I was not really sure where to post this, so since this is mostly a processor question, I figured this was a good place. I am considering these two NAS units, but cannot decide if the more expensive RS24 ($1699 for the RS24 with 4gb ram vs $948 for the DS1817+ with 8gb ram) was worth the cost for my needs. The fact that the 1817 uses such an old Atom processor vs the RS24 (Atom c2538 vs Atom c3538) is my main concern. Is the newer processor plus 4 more native drive bays worth the additional money? My usage is for a media share mostly. Full Blu Ray rips shared on the network to my streaming devices, but trans-coding is not usually required. My devices play the rips natively (Popcorn Hour A-500, Nvidia Shield). I do not use Plex, so mostly no transcoding. BUT... I would like the CAPABILITY to transcode at least a 1080p stream reliably or even 4K, should the need arise. I dont really want to pigeon hole myself into not being able to do that. Does the newer processor offer considerably more power in that regard? Otherwise, the NAS will just hold family photos and videos, plus music. At one point I was going to use the surveillance capability but a friend has convinced me to go with a dedicated Dahua system for that.
So should I spring for the extra processing for just media serving needs?
So should I spring for the extra processing for just media serving needs?