well the others on your list would cool. My home office faces west and it can get quite warm in the summer. Maybe I need a 20 dBA fan. :wink:

The DS713 you are considering is impressive and far more than I need or care to spend. But it's pretty nice.

Oh, and I forgot to add to my original post I am going to use 2, 3TB WD Reds. I am getting it initially to just round up all of my data scattered across HDD drives that are accessed individually in a drive dock, a multitude of flash drives, DVDs/CDs that are not backed up. I don't keep everything so even if I RAID it, I should be fine. (That's yet another decision). The price difference between the 3TB versus the 4TB can be applied to an external drive for another backup layer. Then after that a HDD stored off site.

The cost goes up with each backup layer so I'm starting with the NAS and 2 drives.

So after several days of intense Google searches and research I am going to go with the DS214. Hopefully it will sit far enough away. If not, once I get it I can look at how hard changing the fan would be. Your list will be very handy. Btw, I checked the fan mod link and the Noctua NF-B9 fan is still available. "Drop in, plug and play. Perfect fit. No system error alarms as it operates as OEM on the same voltage as the Y.S. Tech fan". http://forum.synology.com/enu/viewtopic ... 40&t=45825 Any reason it's not on your list? SSO-Bearing, Rotational Speed (+/- 10%) 1600 RPM, Airflow 64.3 m³/h, Acoustical Noise 17,6 dB(A)

quest_for_silence
Posts: 5275
Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2007 10:12 am
Location: ITALY

Re: Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Post by quest_for_silence » Sun Feb 02, 2014 10:04 am

suchageek wrote:But some things are just too loud and that's a given.

As MikeC usually write, providing the noise signature isn't annoying, anything under 20-22dB is in the quiet range of operation (you know:; not silent, but not loud).

suchageek wrote:I have a 6' wide desk. My shelf/rack sits a few inches to the left of it. The top shelf is almost level with my desk and already occupied. With quick rearranging I could even use the bottom shelf instead of the middle one to move it down another 14". The side of my desk is solid and would shield it a tiny bit.

Well, you have just to try, but at first glance (you have no straight path from fan to your ears) I guess you wouldn't be terribly disappointed (by that NAS).

suchageek wrote:I remember how hard it was to get the h/s/f off the old retail Pentium slot processors. I never broke the two I removed but I had no space limitation. It was scarey both times as it involved pushing it down hard on a case screw. I'll have to wait until I get it and take a closer look.

I grew up at the Antec school, some of the worse places to put your hands in, but even so it can be done, with some patience and a lot of care.

So, with reference to the Synology forum post, that's not a task for absolute beginners, but it's also not like free climbing: as you didn't screw up those Slot A Pentiums, I guess you could eventually do that job flawlessly (in case).

suchageek wrote:I checked the fan mod link and the Noctua NF-B9 fan is still available. "Drop in, plug and play. Perfect fit. No system error alarms as it operates as OEM on the same voltage as the Y.S. Tech fan". http://forum.synology.com/enu/viewtopic ... 40&t=45825 Any reason it's not on your list? SSO-Bearing, Rotational Speed (+/- 10%) 1600 RPM, Airflow 64.3 m³/h, Acoustical Noise 17,6 dB(A)

I own that fan, and IMHO it's not that great, particularly at full speed (it's better with the supplied LNA/ULNA adapters): to be honest, something like an AC F9 would offer me a better value.

I would be cautious about the Scythe S-Flex: I've several ones, 120mm and 80mm, various speeds, and while the 120mm are usually rather good, the 80mm proved to be very disappointing (I've the A & B flavours); so I think those SFF "mileage" may vary.
Probably Nexus and NoiseBlocker may be safer bets, and I would consider even Coolink (usually they are the same fans seen in some Noctua and NoiseBlocker series but for much less money).

suchageek
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 142
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2005 12:25 pm
Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Post by suchageek » Sun Feb 02, 2014 11:02 am

I am definitely not a beginner but I have to watch out for my if it doesn't fit, get a bigger hammer attitude I sometimes get. Like most women, I have smaller hands and that may help.

