Upgrading your Synology NAS memory (RAM) allows you to perform multiple tasks at the same time without the extra activity slowing down your system. Since the memory upgrade provides more resources for the system to use, system performance is less likely to reduce because of multiple running processes or heavy loading processes.

As for the necessity of upgrading your Synology memory, it will depend on the user’s system environment and needs. If your NAS needs to perform multiple tasks at the same time, or handle heavy loading tasks, then you may want to consider upgrading the RAM. The following scenarios are examples of multiple tasks or heavy loading tasks:

• Examples: Running an Antivirus scan, data synchronization/backup, a large number of users accessing files on the system at the same time, Web-hosting with more than 10,000 visitors a day. All of these will affect the system performance of the NAS and make it extremely slow.

Where to see your NAS memory usage: In DSM / Resource Monitor / Performance / Memory you’ll see the memory usage of your system. Memory usage is often around 90% if you are performing multiple tasks and heavy loading tasks.

But if the memory utilization is not that high, for example, you are not running multiple complex tasks causing a low performance, you don’t necessarily need to upgrade your memory. Although you may want to. However, there are some things to know.

Synology has always put it clearly: We do not recommend using non-Synology memory modules. Using non-Synology memory modules may cause an unstable system or other serious issues such as the NAS can not boot up, data loss and more.

This may be true for RAM memories by less known producers who may not offer quality products, but not for producers like Kingston or Crucial, brand names with good reputation. I for one have installed two 4 GB blocks totaling 8 GB of RAM from Kingston HyperX on my DS718+ Synology NAS and everything has been working like a charm from the beginning.

How do you upgrade your Synology memory (RAM)?

Before inserting or removing the memory modules, please turn off your NAS and unplug the power cable. Below you can see some pictures of my DS718+ Synology NAS model undergoing the operation. 😀

How to open the Box? On YouTube you can find plenty of excellent step by step tutorials showing you how to open your Synology NAS box. But remember that you are doing so at your own risk as any damage that may result from the action is on you.

First Video: RAM Upgrade for a DS218+ Synology NAs

Second Video: RAM Upgrade for a DS718+ Synology NAS

Below you can see my RAM installation/upgrade process:

In the first image you can see the original 2 GB Synology RAM block. In the second picture you can see the upgrade with the two 8 GB RAM HyperX memory blocks (4 GB of RAM per module).

What happens if I install more RAM than the CPU processor can support? The excess RAM will never be used. There are people on YouTube and Forums who have purposefully installed 16 GB of RAM on their Synology boxes (models such as the DS718+ and DS218+). However, what it seems they might not have known is that the processor will never use the excess memory (or they might have known, but nevertheless proceeded with it in the hopes it might just work). Even if their system detects 16 GB of memory, the extra memory will never be used. The Celeron J3445 CPU can support up to 8 GB of RAM. Synology recommends installing a maximum of 6 GB of RAM, but they don’t offer any explanation as to why only 6, despite the processor supporting 8 GB without any issue (according to Intel, the manufacturer).

DS218+ = CPU Intel Celeron J3355 = Supports 8 GB RAM (Synology says 6 GB) (Intel says 8 GB).
DS718+ = CPU Intel Celeron J3445 = Supports 8 GB RAM (Synology says 6 GB) (Intel says 8 GB).

Official Synology Memory VS Non Original Memory: PRICE! OMG! Synology, why is your RAM so expensive? Is it gold or diamond? 100 EUR for one block of 4 GB RAM. Other brands like Crucial and Kingston offer the same for half the price!

Note: Which RAM to Buy For DS720+ NAS

Warning: Installing non-original RAM modules will cause you to lose the warranty on your Synology NAS. Therefore, if you do decide to install non-original RAM memories, as did I, you do it at your own risk. If you are careful however, it should all turn out alright.

This post was updated on Thursday / August 11th, 2022 at 12:35 PM