UGREEN DH4300 PLUS vs UniFi UNAS 4 – Which Should You Buy?

The UniFi UNAS 4 and the UGREEN DH4300 Plus are being compared because they currently occupy a very similar part of the 4-bay NAS market, with both systems targeting buyers who want a relatively affordable turnkey storage solution with 2.5GbE connectivity, modern desktop design, and a lower entry price than many traditional NAS brands. On paper, they are close enough in price to be direct alternatives, but in practice they approach NAS deployment very differently. The UniFi UNAS 4 is built around tight integration with the wider UniFi ecosystem and focuses primarily on straightforward storage, backup, and remote file access, whereas the UGREEN DH4300 Plus is designed as a broader standalone NAS platform with more memory, a more powerful ARM processor, HDMI output, and a wider range of applications and services. That makes this comparison relevant not just because of the hardware and price overlap, but because each system reflects a different idea of what an entry to mid-range 4-bay NAS should be in 2026.

UniFi vs UGREEN NAS – Brand vs Brand

Before I dig into which of the DH4300 or UNAS 4 is best for you, it is worth highlighting again that these are two comparatively new players in the NAS scene (compared with long time multi-decade vetrans such as Synology, QNAP, Asustor and Terramaster), so let’s talk about their priorities and focus at a brand level. Both UGREEN and UniFi have entered the NAS sector from distinct starting points and continue to move in different directions, each targeting a particular type of user. UniFi’s UNAS series delivers consistency, predictable performance, and dependable integration with the broader UniFi ecosystem. Its software is stable, lightweight, and well-suited to users who prioritize straightforward storage management, reliable data handling, and unified control across routers, switches, and surveillance systems. While the hardware is limited to fixed ARM configurations and non-expandable memory, it is efficient, quiet, and designed for continuous operation with minimal maintenance. For organizations already invested in UniFi infrastructure, the UNAS systems provide a logical expansion that keeps management centralized and operational risk low. However, their value depends heavily on ecosystem synergy; outside of that environment, the systems remain competent but relatively inflexible standalone NAS options.

UGREEN’s NASync platform, on the other hand, appeals to users seeking broader performance capability and independence. Its x86-based models, upgradable memory, and open software environment allow it to serve as a hybrid between NAS and compact server, capable of running applications, containers, and virtual machines alongside storage tasks. The design language is more suited to individual or small business use than datacenter deployment, but the hardware range—from ARM to Core i5—covers a far wider performance spectrum than UniFi’s. Software maturity continues to evolve quickly, with new features added frequently, and the systems provide extensive compatibility with third-party clients and backup services. The trade-off is that long-term reliability and enterprise-level security validation are still developing.

Ultimately, UniFi NAS suits users who already rely on UniFi’s networking ecosystem and value simplicity, predictability, and centralized management, while UGREEN NAS caters to those prioritizing flexibility, compute power, and open software capability. Both brands have lowered the entry barrier into reliable NAS ownership, but they embody opposing philosophies: UniFi focuses on integration and control, whereas UGREEN emphasizes capability and independence.

Why Buy UniFi NAS?

Why Buy UGREEN NAS?

Ecosystem Integration: Seamlessly integrates with UniFi Network, Protect, and Access systems, allowing unified management through a single controller interface. Centralized Management: Designed for administrators managing multiple UniFi sites or devices, providing consistent firmware, remote access, and monitoring from one dashboard. Reliable, Efficient Design: ARM-based architecture ensures low power draw, cool operation, and stable long-term performance with minimal maintenance. Enterprise-Grade Networking: Equipped with up to dual 10G SFP+ and 10GBase-T ports, plus USP-RPS redundancy for professional deployments. Proven Security Framework: Benefits from Ubiquiti’s mature network security infrastructure, signed firmware updates, and NDAA-compliant hardware.

Superior Hardware Performance: Offers a full range from ARM to Intel Core i5 CPUs, with upgradable RAM, NVMe storage pools, and optional PCIe expansion. Versatile Software (UGOS Pro): Supports Docker, virtual machines, AI photo indexing, and multi-platform backups out of the box. All-in-One Standalone System: Functions independently without relying on an external ecosystem, ideal for users wanting a complete server in one unit. Advanced Connectivity: Includes 2.5 GbE and 10 GbE networking, USB 4/Thunderbolt 4, and support for direct-attached workflows like video editing or large-file transfer. Rapid Development and Updates: Frequent firmware releases continually add new features, broader hardware support, and improved backup and security options.

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UGREEN DH4300 vs UniFi UNAS 4 – Design and Storage

From a physical design perspective, these 2 NAS systems take very different approaches. The UniFi UNAS 4 has a taller, narrower chassis with a more vertical layout, while the UGREEN DH4300 Plus uses a more cubic desktop design that will look more familiar to buyers coming from Synology, QNAP, or Asustor hardware. The UniFi system is also available in black or white, which gives it a more deliberate visual identity within the wider UniFi product range, whereas the UGREEN keeps to a more conventional single-finish enclosure. In both cases, the chassis material is primarily plastic, so neither is especially premium in material terms, but each is clearly trying to prioritize compactness and low manufacturing cost rather than metal construction.

The drive arrangement is also notably different. The UniFi UNAS 4 places its 4 SATA bays in the base of the chassis, with the drives inserted from underneath, while the UGREEN DH4300 Plus uses a top-loaded vertical bay arrangement hidden under a removable outer shell. Neither system uses a particularly enterprise-focused tray design, and neither is really built around frequent hot-swap use in the same way as more expensive rackmount or prosumer NAS systems. That said, the UniFi trays are easier to describe as straightforward click-in drive carriers, while the UGREEN trays feel more budget-oriented in construction and do not leave the same impression of robustness as more established NAS brands.

In storage flexibility, the UniFi has the more ambitious configuration. Alongside its 4 SATA bays, it also includes 2 dedicated M.2 NVMe slots for SSD cache. That gives it an advantage in hybrid storage architecture, since the hard drives can be used for capacity while the NVMe media handles read and write cache duties. The UGREEN DH4300 Plus does not include M.2 storage slots, so any SSD deployment has to consume one or more of the main SATA bays, which reduces total storage capacity. At the same time, UniFi currently limits those NVMe bays to cache use rather than general storage pools, so the practical advantage is still narrower than the raw hardware layout suggests.

The 2 brands also differ in RAID and storage management philosophy. The UGREEN supports a broader list of RAID modes, including JBOD, Basic, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, and RAID 10, which gives it more deployment flexibility for different user priorities around performance, redundancy, or simple linear storage. The UniFi platform supports RAID 5, RAID 6, and RAID 10, but its overall storage structure is more controlled and less flexible, with a stronger focus on a simplified single storage pool approach. For buyers who want fewer decisions and a cleaner setup process, that may be acceptable, but for users who want more granular control over how storage is arranged, the UGREEN is less restrictive.

In pure storage potential, the UGREEN is also easier to quantify because it officially supports up to 128TB across 4 bays using 32TB drives, whereas UniFi focuses more on supported drive compatibility and cache pairing than on headline raw capacity figures. The UniFi does have the practical advantage of SSD caching built in, which can improve responsiveness in repeated access and write-heavy workloads, but the UGREEN has the simpler storage proposition overall and does not tie part of its internal design to optional accessories such as UniFi’s separate M.2 tray approach. As a result, the UniFi has the more distinctive and technically layered storage design, while the UGREEN has the more conventional and broadly flexible one.

UniFi UNAS4 vs UGREEN DH 4300 – Internal Hardware & Connections

Internally, the UGREEN DH4300 Plus has the stronger hardware specification. It uses an 8-core Rockchip ARM processor based on Cortex-A76 and Cortex-A55 cores running at up to 2.0GHz, alongside 8GB of LPDDR4X memory and 32GB of eMMC for the system. By comparison, the UniFi UNAS 4 uses a quad-core ARM Cortex-A55 processor at 1.7GHz with 4GB of memory. Both systems are clearly built around low-power ARM architecture rather than x86 processing, but the UGREEN has the more capable platform on paper and offers more headroom for multitasking, background services, and broader software functionality.

The UniFi system does, however, counter with a more unusual internal layout. In addition to its 4 SATA bays, it includes 2 M.2 NVMe slots dedicated to SSD cache, which gives it a storage acceleration feature that the UGREEN does not match natively. For users dealing with repeated file access, background synchronization, or burst-heavy write activity, that cache support has practical value. The UGREEN relies entirely on its 4 SATA bays for storage media, so although its CPU and memory are stronger, its internal storage architecture is less advanced in terms of tiered storage.

External connectivity is broader on the UGREEN. It includes 1x 2.5GbE LAN port, HDMI output at up to 4K 60Hz, 1x front USB 3.2 Gen 1 port at 5Gb/s, and 2 additional USB-A 5Gb/s ports. The UniFi UNAS 4 is much more limited, offering 1x 2.5GbE RJ45 port and 1x 5Gb/s USB-C port. This narrower I/O profile reflects the fact that UniFi has positioned the UNAS 4 as a focused network storage appliance rather than a multi-role NAS for media output, peripheral attachment, or application expansion. In direct hardware terms, the UGREEN is better equipped for users who expect more than basic file serving.

Power and deployment also separate these 2 systems. The UniFi UNAS 4 supports PoE+++ and includes a 90W PoE adapter, which allows both power and network connectivity over a single cable in supported environments. That is unusual in this part of the NAS market and makes it particularly relevant for users already invested in UniFi switching infrastructure or those deploying hardware in locations where simplified cabling matters. The UGREEN uses a more conventional external power arrangement, which is less distinctive but also less dependent on network infrastructure choices. Therefore, the UGREEN has the stronger internal compute hardware and broader physical connectivity, while the UniFi has the more specialized deployment advantage.

UGREEN DH4300 vs UniFi UNAS 4 – Software & Services

The biggest difference between these 2 NAS systems is not the chassis or the processor, but the software scope. The UniFi UNAS 4 runs UniFi Drive and is clearly built around a narrower storage-first brief, with support for SMB, NFS, snapshots, file encryption, Time Machine, share links, user groups, remote backup, cloud backup targets, and client apps. It covers the main NAS fundamentals expected by home users and small offices, but it does so within a more controlled environment that places simplicity and consistency ahead of feature breadth. The UGREEN DH4300 Plus, running UGOS Pro, aims much wider and includes not only file serving and backup tools, but also multimedia applications, container support, HDMI-based media playback, AI-assisted photo features, and broader service depth overall.

For pure storage management, UniFi Drive is cleaner and more focused, particularly for users who want the NAS to act primarily as private cloud storage, backup target, and centralized file repository. Its interface is built to align with the broader UniFi platform, and that gives it an advantage for users already running UniFi networking equipment and remote management tools. However, that same focus also means the UNAS 4 is less flexible as a general-purpose NAS. The UGREEN platform does not have the same ecosystem tie-in, but it operates more independently and gives the user more scope to use the system for different workloads beyond file storage.

Application support is where the gap becomes more obvious. The UGREEN DH4300 Plus supports Docker and has a noticeably broader service layer for media, backup, and user applications. That creates options for running third-party software, home media tools, and more customized services that simply are not part of the UniFi approach. The UniFi UNAS 4 does not currently try to compete in that area and instead presents itself as a dedicated NAS platform rather than an application host. For some users that will be a limitation, while for others it will be a benefit, because it reduces complexity and keeps the system centered on storage tasks rather than mixed workload experimentation.

In practical terms, the software decision comes down to whether the buyer values depth or focus. The UGREEN DH4300 Plus offers the broader NAS software experience and is better suited to users who want more features, more applications, and more ways to extend the system over time. The UniFi UNAS 4 offers the more controlled and storage-specific platform, with the clearest advantage appearing when it is deployed inside an existing UniFi environment. As a result, the UGREEN software stack is more versatile, while the UniFi software stack is more specialized.

UniFi UNAS 4 vs UGREEN DH4300 NAS – Conclusion & Verdict

Taken as a whole, these 2 systems are aimed at a similar buyer in price terms, but they are not trying to solve the same problem in the same way. The UniFi UNAS 4 is a more specialized NAS that focuses on storage, backup, remote access, and integration within the UniFi ecosystem. The UGREEN DH4300 Plus is a broader standalone NAS that gives the user more hardware resources, more software flexibility, and a wider overall role in the network. That difference matters more than the relatively small gap in price, because in day to day use they will appeal to different priorities. The UniFi UNAS 4 makes more sense for buyers who already use UniFi switches, gateways, and management tools, or for those who specifically want a NAS that stays focused on file storage instead of trying to become a media server or container host. Its built in NVMe cache support and PoE+++ deployment give it some useful differentiators, and its simpler software scope will suit users who want a more controlled experience. However, outside of the UniFi ecosystem, some of its strengths become less important, while its limitations in application support, connectivity, and hardware power become harder to ignore.

The UGREEN DH4300 Plus is the better fit for users who want a more traditional all-round NAS. It has the stronger CPU, more memory, broader external connectivity, more RAID options, HDMI output, Docker support, and a software platform with more room to scale into multimedia, backup variety, and third party services. It is the more capable choice for mixed home and small business use, particularly for buyers who are not tied to any specific network brand and want their NAS to handle more than just centralized storage. It is also the easier system to recommend to users comparing it against other established 4-bay NAS platforms in the same price bracket. So, in direct usage terms, the UniFi UNAS 4 is better for UniFi-centric deployments, cleaner storage-first use, and buyers who value NVMe caching and PoE-based installation. The UGREEN DH4300 Plus is better for users who want stronger hardware, more software features, better connectivity, and a wider long term usage profile. If the question is which is the better pure value NAS for the largest number of users, the UGREEN DH4300 Plus is the stronger overall option. If the question is which fits better into a UniFi-led network and a simpler storage-focused role, the UniFi UNAS 4 is the more appropriate choice.

Buy the UGREEN DH4300 on Amazon @399	Buy the UniFi UNAS 4 on The UniFi Store for $379

 

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Need Advice on Data Storage from an Expert?

