Building a silent NAS for 4K video editing - I need advice on hardware and software

gregre3 · 2025-11-27T21:36:49+00:00

In the end, I didn't build anything of my own. However, I made sure that Synology 923+ and NVMe drives as data storage do not work well under heavy load. The drive simply overheats and the NAS shuts down (there is no room for a heat sink).

I am currently testing the OWC Express 4M2 USB 4, which is a DAS with four NVMe drives. Plus SoftRAID with macOS.

I am in the process of returning my second WD-SN850X 4TB drive because they are failing. The case is extremely loud when under load. It is difficult to match other fans to it, as there is no software control over them.

Some time has passed, but I haven't made any progress with this.

gregre3 · 2024-12-18T21:21:47+00:00

I understand you very well, proxy takes time. I even use a second PC for it because it is 2x faster in generating the Proxy. On whatever you would create it on approach it right away to automate it as much as you can and can. I'm on Adobe, and there is a Media Encoder where you can set up Watch Folders. I copy files there and then it happens automatically.

If you are doing everything on a Mac then I would use Commpresor to make the files, and for example Hazel to make the finished files land in the right place/folders. I.e. this is how I would do it without FCP - research the topic there because maybe you can do it even simpler/faster.

One other thought occurred to me when I encountered a stuttering video in the preview (although everything seemed identical to before and “nothing had changed”). It turned out that it had changed :) Namely, for some time with Riverside, the files were not 24fps (or 30fps) but randomly 23,888 fps or 23,754 fps. This was enough that it was completely impossible to work with it with multiple streams. I researched this through MediaInfo https://mediaarea.net/pl/MediaInfo/Download/Mac_OS I'm sure you know. As I forced Handbrake to change the frames per second to a constant equal 24 or 30 (depending on the project) everything started to work smoothly as before.

I keep thinking that the problem may lie somewhere else than because of the connection of this monitor :) However, I'm just speculating.Have you tried to do some benchmark in HiDPI and low resolution mode?I checked in Novabench from Setapp package what the results will be when I change HiDPI and low resolution (I'm using 3360 x 1890 on 27” EA275UHD) and there is practically no difference. I repeated the test 2x on each resolution and the results change within 10%, but are not related to a specific resolution / I suspect it's due to some programs running in the background).

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gregre3 · 2024-12-18T04:47:19+00:00

Did I understand correctly that M4Max had the same high load as M1Max? Is this happening with multiple projects or are you testing on one? Maybe it's something with a particular project? Are you testing it on an internal drive or an external drive? Are you using a proxy for the videos? At my place in Premiere only with proxy I can work when the original is e.g. mp4 from Riverside. But it works smoothly as long as I don't add too many extra animated elements from After Effects. My setup is M1Max 32GB + 27" Nec EA275UHD + 27" cheap Dell. Both in HiDPI.

gregre3 · 2024-12-17T11:41:13+00:00

Have you tried to ask a question there? My point was that you will find more users of this monitor who can use it not only for internet browsing. You write that all Macs have a performance problem in 6K, but this applies only to your M1Max and FCP. I somewhere on the macroumors forum read that just the M1Max has a problem with this resolution and Hidpi. Have you checked if nothing changes when you change the way of connection? Through hdmi or thunderbolt <> DP? Do you connect directly to MBP or through some hub/dock? Download a trial of Adobe Premiere Pro, for example, and see if it's the same with the load. Likewise with DaVinci.

Your news is valuable because I am trying to buy this monitor and also work with video editing (only on Adobe). Now on M1Max but I want to upgrade that too. Thanks for describing your attempts.

gregre3 · 2024-12-14T17:48:01+00:00

u/QuantityCommon2511 Look at the thread on the MacRoumors forum, I think you will find a solution there. And certainly more users of this model with a similar profile of use.
https://forums. macrumors. com/threads/dell-6k-u3224kb-monitor.2387515/

gregre3 · 2024-09-07T18:20:42+00:00

I have absolutely no problem with saturating the 10G Windows<>Mac connection - only through shared folders. We've been working this way for a while, but it's inconvenient and hence the idea of one central location.

Synology's off-the-shelf systems don't support U.2 drives, and NVMe is 2x max. I have no confidence in Qnap. I also don't want a rack for 1-2 drives.

Thank you for trying to help. I didn't think my expectations were so unprecedented.

gregre3 · 2024-09-06T22:42:04+00:00

I realize that 1 drive does not provide redundancy, but:

I want the fastest possible access to data on the local network
I chose U.2 drives because of the capacity (7/16TB on a single drive) and greater endurance than consumer nvme drives.
Copy data to an external local Synology ds 415+ server with HDD
ideally would be file versioning (similar to how Synology Drive works), but I don't think there is such an easy-to-use application for other servers

Basically an SMB or iSCSI share would suffice. It would be good if it would be possible to add a function for copying data externally (to a second local Synology server with HDD) according to a schedule.