As you said, no direct path to my ears may be good enough. I can only speculate so much. I'm going to just get it and take it from there..

Thanks for the feedback on the fans. The Nexus is on my list.

Hey,what's wrong with Antec? I loved my P180.

Abula
Posts: 3662
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:22 pm
Location: Guatemala

Re: Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Post by Abula » Sun Feb 02, 2014 11:42 am

suchageek wrote:The DS713 you are considering is impressive and far more than I need or care to spend. But it's pretty nice.
Personally i would love if i could go lower end, but the streaming of 8 cameras on a lower end cpu wont cut it, or at least thats what synology represntative said. I have DS111 that i wanted to use, and it supports 8 cameras from synology specs, but not full hd, so idk really even if the atom will cut it, but thats as good as it gets on synology without going into the super expensive setups. Personally i haven't bought it yet, as im still deciding if i should just go with another PC build, i have G3220 + H81i + Gskill Snipper 8gb + wd 3tb red + picoPSU 90W XLP with a 80W brick that should power a small setup fine, only missing a case, so im researching open source software to manage the cameras to see if i could do something viable.... but still researching, i still would like to try the synology, but will see.
suchageek wrote:Oh, and I forgot to add to my original post I am going to use 2, 3TB WD Reds. I am getting it initially to just round up all of my data scattered across HDD drives that are accessed individually in a drive dock, a multitude of flash drives, DVDs/CDs that are not backed up. I don't keep everything so even if I RAID it, I should be fine. (That's yet another decision). The price difference between the 3TB versus the 4TB can be applied to an external drive for another backup layer. Then after that a HDD stored off site.
HDD will come down in the next 5 months, WD had 5tb for December, but delayed, i think it should come up before mid year, so that should push the 3tb to $100, 4tb to $130, where the 4tb will be imo a better buy. Seagate also has 6tb version (enteprise on release) that will come out this year, if the consumer come later should also push down pricing of the 3/4 tbs.
suchageek wrote:Your list will be very handy. Btw, I checked the fan mod link and the Noctua NF-B9 fan is still available. "Drop in, plug and play. Perfect fit. No system error alarms as it operates as OEM on the same voltage as the Y.S. Tech fan". http://forum.synology.com/enu/viewtopic ... 40&t=45825 Any reason it's not on your list? SSO-Bearing, Rotational Speed (+/- 10%) 1600 RPM, Airflow 64.3 m³/h, Acoustical Noise 17,6 dB(A)
Well i do like noctua and use them in 2 setups atm, i personally just think they are overpriced, i do use them as their PWM fan range is still imo the best in the market allowing you (if you can control them that low) to end up with a very quiet setup, but the sound signature imo there are better fans out there for less money.

The NF-B9 seems like a decent choice, specially since its closer to the rpms of the orignial TY Tech (although other things might be different), personally i wouldn't go here on noctua because there is no PWM need, and for 3pin i prefer either of the ones on the list, specially because i would like a more quiet setup, just have my doubts into how low the synology undervolts it and how either of the 4 fans i posted go and if they will not tick, etc.

I think the Noiseblocker seems a good bet to me, 1300rpms still seems on the high side to me but its lower than Nexus, Noctua and the TY Tech, but can work on 5V (according to noiseblocker, not sure if its true). Im not planning a dual hdd setup so there will be less heat inside, i wont be doing any raiding so there will be less CPU need, but the 8 cameras might load the cpu some... still got a research more, but its hard not many do it, and the ones that do almost never post on forums, so im kinda on my own atm.

Nexus on the other hand is probably the best choice, since SPCR review it (although might be different with the black n white version that its sold now) and still is on the recommend fan list, from the review its starting voltage is 2.4V, so it should be fine to whatever the synology throws at it.

