Synology DiskStation DS224+: compatible drives
By Devin Chua · Data checked by Owen Nakamura · Updated For the Synology DiskStation DS224+ fit CMR NAS drives like Seagate IronWolf Pro or WD Red Plus across all 2 bays up to 48 TB raw. The 2025 Synology restriction never applied to the DS224+, so any NAS drive works. At 2 × 8 TB the DS224+ keeps 7.28 TiB usable in SHR. Since its Intel Celeron J4125 (4 cores) hardware-transcodes Plex through Intel Quick Sync and runs a stack of containers, with a light VM or two as the ceiling, buy the DS224+'s drives on price and quietness, not speed.
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CMR NAS drives for the DS224+
Only families with confirmed CMR recording and a 24/7 rating, in stock on Amazon.ca and sized for the DS224+. SMR drives are deliberately kept out.
What sets the DS224+ apart
The best-selling two-bay DiskStation and enough for most homes. With two bays, RAID effectively means RAID 1: you pay half the capacity for fault tolerance, and SHR changes nothing with two equal-size drives.
Who the DS224+ is for
The DS224+'s Intel Celeron J4125 (4 cores) is the home-NAS sweet spot. Its integrated graphics hardware-transcode Plex — 4K HEVC included, through Intel Quick Sync — and it runs a stack of Docker containers without complaint; heavy virtualization is the one thing it leaves to bigger machines. With 2 GB stock and up to 6 GB, the DS224+ suits a household that wants its media server and its drives in one quiet box.
How the DS224+'s network shapes the drive choice
The DS224+ connects over 2 × 1GbE, and that ceiling decides everything below it. A gigabit link tops out near 110 MB/s, which even a single 5400 rpm NAS drive clears easily. So on the DS224+ a faster, pricier Pro drive returns no extra throughput at all: put an IronWolf or WD Red Plus in every bay and buy on CA$/TB, warranty and noise. The only reason to pay for a Pro drive on the DS224+ is its longer warranty, not speed.
A worked configuration for the DS224+
Seagate IronWolf Pro or WD Red Plus in every bay is the recommendation for the DS224+. At 2 × 8 TB in SHR, the DS224+ lands 7.28 TiB usable, gives up 8 TB to parity, and survives 1 drive failing. Step the same 2 bays of the DS224+ up to 16 TB drives and it holds roughly twice that, at the CA$/TB the live table above shows.
One rule holds on every NAS, the DS224+ included: use CMR drives, not SMR. SMR drives rewrite overlapping tracks and collapse during a RAID rebuild, dragging a repair from hours into days.
The Synology drive policy on the DS224+
unrestrictedOpen. The 2025 restriction does not apply retroactively; every NAS drive works.
The DS224+ at a glance
| Bays | 2 × 3.5-inch SATA and 2.5-inch SATA SSD |
|---|---|
| Maximum raw capacity | 48 TB 2 × 24 TB: the largest drive on Synology's list for this model. |
| Processor | Intel Celeron J4125 (4 cores) |
| Memory | 2 GB, DDR4 SO-DIMM, no ECC (2 GB soldered plus 1 slot) 6 GB official (2 GB fixed plus a 4 GB module). Larger modules run in practice but are not endorsed. |
| M.2 NVMe | none No M.2 slots |
| Network | 2 × 1GbE |
| Operating system | DSM 7.x |
| RAID types | SHR, Basic, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1 SHR also makes use of mixed drive sizes. |
Keep calculating
To see how much capacity is left after parity, the DS224+ capacity calculator is preset to its 2 bays and RAID types. For the DS224+, the wider basics of choosing a drive are in the buying guides, where we also explain why CMR rather than SMR is mandatory in any RAID array.
Frequently asked questions
Can I put third-party drives in the DS224+?
Yes, without restriction. The 2025 Synology drive lock covers only the 2025 models, so the DS224+ takes any NAS drive and has always done so.
Which drives fit the DS224+?
The DS224+ takes any 3.5-inch SATA and 2.5-inch SATA SSD drive; use a CMR NAS family rated for 24/7 duty such as IronWolf, WD Red Plus or Toshiba N300. On its 2 × 1GbE, even a basic 5400 rpm drive saturates the DS224+'s link.
How much capacity is usable in the DS224+?
In the DS224+, 2 × 8 TB in SHR gives about 7.28 TiB usable and survives 1 drive failing; the balance is parity.
Can the DS224+ run Plex with hardware transcoding?
Yes. The DS224+'s Intel Celeron J4125 (4 cores) includes Intel Quick Sync, which hardware-transcodes Plex including 4K HEVC, so it handles several streams at once without loading the CPU.
Is a Pro drive worth it in the DS224+?
Not for speed. The DS224+'s 2 × 1GbE caps throughput near 110 MB/s, which the cheapest NAS drive already reaches, so a Pro drive only buys the longer warranty and higher workload rating.
Devin Chua works out which drives, RAM and NVMe cache fit which NAS model at nasdrives.ca, and what the RAID choice means for usable capacity, checked against what is in stock on Amazon.ca.
Data checked by Owen Nakamura, Technical editor (data checking)