Synology DiskStation DS118 1-bay NAS Review

Rating: 8.0.

Synology's latest single bay NAS is the DiskStation DS118. Part of the company's Value Series, the DS118 is equipped with a quad core 64-bit processor and DDR4 memory and is marketed as a high performance single bay NAS for small offices and home users. It also has the ability to perform 10-bit 4K H.265 video transcoding on the fly.

The Synology DiskStation DS118 is a step up in terms of CPU and memory from the previous DS116 model, using a 64-bit quad core Realtek RTD1296 processor clocked at 1.4GHz (the DS116 uses a 32-bit 1.8GHz Marvell Armada 385 88F6820) and 1GB of DDR4 memory as opposed to the 1GB of DDR3 in the DS116.

Thanks to the Realtek RTD1296 CPU, the DS118 has hardware encryption and transcoding engines. The transcoding engine supports 10-bit 4K (4096 x 2160), H.265 (HEVC) at a maximum frame rate of 30fps and 1080p (1920 x 1080) H.264 (AVC)/H.265 (HEVC)/MPEG-4 Part 2 (XVID, DIVX5)/MPEG-2/VC-1, again at a maximum of 30fps.

Physical Specifications:
Processor: Realtek RTD1296 quad core 1.4GHz.
Memory: 1 GB DDR4.
Gigabit Ethernet Ports: 1.
Rear panel connectors: 2 x USB 3.0
Cooling : Active, 1 x 60mm fan.
Drive Bays Supported: 1.
Maximum hard drive size supported: 12TB.
Maximum Capacity ; 12TB.
Internal File System support: EXT4.
Dimensions (D x W x H):  224 x 166 x 71mm.
Weight: 0.7kg.

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