Finally, for free advice about your setup, just leave a message in the comments below here at NASCompares.com and we will get back to you. Need Help? Where possible (and where appropriate) please provide as much information about your requirements, as then I can arrange the best answer and solution to your needs. Do not worry about your e-mail address being required, it will NOT be used in a mailing list and will NOT be used in any way other than to respond to your enquiry. [contact-form-7] TRY CHAT Terms and Conditions   Alternatively, why not ask me on the ASK NASCompares forum, by clicking the button below. This is a community hub that serves as a place that I can answer your question, chew the fat, share new release information and even get corrections posted. I will always get around to answering ALL queries, but as a one-man operation, I cannot promise speed! So by sharing your query in the ASK NASCompares section below, you can get a better range of solutions and suggestions, alongside my own.

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What is the Synology BeeStation BST151-4T NAS?

The Synology BeeStation BST151-4T is a 4 TB single drive personal cloud device that sits somewhere between an external hard drive and a traditional NAS, targeting users who want centralized storage, photo backup, file syncing, and remote access without dealing with a conventional multi bay server setup. It follows the original BST150-4T BeeStation, first released in February 2024, and appears to be a light refresh of that earlier model rather than a full redesign. As with the first version, the focus is on quick deployment, simple management, and a more consumer friendly software experience, using Synology’s BeeStation platform instead of the broader and more configurable DSM system found on the company’s standard NAS lineup.

Synology BeeStation BST151-4T Hardware Specifications

At a hardware level, the BST151-4T remains a very compact single bay network storage appliance with a fixed 4 TB hard drive, built around the Realtek RTD1619B platform and a 1GbE network connection. Physical connectivity is unchanged from the earlier BeeStation, with 1 x USB-A 3.2 Gen 1 port, 1 x USB-C 3.2 Gen 1 port, and 1 x RJ-45 LAN port, all housed in the same 148.0 x 62.6 x 196.3 mm enclosure weighing 820 g.

That hardware profile makes clear where the BeeStation sits in Synology’s lineup. This is not a flexible NAS chassis with room for drive upgrades, SSD cache, multi bay expansion, or faster networking. The internal disk is part of the appliance design, so there is no meaningful path to RAID redundancy, easier drive level recovery, or long term capacity scaling in the way there is on a conventional 2 bay or 4 bay NAS.

Power and thermals are also modest, which is consistent with a low power, always on personal cloud device. Synology lists power consumption at about 7.85 W during access and 1.65 W in HDD hibernation, with a 36 W external power adapter. The system continues to use a single HAT3300-4T drive, and Synology’s current 4 TB HAT3300 model is a 5400 RPM class disk rather than a faster 7200 RPM unit.

The one specification that requires care is memory. Synology’s March 30, 2026 product specification PDF and the current BeeStation comparison page both list the BST151-4T with 1 GB DDR4, but Synology’s newer BST151-4T datasheet, published later in March 2026 and mirrored across multiple regional versions, lists 2 GB DDR4 instead. On balance, the later datasheet appears to reflect the intended refresh specification, but Synology’s own published material is not yet fully consistent. (UPDATE – RAM on the BST151-4T is CONFIRMED as 2GB)

Assuming the 2 GB figure in the later datasheet is the correct final spec, the BST151-4T is best understood as a minimal revision of the BST150-4T rather than a new hardware generation. The enclosure, CPU, ports, networking, and drive class are effectively the same, while the main change is the move from the predecessor’s 1 GB memory configuration to 2 GB. That could simply reflect practical component economics as much as performance tuning, since lower density memory packages can become less cost effective over time as supply shifts. In either case, this still appears to be fixed onboard memory, not a user upgradeable SO-DIMM arrangement, so the platform remains closed in the same way as the original model.

Synology BeeStation in 2026 – What can it do?

In 2026, the BeeStation platform is no longer limited to basic remote file access. Synology positions it as a consumer focused private cloud for storing, syncing, and sharing files and photos, with web, desktop, and mobile access, support for sign in via Google Account, Apple ID, or Synology Account, and shared access for up to 8 users on a single device. It is designed to pull together data from phones, computers, external drives, and selected cloud services into one managed location rather than acting only as a simple networked hard drive.

Photo handling is one of the more developed parts of the platform. Synology states that BeeStation can back up mobile photos, import content from sources such as Google Photos and iCloud Photos, and organize images with local AI based recognition for people, subjects, and places. The software also supports timeline and map based browsing, album creation, and controlled photo sharing, which places the BST151-4T closer to a private cloud photo hub than to a basic USB backup box.

Its data protection features have also expanded since launch. BeeStation now supports internal restore points based on snapshots, backups to BeeProtect, Synology NAS, and external drives, plus a 3 year Acronis True Image Essentials license for 1 computer. BeeStation OS 1.5 also added BeeCamera support, but Synology limits that feature to BeeStation Plus models rather than the standard 4 TB unit, so the BST151-4T does not currently gain the surveillance role that the higher tier model has started to take on.

Where the BeeStation still differs from a DSM based NAS such as the DS124 or DS223 is in breadth and flexibility. Synology’s DS124 and DS223 product pages explicitly advertise broader DSM functions including Synology Drive based private cloud workflows, Btrfs snapshot features, ShareSync between Synology systems, full Surveillance Station support, and the wider DSM application platform. By contrast, BeeStation remains a curated appliance with a narrower software stack, no general DSM Package Center environment, no broad package driven expansion path, and on the standard 4 TB model no BeeCamera surveillance support either. In other words, it can cover the main personal cloud tasks, but it still does not replace the wider role of even Synology’s entry level DSM NAS systems.

The BST151-4T looks like a modest revision of the original BeeStation rather than a substantially new product. Its appeal remains the same: a preconfigured, low friction private cloud for users who want basic file storage, photo backup, syncing, sharing, and remote access without moving into a full DSM based NAS environment. The hardware envelope is still narrow, with a fixed internal 4 TB drive, 1GbE networking, and no real upgrade path for storage expansion or RAID style redundancy, but that is consistent with its role as an entry level turnkey appliance rather than a general purpose NAS. Synology’s own later datasheet points to 2 GB of RAM on the new model, which would make the BST151-4T a small but practical refresh of the BST150-4T rather than a platform shift. Pricing is the main unknown at the time of writing. Synology’s support status page already lists the BST151-4T as generally available, but public retail pricing is still not clearly established. On that basis, the safest expectation is that it will land close to the earlier 4 TB BeeStation, which launched around $199 in the US and about £209 in the UK, while more recent BST150-4T retail listings have also appeared higher depending on seller and region, sat around $309 without TAX. That likely places the BST151-4T will land in excess of $300 and maybe closer to $350 when factoring the RAM increase.

Check Amazon in Your Region for the Synology Beestation BST151-4T

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This description contains links to Amazon. These links will take you to some of the products mentioned in today's content. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Visit the NASCompares Deal Finder to find the best place to buy this device in your region, based on Service, Support and Reputation - Just Search for your NAS Drive in the Box Below

Need Advice on Data Storage from an Expert?

Finally, for free advice about your setup, just leave a message in the comments below here at NASCompares.com and we will get back to you. Need Help? Where possible (and where appropriate) please provide as much information about your requirements, as then I can arrange the best answer and solution to your needs. Do not worry about your e-mail address being required, it will NOT be used in a mailing list and will NOT be used in any way other than to respond to your enquiry. [contact-form-7] TRY CHAT Terms and Conditions   Alternatively, why not ask me on the ASK NASCompares forum, by clicking the button below. This is a community hub that serves as a place that I can answer your question, chew the fat, share new release information and even get corrections posted. I will always get around to answering ALL queries, but as a one-man operation, I cannot promise speed! So by sharing your query in the ASK NASCompares section below, you can get a better range of solutions and suggestions, alongside my own.

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The Slate 7 Pro (GL-BE10000) is the latest travel router from GL.iNet, and it exists largely because the original Slate 7 (GL-BE3600) did not go quite far enough. The earlier model carried Wi Fi 7 branding but lacked 6GHz support, which for many users felt like a limitation rather than a stepping stone. The Slate 7 Pro corrects that by moving to full tri band Wi Fi 7, adding a dedicated 6GHz radio, expanding wireless bandwidth, and upgrading the touchscreen. It keeps the dual 2.5GbE ports and USB C powered design, but pushes the hardware and feature set further into premium territory.

I have reviewed and evaluated ALOT of travel routers over the years, and today I want to focus specifically on the pros and cons of the Slate 7 Pro (full detailed review still in progress, but this article will serve as the main focus good and bad bits). Rather than listing specifications alone, it looks at what those changes actually mean day to day, especially for travelers, remote workers, and users who rely heavily on VPN, captive portal access, and flexible networking. Some areas are clear improvements over the previous model, while others remain imperfect or introduce new trade offs. The goal here is to outline both sides clearly, without overselling what the device does well or ignoring where it still falls short.

Gl.iNet Beryl 7 Review – Quick Conclusion

The Slate 7 Pro (GL-BE10000) is a full tri band Wi Fi 7 travel router from GL.iNet that corrects the biggest limitation of the earlier Slate 7 by adding dedicated 6GHz support and 320MHz channel capability, delivering combined theoretical wireless bandwidth of 688Mbps on 2.4GHz, 2882Mbps on 5GHz, and 5764Mbps on 6GHz. It pairs this with dual 2.5GbE ports, high speed VPN performance up to 1100Mbps via WireGuard, integrated Deep Packet Inspection, a larger 2.8 inch touchscreen for on device management, and an optional active cooling system that engages only when thermals demand it. The OpenWrt based firmware remains one of the most flexible in the travel router space, supporting multi WAN failover, advanced traffic rules, plugin expansion, and remote management. However, it draws more power than the previous model, retains only 1 USB C data port with unreliable hub expansion, cannot handle captive portal login pages directly on the touchscreen, and implements single radio MLO rather than full multi radio aggregation. For users who want full spectrum Wi Fi 7 in a portable form, stronger VPN throughput, and granular network control while traveling or working remotely, it is a technically stronger and more complete option than the non 6GHz Slate 7, but it comes with higher power demands and a price premium that may not suit those who only need basic travel connectivity.

Buy the Gl.iNet Slate 7 Pro from Amazon Below:	Buy the Gl.iNet Slate 7 Pro from the Official Store Below:

6GHz Support Finally Brings Full Tri Band Wi Fi 7 to the Slate 7 Pro

One of the most significant changes in the Slate 7 Pro compared with the earlier Slate 7 is the addition of a dedicated 6GHz band. The previous model operated only on 2.4GHz and 5GHz, which meant it technically supported Wi Fi 7 features but did not deliver the full tri band experience many users associate with the standard. By adding 6GHz, the Slate 7 Pro increases total theoretical wireless throughput to 688Mbps on 2.4GHz, 2882Mbps on 5GHz, and 5764Mbps on 6GHz. More importantly, it allows access to wider 320MHz channels, which are not available on 5GHz in most regulatory regions.

In practical terms, 6GHz provides a cleaner spectrum with less congestion, particularly in dense environments such as hotels, conferences, or apartment buildings. When combined with Multi Link Operation, the router can distribute traffic more effectively across three bands rather than two. This does not automatically guarantee higher real world speeds for every client, but it does increase headroom and flexibility for multiple active devices. For users who dismissed the original Slate 7 due to its lack of 6GHz, this update addresses that limitation directly and aligns the Pro model more closely with what most would consider a complete Wi Fi 7 implementation.

Active Cooling in a Travel Router, but Only When It Is Needed

One of the more unusual additions in the Slate 7 Pro is the inclusion of an internal cooling fan. Most travel routers rely entirely on passive cooling due to their compact size and relatively low power processors. Under moderate use this is usually sufficient, but in warmer climates or during sustained high load activity such as heavy VPN use, multi device streaming, or extended 6GHz operation, temperatures can rise enough to cause throttling or instability. The Slate 7 Pro addresses this by integrating active cooling, which is not common in this category.

Importantly, the fan does not run continuously. It can be configured to activate only once the CPU reaches a defined temperature threshold. In standard operation, the device remains silent. The fan engages only when sustained workload or environmental conditions demand additional cooling. This approach attempts to balance reliability and acoustics, reducing the risk of heat related slowdowns without introducing constant background noise. For users who travel to high humidity or high temperature regions, this is a practical addition, though it also reflects the higher performance hardware and increased power demands of the Pro model.

Strong Wired and Physical Connectivity Without Additional Accessories

The Slate 7 Pro continues to offer dual 2.5GbE ports, with 1 configurable WAN and 1 LAN port, providing multi gig wired connectivity in a compact travel router form factor. This allows users to connect to high speed wired internet sources where available, while also supporting local high bandwidth transfers across a wired network. The ports can be reassigned depending on deployment needs, and multi WAN failover remains supported through combinations of wired, wireless repeater, and tethered connections. For users who frequently move between hotel networks, offices, or temporary workspaces, this flexibility remains one of the defining strengths of the device.

In addition to Ethernet, the Slate 7 Pro replaces the previous USB Type A data port with a USB C 3.0 data port, aligning it more closely with modern devices and accessories. This port supports storage devices and USB tethering, while power is delivered through a separate USB C PD input. The programmable hardware toggle button is retained for quick VPN or feature switching, and the reset button remains accessible. Overall, the physical connectivity is broad for a travel router, and the Pro model maintains compatibility with high speed wired networks while modernizing the data interface.

The Larger 2.8 Inch Touchscreen Adds Real Practical Control

The Slate 7 Pro includes a 2.8 inch color touchscreen on the front panel, replacing the smaller and more limited display found on the earlier Slate 7. While the previous model did introduce touchscreen control to the travel router category, the Pro version expands both the size and usability of the interface.

From the screen, users can view network status, generate QR codes for Wi Fi sharing, toggle VPN connections, monitor connection modes, and manage basic wireless settings without needing to open a browser or mobile app.

