Products · Synology · NAS
Synology RS2418+
- Processor
- Intel Atom C3538 / C3558
- Memory (RAM)
- 4 or 64 GB
- Released
- 2018
Product page (opens in a new tab)Discontinued Full AI report
Configurations
Pick one to see which models it runs. More memory lets larger models fit; bandwidth sets how fast they answer.
| Configuration | Memory | Usable for AI | Bandwidth | LLMs that run well | Launch price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Intel Atom C3538 / C3558 | 4.0 GB | 2.0 GB | 19 GB/s | 42 of 622 | — |
| Intel Atom C3538 / C3558 · upgraded to the maker's maximum | 64.0 GB | 54.4 GB | 19 GB/s | 57 of 622 | — |
Specifications 4.0 GB configuration
| Maker | Synology |
|---|---|
| Type | NAS |
| Processor | Intel Atom C3538 / C3558 NAS (4 GB) |
| Memory (RAM) | 4.0 GB |
| Usable for AI models | 2.0 GB |
| Memory bandwidth | 19 GB/s |
| FP16 compute | 0.1 TFLOPS |
| Runs models on | CPU cores |
| Drive bays | 12x 3.5" SATA HDD or 2.5" SATA HDD/SSD |
| NAS system | DSM 7.x |
| Containers (Docker) | Yes |
| Virtual machines | Yes |
| Memory upgrade | DDR4 non-ECC UDIMM · 4 slots · up to 64.0 GB per the maker · non-ECC |
| Graphics card options | PCIe: 1 x Gen3 x8 slot (x4 link). |
| Availability | Discontinued (sold used or refurbished) |
| Notes | Intel Atom C3538. Runs Docker and takes up to 64 GB RAM, but the Intel Atom C3538 (4C/4T) is a slow, older low-power CPU with no GPU option; only small models are practical. |
| Product page | www.synology.com (opens in a new tab)Discontinued |
Running AI on the Synology RS2418+
It can, with limits: expect small models only, at modest speed. Models run on its CPU cores, and this configuration leaves about 2.0 GB for them after the NAS system and its storage services. The grades below assume the NAS isn’t busy with backups or media work at the same time. More memory is the upgrade that matters most: see the configurations.
Apps you can install to run models
| App | How it installs |
|---|---|
| Ollama + Open WebUI | In a container (Docker) |
| Any Linux guest running llama.cpp / Ollama | In a virtual machine |
AI features from Synology
| Feature | What it does | Where the AI runs |
|---|---|---|
| Synology AI Console (cloud providers) | Admin console that connects Synology Office, MailPlus, Chat, Drive etc. to Amazon Bedrock, Azure OpenAI, Baidu AI Cloud, Google AI Studio/Vertex AI, OpenAI or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint. | Cloud service or another computer |
| AI Console de-identification | Masks names and other sensitive entities before text is sent to a remote AI provider, using small local language models run through Container Manager. | On the NAS |
Best LLMs for the Synology RS2418+ 4.0 GB
| Quality | Model | Quant | Memory | Speed | Runs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 53Fair quality (C) · 53 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 68/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | LFM3 1.7B | Q4_K_M | 1.9 GB | 5.7 tok/s | Slowtight fit |
| 39Basic quality (D) · 39 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 65/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | PaddleOCR-VL 1.6 0.9B | Q4_K_M | 1.5 GB | 10.2 tok/s | Runs well |
| 42Fair quality (C) · 42 of 100: how capable the model is at Q3_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 63/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | LFM3-VL 2B | Q3_K_M | 1.8 GB | 6.6 tok/s | Slowtight fit |
| 30Basic quality (D) · 30 of 100: how capable the model is at Q3_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 61/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | MiniCPM5 1B | Q3_K_M | 1.5 GB | 11.8 tok/s | Runs well |
| 29Basic quality (D) · 29 of 100: how capable the model is at Q2_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 61/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | MiniCPM-OCR 1.0 1.3B | Q2_K | 1.4 GB | 12.4 tok/s | Runs well |
| 33Basic quality (D) · 33 of 100: how capable the model is at Q3_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 60/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | TMax 2B | Q3_K_M | 1.8 GB | 6.8 tok/s | Slowtight fit |
| 28Basic quality (D) · 28 of 100: how capable the model is at Q2_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 60/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | MiniCPM-V 4.7 1B | Q2_K | 1.5 GB | 10.4 tok/s | Runs well |
| 26Basic quality (D) · 26 of 100: how capable the model is at Q3_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 59/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | LFM2.5 1.2B Instruct | Q3_K_M | 1.4 GB | 10.9 tok/s | Runs well |