If i end up chosing the DS713+, ill probably buy both the noiseblocker and nexus, and ill post some graphs on FanXpert2 into their behavior and min/max rpms. If nither works out, in terms of noise, then i might try the Scythe 1000rpm, but with undervolting it might be too little airflow for the small heatsink the DS713 has on atom 2700.
suchageek wrote:So after several days of intense Google searches and research I am going to go with the DS214. Hopefully it will sit far enough away. If not, once I get it I can look at how hard changing the fan would be.
Good luck, hope it works out for you. Be sure if you have time to share how noisy it was, and if you do the mod on the fan please post what you use and how it vary the temperatures and noise.

suchageek
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 142
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2005 12:25 pm
Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Post by suchageek » Sun Feb 02, 2014 12:11 pm

I wouldn't just go by what the rep says. The rep I spoke with said the DS214 had 3 fan settings when it has 2. I suggest a search of the Synology forums and or post asking what the minimum specs are to meet your configuration needs. You are aware that the camera licenses are pretty steep right?

I just pulled the trigger! Will have it Wednesday. :D :D

Drives were $124.99 a piece and it's worth it to me to have them now. I shopped around and Amazon had the best price. I did know about the 5TB drives having a launch delay. I'd rather pay $50 more now and enjoy it now.

I'll post back with fan noise impression and if I will want to replace the fan. I'll know that much right away.

Really appreciate the help.

Abula
Posts: 3662
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:22 pm
Location: Guatemala

Re: Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Post by Abula » Sun Feb 02, 2014 12:33 pm

suchageek wrote:I wouldn't just go by what the rep says. The rep I spoke with said the DS214 had 3 fan settings when it has 2.
Thanks for the advise. And while idk if i should trust a representative as they might have in mind selling a high end model, the cpus that come with the lower end are very low, that for a file storage might be fine, but once it has to do a lot of stuff idk how it will be. I have atm DS111 and a Hikvision DS-2CD2032-I that ill be testing in the next week, but its only 1 camera, so idk how it will turn out with more.
suchageek wrote:You are aware that the camera licenses are pretty steep right?
Saidly yes, i bought 7 licences a couple of weeks ago from ebay that had a half price sale... this is also a reason that im still trying to go with synolgy, as i already invested on the cameras, but still trying to find out if it will work out or not with the atom, as its another $500 on the unit.
suchageek wrote:I suggest a search of the Synology forums and or post asking what the minimum specs are to meet your configuration needs.
TBH i find the synology forums very low trafic, i have posted, DS111 and how many 3mega pixel cameras?, but in that sections, there are tons of questions/threads but barely any answers, and i understand its not like synology are mainly design for surveillance, its more an app developed as an extra for give users that support, and there are so many cameras, formats and so on, that would be hard to know.
suchageek wrote:I just pulled the trigger! Will have it Wednesday. :D :D

Drives were $124.99 a piece and it's worth it to me to have them now. I shopped around and Amazon had the best price. I did know about the 5TB drives having a launch delay. I'd rather pay $50 more now and enjoy it now.

I'll post back with fan noise impression and if I will want to replace the fan. I'll know that much right away.

Really appreciate the help.
Good luck, personally love the interface and design of the DSM. Will be keeping my eyes on the thread for your comments on the noise.

quest_for_silence
Posts: 5275
Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2007 10:12 am
Location: ITALY

Re: Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Post by quest_for_silence » Mon Feb 03, 2014 5:50 am

suchageek wrote:Hey,what's wrong with Antec? I loved my P180.


Antec usually didn't care so much about workability: I've built my systems into several Antec enclosures (Fusion, Micro Fusion, Minuet, P182, Mini P180, NSK 3480, Solo, One Hundred...) and any time I've regretted about that (not to mention their bad sounding stock fans).

suchageek
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 142
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2005 12:25 pm
Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Post by suchageek » Mon Feb 03, 2014 2:58 pm

I was teasing about Antec. Loved my P180 but it had horrible cable management. I had another one before that and can't remember the model name.

quest_for_silence
Posts: 5275
Joined: Wed Jun 13, 2007 10:12 am
Location: ITALY

Re: Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Post by quest_for_silence » Wed Feb 05, 2014 1:20 pm

Abula wrote:i understand its not like synology are mainly design for surveillance


...resell those licenses? If you mind: http://www.tweaktown.com/news/35264/lin ... index.html

Abula
Posts: 3662
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:22 pm
Location: Guatemala

Re: Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Post by Abula » Wed Feb 05, 2014 2:06 pm

quest_for_silence wrote:
Abula wrote:i understand its not like synology are mainly design for surveillance


...resell those licenses? If you mind: http://www.tweaktown.com/news/35264/lin ... index.html
Thats an interesting unit, thanks for sharing the link. It would be really interesting if it can handle 8x 3megapixel cameras with the dual core marvel cpu.

