How to Upgrade RAM on Synology NAS DS1520+

by Rian

Synology NAS is weirdly customizable for a NAS. This one is a compliment. Not only Synology offers various NAS models, each models have usually have few upgradeable points, namely m.2 SSDs and RAM. This piece is about choosing the RAM, why someone would consider upgrading the RAM, and what would be the potential downsides of choosing third-party RAM. All in all, I do recommend it even for general users, especially if your NAS has slowed down significantly with DSM 7.

As far as I am aware, Synology only recommends using its own branded RAM upgrade kit, which I would have considered if Synology still offered a kit for DS1520+; a kit for older models weren’t easily available. Also, there is the question of price. The price quote I found from an old blog post suggests for an 8GB RAM, Synology was roughly charging $300, compared that to what I paid for 16GB of non-official version, about $35, I think most home users would choose third-party option.

Preface

The upgrade doesn’t actually require special tools. What you do need to consider is whether or not the upgrade will be worth it. Upgrading it won’t void the warranty, as far as I could read on it; simply keep the original RAM it came for rainy days. It is relatively inexpensive compared to alternatives, such as SSD cache. I will detail my other findings in the afterthoughts. Additionally, one thing to note —on DS1520+, half the pre-installed memory (4GB) is soldered on board, and therefore cannot be upgraded.

Instruction

1. You need to find a compatible RAM chip. For DS1520+, I was able to work with DDR4-3200, non-ECC, laptop (SO-DIMM) . There is a reddit megathread and Google form that is keeping record of other people’s experience.
2. Order the found chip through a seller with no questions asked refund policy*.

* Due to compatibility issue, you may need to return the ordered RAM. And from my experience, some sellers do refuse to take the return as it was “used” and therefore has lost its value. I would recommend buying it through a reputable website, and/or through a seller with transparent refund policy.

3. Once you have the new RAM in hand, turn off the NAS. I would advise taking 15-30 minutes to cool down, especially HDD can be uncomfortable to touch.
4. Remove all HDDs, including the tray. RAM slots are located at the right of the HDD bay.
5. Remove the pre-installed RAM Keep them for repairs and etc. by pulling the two small ledges on the side. Once the ledge is unlocked, you can easily pull the RAM out.
6. Install the new RAM, you will hear the click from the ledge.
7. Reinstall all the HDDs.
8. First boot up after the upgrade may take up to 30 minutes, as DSM runs RAM test upon installation. If the power LED is still blinking after 30 minutes, either the RAM is not installed correctly or incompatible.
   

Afterthoughts

My recommendation, from my anecdotal experience, is that DSM can take advantage of added RAM, and it is quite good at that. Since the release of DSM 7, logging into DSM via web couldn’t have been painful, and so is the overall Synology apps and services. Resource Monitor always said it is using only 15-25% of the original 8GB Ram it had, but it was also fully cached. I was pleasantly surprised to find out DSM can make most out of it.

There are several things to consider before going all-in on the RAM. One, Synology’s spec sheet and Intel’s spec sheet both indicate J4125 processor can only address 8GB. But as the evidence shows, and I’ve tested it on my machine as well, J4125 on DS1520+ is capable of addressing 20GB without issues. This falls under the better than advertised category of good, but unreliable nonetheless. Two, the overall compatibility issue is still shrouded in mystery. The same blog post which compared the price of the official upgrade kit speculated Synology NAS might be incompatible with 1R (rank) chips. The trouble is, because most mainboards accept RAMs regardless of ranks, product pages often skip out on the bit of the information. And some manufacturers even differentiate them in packaging. More the reason to stick with refundable purchase.

On the matter of refunds, I’ve had sellers —when dealing with computer parts— who would openly reject returns based on the fact that the product was either opened or used, and therefore product value has depreciated. Despite consumer laws saying otherwise, I’ve seen sellers dragging out even the tiniest of the case for weeks, or months, if possible. Once, I bought some HDDs and one of them was DOA. The seller insisted I pay for the extra shipping label to have it inspected. Only after it is declared DOA, the seller would compensate for the extra shipping and an exchange. The whole process took roughly 2 weeks, and by then I had already bought another drive with express shipping to fill the RAID. Don’t make the same mistake as I did.