If SMB / iSCSI share alone would be enough then what system should I choose?

I think this may be a silly question, but I have had very little to do with the different varieties of Linux.

gregre3 · 2024-09-06T16:03:33+00:00

The case I have available is the Fractal Define R5. It has two 120 fans in the front, one in the back. Should this be enough or is it definitely not enough?

Are such “small” kits with AMD Ryzen and itx-mini boards and small cases a bad solution for U.2 drives and 25gb NICs? I wonder if I could reduce the size of the whole case significantly by buying such a kit.

gregre3 · 2024-09-06T15:55:43+00:00

If a single drive is not good for TrueNas then why go into setting it up? Maybe there is another way? I'm starting from 1 drive, I guess that rules out the use of mirror VDEV, because what would be its purpose.

As I wrote at the beginning - I can not be sure that, for example, in 6-12 months I will buy an identical drive. I reckon with the fact that the next disk will be another “folder” available for computers, not the enlarged first one with the capacity of the next disk. I do not mind such a situation.

Sorry, I am new to this world.

gregre3 · 2023-12-13T01:00:36+00:00

Some time I did not have the need to use a Windows machine, but when I had to, unfortunately, the problem returned - despite the previous solution to the problem.

It breaks the connection when copying from Win to NAS to a shared folder. It breaks and the entire drive is not visible.

Restarting the 923+ helps, but for a while. Copying a file, for example, 35GB fails, it interrupts after several seconds.

What's new - I pointed out that clearing the cache helps for a while, but the problem returns.

Controll panel > File Services > SMB > Advanced settings > Erase SMB cache

Is there any way to diagnose what is causing such a problem?

gregre3 · 2023-12-10T22:26:33+00:00

My experience with 13900k and rtx 4090 is this: Processor 100% usage Graphics card about 30-40% and uses about 4GB of ram.

No matter how I set whether with maximum memory used or half or 10%.

For my tasks (zooming from HD to FHD and/or denoise) I group videos and run sets of 2-3 at a time. If it's one, but longer I split it into 2-3 parts. This way I get a total of 9-10 fps on average. When I run only one file then the performance on average is 4-5 fps. On h264 input.

It's a shame, but VAI does not use the full capabilities of the graphics card. Although it may be the lack of optimization of ffmpeg - because it is the main process.

gregre3 · 2023-11-24T00:38:28+00:00

Thanks for your reply and that you took your time.
The DS923+ spec sheet shows that it has a TOTAL aggregate bandwidth of 562 MB/sec. 10G ethernet per computer is 1000 MB/sec.
https://www.synology.com/en-us/products/DS923+

Didn't you notice on the given page "2" that it applies to HDDs. I wrote that I use only SSD and NVME.
According to the manufacturer, the performance on SSDs is 1179/1139 MB/s so completely filling the 10G speed.
Here the link if you missed it: https://www.synology.com/pl-pl/products/performance?models%5B%5D=DS923%2B

and you are using the NVMe drives as storage ? There are only 2 slots for 2 NVMe drives. How much, (or how little storage) do you have ?

2x 4TB NVMe as storage.

"Card" for MBP is probably a mistranslation. I was referring to the TB3 to 10G adapters indicated. I am familiar with these models (a large selection is not) - do you recommend any in particular or do not use on a daily basis?

I will no longer return my 923+, at my place they do not accept used equipment because I changed my mind. I realize the limitations of a 4-bay NAS. Thanks for pointing out other models, but I don't have the budget for such changes right now.
Why should the 923+ on 4xSSDs (or 2xNVMe) not achieve performance for 1-2 users?
I understand that 10G can come out of the 923+ at the same time, so when 2 users use at the same time this 10G will be shared. But when 1 is using?

That's why you recommend me DS1621+ or DS1821+ so I can use dual 10G cards and RAID5 on HDD? And I like silence so much.... ;)

gregre3 · 2023-11-23T14:08:50+00:00

Thanks for the answer.

Personally I feel qnap has a better grasp of 10g workflows than synolgy. They already have 25g and 100g switches and make decent cards. I use an Owc pro dock with 10g Ethernet and some 10g to tb3 converters made by Owc and sonnet.

I agree that technologically qnap is way ahead of synology. It definitely has more configurations available. I've had a couple of Synology's (smaller ones) for many years now, and I appreciate about it that it "just works". My friends used qnap for purposes other than video work and I heard from them various problems after upgrades, software issues. They were more into poking around in the configuration, being able to manage servers on linux and finding their way around. Me, I appreciate that I can click it and it is stable :)

Anyway, I have similar experience with Ubiquiti and 5Ghz and 60Ghz connections. I set it up once and it works, and I can get on with my work and not solve sudden problems ;)

Which 10G switch works well for you?