For short term or ad hoc setups, this makes a noticeable difference. When arriving at a new location, it is possible to power on the router, assign a Wi Fi password, enable or disable a VPN, and confirm connectivity directly from the device itself. It also provides real time visibility of WAN, repeater, tethering, and LAN states through clear indicators. The screen does not replace the full web interface for advanced configuration, but for quick adjustments and monitoring, it reduces reliance on a secondary device and simplifies routine tasks.

The OpenWrt Based Software Platform Remains One of the Strongest in This Category

The Slate 7 Pro continues to run the customized OpenWrt based firmware developed by GL.iNet, and this remains one of the defining advantages of the platform. The interface provides a structured and accessible front end for everyday tasks such as WAN configuration, repeater mode, VPN management, and client monitoring, while still allowing full access to the underlying OpenWrt environment for advanced users. This dual layer approach means the device can operate as a simple travel router for casual users, or as a highly configurable networking tool for those comfortable with deeper control.

Beyond standard routing functions, the firmware includes integrated VPN client and server options, multi WAN failover, traffic rules per SSID, and application support through an app center. The Pro model also introduces built in Deep Packet Inspection, adding another layer of visibility and filtering capability.

Users can assign the physical toggle button to trigger specific actions, switch to raw OpenWrt if desired, and manage the device remotely through GoodCloud. In terms of flexibility and feature depth within a travel form factor, the software stack remains one of the most complete available.

The Touchscreen Still Cannot Handle Captive Portal Logins

While the 2.8 inch touchscreen adds useful control and monitoring features, it does not eliminate the need for a secondary device when dealing with captive portals. In environments such as hotels, cafés, airports, or in flight Wi Fi systems, users often encounter web based login pages that must be completed before internet access is granted. The Slate 7 Pro cannot display or interact with these login portals directly on its screen. As a result, a phone, tablet, or laptop is still required to complete the authentication process.

This limitation reduces some of the independence that the touchscreen otherwise provides. In scenarios where the goal is to connect once and share access with multiple devices through the router, the expectation might be that everything could be handled directly on the unit itself. Instead, the workflow still requires connecting a client device to trigger and complete the portal login. Given that the hardware includes a capable display and processing power, the absence of even a basic embedded browser feels like a missed opportunity rather than a technical constraint.

Increased Power Consumption Compared to the Previous Model

The Slate 7 Pro draws more power than the earlier Slate 7, which is not unexpected given the addition of 6GHz, a larger LCD, integrated DPI processing, and an active cooling system. Even under light usage with a single wireless client connected and no wired WAN active, the Pro model typically operates above 5W. By comparison, the earlier Slate 7 generally sat between 3W and 4W under similar conditions. While these figures are not high in absolute terms, they are noticeably different when measured side by side.

For most users powering the router from a standard USB C PD adapter, this increase will not present an issue. However, in travel scenarios where power is sourced from lower output USB ports on buses, trains, aircraft seats, or compact power banks, the higher baseline draw could matter.

It also reflects the broader shift in the Pro model toward higher performance hardware. The device remains portable and reasonably efficient, but it is less power conservative than its predecessor.

Single USB Port Continues to Limit Expansion and Hub Compatibility

Despite moving to a USB C 3.0 data port, the Slate 7 Pro still provides only 1 USB data interface for peripherals. This means users must choose between connecting external storage, tethering a smartphone, or attaching another USB based device. In practical travel use, it is common to want both tethering and storage active at the same time, particularly when using the router as a small file sharing hub or media server. With only a single port, that flexibility remains constrained.

Attempts to expand the port using USB hubs continue to produce inconsistent results. While some powered hubs may partially function, stable multi device operation is not guaranteed. This mirrors behavior seen in earlier models and suggests that the limitation is architectural rather than cosmetic. For users who rely heavily on USB expansion, especially for simultaneous tethering and storage, this remains a practical restriction rather than a minor inconvenience.

MediaTek Platform Instead of Qualcomm Hardware

The Slate 7 Pro is powered by a MediaTek quad core processor running at 2.0GHz, rather than a Qualcomm chipset. In previous generations, Qualcomm based platforms were often associated with stronger power efficiency and broader upstream driver maturity within certain networking ecosystems. The move to MediaTek is not uncommon in this segment, but it does represent a shift in hardware positioning compared with devices that have relied on Qualcomm silicon.

From a performance perspective, the 2.0GHz MediaTek CPU provides the necessary headroom for tri band Wi Fi 7, high throughput VPN, and DPI processing. However, MediaTek platforms are generally viewed as slightly less power efficient than comparable Qualcomm solutions, which ties back to the higher baseline power draw observed in the Pro model. For most users, the practical difference will center on efficiency rather than raw capability, but it remains a consideration for those who closely follow chipset selection in networking hardware.

Multi Link Operation Is Present, but Not Full Multi Radio Aggregation

The Slate 7 Pro supports Wi Fi 7 Multi Link Operation across its 2.4GHz, 5GHz, and 6GHz bands, allowing compatible clients to establish links over multiple frequencies. In practice, this improves connection stability and can help balance traffic dynamically between bands. However, it is important to clarify that this implementation follows the more common single radio MLO model, where traffic is coordinated across bands rather than fully aggregated simultaneously through independent radio chains.

This means the router does not deliver true parallel multi radio throughput in the way some marketing descriptions of Wi Fi 7 may imply. Instead, it prioritizes stability, latency reduction, and intelligent band switching. At present, very few consumer or travel routers implement full multi radio MLO aggregation, and the Slate 7 Pro is not an exception to that wider market reality. For most users, the benefit will be smoother performance under load rather than a simple multiplication of peak speeds.

 

Should You Buy the Gl.iNet Slate 7 Pro Travel Router? Conclusion and Verdict

The Slate 7 Pro builds directly on the foundation of the earlier Slate 7 by addressing its most discussed limitation, namely the absence of 6GHz. With full tri band Wi Fi 7 support, dual 2.5GbE ports, a larger 2.8 inch touchscreen, integrated DPI, high throughput VPN capabilities up to 1100Mbps via WireGuard, and optional active cooling, it positions itself as a more complete and performance oriented travel router. For users who were hesitant about the original model due to clipped wireless capability, the Pro version resolves that concern and expands overall functionality in a meaningful way.

That said, it is not without compromises. Power draw is higher than before, USB expansion remains limited to a single port with inconsistent hub support, the touchscreen cannot handle captive portal logins directly, and its MLO implementation reflects the broader limitations of current consumer Wi Fi 7 hardware rather than a fully parallel multi radio design. The MediaTek platform delivers the required performance, but it does not prioritize efficiency to the same degree as some Qualcomm based alternatives. For buyers deciding between the Slate 7 and the Slate 7 Pro, the Pro model is the technically stronger device, provided the increased price and power requirements align with their intended use case.

Buy the Gl.iNet Slate 7 Pro from Amazon Below:	Buy the Gl.iNet Slate 7 Pro from the Official Store Below:

PROs of the Gl.iNet Slate 7 Pro

CONs of the Gl.iNet Slate 7 Pro

Full tri band Wi Fi 7 with dedicated 6GHz support and 320MHz channel capability Combined theoretical wireless bandwidth of 688Mbps (2.4GHz), 2882Mbps (5GHz), and 5764Mbps (6GHz) Dual 2.5GbE ports with configurable WAN/LAN and multi WAN failover support High speed VPN performance up to 1100Mbps via WireGuard and 1000Mbps via OpenVPN DCO 2.8 inch color touchscreen for direct device level control and monitoring Integrated Deep Packet Inspection for advanced traffic visibility and filtering Active cooling system that engages only when required OpenWrt based firmware with full customization, plugin support, and remote management

Touchscreen cannot handle captive portal login pages directly Higher baseline power consumption compared to the earlier Slate 7 Only 1 USB C data port for storage or tethering USB hub expansion remains unreliable for multi device use MLO implementation is single radio coordination rather than full multi radio aggregation

 

 

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New Cost-Effective USB4, M.2 and PCIe Adapters from IOCREST/Lekuo for 2026 Revealed

IOCREST, also marketed under the Lekuo name for consumer channels, is preparing a broader range of USB4, M.2, and PCIe expansion products aimed at users who need higher speed networking, storage expansion, or more flexible external PCIe connectivity. Based on the product information provided and the accompanying interview material, the current lineup combines shipping devices with several products still in development or not yet formally listed on the company’s official product pages, reflecting a portfolio that spans compact 10GbE adapters, SFP+ connectivity, multi-drive enclosures, and USB4 based PCIe breakout designs.

Lekuo USB4 to 10GbE Hub

Buy HERE on Amazon – Buy HERE on AliExpress

The Lekuo DTB3R61 is a compact USB4 hub that combines 10GbE networking with basic peripheral and removable media expansion in a single enclosure. It is built around a USB4 upstream connection and is intended for hosts that support USB4 or Thunderbolt 3/4/5, rather than older USB 3.x only systems. In practical terms, this positions it as a multi function dock for users who need wired 10GbE, a small number of USB ports, and SD or TF card access without moving to a larger desktop class dock.

The port layout is relatively simple, consisting of 1x 10GbE RJ45 port, 3x 5Gbps USB Type A ports, and a TF/SD 3.0 card reader. The supplied specifications list a 40Gbps host link, support for Windows, macOS, and Linux, and a compact metal chassis. Although your transcript refers to a fanless design, the specification sheet provided here states an aluminum alloy casing with fan assisted cooling, so that distinction should be treated carefully in the article unless you want to frame it as pre release versus final spec variation.

Lekuo USB4 to 2x25GbE Adapter

Buy HERE on Amazon – Buy HERE on AliExpress

This unreleased Lekuo adapter is one of the more bandwidth focused products discussed in the interview material, built around a USB4 host connection and 2x 25GbE network ports. Based on the information provided, the design uses an SFP based approach rather than RJ45, which is consistent with the higher thermal and signal demands of 25GbE. It is positioned as a compact external network adapter for systems that need significantly more throughput than 10GbE, while still relying on USB4 as the host side connection.

The transcript also indicates several design details that help distinguish this unit from more common USB or Thunderbolt network adapters. It is described as a silent design with no active fan, includes an external barrel power input, and features a physical power button on the enclosure. The company indicated that the product was expected around Q2 and priced below $200 at the time of filming, but as it is not yet listed on the official product page, those details should be treated as pre release guidance rather than final retail specification.

Lekuo DTB3F21 USB4 to 2x10GbE Adapter

Buy HERE on Amazon – Buy HERE on AliExpress

The Lekuo DTB3F21 is a dual port USB4 network adapter designed around 2x 10GbE SFP+ connections. Unlike simpler USB to Ethernet devices that target single port RJ45 connectivity, this model is positioned for users who need higher density fibre or DAC based networking from a single external enclosure. The supplied specifications identify the Intel 82599 controller, placing it closer to a traditional server class 10GbE design than a lower cost USB NIC.

From the product information and transcript, this adapter is part of Lekuo’s broader push into USB4 based external networking, especially for systems that lack internal expansion but still need multi port high speed network access. The enclosure is described as compact and externally connected over USB Type C, with support across Windows, Windows Server, Linux distributions, and several enterprise networking features such as VLAN support, jumbo frames, interrupt moderation, and virtual machine queue support. In the transcript, a dual 10GbE version is also discussed alongside the dual 25GbE model as part of the same general product family.

Lekuo M.2 to 10G SFP+ Adapter

Buy HERE on Amazon – Buy HERE on AliExpress

Lekuo is also developing an M.2 to 10G SFP+ adapter, extending the same general idea seen in its M.2 to 10GbE RJ45 products toward fibre based networking. In the transcript, this product is described as a refined version of an existing concept rather than a completely new direction, aimed at compact systems that only have an M.2 slot available for expansion. That makes it relevant for small servers, mini PCs, and embedded platforms where a full PCIe slot is not available but higher speed network connectivity is still required.

The main distinction here is the move from copper 10GbE to SFP+, which allows use of fibre modules or DAC cabling depending on deployment requirements. That gives the adapter a different role from the RJ45 version, particularly in longer distance links or environments already using SFP+ switching infrastructure. Based on your notes, this product is not yet available on the official product page, so the current information is limited to what was shown and discussed during the visit rather than a finalized retail specification sheet.

Lekuo USB4 to 2x PCIe Gen4 x1 Slots Box

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This unreleased Lekuo USB4 expansion box is designed to expose 2x PCIe slots from a single external USB4 connection, using the same basic enclosure approach shown on the company’s 8x 1GbE adapter. In the transcript, the unit is described as a small PCIe dock originally used internally for testing, with the USB4 connection bridging to 2 separate PCIe paths inside the enclosure. The concept is straightforward: rather than delivering fixed networking or storage, it provides a more flexible external PCIe breakout for users who want to install their own cards.

That flexibility is the main point of interest here. The transcript suggests use cases such as network cards, SATA cards, and other compact PCIe devices, with bus power available over USB4 and a barrel power input included for cards that need more power than the host connection can provide on its own. Since this product is not yet listed on the official product page, the available information is still limited and some details remain unconfirmed. The requested naming of this section as a PCIe Gen4 x1 slot box reflects the intended lane configuration you provided, but that specific wording was not fully documented in the supplied official specification text, so it should be treated as based on your product notes.

Lekuo USB4 to 4 HDD and 1x Gen4 M.2 Box

Buy HERE on Amazon – Buy HERE on AliExpress

Lekuo is also preparing a multi drive USB4 enclosure that combines 4 HDD bays with a single PCIe Gen4 M.2 NVMe slot in the same chassis. Based on the transcript, this is a DAS rather than a NAS, so it is intended to provide direct attached storage expansion over USB4 instead of functioning as a self contained network appliance. The inclusion of the M.2 slot adds a layer of flexibility beyond a standard 4 bay enclosure, allowing for SSD caching, a dedicated fast volume, or a separate high speed workspace alongside the hard drive array.

The product is described as relying on software RAID rather than including a hardware RAID controller, and the transcript also notes a dual port TB4 style design for daisy chaining. At the same time, the core concept is clear: this is an external storage enclosure aimed at users who want a mix of larger capacity HDD storage and faster NVMe storage within a single USB4 connected device. As with several of the other products shown during the visit, this unit does not yet appear on the official product page, so the available details should be treated as pre release rather than final retail specifications.

