Synology DiskStation DS1813+ Review

Allan 'Zardon' Campbell June 17, 2013 Featured Announcement, NAS

We take the issue of noise very seriously at KitGuru and this is why we have built a special home brew system as a reference point when we test noise levels of various components.

Why do this? Well this means we can eliminate secondary noise pollution in the test room and concentrate on components we are testing. It also brings us slightly closer to industry standards, such as DIN 45635.

As this can be a little confusing for people, here are various dBa ratings in with real world situations to help describe the various levels.

KitGuru noise guide
10dBA – Normal Breathing/Rustling Leaves
20-25dBA – Whisper
30dBA – High Quality Computer fan
40dBA – A Bubbling Brook, or a Refridgerator
50dBA – Normal Conversation
60dBA – Laughter
70dBA – Vacuum Cleaner or Hairdryer
80dBA – City Traffic or a Garbage Disposal
90dBA – Motorcycle or Lawnmower
100dBA – MP3 player at maximum output
110dBA – Orchestra
120dBA – Front row rock concert/Jet Engine
130dBA – Threshold of Pain
140dBA – Military Jet takeoff/Gunshot (close range)
160dBA – Instant Perforation of eardrum

Noise was measured from half a meter away with 8x 1TB drives installed.

Noise levels are reasonably low, even when the system is loaded. Obviously in a work environment, the DS1813+ is likely to be locked away in a dedicated, sealed air conditioned IT room. Even in an office environment, the noise emissions were perfectly acceptable.

With 8x Samsung 1TB drives installed, the NAS took around 77 watts at the socket under load. This dropped to 35 watts when idle.
To test temperatures we maintained a steady 23c via our room conditioning unit.

The two fans are quite active, especially under load and the temperatures in the central section of the unit seemed slightly higher than on the sides.