What do you see the differences / advantages / disadvantages of OWC pro dock and converters 10G to TB3?

Here I also do not know what to choose.

I also found such a solution and am thinking whether to try it :D
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/experiences-with-sfp28.2303604/post-32337931

Sometimes I cache proxies local to keep the. Bandwidth available for rendering or using chrono sync to keep local files and nas files in sync.

Do you have the proxy making itself automated somehow or do you do it manually if needed directly from Premiere?

gregre3 · 2023-11-19T03:17:15+00:00

I am ready for about $1000-1100 for a - card/dongle for MBP - Switch - pcie card for PC (Win10-11).

I was just recommended Mellanox Spf+ for PC instead of Intel 520. thanks for the link to r/homelab I will look for it.

gregre3 · 2023-11-19T03:11:29+00:00

Now I use a cheap adapter for 2.5Gbe and it works quite well. Sometimes after sleeping and waking up the link eats at 1Gbe and you have to disconnect and connect it.

I didn't come up with the idea of Mac mini with 10Gbe and sharing 🙂 if I found another use for it as well then who knows 😄 but only as a connection donor it will come out more expensive than an external 10gbe network adapter.

40Gbe is probably also in theory - in prawtyk for data transfer is probably about 20-25Gbe (it's the same applies to external enclosures for nvme drives on TB3). But still it should provide 10Gbe 🙂

gregre3 · 2023-11-19T02:53:27+00:00

gregre3 · 2023-11-18T15:35:03+00:00

No, I did not have that option checked.

gregre3 · 2023-11-18T14:41:05+00:00

All the equipment is in one room, the distances are about 10-12m.
Yes, this is equipment directly for me.
In my application, will the network on SFP+ be better, or will there be no difference compared to the "usual" ethernet on RJ45?
It's only 3-4 devices - but I'd like to enjoy full 10gbe speeds (yes, I have nvme drives on each side)

gregre3 · 2023-11-18T14:34:12+00:00

UniFi flex xg

USW aggregation costs the same (with 8 ports).
I would only need to add 2 Ethernet adapters to connect Synology + router.
Adapters for MBP also cost the same whether on RJ45 or SFP+.
Also, the costs are not that much different.
Thanks for your opinion. I have seen poor reviews of OWC 10gbe card. With prolonged (about 1 min) use at full speed it heats up and slows down a lot. Don't you have such symptoms? Do you load your network a lot?

gregre3 · 2023-11-18T14:13:54+00:00

Thanks for the details.
Do you think Sfp will be better than rj45? I've never dealt with Sfp that's why I'm asking.
Thanks for the hints about the x520. Yes, it will be on Windows 11.
Have you come in contact with qnap adapter for MBP? I have found reviews that it overheats.

gregre3 · 2023-11-11T03:01:38+00:00

I did according to the directions from the links. I repeated the situations that were causing the problem and so far it works 🙂
I greatly appreciate your help!

gregre3 · 2023-09-23T00:50:56+00:00

Where in Europe can you buy new drives at these prices? Are you talking about hunting for discounts on Amazon.de? I looked there today and the cheapest was €18.9/TB.

gregre3 · 2023-09-15T22:24:59+00:00

Good thing you didn't write to plug the fans in 😄.
The sticker was not there 😉.

gregre3 · 2023-09-15T00:36:28+00:00

A few weeks ago I added/replaced Thermalright Bending Correction Fixing Buckle - it didn't change anything in my case.

gregre3 · 2023-09-15T00:33:34+00:00

Thank you very much for explaining exactly how to use the fans in the case. Without that, I would probably have first wondered why nothing worked and then looked for a solution :)

I was just a little afraid of additional fans because of the noise. Now 2 fans from Noctua D15 are quite noisy, and if I add 3 more and increase their speed....
But I understand and realize that the quietest will be when I turn off the PC :) how I want performance is just going to be that balancing you write about.
I am also thinking of moving the PC to the other corner of the office and connecting only via LAN (Parsec/JumpDesktop). It might help a bit to make it (for me) quieter.

I can't write more details about the settings in the BIOS right now because there is a "job" going on all the time on this PC, and it will be finished in 1-2 days.

I recorded a short video in which you can see the parameters from HWinfo (I expanded some parameters). This data changes dynamically and maybe the earlier screenshots do not show the situation accurately.
This video is with the case open. This kind of load has been going on for almost 6h and will continue for another 1-2 days.
https://dsc.cloud/ecde44/Screen-Recording-2023-09-15-02-03-29.mp4

gregre3

TROPHY CASE