Lekuo USB Expansion PCIe Card

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Lekuo is also developing a PCIe expansion card that combines USB and storage connectivity on a single board, aimed at systems where slot space is limited and adding multiple separate controller cards is not practical. In the transcript, the card is shown with 2x USB Type C ports, 1x USB Type A port, 4x SATA ports, and an integrated 2.5GbE network connection. Rather than focusing on a single function, it is intended as a compact multi purpose expansion card for small form factor systems, embedded builds, or storage focused PCs that still need additional external connectivity.

The card is described as operating over a PCIe Gen4 x1 connection, giving it a total host side bandwidth of 20Gbps to allocate across its various controllers. That does not mean every port can run at maximum speed simultaneously, but it does make the board suitable for mixed duty use where SATA connectivity, modest USB expansion, and basic 2.5GbE networking need to be consolidated into one slot. Based on the material you provided, this product was shown during the visit rather than backed by a full standalone specification sheet, so some lower level details remain unspecified.

Lekuo USB4 to 10G SFP+ Adapter

Buy HERE on Amazon – Buy HERE on AliExpress

Lekuo is also expanding its external 10GbE range with a USB4 to 10G SFP+ adapter, offering an alternative to the more common RJ45 based 10GbE designs already associated with the brand. In the transcript, this model is presented as a silent SFP based version of the company’s existing copper 10GbE adapter, intended for users who want fibre or DAC connectivity instead of 10GBASE T. That makes it more relevant for rackmount environments, structured fibre deployments, and users already working with SFP+ switching infrastructure.

The product appears to share the same broader design language as the other newer USB4 network adapters shown during the visit, including a compact metal enclosure, ventilation at each end, and an external power option. The transcript also notes a physical power button on this family of devices, which is relatively uncommon on compact external network adapters. As this specific single port USB4 to 10G SFP+ model is not included in the supplied formal product specification sheets, the current information is based on what was shown and described in the video rather than a final retail listing.

Who Are IOCREST/Lekuo?

IOCREST and Lekuo are effectively 2 market facing identities used by the same company. Based on the interview material, the business was founded in 2000 and has operated for more than 20 years in adapter, connectivity, and expansion hardware design. IOCREST appears more closely associated with the company’s long standing OEM and B2B activity, while Lekuo is the branding now being pushed more directly toward end users and consumer retail channels.

A key point from the interview is that the company states that most of its products are designed in house, including the internal engineering and development work behind its USB, USB4, M.2, and PCIe based solutions. It also describes its product planning as being driven by practical gaps in the market, particularly in compact systems where users need to add networking, storage, or expansion features that are not available on the base hardware. That helps explain why many of its products focus on niche but increasingly relevant use cases such as M.2 to 10GbE, USB4 to multi port networking, and external PCIe breakout designs.

The other defining part of the company’s position is that much of its historical business has been behind the scenes. In the interview, Lekuo states that before its more recent consumer push, most of its sales were B2B, with products often sold through partners, distributors, or other companies without prominent IOCREST or Lekuo branding on the product listing itself. The current shift appears to be less about changing what it makes and more about putting its own name in front of products that were previously sold in a more anonymous OEM style model.

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Finally, for free advice about your setup, just leave a message in the comments below here at NASCompares.com and we will get back to you. Need Help? Where possible (and where appropriate) please provide as much information about your requirements, as then I can arrange the best answer and solution to your needs. Do not worry about your e-mail address being required, it will NOT be used in a mailing list and will NOT be used in any way other than to respond to your enquiry. [contact-form-7] TRY CHAT Terms and Conditions   Alternatively, why not ask me on the ASK NASCompares forum, by clicking the button below. This is a community hub that serves as a place that I can answer your question, chew the fat, share new release information and even get corrections posted. I will always get around to answering ALL queries, but as a one-man operation, I cannot promise speed! So by sharing your query in the ASK NASCompares section below, you can get a better range of solutions and suggestions, alongside my own.

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Minisforum N5 Max NAS UPDATE

The Minisforum N5 Max was originally shown in January 2026 during CES 2026 as the next step in the company’s 5 bay NAS series, following the N5 Pro that arrived in summer 2025 and later sitting above the N5 Air that was introduced in February 2026. At that stage, most of the information around the system came from early hands on coverage, reveal material, and first wave specification details, which meant some elements were still provisional or inconsistent depending on source. Now, in April 2026, the picture around the N5 Max is much clearer. Minisforum has provided a more defined specification set, a clearer description of the hardware layout, and a much stronger explanation of how the system is intended to be positioned, not just as another compact 5 bay NAS, but as a higher tier platform that combines local AI capability, multi tier storage, and more advanced infrastructure features. This update is therefore intended to bring the original January reveal into line with what is currently known, clarify where earlier CES details have since been refined, and set out the N5 Max as it stands now based on the latest available information.

Where to Buy the Minisforum N5 NAS Series: Minisforum N5 AIR NAS ($519) – HERE Minisforum N5 PRO NAS ($959) – HERE Minisforum N5 NAS ($529) – HERE Minisforum N5 MAX ($TBC) – HERE

Minisforum N5 Max NAS Design and Storage

The N5 Max keeps the same broad chassis direction first seen in the earlier N5 systems, using a compact 5 bay enclosure that supports both 3.5 inch and 2.5 inch SATA drives. Physically, it remains very close to the N5 Pro and N5 Air in footprint, with the April 2026 dimensions now listed at 199 × 202.4 × 252.3 mm and a base unit weight of 5 kg. That means Minisforum has not redesigned the platform into a larger desktop tower, but instead chosen to scale capability within the same general enclosure class that defined the rest of the series.

One of the more visible design changes carried over from the original January reveal is the inclusion of lockable drive trays. That may seem like a small revision, but it directly addresses one of the practical complaints raised around the earlier N5 generation. Minisforum is also still using the pull out internal layout, where the main board and flash storage area can be accessed through a more service friendly internal assembly rather than a completely fixed internal frame.

In structural terms, the N5 Max remains very much part of the same family, but it has been revised in several small ways that make it look more mature than the first N5 design.

On the hard drive side, the N5 Max is now specified with 5 SATA 3.0 bays supporting up to 30 TB per bay, giving the system a stated raw HDD ceiling of 150 TB before any NVMe storage is counted. Minisforum also lists the platform as supporting up to 190 TB total storage overall. Compared with the 22 TB per drive guidance attached to earlier N5 series documentation, this higher ceiling does not change the number of bays, but it does position the Max for a higher total capacity target within the same physical format. As with most NAS vendors, real world drive compatibility will still depend on validation over time, but the intent is clearly to place the N5 Max above the earlier models in maximum raw storage potential.

Flash storage is where the N5 Max diverges most clearly from the N5 Pro and N5 Air. Instead of the mixed M.2 and U.2 style arrangement used on those systems, the N5 Max is now described as having 5 M.2 NVMe positions in total. The current April 2026 specification lists 1 × M.2 2280 NVMe slot running at PCIe 4.0 x4 with support up to 8 TB, plus 4 × M.2 2280 NVMe slots running at PCIe 4.0 x1 with support up to 8 TB each. Minisforum also states that the system disk is a preinstalled 64 GB module occupying 1 of those SSD positions, which is relevant because it affects how many slots are immediately free to the user out of the box.

That layout gives the N5 Max a storage structure that is more layered than the earlier N5 models, with large capacity HDDs handling primary bulk storage while multiple NVMe slots can be used for cache, active project data, containers, VM storage, model files, or application workloads. It also fits the broader April 2026 positioning of the unit as a system meant to keep more data in an active state rather than simply acting as a passive archive box. The tradeoff is that the Max no longer appears to prioritize the same U.2 flexibility seen on the N5 Pro and N5 Air, instead leaning harder into a denser onboard M.2 arrangement within the same 5 bay chassis.

Minisforum N5 Max NAS Internal Hardware

The N5 Max is built around the AMD Ryzen AI Max+ 395, a 16 core, 32 thread processor with a 3 GHz base frequency and boost up to 5.1 GHz. Minisforum lists the chip with Radeon 8060S integrated graphics featuring 40 graphics cores, alongside AMD Ryzen AI support rated at up to 126 TOPS overall and up to 50 TOPS on the NPU. In simple terms, this places the N5 Max in a very different compute class to the original N5 and above the N5 Pro as well, making it much closer to a compact workstation platform than a conventional 5 bay NAS in processor terms.

Memory is also handled very differently from the rest of the series. Rather than using upgradeable SO-DIMM slots, the N5 Max is listed with 128 GB of LPDDR5x memory on a 256 bit interface, with support references of 7500 to 8000 MT/s depending on source. That fixed memory design should provide substantially more bandwidth than the socketed DDR5 approach in the N5 Pro and N5 Air, which matters for integrated graphics and local AI workloads, but it also removes user upgrade flexibility. This is one of the clearest examples of Minisforum prioritizing performance density over long term modularity in the Max model.

Cooling and power delivery have also been scaled up to match that higher tier hardware. Minisforum lists a cooling system built around 5 heat pipes with PCM, dual 80 × 15 mm turbo fans for the CPU area, dual 92 × 25 mm axial fans for the HDD section, and a separate 60 × 12 mm turbo fan for the SSD and PSU area. Power is now handled by an internal 250 W supply with AC input built directly into the chassis, replacing the external brick used on the earlier N5 systems. Taken together, these changes suggest that the N5 Max is not simply using a faster CPU in the same shell, but has been reworked internally to support higher sustained load, denser flash storage, and a more integrated overall design.

Minisforum N5 Max NAS Connectivity

The N5 Max keeps the same broad I/O philosophy as the rest of the N5 family, but with a more aggressive top end specification. On the front, Minisforum lists 1 × USB4 port with DisplayPort Alt Mode 2.0 support and 1 × USB 3.2 Gen 2 port. On the rear, the system is listed with 2 × USB4 v2, 1 × USB 3.2 Gen 2, 1 × USB 2.0, 1 × HDMI 2.1 FRL, and 1 × AC input. There is also still an internal PCIe x16 slot operating at PCIe 4.0 x4, which means the N5 Max continues to support internal expansion in the same general way as the earlier N5 systems.

Networking is one of the areas where the April 2026 information has become more specific, but it is also where earlier coverage created some confusion. The latest specification material lists 2 × 10GbE LAN ports using Realtek RTL8127 controllers. That differs from some earlier CES era references that described 1 × 10GbE plus 1 × 5GbE, and it also differs from the N5 Pro and N5 Air, which were generally presented as 10GbE plus 5GbE systems. Based on the most recent material now available, the safest reading is that the N5 Max is currently positioned as a dual 10GbE model, though that was not consistently communicated in the earliest reveal phase.

Display and high speed external bandwidth are also stronger on the N5 Max than on the other N5 variants. Minisforum lists video output support through HDMI and USB4, with the current specification stating up to 8K at 60 Hz or 4K at 144 Hz. More notably, the USB configuration now includes 2 × USB4 v2 connections, which is a substantial increase in external bandwidth compared with standard USB4 implementations. In practical terms, that gives the N5 Max a better fit for high speed external storage, direct attach workflows, fast ingest tasks, and display connectivity, while reinforcing that this system is being pitched as more than just a standard network storage appliance.

What Can You Do with the Minisforum N5 Max NAS

At the most basic level, the N5 Max can still be understood as a compact 5 bay NAS for centralised storage, backup, and multi user file access. With support for up to 150 TB of raw HDD capacity across its SATA bays, plus additional NVMe storage for faster tiers, it can be used for the same core roles as more traditional NAS systems, including shared folders, media libraries, workstation backups, and project archives. The difference is that Minisforum is not presenting it as a storage box first and everything else second. Instead, the current messaging places storage alongside compute and local services as equal parts of the platform.

The second role is as a higher performance working data system for users who need more than simple network storage. The combination of 5 HDD bays, multiple NVMe slots, dual 10GbE, PCIe expansion, and high speed USB4 v2 means the N5 Max is better suited to active workloads than a typical 5 bay desktop NAS. That can include media production, large photo libraries, virtual machine storage, container workloads, active project caching, and heavier multi user access. In that sense, the N5 Max sits closer to a compact storage server or workstation adjacent appliance than to an entry level NAS.

The third and most distinctive role is local AI processing. Minisforum’s March 2026 positioning pushes the N5 Max as a platform for private AI workloads running directly on the device rather than through cloud services. The company has specifically highlighted OpenClaw deployment on local LLMs, semantic photo search, voice to text, summarisation, smart organisation, and a more unified AI assistant style interface inside its software environment. Whether all of those functions arrive in the same form and at the same maturity level at launch remains something that still needs real world validation, but the intended direction is clearly toward keeping both data and AI interactions local.

For more advanced users, the N5 Max is also being framed as a private infrastructure platform rather than only an appliance. Minisforum has attached features such as ZFS, snapshots, virtualization, Docker, UPS support, and stronger permission control to the product direction, which broadens its appeal beyond simple home storage. That means the N5 Max could be used not just for storing files or running AI assisted search, but also for self hosting services, managing recoverable local data pools, running isolated applications, or building a more controlled homelab environment around the same hardware.

Minisforum N5 Max Price & Release Date

As of April 6, 2026, Minisforum still does not appear to have published an official retail price or a confirmed shipping date for the N5 Max. The company’s March 11 announcement described the system as “to-be-launched,” and contemporaneous reporting also noted that pricing and release timing had not yet been announced. That means the N5 Max remains in a pre-release stage from a commercial point of view, even though the hardware platform, software direction, and much of the specification set are now clearer than they were during the original January CES reveal.