| 33Basic quality (D) · 33 of 100: how capable the model is at Q3_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 59/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | Qwen3.5 2B | Q3_K_M | 2.0 GB | 5.6 tok/s | Slowtight fit |
| 24Basic quality (D) · 24 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 59/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | Qwen3.5 0.8B | Q4_K_M | 1.4 GB | 11.3 tok/s | Runs well |
Best Image models for the Synology RS2418+ 4.0 GB
| Quality | Model | Quant | Memory | Speed | Runs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 39Basic quality (D) · 39 of 100: how capable the model is at FP8, whatever it runs on. Match score 50/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | SDXL Turbo | FP8 | 1.6 GB | 71 s | SlowCPU offload |
| 42Fair quality (C) · 42 of 100: how capable the model is at FP16, whatever it runs on. Match score 47/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | Realistic Vision V5.1 | FP16 | 1.3 GB | 10.6 min | Very slowCPU offload |
| 28Basic quality (D) · 28 of 100: how capable the model is at FP16, whatever it runs on. Match score 46/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | SD Turbo | FP16 | 1.3 GB | 42 s | SlowCPU offload |
| 40Fair quality (C) · 40 of 100: how capable the model is at FP16, whatever it runs on. Match score 46/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | DreamShaper 8 | FP16 | 1.3 GB | 10.6 min | Very slowCPU offload |
| 35Basic quality (D) · 35 of 100: how capable the model is at FP16, whatever it runs on. Match score 44/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | Stable Diffusion 1.5 | FP16 | 1.3 GB | 10.6 min | Very slowCPU offload |
| 30Basic quality (D) · 30 of 100: how capable the model is at FP16, whatever it runs on. Match score 44/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | LCM DreamShaper v7 | FP16 | 1.3 GB | 2.2 min | SlowCPU offload |
Best Video models for the Synology RS2418+ 4.0 GB
None of the video models in our catalog fit in this much memory.
Best Decision models for the Synology RS2418+ 4.0 GB
| Quality | Model | Quant | Memory | Speed | Runs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 86Excellent quality (A+) · 86 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 79/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | Jina Reranker v3.5 | Q8_0 | 1.6 GB | 17.2 s | Very slow |
| 84Great quality (A) · 84 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 78/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | Jina Reranker v3 | Q8_0 | 1.6 GB | 17.2 s | Very slow |
| 80Great quality (A) · 80 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 77/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | GLiNER2.5 Decide | Q8_0 | 1.2 GB | 7.6 s | Very slow |
| 80Great quality (A) · 80 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 77/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | FRIDA-Decisions | Q8_0 | 1.7 GB | 12.7 s | Very slow |
| 80Great quality (A) · 80 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 77/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | Qwen3 Reranker 0.6B | Q8_0 | 1.6 GB | 17.2 s | Very slow |
| 76Great quality (A) · 76 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 75/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | Llama Prompt Guard 2 86M | Q8_0 | 1.0 GB | 8.7 s | Very slow |
| 79Great quality (A) · 79 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 75/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | mxbai-rerank-large v2 | Q5_K_M | 1.9 GB | 44.0 s | Very slowtight fit |
| 76Great quality (A) · 76 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 75/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | mxbai-rerank-base v2 | Q8_0 | 1.3 GB | 14.0 s | Very slow |
Other products with the Intel Atom C3538 / C3558 NAS (4 GB)
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RS2418RP+Product page (opens in a new tab)Discontinued
DS2419+IIProduct page (opens in a new tab)Discontinued
DS2419+Product page (opens in a new tab)Discontinued
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DVA3219Product page (opens in a new tab)Discontinued- ReadyNAS 426 / 428 (RN426, RN428)Product page (opens in a new tab)Discontinued
Spec sources
Estimates come from published hardware specs and our open formulas, not from running the model on your machine. Real speed varies with runtime, drivers and settings. Numbers marked “Measured” come from a linked benchmark.