Request for advice

[Enquiries]

Hello,

Thanks for the great content you provide on your channel.

** Background **
I'm looking to replace my existing NAS, a Netgear Readynas NV+ which has done 15 years service (albeit with a second set of hard disks) It has 4 x 2TB drives providing ~5.4TB of space, which is mostly used.
The NAS is accessed via Windows File Explorer given there's no real apps or web interface given it's vintage. (to access the NAS I need to run an old version on FireFox)
Copying files is really slow, averaging ~5MB/s when copying photos.
The main router in the house is a only Gigabit
The datasheet advises the Netgear noise is ~31.5dBA at 1m with the NAS located in an open study area of the house. I really notice the fan noise on this unit.

We use the current NAS to store:
- Common MS office /PDF / similar files for 5 users [100GB];
- Our family photo album [250GB];
- Multi media files [4.5TB]

** Options **
I'm primarily looking a Synology unit due to the better software experience (user friendly software is a key requirement from others in my family!)
With the help of your video content, I've narrowed the choice down to either the DS920+ or DS1522+ In Australia these retail for $1000 (920 : including 4GB additional memory) and $1,299 for 1522+
Of the two units, my preference is for the DS1522+ due to the 5 bays and 8GB of RAM pre-installed.
The plan would be to use SHR and populate with 3 x 10TB Seagate Ironwolf drives which provides 20TB usable space (expandable with 2 more drives later)
Do I need to worry about mixing and matching drive vintages when I eventually add more drives?

I have looked at the DS1621+ but this comes with a higher price tag (AU$1,449) as well as an increased the noise level (25.2dBA at 1m)

Currently I run Kodi on a dedicated HTPC connected to the TV and mapped NAS drives with the media. This has worked well to date.

Do you have any thoughts on my selection of a DS1522+ given the above information?
Am I being too narrow focusing only on the Synology range?

Thanks in advance for your time reviewing my request.

Regards,

Bruce

[ed]

Yes, if you need something you can set up and forget- Synology will give you that.
Leaving few bays spare for future expansion is a smart move. With an SHR enabled you can even add different capacity drives to gain even more space.
DS1522+ is Ryzen based model. Similar to ds1621+ it has no graphics chip built in. So practically these two models will perform very similar in home environment.
This will nicely replace your old NAS. You can link it the same way with your HTPC and laptops. The old NAS can be repurposed as a backup solution.

I hope this helps.