Here is the thing, while i do think the synology licence is overcharge, as the funcionality is there, its just a restriction to make more money, not like they are losing anything, its like adding more hdds on a unit.... But even open source software like iSPY, they are supposly free, but when you want to see it remotely or you want to get notificiacion if a camera got a moving notificiaciton, you have to pay $10 a month, while with the synolgy i dont have to pay anything else after, aside from that the licences are transferable, so if i upgrade toward a bigger server, i can move the licences, thus its just a one time investment, not that i agree fully, but if it work then its fine by me.

The problem resides on the CPU needs for recording/managing/livestremaing 8x 1080p cameras, where i dont know much nor i have found anything solid in the web. I dont even know who it works, for example, the cameras can record on MPEG or H264, does this mean they have a built in codec where they do the transcoding inside and the stream is just bytes of info that has to be recorded on the hdd??? i have seen comments like a dual core 3.0ghz isnt enough to sustain 8 cameras.... some even go into quads like haswell.... so idk, im really lost here, and the info is so low on the web about this, that the only way to find out is to try it. Atm i have one 3 megapixel camera, and i also have an old Synology DS111, so ill give a shot this weekend and test how much cpu utilization takes with the camera on, and when it records, the bad news is that the CPU is a single core 1.6ghz marvel (i believe), so i cant say for sure how will an atom dual core 2.13ghz will do comparing it, but ill go one step at the time and see from there if i risk it or not.

suchageek
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 142
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2005 12:25 pm
Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Post by suchageek » Thu Feb 06, 2014 6:31 pm

Fan noise not nearly as bad as I anticipated. It helps that it's 3' away and down 14". It's easily tolerable.

I've only had it since this morning and the furnace in the next room to my home office is loud and has been running a lot with the crazy cold temperatures.

Will have to wait until the weekend to evaluate it more closely. I may temporarily put it on my desk to listen to it.

Abula
Posts: 3662
Joined: Tue Nov 02, 2004 12:22 pm
Location: Guatemala

Re: Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Post by Abula » Thu Feb 06, 2014 6:56 pm

suchageek wrote:Fan noise not nearly as bad as I anticipated. It helps that it's 3' away and down 14". It's easily tolerable.

I've only had it since this morning and the furnace in the next room to my home office is loud and has been running a lot with the crazy cold temperatures.

Will have to wait until the weekend to evaluate it more closely. I may temporarily put it on my desk to listen to it.
Thanks for the feedback. Hope you test some on your desk, in my case wont be on my desk, but on the desk beside me... so it will be close.

askat1988
Posts: 4
Joined: Thu Aug 02, 2007 7:07 pm
Location: Los Angeles

Re: Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Post by askat1988 » Sun Feb 09, 2014 2:28 pm

Don't think this option has been mentioned. You can edit scemd.xml and create your own fan profile. I did it when I had a synology nas and i am not a linux guy, just learned a bit to be able to do this mod. It worked. Problem after that is the drives were too loud for me ):

suchageek
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 142
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2005 12:25 pm
Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Post by suchageek » Sun Feb 09, 2014 2:51 pm

askat1988 wrote:Don't think this option has been mentioned. You can edit scemd.xml and create your own fan profile. I did it when I had a synology nas and i am not a linux guy, just learned a bit to be able to do this mod. It worked. Problem after that is the drives were too loud for me ):
Your last sentence cracked me up. I know exactly what you mean. I have no spinners in my desktop or laptop. (Almost forgot. I do have a 2.5' drive I pulled from my laptop. Just a scratch disk and it's very quiet).