What can be said with more confidence is where the N5 Max is likely to sit within the existing Minisforum NAS range. On Minisforum’s current store listings, the N5 Air is shown at $519 sale price on the official store home page, the base N5 is shown at $599, and the N5 Pro is shown at $959, while no live product listing or price is currently visible there for the N5 Max. Given the Ryzen AI Max+ 395 platform, fixed 128 GB LPDDR5x memory, internal 250 W PSU, and broader AI focused positioning, it is reasonable to expect the N5 Max to land above the N5 Pro rather than alongside it, but until Minisforum formally opens orders or publishes a listing, that remains an informed expectation rather than a confirmed launch price.

Where to Buy the Minisforum N5 NAS Series: Minisforum N5 AIR NAS ($519) – HERE Minisforum N5 PRO NAS ($959) – HERE Minisforum N5 NAS ($529) – HERE Minisforum N5 MAX ($TBC) – HERE

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Need Advice on Data Storage from an Expert?

Finally, for free advice about your setup, just leave a message in the comments below here at NASCompares.com and we will get back to you. Need Help? Where possible (and where appropriate) please provide as much information about your requirements, as then I can arrange the best answer and solution to your needs. Do not worry about your e-mail address being required, it will NOT be used in a mailing list and will NOT be used in any way other than to respond to your enquiry. [contact-form-7] TRY CHAT Terms and Conditions   Alternatively, why not ask me on the ASK NASCompares forum, by clicking the button below. This is a community hub that serves as a place that I can answer your question, chew the fat, share new release information and even get corrections posted. I will always get around to answering ALL queries, but as a one-man operation, I cannot promise speed! So by sharing your query in the ASK NASCompares section below, you can get a better range of solutions and suggestions, alongside my own.

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Update on the ZimaCube 2 NAS + Your Questions Answered

Following the original ZimaCube and ZimaCube Pro, IceWhale is now preparing the ZimaCube 2 range as a more mature follow-up to its first desktop NAS platform, combining the same broad idea of a compact, open, software-defined personal cloud with clearer attention paid to refinement, validation, and retail readiness. Based on the specifications revealed so far, the standard $799 ZimaCube 2, the $1,299 ZimaCube 2 Pro, and the $2,499 Creator Pack continue to target users who want a turnkey system that still leaves room for alternative operating systems, PCIe expansion, direct Thunderbolt 4 or USB4 connectivity, and mixed storage workloads, but the second generation also arrives in the shadow of the first model’s early issues around cooling, power handling, and hardware compatibility, all of which IceWhale now says informed the redesign. Rather than presenting the ZimaCube 2 as a radically different product category, the company appears to be positioning it as a more stable and better validated version of the same formula, with a stronger base model, revised cooling, closer hardware and software integration, and a retail launch path instead of another crowdfunding campaign.

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Zimacube 2 First Look at the Design

In physical terms, the ZimaCube 2 remains very close to the original system. The listed chassis dimensions are still 240 x 221 x 220 mm, and the overall layout continues to center on a compact desktop enclosure with 6 front-facing drive bays, a removable front panel, and a secondary internal sled for the 7th-bay M.2 storage section. That means this is not a major departure in footprint or format, but rather a continuation of the same small-tower NAS concept that IceWhale introduced with the first ZimaCube generation.

The external build also keeps the same broad industrial approach, with an all-metal enclosure and a design that is intended to be visible on a desk rather than hidden away. Based on the Shenzhen hands-on material, the finish has been revised to a silver tone rather than the darker look associated with earlier models, and there are still decorative touches such as copper-coloured screws and RGB lighting. The magnetic front cover also remains part of the design language, although the hands-on notes suggest that removability is still not especially refined, with no obvious front handle to make access easier.

Internally, the most significant design revision appears to be in thermals rather than structure. The original ZimaCube family drew recurring criticism over cooling behaviour and fan noise, and IceWhale itself later issued optimisation guidance and revised cooling components for early units. On the ZimaCube 2, the cooling assembly appears to have been reworked substantially, with a much larger vapor-chamber style module, extended heatpipe routing, and a direct airflow path toward a rear-mounted fan. In practical terms, this is one of the clearest visible signs that the company is treating thermal control as a first-order design issue rather than a secondary adjustment.

The storage layout remains one of the most recognisable elements of the platform. At the front are 6 SATA bays for 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch drives, while the separate 7th-bay board carries 4 M.2 slots. What has changed is the clarification around performance tiers. Following the post-video corrections, both the standard and Pro use PCIe Gen 4 for the 7th-bay architecture, but the actual throughput differs because of the ASMedia bridge hardware: the standard model is rated for 800MB/s R/W, while the Pro and Creator Pack are rated for 3200MB/s R/W. So although the physical design remains familiar, the storage subsystem is now segmented more clearly by model.

Taken together, the ZimaCube 2’s design changes are best understood as a revision rather than a clean-sheet rethink. The enclosure, bay structure, general scale, and visual concept are all recognisably derived from the earlier ZimaCube, but the thermal hardware, finish, and some of the internal implementation details suggest a product that has been adjusted in response to first-generation feedback. From a design perspective, the main story is not reinvention. It is that IceWhale appears to have revisited the same chassis idea with greater emphasis on cooling headroom, validation, and long-term use as a retail product rather than a first-wave crowdfunded device.

Zimacube 2 Internal Hardware Confirmation

The internal hardware changes are more substantial than the exterior suggests, particularly at the lower end of the range. The standard ZimaCube 2 now moves from the original ZimaCube’s Intel N100 to a 12th Gen Intel Core i3-1215U, giving the base model 6 cores, 8 threads, and a much stronger starting point for mixed storage and application workloads.

The ZimaCube 2 Pro and Creator Pack both use the 12th Gen Intel Core i5-1235U with 10 cores and 12 threads, which keeps the Pro class in the same broad processor tier as the earlier ZimaCube Pro, but still gives the second-generation lineup a more balanced split between entry and higher-tier models. Memory has also shifted upward in platform terms, with DDR5 SODIMM support and upgradeable slots rather than fixed memory, allowing the standard model to start at 8GB, the Pro at 16GB, and the Creator Pack at 64GB.

One of the more important details here is that IceWhale is not presenting the hardware purely as a NAS board with attached storage, but as a compact compute platform that also happens to handle large-scale local storage. The system still uses an internal NVMe SSD for the operating system, with 256GB on the standard and Pro and 1TB on the Creator Pack, while retaining dual PCIe slots on a Mini-ITX based custom board. That means the core platform is still built around expandability, and not just in a theoretical sense. IceWhale continues to point toward GPU cards, AI accelerators, network cards, and SSD-focused upgrades as intended use cases, which places the ZimaCube 2 somewhere between a traditional NAS, a compact home server, and a turnkey prosumer workstation-style storage appliance.

At the same time, the scale of the internal upgrade depends on which earlier model is being used as the reference point. Against the original non-Pro ZimaCube, the jump is obvious: newer CPU class, higher memory ceiling, improved internal segmentation, and a platform that appears better prepared for virtualization, media handling, and direct-attached workloads. Against the original ZimaCube Pro, however, the advance is more limited, because the Pro remains on the same Core i5-1235U family and much of the underlying capability was already present in some form. So while the internal hardware is clearly stronger overall, especially in the standard model, this still reads more as a focused revision of the existing architecture than a complete hardware reset.

Zimacube 2 Final Ports and Connectivity

Externally, the ZimaCube 2 continues to position itself as something broader than a conventional NAS, and the port layout reflects that. On the rear, the standard model includes 2 x 2.5GbE network ports alongside 2 x Thunderbolt 4 or USB4-capable USB-C connections, which gives it both networked and direct-attached workflow options. That matters because IceWhale is still treating direct host connection as one of the platform’s defining features, particularly for users who want local high-speed access without routing everything through standard Ethernet alone. It also keeps the ZimaCube 2 distinct from many turnkey NAS systems that rely almost entirely on network connectivity as the primary access path.

The separation between the standard and Pro models is more visible in networking than in external appearance. The standard ZimaCube 2 is limited to 2 x 2.5GbE, while the ZimaCube 2 Pro adds an additional 10GbE port. That makes the Pro the more complete option for users intending to deploy the system as shared high-speed network storage, while the standard model leans more heavily on its direct-connect Thunderbolt 4 or USB4 story to offset the absence of 10GbE. In practical terms, this is an important distinction, because although both systems look closely related on paper, the network capabilities create a clear difference in how they are likely to be used in creative or multi-user environments.

The rest of the I/O remains relatively conventional but still useful for a system of this class. IceWhale lists 4 x USB-A 3.0 ports, 1 x USB-C 3.0 port, DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0, and a 3.5mm audio jack, while the internal platform also keeps 2 PCIe expansion slots available for broader configuration. None of these ports alone are unusual, but taken together they reinforce the same point as the rest of the hardware: this is not being framed as a sealed appliance. It is being framed as a turnkey system with room for local expansion, direct attachment, and mixed workload deployment, even if the actual value of that depends on whether the buyer is choosing the standard model’s lower-cost balance or the Pro model’s more complete network specification.

Next, I spent some time with the founder of Icewhale (the company behind the Zimacube and ZimaOS, as well as the popular Zimaboard and Zimablade) and put forward a few questions about the current development of Zimacube 2 and their recent pricing changes to ZimaOS.

What is the ZimaCube 2 bringing to the market that your previous ZimaCube/ZimaCube Pro does not?

Based on the hands-on session and Lauren Pan’s comments, IceWhale is not presenting the ZimaCube 2 as a completely new product category, but rather as a more refined and better balanced version of the same idea. The biggest practical difference is that the standard model is no longer a clearly compromised entry point in the way the original N100-based ZimaCube often appeared next to the first Pro. The move to a Core i3-1215U, DDR5 memory, dual Thunderbolt 4 or USB4, 6 SATA bays, 4 M.2 slots, 2 PCIe slots, and upgradeable SODIMM memory means the base model now looks much closer to the wider prosumer NAS and compact server market, instead of acting mainly as the cheaper route into the ecosystem. That gives the range a stronger starting point and makes the standard unit a more serious option in its own right.

The second major difference is maturity rather than raw specification. IceWhale is tying the ZimaCube 2 more directly to the lessons learned from the first generation, especially around cooling, stability, hardware validation, and closer coordination between hardware and software development. The revised thermal module, the stronger emphasis on compatibility testing, the claim of more OS-level control over system parameters such as fans, and the move away from crowdfunding toward direct retail all suggest that the ZimaCube 2 is intended to arrive as a more settled product. So while the overall concept remains familiar, what IceWhale appears to be bringing to market this time is a more fully developed turnkey platform, not just in hardware terms, but in how the product is being prepared, sold, and supported.

What lessons were learnt in the development of the original ZimaCube that are going to be applied in the development of ZimaCube 2?

The clearest lesson appears to have been that the original ZimaCube needed tighter coordination between hardware and software from the outset. According to Lauren Pan, one of the main internal changes for the second generation is that both teams now work far more closely together, discussing hardware and software details in the same development cycle rather than treating them as separate tracks. In practical terms, that matters because the first-generation platform showed that a NAS or personal cloud product is not defined by hardware alone. It also depends heavily on how well thermals, fan control, storage behaviour, connectivity, and OS-level management are integrated into a single system.

A second lesson concerns validation and first-batch readiness. The original ZimaCube attracted feedback around cooling, fan behaviour, drive compatibility, and power-related issues, and IceWhale now appears to be treating those areas much more seriously in the ZimaCube 2. Pan specifically pointed to a redesigned thermal module, more extensive compatibility testing, and additional work with drive manufacturers such as Seagate and Western Digital after earlier issues emerged. The broader implication is that ZimaCube 2 is being developed less like an experimental first-generation product and more like a revision intended to reduce the kind of early hardware and integration problems that affected the first release.

What was the biggest challenge that you have faced in the development of ZimaCube 2?

According to Lauren Pan, the biggest challenge in developing the ZimaCube 2 was production cost. That answer fits the wider context of the current hardware market, where CPU, memory, SSD, and other component pricing has remained a significant pressure on system builders. In the case of the ZimaCube 2, IceWhale appears to have been trying to hold onto several features that are often reduced or removed in competing products at this price level, including upgradeable SODIMM memory, bundled system storage, dual Thunderbolt 4 or USB4 connectivity, PCIe expansion, and a more substantial cooling solution. So the challenge was not simply making a new box, but doing so while keeping the product within a price band that still looked competitive against other turnkey and semi-DIY NAS systems in 2026.

That issue appears especially relevant to the standard model. IceWhale is trying to position the $799 ZimaCube 2 as a stronger base platform than the original non-Pro unit, while still including a Core i3-1215U, 8GB of DDR5, 256GB of NVMe storage, 6 SATA bays, 4 M.2 slots, and full ZimaOS licensing as part of the package. In that respect, the development challenge seems to have been balancing specification, manufacturability, and margin without moving the product out of reach of the same buyers it is trying to attract. The result is that cost control appears to have shaped not just pricing, but also the way IceWhale talks about the ZimaCube 2 as a price versus performance compromise rather than an attempt to maximise specifications at any cost.

What has the user response been to your switch towards a free/paid $29 model of your ZimaOS software since the announcement?

According to Lauren Pan, the response to the move from a fully free model to the current free tier plus $29 lifetime ZimaOS+ model has been mixed, but not unexpected. Some community members were confused by the change or felt the software should have remained fully free, while others accepted that the platform needed a sustainable business model if development was going to continue over the long term.

That split is fairly typical for software that begins as a no-cost offering and later introduces paid licensing, particularly when it has built much of its reputation through community use, testing, and feedback. In IceWhale’s case, the company’s position is that the low-cost lifetime fee is intended to make the software commercially sustainable without undermining its accessibility.

IceWhale has also tried to frame the pricing change as part of a broader community model rather than just a revenue switch. Pan said the company had explained the reasoning publicly in late 2025 and described a plan under which 33% of license revenue would be directed back toward community contributors, including moderators, app maintainers, and users helping support the wider ZimaOS and CasaOS ecosystem.

Whether that model proves sustainable over time remains to be seen, but the immediate point is that IceWhale does not appear to be treating the $29 fee as a traditional software upsell. Instead, it is presenting it as a low-cost, lifetime contribution intended to keep development active while maintaining a relatively low barrier to entry compared with other paid NAS software platforms.

