Synology DS213j NAS Review

Allan 'Zardon' Campbell June 26, 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 a meter away.

The system registered right at the lowest dBa reading our equipment is capable of measuring. In ‘real world' terms you would be hard pressed to hear the 92mm fan spinning at all. We didn't notice any change in fan noise levels when both drives were busy reading and writing data. The fan seems to lock to a specific speed and remain at that.

We measured power from the socket with 2 x 1TB Samsung hard drives installed.

When the drives are idle the system consumes around 5 watts of power. This rises to around 17-19 watts under load. Other hard drives may give slightly different results, but there is no doubting that this unit is extremely efficient.

The large 92 mm fan spins very slowly but still manages to produce a reasonably strong air flow to cool both hard drives. Our room was held at 22c ambient during the testing.