Thanks for the tip. I was hoping to move it to my desk to see how it sounded but extended SMART tests took forever. I have since discovered hitting the refresh button helps. Mine seemed to be stuck at 90% forever. Refreshed it and it was already finished. :cry: Testing both took all day. Now I know what to do.

Thanks again.

pixel
Posts: 94
Joined: Sat Mar 10, 2007 3:42 am
Location: Istanbul; Turkey
Contact:

Re: Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Post by pixel » Tue Feb 11, 2014 10:35 am

Hello,

I used to frequent SPCR when I was "silencing" my PC's, but after switching to Mac I had given a break.. until I was provided a link to this topic on the official Synology forums. :D

I'm in the same situation, trying to decide between DS213j and DS214. The price difference is not a big concern, but noise is. I plan to keep the NAS on my computer desk so that I can check the lights/operation, so it will have a "line of sight" to my ears, and will be about 75 cm away from them.

I would really like to hear your comments after trying the DS214 on your desk. I could place it on a table next to my desk if necessary, but I'd rather have it in eyesight. (Maybe I don't really "need" to put it on my computer desk, I'm not sure. That would make it easier to choosthe DS214.)

I don't think I really "need" the additional power of the DS214, but I'd prefer to get "this year's model" and a powerful enough NAS to last for a few years - I hope to keep the one I buy for a long time. It will be used for file storage, backup and media serving (mostly just one stream). I don't think I will run a web/mail server or use any other power-hungry applications, but I would like to use CloudStation. I don't need encryption.

Thanks in advance for your comments!

suchageek
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 142
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2005 12:25 pm
Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Post by suchageek » Tue Feb 11, 2014 12:48 pm

I went with the DS214. I got it from Amazon.com with free shipping. The original price was $329. They lowered the price ti $299 and Amazon refunded the $30 difference to my account. So at least here in the U.S. there is only a $100 difference between the two now. The DS214 is newer hence the 14. The DS213j is from 2013. That enables another year in being able to run the newest OS release. It's also dual core and has USB3 support.

I still haven't had a chance to move it. I can say IMO it's okay when I get down close to it and listen. I promise to try it this next weekend.

Same here regarding your use plan. Except ATM I am not planning on streaming anything.

I would suggest ordering it from Amazon and see what you think. They have an easy, very generous return policy in case you decide on the DS213j. I have exchanged emails with someone who has a DS213j and was concerned about going to a DS214 as the fan always runs. Went ahead with the DS214 and reported lower thermal temps. They didn't say, but higher thermal temps on the DS213j would trigger the fan I think. Just guessing there.

What I can hear are the hard drives. :roll: I have it in eyesight. I just have to turn my head and glance down to the shelf it's on. ;)

Whoops! Just noticed you're in Istanbul. Decided to keep my post intact for those who can order from Amazon. Do they offer ordering/shipping from Turkey? I also converted your 75cm distance to inches. It's just under 30" and that should be fine. Don't know where you found that link as I have not posted on the Synology forums yet. Someone else here must have posted the link.

Btw, it's much smaller than it looks. That may open up more placement options. Product Dimensions: 10 x 9 x 9 inches ; 2.9 pounds. The drives add to the weight considerably.

pixel
Posts: 94
Joined: Sat Mar 10, 2007 3:42 am
Location: Istanbul; Turkey
Contact:

Re: Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Post by pixel » Thu Feb 13, 2014 9:59 am

Hello,

Thanks for the reply, and sorry I could respond a bit late!

I hope you'll enjoy the DS214. :) It's a very good NAS, and that was a nice price. Sadly, we here in Turkey can only envy shopping from Amazon. :) They may ship some electronics to Turkey, but then we have to worry about customs, import fees, warranty problems..

In Turkey, the prices for DS213j and the "regular" DS213 (no sign of DS214 yet) are around 350 $ and 450 $ respectively, including 18% tax. Last time I checked, I saw lower prices, so I guess the Turkish distributor chose to make an "adjustment". I don't know when the DS214 will arrive here, but I expect it to have a similar price to the DS213, maybe a bit higher.

Thanks for your comments about the noise, and offering to move it to the desk to listen to it. I guess I would also be able to hear the hard drives, as there's only a Mac mini in my room that makes any noise, and it's quite quiet.