Will ZimaCube 2 be headed for crowdfunding, or direct to traditional retail?

IceWhale says the ZimaCube 2 is going direct to traditional retail rather than returning to crowdfunding. In Lauren Pan’s explanation, Kickstarter is something the company now sees as useful in 2 specific cases: either when a product concept still needs market validation, or when production costs are high enough that outside funding is needed to get the first batch built. IceWhale’s position is that the original ZimaCube fit that earlier stage of the company, when the product was more expensive to bring to market and the business itself was still proving demand for this kind of home server and personal cloud hardware. With the ZimaCube 2, the company appears to believe it no longer needs crowdfunding for either of those reasons.

That change is also part of the wider message around the second generation. Moving straight to store-based pre-orders gives the impression that IceWhale wants the ZimaCube 2 to be seen less as an experimental or community-funded device and more as a normal retail product. Pan also described the early response as active, with roughly 200 to 300 community applications tied to testing and usage scenarios, suggesting that demand discovery is now happening around a product that already exists, rather than one still needing crowdfunding to justify its creation. In practical terms, the retail-first approach supports IceWhale’s broader attempt to position the ZimaCube 2 as a more mature follow-up to the first generation.

The NASCompares Conclusion and Verdict so Far on ZimaCube 2

Taken as a whole, the ZimaCube 2 looks less like a dramatic reinvention of the original platform and more like a deliberate correction and refinement of it. The overall chassis concept, storage layout, and broader product identity remain familiar, but IceWhale appears to have focused this second generation on the areas that mattered most after the first release: a stronger base model, revised thermals, closer hardware and software coordination, more validation around compatibility, and a direct retail launch rather than another crowdfunding cycle. That means the scale of change is uneven depending on which earlier model it is compared against, but the direction is clear enough. The ZimaCube 2 does not appear to be trying to replace the original with a wholly different vision. Instead, it looks like IceWhale is trying to turn the ZimaCube formula into a more complete and commercially mature turnkey platform, with ZimaOS, direct Thunderbolt 4 or USB4 connectivity, PCIe expansion, and hybrid storage still forming the core of its appeal.

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TP Link BE3600 WiFi 7 Travel Router Review (TL-WR3602BE)

The TP-Link TL-WR3602BE is a Wi-Fi 7 travel router built for situations where you want your own network layer on top of whatever internet you can get at the time, such as hotel Ethernet, public Wi-Fi with a captive portal, or a phone acting as a tether. The basic appeal is practical rather than flashy: it aims to reduce friction when you are carrying multiple devices, sharing a single connection, or switching between different uplinks while keeping the same SSID and settings for your own gear. It is a dual band BE3600 model limited to 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, so it does not add a 6 GHz option, but it does support Wi-Fi 7 features like Multi-Link Operation when paired with compatible clients, which matters more for stability and real-world throughput than headline speeds. On the wired side it pairs a 2.5 Gbps WAN port with a 1 Gbps LAN port, and it can repurpose ports depending on how you set it up, which helps when the “internet source” is not always a standard WAN feed. The USB layout also fits the travel focus: USB-C for power from a wall adapter, laptop, or power bank, plus a USB 3.0 Type-A port that can be used for tethering or basic file sharing from attached storage. VPN support is another key part of the pitch, with WireGuard and OpenVPN available in client and server roles, and a physical button that can be mapped to VPN on and off or other functions, which is useful when you want a quick change without digging through menus. This review looks at what the device actually does in common travel scenarios, including setup flow, captive portal onboarding, mode switching, failover between uplinks, power draw, heat, and the way the web UI and mobile app handle day-to-day control at a price that has moved from its initial launch range down to around the 99 level depending on retailer and promotions.

TP Link BE3600 Router Review – Quick Conclusion

f you want a travel router that can take hotel Ethernet, public Wi-Fi, or phone tethering and turn it into a single private network for all your devices, the TP-Link TL-WR3602BE largely does that job without much fuss: it is small enough to live in a bag, runs off USB-C power with low wattage draw, stays relatively cool during longer use, and it supports the common travel modes plus VPN features that let you protect traffic across multiple devices from one place, including a physical button you can map to VPN on and off. The wired setup is sensible for travel, with a 2.5 Gbps port plus a 1 Gbps port that can be reassigned depending on how you configure it, and the USB 3.0 port is genuinely useful because it can handle tethering, some USB modem scenarios, or basic file sharing from attached storage. The main downsides are straightforward: there is no 6 GHz band, so you lose the cleanest spectrum option and the widest Wi-Fi 7 channel widths, it has no internal battery so you always need an external power source, and while Multi-Link Operation is supported, it is not “free” on the hardware side and can push CPU and RAM usage higher, which matters if you are stacking MLO with VPN and other features at the same time. The interface and management tools cover most settings people would expect, but the web UI can feel less polished than the mobile app, and switching between operating modes can take a short while to settle. At a street price around the 99 level depending on retailer promotions, it reads as a budget-friendly way into Wi-Fi 7 travel routing with a good set of real-world travel features, as long as you are comfortable with dual-band Wi-Fi 7 and the limits of a USB-powered, small-hardware platform.

Buy the TP-Link TL-WR3602BE for $99 on Amazon	Buy the TP-Link TL-WR3602BE for $99 on B&H

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TP Link BE3600 Router Review – Design and Storage

The TL-WR3602BE is built around a pocketable, rounded plastic shell that is meant to survive being thrown into a bag without snagging on other gear. It is not the smallest travel router in this category, but it stays within the same general footprint and avoids sharp edges, which makes it easier to pack alongside cables, adapters, and power banks. In day-to-day use, it feels closer to a compact accessory than a “mini home router,” which fits the travel intent.

A noticeable design choice is ventilation. In addition to the usual venting on the base, it has venting around the sides and a vented front panel, which is not always present on small travel models. The external chassis is still plastic, but the amount and placement of venting suggests the device is built with sustained operation in mind, not just short sessions in a hotel room.

The overall finish is smooth and practical, with no gloss surfaces that look good on a product page but show scuffs quickly.

The antennas are mounted on either side and fold with up to 180 degrees of articulation, letting you flatten them for packing or angle them for a better signal path when the router is sitting behind a TV or on a desk.

This style of antenna hinge is common on travel routers, but the travel benefit is straightforward: the unit stores flatter, then quickly shifts into a more usable orientation once powered. There is also a physical toggle button on the body, which adds to the “quick control” feel without relying entirely on an app or web UI.

For storage and carry, the main practical detail is that the router has no internal battery, so it always travels with at least a USB-C power source. That slightly changes what “portable” means here: the router is easy to pack, but the full setup is the router plus a short cable and either the included adapter, a laptop port, or a power bank. If you already carry USB-C power for other devices, it fits into that routine cleanly, but it is not a self-contained unit you can pull out and run without accessories.

TP Link BE3600 Router Review – Ports and Connections

The TL-WR3602BE uses a simple physical layout: 1× 2.5 Gbps Ethernet port, 1× 1 Gbps Ethernet port, 1× USB-C power input, and 1× USB 3.0 Type-A port. The Ethernet ports are labeled WAN and LAN, but the router can be configured so the roles are swapped, and in some setups you can treat both as LAN-facing ports if you want a small wired pocket network. The 2.5 Gbps port is mainly there to avoid bottlenecking faster hotel or office uplinks and to give headroom for local wired transfers, while the 1 Gbps port covers the typical “plug a laptop in” use case. As with any multi-gig device, you only see 2.5 Gbps link rates if the upstream gear, cabling, and the connected device all support it.

The USB 3.0 Type-A port is intended as a multi-purpose expansion point rather than a “nice to have.” It supports USB tethering from a phone, USB modem internet in the supported modem mode, and external storage sharing across the local network. On storage, the router can expose attached drives to other devices using common network file methods such as SMB and FTP, which is enough for basic file drop and backup tasks without needing a separate NAS on the road. The trade-off is that storage performance and feature depth tend to be limited by the router’s processor and memory, and it is not positioned as an app-driven platform where you add services on demand. Compatibility is also a real consideration with USB modems and phone tethering, since support can vary by device and carrier behavior.

Power is delivered only through USB-C and the router has no internal battery, so stability depends on the power source you provide. TP-Link specifies 5V/3A, and in normal terms that means it is designed to run from a decent USB-C wall adapter, a laptop USB port, or a power bank that can hold 5V output without sagging under load. In practical use, its low wattage draw makes it easier to keep running from portable power, but it also means you need to plan around power availability in the environment. If the power source is shared, switched off, or flaky, the router will reboot and you lose the session, which can matter if you are mid-meeting or relying on it to stay logged into a captive portal.

TP Link BE3600 Router Review – Internal Hardware

Inside the TL-WR3602BE, TP-Link uses a dual-core MediaTek platform (MediaTek 981B) clocked at 1.3 GHz, paired with 512 MB of memory. In plain terms, this is a midrange setup for a travel router: enough to run a full router feature set, basic QoS, VPN, and multi-mode operation without the device feeling underpowered in light to moderate use.

It is not the kind of hardware you see in newer, higher-priced models that use faster quad-core chips, and that difference tends to show up when you stack heavier features at the same time, such as high-throughput VPN, multiple clients, and Wi-Fi 7 Multi-Link Operation. The upside of the more modest platform is that it helps keep power draw down, which matters more on a travel router than it does on a mains-powered home unit.

On the wireless side, it is a dual-band Wi-Fi 7 design offering 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz service, with rated speeds of 688 Mbps on 2.4 GHz and 2882 Mbps on 5 GHz under ideal conditions. It supports Wi-Fi 7 features like Multi-Link Operation, 4K-QAM, and Multi-RU behavior, but real benefit depends on client support because those features require Wi-Fi 7-capable devices to negotiate them. The lack of a 6 GHz radio is a meaningful design constraint because it removes the cleanest spectrum option and the ability to use 320 MHz channels, so the top-end “Wi-Fi 7 showcase” configurations are off the table. In return, the 160 MHz support on 5 GHz still gives it room for high practical throughput in environments that are not too congested, and dual-band keeps the radio design simpler and typically easier on thermals.

The hardware also includes a physical button that can be mapped to functions such as VPN activation, which is a small feature but relevant to how the device is used on the move. Under feature load, the limiting factors tend to be CPU cycles and memory headroom rather than raw link rates. In testing with Multi-Link Operation enabled, the device showed sustained CPU and RAM utilization in the 50% to 60% range with a single MLO client connected over a sustained period, which is a useful indicator that Wi-Fi 7 aggregation is not “free” on the router side. That does not automatically translate into a problem, but it does explain why performance and responsiveness can dip if you combine MLO, VPN, and heavier management features at the same time.

TP Link BE3600 Router Review – Software, Services & Tests

Management is available through a web-based admin interface and the TP-Link Tether mobile app, with the app generally feeling like the more streamlined option for quick changes. The feature set is closer to what you would expect from a small home router than a minimal travel gadget, including guest networks, client management, IPv4 and IPv6 options, port forwarding and related routing controls, plus basic QoS by device. It also supports multiple working modes, so the same unit can act as a router, access point, range extender, client, hotspot (WISP), USB tethering router, or USB modem router depending on what the environment provides. Remote access through a TP-Link ID is optional, and the core configuration does not depend on subscribing to anything.

For VPN use, the router supports both client and server roles across several protocols, including WireGuard and OpenVPN, and it also lists PPTP and L2TP options. The practical angle here is that you can run a VPN for specific situations without changing settings on every connected device, and the physical button can be used as a quick on-off for VPN rather than hunting through menus. TP-Link’s own performance ratings list WireGuard up to 450 Mbps and OpenVPN up to 350 Mbps, which helps set expectations that encrypted throughput will be lower than a direct connection. In normal use, that means it is suitable for typical travel workloads like browsing, work apps, and streaming, but it is not aimed at sustaining multi-gig speeds through a VPN tunnel.

In basic travel workflow, two timings stood out. From a cold boot, measured from connecting USB power through to a laptop joining the router Wi-Fi and reaching the admin dashboard, the process took 1 minute and 43 seconds. With the router already powered and a laptop already connected to its Wi-Fi, joining a public Wi-Fi network and reaching the captive portal login page took 42 seconds using the built-in connection tools. Put together, that places the “out of the bag to captive portal page” path at a little over 2 minutes and 30 seconds in that scenario, which is relevant because travel routers are often judged by how quickly they become usable rather than by peak throughput claims.

Mode switching was more variable than initial boot. The router tends to retain the last operating mode used, which helps if your routine is consistent, but switching between modes on the fly could require roughly 30 to 45 seconds to reconfigure and settle.

Failover behavior between uplinks was generally quick: in a setup where the router had both a public Wi-Fi uplink and a tethered phone connection available, removing the tethered phone did not drop the active session, and reintroducing tethering was followed by about a 5 second delay before the router picked it back up. The practical takeaway is that dual-uplink travel setups can work without long interruptions, but the device may make its own decisions about which uplink is preferred at a given moment.

Power draw and heat behavior were both measured under a multi-device load. With 3 Wi-Fi 7 clients connected and 2 wired clients connected, observed power use ranged from about 2.84 W to about 4.12 W, which keeps it within easy range for laptop power or a modest power bank. Under Multi-Link Operation, the internal platform showed sustained CPU and memory use around 50% to 60% with 1 MLO client over a 10 minute window, suggesting the feature has a real processing cost even at low client counts.

Thermals stayed controlled over several hours of mixed use, with readings around 32°C on the top, 33°C to 34°C around ports, about 34°C on the side panels, and about 29°C to 30°C on the vented front panel, which aligns with the heavy venting built into the chassis. There is also an eco mode system that lets you shift between boost, balanced, and eco behavior, which is not essential for most users but does provide a manual lever for trading responsiveness for lower power use.

