How quiet is a NAS?

[DIB]

I've got about 600GB-700GB of music files currently sat on an old PC upstairs that we are looking to get rid of. Over the years I've ripped every CD I've ever owned and I've also got several downloads from various sources too. I've dabbled with streaming my files through my SBT and it works fine, particularly when controlling it from my Nexus tablet. My PC is quite old now, cumbersome, hardly ever used, and very noisy stuck away in the spare bedroom. A NAS seems an attractive alternative and I've been doing a little bit of research lately. Deciding which NAS is quite bewildering but I'm almost decided on going down the Synology route and have been looking at a Synology DS213 or 214 model.

What I would like to know is just how noisy are these models? Ideally I would like to be able to plug it directly into my router which is in the front room, where I also have my system set up. I can quite easily have it hidden away out of sight in there but just how noisy are they? If it's going to be a distraction I may be looking at placing it in another room.

What do you think?

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[michael hoy]

I've got about 600GB-700GB of music files currently sat on an old PC upstairs that we are looking to get rid of. Over the years I've ripped every CD I've ever owned and I've also got several downloads from various sources too. I've dabbled with streaming my files through my SBT and it works fine, particularly when controlling it from my Nexus tablet. My PC is quite old now, cumbersome, hardly ever used, and very noisy stuck away in the spare bedroom. A NAS seems an attractive alternative and I've been doing a little bit of research lately. Deciding which NAS is quite bewildering but I'm almost decided on going down the Synology route and have been looking at a Synology DS213 or 214 model.

What I would like to know is just how noisy are these models? Ideally I would like to be able to plug it directly into my router which is in the front room, where I also have my system set up. I can quite easily have it hidden away out of sight in there but just how noisy are they? If it's going to be a distraction I may be looking at placing it in another room.

What do you think?

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Noise level figures:

Noise Level Testing Environment: Fully loaded with Seagate 1TB ST31000520AS hard drive(s) in idle; Two G.R.A.S. Type 40AE microphones, each set up at 1 meter away from the Synology NAS front and rear; Background noise: 16.49-17.51 dB(A);

Not found any data for fans on full if they ever reach that.

 

[Ravey Gravey Davy]

People in a library hum more than the Synology *biggrin*.My DS213 is like a mouse in comparison to my former Netgear.

Will be ok outside or inside a cabinet,and will not interfere with the music as far as this house is concerned. (Mine is in a cabinet with router/switch/printer/modem.

PS. Nils is coming back again .Didn't expect that so soon.Missed him last November. Preston is your nearest.

 

[DIB]

People in a library hum more than the Synology *biggrin*.My DS213 is like a mouse in comparison to my former Netgear.

Will be ok outside or inside a cabinet,and will not interfere with the music as far as this house is concerned. (Mine is in a cabinet with router/switch/printer/modem.

PS. Nils is coming back again .Didn't expect that so soon.Missed him last November. Preston is your nearest.

Thanks for that. I might pull the trigger on one of those DS213 units next month.

A question then! Is it better to buy the bundle inclusive of the HDD's or buy those seperately? I notice on Amazon that they favour the WD Red drives. Are these the best option to go for?

Also, just twigged what you meant in your PS

I also missed him last time, and he was literally only 2 miles down the road at the Lowry too.

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[Ravey Gravey Davy]

I went for the inclusive WD red drives.Made about £35 difference and came preloaded. I got mine from www.broadbandbuyer.co.uk.

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

I have a WDTV My Book Live, which doesn't make a sound. I'd also recommend you back-up all those files on an external hard drive asap, otherwise you risk losing them all.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Personal-Cloud-Storage-Network-Attached/dp/B00499DMRQ/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1434318246&sr=8-4&keywords=wd+tv+my+book+live

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Seagate-Expansion-Desktop-External-Drive/dp/B0084LZI5Y/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1434317933&sr=8-1&keywords=seagate+2tb

 

[DIB]

Thanks for the replies.

I've always regularly backed my files up on an external WD HDD which I keep under the stairs out of harms way.

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[Xanderzdad]

I sit 1.5m from my NAS in a quiet office and cannot hear it - BUT any sound is mainly dependent on the quality and type of HDD installed within and not so much due to the brand of NAS.

 

[DIB]

Thanks for all your comments. You've allayed my concerns regarding background noise. I suppose I'm just too used to my noisy old PC ( can't wait to bin it! ).

As the WD HDDs seem to be the popular choice with Synology, I wondered how they fared regarding the volume? Also, what's the difference between the Red and Green?

Cheers

 

[Ravey Gravey Davy]

Also, what's the difference between the Red and Green?

Yellow.

 

[DIB]

Also, what's the difference between the Red and Green?

Yellow.

Ask a daft question, etc.etc.

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[cheeseboy]

As the WD HDDs seem to be the popular choice with Synology, I wondered how they fared regarding the volume? Also, what's the difference between the Red and Green?

green are designed for low power usage, low data usage. They are used in most of the usb external hard drives WD supply. The reds are designed for home nas / heavier usage.

What this means is that the green drives have specific firmware that will basically put the drive in a standby state and spin down the platters after a short length of time, which is great for occasional home use. This is not so good for nas units that are in a RAID configuration as they ideally need to be up and running for most of the time the NAS is on, as is stipes the data, so you if you have the green drives, there will be a delay whilst it waits to spin up the drive etc. With the reds, you don't get this.

They also do a black drive, but that's for business use.

 

[Xanderzdad]

I'm using WD Red 3Tb and it is almost silent and so far has performed perfectly for about 2 years.

 

[Ravey Gravey Davy]

Also, what's the difference between the Red and Green?

Yellow.

Ask a daft question, etc.etc.

Sorry mate,I had exhausted my useful contribution.Doesn't usually take long.

 

[DIB]

I decided I wasn't going down the full on NAS road just yet.

I've got a laptop, I've got a Nexus tablet, and still got my old, noisy PC sat upstairs so I thought why don't I make do with what I've already got? So, I bought myself a small WD Elements 2TB USB 3.0 Portable HDD. £62.99 off Amazon. Copied all my music FLAC files off my PC (took ages BTW) and plugged it into my laptop, and there you have it one fully functioning NAS!

Controlling my SBT from my Nexus using the rather good SqueezeCommander App couldn't be easier. I'm having great fun at the moment going through all my old files. I literally have hundreds of old magazine freebie CDs ripped over the years (Mojo, Uncut, Vox, Q etc.) and there are some real nuggets in there, so having a good look back.

All together I've ripped over 1500 albums (20000+ tracks) over the years so I've got them all backed up twice to be safe.

Good stuff.