Qnap TS-464eU-8G - WD Red SN700 NVMe & 32GB RAM

[Dysl3cic]

Hello Robbie and Eddie!

Just purchased Qnap TS-464eU-8G for my rack cabinet as a replacement to TS-673 (I am aware of the noise generated) and future possibility to migrate to ZFS.
I have two questions and would appreciate your support. 

I am hesitating to buy 2 x WD Red SN700 NVMe 500 or 1000 capacity due lack of the information if I can configure them as QTS drive in Raid 1.
I read somewhere that there is no advantage of QTS being installed on NVMe as the system is spread across all drives. 
Is that really the case for QTS (and in future for ZFS), hence using both NVMe as cache would be better option?
From the old system I have 4 x HDD Red (SMR unfortunately) that I will configure in Raid 10 to reduce a risk of drive failure if I would have them in Raid 5 configuration and during potential rebuilding of the raid matrix.

Second question I have regarding 2 x 16GB DDR4, to be more specific the Crucial ‎CT16G4SFRA32A.
Many sources reports that the onboard intel can support more than 16GB of RAM and up to 64 in total.
Have you heard or know if that is the case and before I make my mind to buy the extra memory?

I would highly appreciate your reply.
Andy

[ed]

Hi Andy,

Thanks for reaching out, and congratulations on your new QNAP TS-464eU-8G! It’s a solid choice for your rack cabinet, especially considering your plans for ZFS in the future.

NVMe Configuration
Regarding your first question about the WD Red SN700 NVMe drives, you can indeed configure them as a QTS drive in RAID 1. However, it's worth noting that while having your OS on NVMe can provide faster boot times, QTS (and even ZFS) typically distributes system files across all drives in the array, meaning the performance benefit may not be as pronounced as expected. Given this, using the NVMe drives primarily as cache could be a more advantageous option, especially if your workloads involve frequently accessed files. This setup can enhance read and write speeds without relying solely on the operating system installation.

RAM Capacity
For your second question about RAM, the QNAP TS-464eU-8G indeed supports up to 64GB of RAM. The Crucial CT16G4SFRA32A modules you're considering should work well, provided the total RAM does not exceed the maximum supported by your NAS. Upgrading to 32GB (2 x 16GB) will definitely improve performance, especially if you plan to run multiple applications or virtual machines in the future.

[Dysl3cic]

Many thanks for solid and re-assuring reply, Eddie. It really helps.