Sorry about posting in cm's, I can only visualize distances in centimeters. :) The Synology forum thread where I had posted is: http://forum.synology.com/enu/viewtopic ... 30&t=80802

Regarding the dimensions, the Synology web site says 165 x 108 x 233.2 mm, which should be about 6,6 x 4,3 x 9,3 inches. I guess I could place it pretty much anywhere I want within my room (the gigabit modem/router is here). I don't think I should be much worried about being able to see the indicator lights.

Now that I checked the prices again, the DS213j sounds much more reasonable given I have very basic expectations. I guess I'll wait a bit more to see the "Turkish price" for the DS214. In the meanwhile, I'd appreciate any more comments from you. Another option might be to go with the DS213, if it will turn out to be about 100 $ cheaper compared to DS214. The noise should be identical to the DS214.

Thanks again!

suchageek
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 142
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2005 12:25 pm
Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Post by suchageek » Thu Feb 13, 2014 4:22 pm

pixel wrote:Hello,
Now that I checked the prices again, the DS213j sounds much more reasonable given I have very basic expectations. I guess I'll wait a bit more to see the "Turkish price" for the DS214. In the meanwhile, I'd appreciate any more comments from you. Another option might be to go with the DS213, if it will turn out to be about 100 $ cheaper compared to DS214. The noise should be identical to the DS214.
Thanks again!
Actually the DS213j has 3 fan mode options. The DS213J has low power mode. The DS214 has only two. The DS213j fans will stop when in HDD hibernation. The DS214 fans do not stop. More here: http://forum.synology.com/enu/viewtopic ... 83&t=77857

Here's a discussion you should find interesting: Synology DS213J vs Synology DS214?. http://www.whathifi.com/forum/network-s ... logy-ds214

The DS213j may be a better option for you. The $100 savings could go a long way toward a hard drive too.

pixel
Posts: 94
Joined: Sat Mar 10, 2007 3:42 am
Location: Istanbul; Turkey
Contact:

Re: Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Post by pixel » Sun Feb 16, 2014 5:21 am

Hello again,

Thanks for the reply and the links! It will be much better to have the NAS stop the fans during hibernation. I think most of the time it will already be hibernating - if they aren't because it's streaming something, I'll be out of the bedroom anyway; and during system backup when I'm at the same desk I can tolerate the fan for 2-3 minutes. This will be much better than the fan running all the time on my computer desk & in my bedroom, including the night (unless I schedule it to turn on-off).

I posted a reply in the linked topic at the Synology forum since a user mentioned attaching a USB drive prevents hibernation. I hope this isn't the case; I'll keep a 2,5" drive attached for backup. By the way, do you think a 2,5" backup drive is a bad idea? I'd rather not worry about another power adaptor, but some say the NAS may not supply enough power for the USB drive's disc spin-up, and the DS213j has a USB 2.0 port with less current supply than USB 3.0.

Also thanks for the link at What Hi-Fi - I'd come across that and it seems the DS213j is quite capable for my use, and very quiet too. The user seems really satisfied. I'll also use it to stream lossless audio (Apple Lossless in my case) and utilize AirPlay.

I think I will go for the DS213j after all. I won't need to wait until the DS214 is sold in Turkey, it will be cheaper, and more quiet too. Thanks for the time and replies! :)

suchageek
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 142
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2005 12:25 pm
Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Post by suchageek » Sun Feb 16, 2014 6:57 am

Some USB drives prevent HDD hibernation and some don't.

The compatibility page is rather short IMO in regards to larger USB drives. http://originwww.synology.com/en-global/support/faq/443
I did hear that there are some USB enclosures not on that list that are also compatible but after researching so much and researching how to do stuff in the NAS, I decided to not research that.

Hate the name, but went with USB3 WD My Book 3TB. I wanted it to be AC powered. BTW, it has no fan. I just haven't had the time to do everything and right now I just finished researching routers. Mine just says My Book Desktop Storage. http://www.amazon.com/Drive-Security-Lo ... b_title_ce The price has since gone up since I bought mine last weekend. I paid $118 which was the price then, Had a $10 reward certificate that covered the tax at local Best Buy store. Don't care for Best Buy, but I had the reward from buying a slick deal laptop there.

