Side-by-side specifications of the Synology DS1525+ and DS1618+, from official datasheets. Differences are highlighted.
| DS1525+ | DS1618+ | |
| CPU | AMD Ryzen V1500B | Intel Atom C3538 |
| Cores / threads | 4 cores / 8 threads | 4 cores / 4 threads |
| RAM (base) | 8 GB DDR4 ECC SODIMM | 4 GB DDR4 non-ECC SODIMM |
| RAM (max) | 32 GB (16 GB x 2) | 32 GB |
| Drive bays | 5 | 6 |
| Expandable to | 15 total (2 x DX525) | 10 (with 2× DX517) |
| M.2 slots | 2 NVMe | 2 (via optional adapter card) |
| Network | 2 x 2.5GbE RJ-45 | 4× 1GbE RJ-45 |
| 10GbE | optional | optional |
| Max raw capacity | 300 TB raw | 192 TB raw (with 2× DX517) |
| Hot-swap | yes | yes |
| Form factor | Desktop | Tower |
| Released | 2025 | 2018 |
| Power consumption | 44.56 W / 13.63 W | 56.86 W / 25.76 W |
| DSM at launch | — | — |
Choose the DS1525+ if you want the newer, faster platform: it has the stronger CPU, much higher RAM ceiling, built-in 10GbE, and M.2 slots for SSD cache. Choose the DS1618+ only if you specifically need six internal bays out of the box and don’t care about 10GbE or M.2; it’s older, with lower RAM headroom and a weaker CPU. If you’re starting from scratch, the DS1525+ is the better default unless you need that extra native bay right now.