07-04-2025, 01:56 PM
Great questions — and good choice looking at the DS1522+. It’s still an excellent 5-bay unit, and you’re spot on about its strengths and limitations. Let me tackle your two questions:
✅ 1. NVMe storage pools:
Out of the box, Synology officially only supports using NVMe SSDs as cache (read/write) — not as standalone storage pools. And officially, they only certify their own branded NVMe SSDs for that role.
That said, many users have successfully installed third-party NVMe drives (Crucial P3, WD SN570/SN770, etc.) as cache with no issues — Synology won’t block you, though they may pop up a warning that the drive is “not validated.”
If you’re hoping to actually create a storage pool on NVMe, that’s not something DSM allows on the DS1522+. The NVMe slots are strictly for cache in DSM 7.x, even with unofficial drives.
✅ 2. RAM upgrades:
Same story here — officially they only support their own (overpriced) ECC SO-DIMMs. Unofficially though, the DS1522+ is quite tolerant. Users have reported running 32GB (2x16GB) of standard non-ECC DDR4 SO-DIMM at 2666/3200 without issues, though Synology only officially specs it for 32GB ECC max.
If you care about avoiding warning popups and having full compatibility, use Synology’s own RAM. If you’re comfortable ignoring the warning in DSM and saving money, Kingston, Crucial, Timetec and others make affordable, compatible SO-DIMMs that work fine.
Summary:
• NVMe: Third-party is fine for cache, but not usable as a storage pool.
• RAM: Third-party is fine up to 32GB (just avoid exotic high-voltage or non-standard kits).
If you’d like, I can even recommend specific models of NVMe and RAM that others have tested successfully in the DS1522+.
Best of luck — it’s still a very solid choice in 2025, especially if you’re happy to work around the Synology “approved parts” push.
✅ 1. NVMe storage pools:
Out of the box, Synology officially only supports using NVMe SSDs as cache (read/write) — not as standalone storage pools. And officially, they only certify their own branded NVMe SSDs for that role.
That said, many users have successfully installed third-party NVMe drives (Crucial P3, WD SN570/SN770, etc.) as cache with no issues — Synology won’t block you, though they may pop up a warning that the drive is “not validated.”
If you’re hoping to actually create a storage pool on NVMe, that’s not something DSM allows on the DS1522+. The NVMe slots are strictly for cache in DSM 7.x, even with unofficial drives.
✅ 2. RAM upgrades:
Same story here — officially they only support their own (overpriced) ECC SO-DIMMs. Unofficially though, the DS1522+ is quite tolerant. Users have reported running 32GB (2x16GB) of standard non-ECC DDR4 SO-DIMM at 2666/3200 without issues, though Synology only officially specs it for 32GB ECC max.
If you care about avoiding warning popups and having full compatibility, use Synology’s own RAM. If you’re comfortable ignoring the warning in DSM and saving money, Kingston, Crucial, Timetec and others make affordable, compatible SO-DIMMs that work fine.
Summary:
• NVMe: Third-party is fine for cache, but not usable as a storage pool.
• RAM: Third-party is fine up to 32GB (just avoid exotic high-voltage or non-standard kits).
If you’d like, I can even recommend specific models of NVMe and RAM that others have tested successfully in the DS1522+.
Best of luck — it’s still a very solid choice in 2025, especially if you’re happy to work around the Synology “approved parts” push.