TP Link BE3600 Router Review – Conclusion and Verdict

The TL-WR3602BE lands as a practical travel router with a modern headline feature set, but it is clearly built around a few deliberate trade-offs. You get Wi-Fi 7 support in a dual-band design, plus the flexibility of multiple operating modes, a usable mix of wired and wireless connectivity, and VPN options that can be controlled without much friction. The constraints are easy to define up front: there is no 6 GHz band, so you are not getting the cleanest spectrum option or the wider 320 MHz channels that some people associate with “full” Wi-Fi 7 setups. It also has no internal battery, so the travel setup always includes a power source, and under Multi-Link Operation the device can show noticeably higher CPU and memory load, which is worth keeping in mind if you plan to run MLO alongside VPN and other services at the same time.

On balance, it comes across as a router that prioritizes travel usability over chasing the highest spec sheet ceiling. The measured behavior supports that, with reasonable boot and captive-portal onboarding times, quick recovery when a tethering source is removed and reintroduced, low wattage draw that fits typical USB power situations, and controlled temperatures during longer sessions. The main “con” side is less about any single flaw and more about expectations: if you are buying specifically for 6 GHz, or you want more processing headroom for heavier, always-on features, this is not the most future-proof option even if it is labeled Wi-Fi 7. At a street price around the 99 level depending on retailer and promotions, it makes sense as a cost-focused way into Wi-Fi 7 travel routing, especially for people who want a consistent personal network when moving between hotels, cafés, and tethering, and who are comfortable with the limits of a dual-band, USB-powered design.

Buy the TP-Link TL-WR3602BE for $99 on Amazon	Buy the TP-Link TL-WR3602BE for $99 on B&H

PROs of the TP-Link BE3600 Travel Router

CONs of the TP-Link BE3600 Travel Router

Dual-band Wi-Fi 7 (2.4 GHz and 5 GHz) with Multi-Link Operation support for compatible clients Wide set of travel-focused modes: Router, Hotspot (WISP), USB Tethering, USB Modem, Access Point, Range Extender, Client 2.5 Gbps Ethernet plus 1 Gbps Ethernet, with flexible port role assignment depending on setup USB-C power input makes it easy to run from a wall adapter, laptop, or power bank Low measured power draw in multi-device use, making portable power practical Good sustained thermals in longer sessions, helped by extensive chassis ventilation VPN support in client and server roles, including WireGuard and OpenVPN, with a configurable physical button for quick actions USB 3.0 port can be used for tethering or basic network file sharing from external storage

No 6 GHz band, which limits spectrum options and rules out 320 MHz channel operation No internal battery, so it always depends on an external power source and cable Higher CPU and RAM load observed with Multi-Link Operation, which can reduce headroom for stacked features Web interface can feel dated compared with the mobile app, and mode switching may take 30 to 45 seconds

 

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Need Advice on Data Storage from an Expert?

Finally, for free advice about your setup, just leave a message in the comments below here at NASCompares.com and we will get back to you. Need Help? Where possible (and where appropriate) please provide as much information about your requirements, as then I can arrange the best answer and solution to your needs. Do not worry about your e-mail address being required, it will NOT be used in a mailing list and will NOT be used in any way other than to respond to your enquiry. [contact-form-7] TRY CHAT Terms and Conditions   Alternatively, why not ask me on the ASK NASCompares forum, by clicking the button below. This is a community hub that serves as a place that I can answer your question, chew the fat, share new release information and even get corrections posted. I will always get around to answering ALL queries, but as a one-man operation, I cannot promise speed! So by sharing your query in the ASK NASCompares section below, you can get a better range of solutions and suggestions, alongside my own.

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Synology RS1626xs+ Rackstation NAS Revealed

The Synology RS1626xs+ is a 1U 4 bay rackmount NAS aimed at business and enterprise environments that need high performance in a short-depth footprint. It succeeds the RS1619xs+ after a notably long refresh gap and introduces a more modern hardware platform, including a newer Intel Xeon D processor, 16 GB of ECC memory as standard, dual 10GbE networking, integrated M.2 NVMe slots, and PCIe Gen4 expansion. On paper, this is a more substantial update than some recent Synology refreshes, particularly in areas that affect throughput, caching, and expansion flexibility. At the same time, the RS1626xs+ arrives within the current Synology enterprise strategy, which places tighter control around validated components and supported media. That means the hardware changes need to be considered alongside platform restrictions, expected pricing movement, and the wider value proposition of DSM in the business rackmount market. As a result, the RS1626xs+ looks positioned as a compact but capable SMB and enterprise rack NAS, though its appeal will likely depend as much on Synology’s ecosystem policies as on the hardware itself.

Synology RS1626xs+ Hardware Specifications

At the core of the RS1626xs+ is an Intel Xeon D-1726 processor, a 6-core, 12-thread CPU with a 2.9 GHz base clock and up to 3.5 GHz turbo. This is a clear step up from the previous generation Xeon D-1527 found in the RS1619xs+, increasing both core count and clock speed. Although it is not the newest server CPU architecture available in 2026, it is a more current platform than its predecessor and brings PCIe Gen4 support, which has a direct effect on overall system bandwidth for expansions and attached components.

Category	Specification
Model	Synology RackStation RS1626xs+
Form Factor	1U rackmount
Processor	Intel Xeon D-1726
CPU Count	1
CPU Cores	6
CPU Threads	12
Architecture	64-bit
CPU Frequency	2.9 GHz base / 3.5 GHz max turbo
Hardware Encryption Engine	Yes
Memory (Default)	16 GB DDR4 ECC RDIMM
Memory Slots	4
Maximum Memory	64 GB (4 x 16 GB)
Drive Bays	4
Maximum Bays with Expansion	16
Expansion Unit	RX1225RP x1
M.2 Slots	2 x M.2 2280 NVMe
Supported Drive Types	3.5″ SATA HDD, 2.5″ SATA SSD, M.2 2280 NVMe SSD
Hot Swap Support	Yes, for main drive bays
10GbE Ports	2 x RJ-45
Management Port	1 x out-of-band management/data transmission port
USB Ports	2 x USB 3.2 Gen 1
Expansion Port	1
Expansion Port Type	Mini-SAS HD
PCIe Slot	1 x PCIe Gen4 x8
Dimensions	44 x 481.9 x 668.5 mm
Weight	9.5 kg
Rack Support	4-post 19″ rack
Rail Kit	Synology RKS-04
System Fans	4 x 40 mm x 40 mm
Fan Modes	Full speed, low temperature, silent
Replaceable System Fan	Yes
Auto Power Recovery	Yes
Noise Level	52.6 dB(A)
Scheduled Power On/Off	Yes
Wake Support	Yes
Power Supply	250 W
Redundant PSU	Yes
AC Input Voltage	100V to 240V AC
Frequency	50/60 Hz
Power Consumption	97.59 W (access), 56.19 W (HDD hibernation)
BTU	332.78 BTU/hr (access), 191.61 BTU/hr (HDD hibernation)
Warranty	5 years

Memory has also been increased, with the RS1626xs+ arriving with 16 GB of DDR4 ECC RDIMM as standard across 4 memory slots, with support for up to 64 GB total. That doubles the default memory provision of the older model and should better align with virtualization, backup indexing, active collaboration workloads, and larger multi-service deployments in DSM. Synology continues to recommend its own validated memory for upgrades, and as with other current business systems in its portfolio, warranty and support are tied closely to approved components.

In terms of storage, the system retains a 4 bay SATA drive architecture and supports expansion up to 16 total bays through the RX1225RP expansion unit. Alongside the main bays, Synology has included 2 internal M.2 2280 NVMe slots for SSD caching without consuming the PCIe expansion slot or front storage bays. This allows the RS1626xs+ to support flash-assisted performance acceleration out of the box, while preserving the rear PCIe slot for network or storage upgrades. Official support covers 3.5-inch SATA HDDs, 2.5-inch SATA SSDs, and M.2 NVMe SSDs, though deployment flexibility will still depend on Synology’s compatibility policies.

Networking is one of the more significant changes in this generation. The RS1626xs+ includes 2 built-in 10GbE RJ-45 ports, compared with the 4 x 1GbE arrangement of the RS1619xs+. There is also a dedicated out-of-band management port, 2 USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, and a Mini-SAS HD expansion connector for the external shelf. For additional connectivity, the system includes 1 PCIe Gen4 x8 slot that can be used for 10GbE, 25GbE, or Fibre Channel upgrades, giving it more flexibility for storage networks and higher-bandwidth business environments than the previous model’s Gen3 slot.

Physically, the RS1626xs+ remains a 1U rack system but is notably deeper and heavier than the older unit, measuring 44 x 481.9 x 668.5 mm and weighing 9.5 kg. It also moves to a 250 W redundant power design, compared with the earlier 150 W arrangement, which reflects the higher performance profile and expanded integrated feature set. Synology rates the unit at 97.59 W during access and 56.19 W during HDD hibernation, with a quoted noise level of 52.6 dB(A). Cooling is handled by 4 x 40 mm fans, and the system includes standard enterprise features such as dual hot-swappable PSUs, scheduled power controls, auto-restart after power loss, and a 5-year warranty.

Synology RS1626xs+ Software Specifications

On the software side, the RS1626xs+ is positioned as a full DSM business platform rather than a storage-only rackmount. It supports up to 32 storage pools, a maximum single volume size of 108 TB by default, 200 TB with at least 32 GB of memory, and up to 1 PB in specific RAID 6 configurations with 64 GB of memory. Supported RAID modes include Basic, JBOD, RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5, RAID 6, RAID 10, and RAID F1, with SSD read/write cache and SSD TRIM also supported. File system support includes Btrfs internally, with a broad range of external file systems and network protocols including SMB, NFS, FTP, WebDAV, Rsync, iSCSI, and Fibre Channel.

DSM on this platform is also designed to support heavier service consolidation. Synology rates the RS1626xs+ for up to 1,900 SMB connections, 2,048 local user accounts, 512 shared folders, and 12 shared folder sync tasks. In application terms, the system is listed with support for up to 3,100 Synology Drive users, 3,000 Synology Office users, 3,600 MailPlus users, and 400 Synology Chat users, depending on memory configuration and workload type. Virtualization support includes VMware vSphere, Microsoft Hyper-V, Citrix XenServer, and OpenStack, while Virtual Machine Manager is rated for 12 virtual machines and 12 Virtual DSM instances.

Beyond file serving, the RS1626xs+ includes Synology’s wider business software stack for backup, surveillance, synchronization, and centralized administration. It supports Synology High Availability, Hyper Backup, Active Backup workloads, Snapshot Replication with up to 4,096 system snapshots, SAN Manager with up to 256 iSCSI targets and 512 LUNs, and Surveillance Station with 2 camera licenses included and support for up to 75 IP cameras at 1080p. Synology also positions the platform for hybrid cloud workflows, centralized fleet management through CMS and Active Insight, and newer AI-assisted functions within its collaboration suite, making the RS1626xs+ a software-heavy platform where DSM remains a major part of the system’s overall value.

Category	Specification
OS	DSM
Max Volume Size	108 TB, 200 TB with 32 GB RAM, up to 1 PB with 64 GB RAM and RAID 6
Max Storage Pools / Volumes	32
RAID Support	Basic, JBOD, RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, F1
SSD Features	Read/write cache, TRIM
Internal File System	Btrfs
External File Systems	Btrfs, ext4, ext3, FAT32, NTFS, HFS+, exFAT
File Protocols	SMB, AFP, NFS, FTP, WebDAV, Rsync
Max SMB Connections	1,900
User / Folder Limits	2,048 users, 512 groups, 512 shared folders
Shared Folder Sync Tasks	12
Hybrid Share Folder Limit	15
High Availability	Yes
Hyper Backup	Yes
Snapshot Replication	256 snapshots per shared folder, 64 per LUN, 4,096 per system
SAN Manager	256 iSCSI targets, 512 LUNs
Virtualization Support	VMware vSphere, Hyper-V, Citrix XenServer, OpenStack
Virtual Machine Manager	12 VMs, 12 Virtual DSM instances
Synology Drive	3,100 users, 25,000,000 files
Synology Office	3,000 users
Synology Chat	400 users
MailPlus	5 free accounts, up to 3,600 users
Surveillance Station	2 licenses included, up to 75 IP cameras
Synology Photos	Facial recognition, object identification
Download Station	80 tasks
VPN Server	12 connections
AI Features	Third-party AI model integration, de-identification up to 1,700 words

Synology RS1626xs+ vs RS1619xs+ NAS

Compared with the RS1619xs+, the RS1626xs+ is a more substantial hardware refresh than the model gap alone might suggest. The older system used an Intel Xeon D-1527, a 4-core, 8-thread processor running at 2.2 GHz base and 2.7 GHz turbo, whereas the RS1626xs+ moves to a Xeon D-1726 with 6 cores, 12 threads, 2.9 GHz base, and 3.5 GHz turbo. The newer model also doubles the default memory from 8 GB DDR4 ECC UDIMM to 16 GB DDR4 ECC RDIMM, while retaining the same 64 GB maximum ceiling across 4 slots. At the platform level, the move from PCIe Gen3 x8 to PCIe Gen4 x8 is also relevant, as it increases available expansion bandwidth for modern network or storage upgrades.

The networking and storage configuration also show a clearer shift in priorities. The RS1619xs+ arrived with 4 x 1GbE ports and required expansion for faster networking, whereas the RS1626xs+ includes 2 x 10GbE RJ-45 ports as standard, alongside a dedicated management port. Both systems support expansion to 16 bays with a 1 unit expansion shelf and both include 2 M.2 slots, but the RS1626xs+ is more focused on NVMe caching with integrated flash support alongside newer expansion options such as 10GbE, 25GbE, and Fibre Channel via the Gen4 slot. In practical terms, the newer system is much better aligned with modern high-throughput business environments straight out of the box.

That said, the RS1626xs+ is not an across-the-board improvement in every operational metric. It is larger, deeper, heavier, and significantly noisier on paper, moving from 518.6 mm depth and 39.3 dB(A) on the RS1619xs+ to 668.5 mm depth and 52.6 dB(A) on the newer model. Power consumption is also higher, rising from 68.68 W active usage on the older unit to 97.59 W on the newer platform. So while the RS1626xs+ is clearly the more capable and modern system in CPU, networking, memory, and expansion, it also reflects a more demanding enterprise profile in acoustics, power draw, and likely total deployment cost.