I have only used it once so far so I don't know if it supports hibernation or not. I have since decided it'd not a big deal if it does or not as I am not going to have such a massive amount stored. For example, right now I have only had time to load 55GB of data onto the NAS. It took 13 minutes to back it up the USB drive. So there was no need to leave it plugged in. I don't know if leaving it plugs in bogs it down or not. Don't know about 2.5" USB drives at all. I wanted a more robust drive. You may want to check the read/write speeds. Using ATTO I got around 140MB read and 130MB write.

Please post after you get the DS213j. I would love to hear what you think. Brace for impact though. There are so many features it can get overwhelming at times. At least for me. Have you decided on what drives you are going to get? Oh and as someone else noted about the noise, you will hear the drives which I find annoying as all my others are SSD.

Make sure you update the DSM OS to the latest version (Version: 4.3-3827) as a major security flaw was found. I was not affected as I don't use torrents, sendmail, etc.
http://www.synology.com/en-global/relea ... odel/DS213 You can download it ahead of time and use it with Synology Assistant. You just point to it. Or, you can DL and install it from the diskstation. If you want to DL it, here is the link: http://www.synology.com/en-global/suppo ... oad/DS213j

pixel
Posts: 94
Joined: Sat Mar 10, 2007 3:42 am
Location: Istanbul; Turkey
Contact:

Re: Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Post by pixel » Tue Feb 18, 2014 5:41 am

First of all, I'm really grateful for the long and informed replies. :)

The users at the Synology forum generally say the WD drives (and the Passport I'm planning to purchase) do not prevent hibernation. The list at the link also includes the model I'm planning to buy.

I'll also go with WD (I didn't have any bad experiences so far), but I'd rather have a USB powered one, as I had mentioned. In Turkey the prices are as follows:
2 TB 3,5 Elements desktop (wall-powered) 135 $
3 TB 3,5 Elements desktop (wall-powered) 175 $
2 TB 2,5 Elements portable (USB-powered) 180 $

I chose the "Elements" models since I don't think the NAS will benefit from any of the "higher" models; be it encryption, software or a small increase in speed. So I would be paying a bit more than 3 TB for a 2 TB "portable" drive, which will mostly stay connected to the NAS, just to eliminate a power adapter. Hmm.
It would be easier to keep this as an off-site backup, but it wouldn't be a good choice if the NAS can't power it reliably.

Wouldn't keeping the backup drive plugged in make more sense, rather than "dismounting" from the DSM interface and manually disconnecting, then manually connecting again each time?

I certainly will post after getting the DS213j. :) I'm a bit prepared for the avalanche of features since I've been spending a lot of time in the "demo" site.

Regarding the drives, I think the general consensus is to choose WD Reds, but I have to check availability/price here. Also thanks for taking the time for the links!

I'd better get a new quotation for the DS213j from my favourite reseller; it seems these have had a price jump here recently.. :?

suchageek
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 142
Joined: Sun Jun 26, 2005 12:25 pm
Location: St. Louis, MO

Re: Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Post by suchageek » Tue Feb 18, 2014 4:23 pm

I was only referring to USB drives regarding HDD hibernation.

The WD Reds are a good fit. I paid $125 each for 3TB drives from Amazon. They spiked a bit and now are back to what I paid. The DS213j rose $2.

My data doesn't really change that much and none is so critical that an image restore wouldn't fix so I have no need to do incremental and differential backups. If you do, them maybe leaving it plugged in will work better for you.

I can say that speculating versus what you actually will do may be different. ;)

Post again when you get your NAS & drives.

xen
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 243
Joined: Fri Dec 28, 2007 11:56 am
Location: NH, Netherlands

Re: Synology NAS & LOTS of Fan Questions

Post by xen » Sat Jun 28, 2014 2:45 am

Moderated post..xen please feel free to try again when you've landed.

Post Reply