Supports up to 1.5GB/s
SSD RAID doesn’t maintain consistent transfer speeds, fluctuating excessively,"I’ll continue using my mechanical hard drives
That is not a function of SSD but a function of heat.
Gen3 NVMe can reach it’s 70 degC throttling threshold in 3min, Gen4 NVMe takes 40s. Have multiple packed closely without heatsink and fans, is not helpful.
Most NVMe get super hot and without proper cooling they will throttle throughput to protect themselves. If your SSD RAID performance is fluctuating, you don’t have a proper cooling solution.
Don’t fall back on spinning drives, address the heat issue. You’ll be happier with the results.
Only reason to build RAID with spinning drives is cost for large setups.
Read about tiered storage.
Investigate ZFS.
Consider ZFS.
Study L2ARC.
consider adding L2ARc to your system.
consider adding more RAM to your system.
When L2ARC is large enough to deal with a whole job your IO speeds will be less volatile, more predictable / reliable.
There are other ways that you can solve your issues which include different considerations.
ZFS is a good way to work.
YMMV
I forgot to mention my SSDs are 2.5-inch, 500MB/s and non-NVMe
My RAID controller is outdated for ZFS mode, so I’d need to switch to IT mode, but I’m not tech-savvy enough
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While on the subject of NFS - well kinda - Anyone connecting a Mac Flame to a Synology via NFS.
Given the high cost of Synology devices in Brazil, I opted to build a PC for my raw file storage needs
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Do you ever need to key anything? You’re throwing out half of your chroma resolution.
Oh, neat. My bad!
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It’s super confusing. Ya think it’ll screw ya, but most of the time it won’t. 
Worse then the other way around
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The effectiveness of a SAN depends heavily on proper planning for both current and future needs.
Network infrastructure is critical to SAN performance. Even high-end storage systems will underperform if the network backbone isn’t provisioned correctly. Most facilities find that 10GbE is the minimum acceptable speed for artist workstations, with many upgrading to 25GbE or 40GbE backbones to handle peak workloads.
Performance requirements can matter more than capacity. Artists often work with thousands of small files that require quick access, making IOPS (Input/Output Operations Per Second) a crucial metric. A properly designed system should deliver 2,000-5,000 IOPS per artist for smooth operation.
Finally, total cost of ownership should be considered, not just the initial purchase price. This includes power, cooling, floor space, support contracts, and staff training. A well-planned SAN can support a studio for many years, but it requires careful consideration of these factors.
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