Why upgrade RAM and install SSDs

[Enquiries]

Hi there,
I’ve just ordered the DS923+ (upgrading from a DS218+) and will have 2 x 8tb and 2 x 14tb WD Red drives. The NAS is primarily use for storing photos and videos which serves them up through an external Plex server.
I’m not technically minded and the only reason for the upgrade is to future proof myself for more storage space. The DS218+ has been great and does what I need however I’m trying to find out why people would upgrade the RAM or install SSDs. Everything online shows how to do it but I’m after a laymen’s terms ‘what purpose does it serve?’

Many thanks

[ed]

Congratulations on your upgrade to the DS923+! Upgrading RAM can be beneficial if you find yourself running out of memory, especially when running multiple apps, VMs, Docker containers, or a web server. It provides better performance and smoother multitasking. As for installing SSDs, they can serve different purposes. In a business environment, NVMe cache can be useful when the same data is accessed frequently, speeding up access times. Additionally, some users use NVMe as storage instead of cache to achieve blazing-fast data and app access speeds. However, if your usage mainly revolves around storing photos and videos served through an external Plex server, you might not see significant speed improvements with an SSD setup. For now, focus on the RAM upgrade for better performance, and you can consider SSDs in the future if your needs evolve or if you venture into more demanding tasks.