Synology RS1626xs+ Price and Release

At the time of writing, Synology has revealed the RS1626xs+ on regional product pages, but wider global availability still appears to be pending. The system has already appeared in official marketing materials and product specification pages, indicating that the hardware and software position are now largely defined, even if retail rollout is not yet universal across all regions. Based on that, the RS1626xs+ should be treated as officially revealed, but not yet fully launched in every market. Release timing is notable because the RS1626xs+ arrives after a long gap following the RS1619xs+, which was introduced in the 2018 to 2019 period. That makes this a delayed but more meaningful refresh than some of Synology’s shorter product cycles, particularly given the changes to CPU generation, default memory, built-in networking, PCIe bandwidth, and integrated NVMe support. It is therefore not simply a minor refresh of the previous 1U 4 bay platform, even if the overall product class remains the same.

Pricing has not yet been formally confirmed in the materials provided, so any figure at this stage remains estimate rather than specification. The earlier RS1619xs+ was commonly seen around the $2,400 range earlier in its lifecycle, but later pricing in some regions moved closer to or above $3,000. Given the RS1626xs+ includes 16 GB ECC memory as standard, dual 10GbE onboard, a newer Xeon D platform, PCIe Gen4, and redundant 250 W power supplies, it would be reasonable to expect a higher launch price than its predecessor rather than price parity. The main issue for buyers will likely be total platform cost rather than base chassis cost alone. This system is aimed at business and enterprise deployment, and that means the final spend may also include validated Synology drives, NVMe media, memory upgrades, rail kits, network cards, and the RX1225RP expansion shelf where needed. Until Synology confirms full regional rollout and channel pricing, the RS1626xs+ should be viewed as a higher-tier compact rackmount NAS with an expected premium position in the current RackStation portfolio.

Synology RS1626xs+ NAS
Check Amazon in Your Region for the Synology RS1626xs+ NAS	Check B&H for the Synology RS1626xs+ NAS

 

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This description contains links to Amazon. These links will take you to some of the products mentioned in today's content. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Visit the NASCompares Deal Finder to find the best place to buy this device in your region, based on Service, Support and Reputation - Just Search for your NAS Drive in the Box Below

Need Advice on Data Storage from an Expert?

Finally, for free advice about your setup, just leave a message in the comments below here at NASCompares.com and we will get back to you. Need Help? Where possible (and where appropriate) please provide as much information about your requirements, as then I can arrange the best answer and solution to your needs. Do not worry about your e-mail address being required, it will NOT be used in a mailing list and will NOT be used in any way other than to respond to your enquiry. [contact-form-7] TRY CHAT Terms and Conditions   Alternatively, why not ask me on the ASK NASCompares forum, by clicking the button below. This is a community hub that serves as a place that I can answer your question, chew the fat, share new release information and even get corrections posted. I will always get around to answering ALL queries, but as a one-man operation, I cannot promise speed! So by sharing your query in the ASK NASCompares section below, you can get a better range of solutions and suggestions, alongside my own.

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If you enjoy what we do at NASCompares, whether that is our YouTube videos, in depth guides, honest reviews, breaking news coverage, or the conversations happening on the forum, one of the easiest ways to support us is by using our affiliate links when you make a purchase. It does not cost you anything extra, but it does provide a small commission that helps keep NASCompares going. Behind everything you see here, it is just me and Eddie doing the research, filming, writing, testing, replying, and keeping the whole thing running, so every bit of support genuinely makes a difference and helps us continue creating the independent NAS content you rely on.

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Where to Buy a UGREEN NAS and Support NASCompares:

UGREEN has become an increasingly relevant name for NAS users, expanding from its well known accessories business into dedicated NAS hardware with its NASync range for home users, creators, and small businesses. At NASCompares, we have covered UGREEN NAS closely, from early hands on reviews to longer term follow ups, helping our audience weigh up its hardware value, software progress, and place in the wider NAS market. If you choose to buy UGREEN through our affiliate links, you will not pay anything extra, but you will be directly helping NASCompares continue its videos, guides, reviews, and day to day coverage of emerging NAS brands like this one.

Visit the official UGREEN Store below, or you can support us at NASCompares by purchasing your UGREEN NAS on Amazon HERE (it will redirect to your local Amazon store).

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Where to Buy a UniFi UNAS and Support NASCompares:

UniFi has pushed further into storage with its UNAS range, bringing NAS hardware into the same ecosystem as its switching, routing, surveillance, and broader UniFi management platform, with models now spanning compact desktop systems through to rackmount 10GbE solutions. At NASCompares, we have followed the UniFi UNAS family closely with reviews, comparisons, and long term coverage, helping readers understand where these systems excel, where they are still evolving, and how well they fit into real world home and business storage setups. If you choose to buy a UniFi UNAS system through our affiliate links, it will not cost you anything extra, but it does help support NASCompares and allows us to keep producing independent videos, guides, reviews, and ongoing NAS coverage.

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Where to Buy an AOOSTAR NAS and Support NASCompares:

AOOSTAR NAS devices have carved out a niche in the market by combining compact mini PC style designs with surprisingly capable storage hardware, with systems like the WTR Pro and WTR Max appealing to home lab users, enthusiasts, and buyers looking for flexible OS free NAS solutions. At NASCompares, we have covered AOOSTAR closely across reviews, comparisons, and hands on testing, helping readers understand the balance of price, performance, expandability, and the extra setup that often comes with these more DIY leaning systems. If you choose to buy an AOOSTAR NAS through our affiliate links, it will not cost you anything extra, but it does help support NASCompares and allows us to keep producing independent videos, guides, reviews, and ongoing coverage of innovative NAS hardware like this.

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Where to Buy a BEELINK NAS and Support NASCompares:

Beelink has quickly become a notable name in compact NAS hardware, building on its mini PC background with systems like the ME Mini and ME Pro that target home users and enthusiasts looking for space efficient, SSD rich, and power conscious storage solutions. At NASCompares, we have covered Beelink NAS devices closely through reviews, comparisons, and follow up coverage, helping readers understand where these compact systems excel in performance, flexibility, and value, as well as where their more DIY style approach may not suit every buyer. If you choose to buy a Beelink NAS through our affiliate links, you will not pay anything extra, but you will be helping NASCompares continue its independent videos, guides, reviews, and hands on coverage of innovative storage hardware.

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Where to Buy a Terramaster NAS and Support NASCompares:

TerraMaster has become a well established name in NAS, offering a broad range of desktop and rackmount solutions that appeal to home users, enthusiasts, and small businesses, with recent systems and the latest TOS 6 software showing how the brand continues to evolve in both hardware and usability. At NASCompares, we have covered TerraMaster extensively across reviews, comparisons, and software analysis, helping readers understand where its systems deliver strong value, where they fit in the wider NAS market, and which models are best suited to different workloads. If you choose to buy a TerraMaster NAS through our affiliate links, it will not cost you anything extra, but it does help support NASCompares and allows us to keep producing independent videos, guides, reviews, and ongoing NAS coverage.

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Where to Buy NAS from B&H and Support NASCompares:

Buying a NAS from B&H can be a great option for NASCompares readers, as the retailer regularly carries a wide mix of NAS brands including Synology, QNAP, Asustor, UGREEN, Buffalo, and other storage focused solutions across home, prosumer, and business price points. At NASCompares, we often highlight B&H as a useful place to compare availability across multiple NAS brands in one place, making it easier for buyers to match the right enclosure, drives, and accessories to their needs. If you choose to buy your NAS from B&H through our affiliate links, you will not pay anything extra, but you will be directly helping NASCompares continue its independent videos, reviews, guides, and day to day NAS coverage.

Visit the official B&H Store below to see which NAS devices they currently sell and you can support us at NASCompares. Generally, you will find (to date) Synology, QNAP, Asustor, Terramaster, UGREEN, Minisforum and WD NAS on their site.

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Where to Buy a ZIMAOS NAS and Support NASCompares:

IceWhale has built a distinctive storage ecosystem around ZimaCube, ZimaOS, ZimaBoard, and ZimaBlade, appealing to home lab users, makers, and NAS enthusiasts who want flexible private cloud and self hosted storage solutions rather than traditional closed box systems. At NASCompares, we have followed the Zima and IceWhale range closely through reviews, interviews, and ongoing coverage, helping readers understand where these products stand out in terms of hardware flexibility, software direction, and DIY appeal in the wider NAS market. If you choose to buy a ZimaCube, ZimaBoard, ZimaBlade, or use related IceWhale links through NASCompares, it will not cost you anything extra, but it does help support our independent videos, guides, reviews, and continued coverage of innovative alternatives in the NAS space.

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Where to Buy a Gli.Net KVM and Support NASCompares:

GL.iNet KVM devices, including the Comet, Comet PoE, Comet Pro, and Comet 5G, have become increasingly appealing to home lab users, IT professionals, and NAS enthusiasts who need low level remote access to systems for troubleshooting, maintenance, and recovery beyond what standard remote desktop software can provide. At NASCompares, we have followed the GL.iNet KVM range closely through reviews and coverage, helping readers understand where these devices fit into real world server, NAS, and remote management setups, especially for users who want affordable KVM over IP options with modern connectivity features. If you choose to buy a GL.iNet KVM through our affiliate links, it will not cost you anything extra, but it does help support NASCompares and allows us to keep producing independent videos, guides, reviews, and ongoing coverage of useful tools for storage and network users.

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Where to Buy a UnifyDrive NAS and Support NASCompares:

UnifyDrive has carved out a distinctive place in the NAS market with portable and creator focused systems like the UT2 and UP6, aimed at photographers, videographers, and remote professionals who need high speed storage, backup, and sharing outside the limits of a traditional desktop NAS. At NASCompares, we have covered UnifyDrive closely through reviews and ongoing coverage, helping readers understand where these mobile NAS devices stand out in terms of portability, NVMe performance, creator workflows, and real world usability. If you choose to buy a UnifyDrive system through our affiliate links, it will not cost you anything extra, but it does help support NASCompares and allows us to keep producing independent videos, guides, reviews, and continued hands on coverage of innovative storage solutions like this.

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Where to Buy a UnRAID DIY NAS License and Support NASCompares:

Unraid licences are a popular choice for NASCompares readers because they turn a huge range of standard PC and server hardware into flexible NAS, VM, container, and media server systems, with current licence options starting at $49 and scaling to suit different storage builds and long term update needs. At NASCompares, we regularly cover Unraid in guides, comparisons, and installation tutorials, helping users decide whether its mix of storage flexibility, app support, and DIY freedom is the right fit for their setup. If you choose to buy an Unraid licence through our affiliate links, it will not cost you anything extra, but it does help support NASCompares and allows us to keep producing independent videos, guides, reviews, and hands on NAS coverage.

Visit the official UnRAID Store below, or you can support us at NASCompares by purchasing your UnRAID Lincstation NAS on Amazon HERE (it will redirect to your local Amazon store) as the Intel-powered NAS devices include an UnRAID license.

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Where to Buy a PLEX PASS Subscription and Support NASCompares:

Plex Pass remains one of the most popular upgrades for NASCompares readers building a media server, unlocking premium features such as hardware transcoding, downloads, DVR support, and advanced media tools, with current pricing listed by Plex at $6.99 monthly, $69.99 annually, or $249.99 for a lifetime pass. At NASCompares, we regularly cover Plex in buying guides, setup advice, and NAS compatibility discussions, helping users choose the right hardware and understand whether Plex Pass is worth it for their media library and streaming needs. If you choose to buy Plex Pass through our affiliate links, it will not cost you anything extra, but it does help support NASCompares and allows us to keep producing independent videos, guides, reviews, and ongoing coverage for the Plex and NAS community.

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Where to Buy from AliExpress and Support NASCompares:

Visit the official Aliexpress global Store below, or you can support us at NASCompares by purchasing your NAS on Amazon HERE (it will redirect to your local Amazon store) for the same products with a shorter delivery time (most of the time), but a higher price tag.

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Where to Buy a Gl.iNet Travel Router and Support NASCompares:

GL.iNet routers have become increasingly relevant to NASCompares readers thanks to a broad lineup that ranges from compact travel routers like the Beryl and Slate series to home and security focused models such as Flint and Brume, all built around secure networking, VPN features, and flexible OpenWrt based control. At NASCompares, we have covered GL.iNet routers across reviews, comparisons, and first look coverage, helping users understand how these devices fit into travel networking, home lab setups, remote working, and secure access alongside NAS and server hardware. If you choose to buy a GL.iNet router through our affiliate links, it will not cost you anything extra, but it does help support NASCompares and allows us to keep producing independent videos, guides, reviews, and ongoing coverage for storage and network enthusiasts.

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100 Reasons DIY NAS (TrueNAS, UnRAID, Proxmox) are BETTER than Turnkey (Synology/QNAP/etc)

Plenty of people who start with Synology, QNAP or other turnkey NAS boxes will quietly admit that they keep hearing the siren call of DIY platforms like TrueNAS, Unraid, Proxmox, OpenMediaVault and ZimaOS. They see the videos, the benchmarks and the insane builds that squeeze every last drop out of consumer and ex-enterprise hardware. No one is pretending that turnkey systems are not convenient or polished, but more and more users are realising that the raw control, scalability and flexibility you get from rolling your own NAS can be worth the extra effort. In 2025 it is easier than ever to grab a used server, a pile of drives and a USB stick and end up with something that outperforms many branded appliances, both in speed and long term value. So, below are 100 reasons why users decide to jump ship from the safe, curated and sometimes expensive world of turnkey NAS, and instead join the more open, powerful and endlessly customisable world of DIY storage. Some points are very homelab focused, others are about cost and longevity, and some are specific to individual platforms such as TrueNAS ZFS, Unraid parity arrays or Proxmox clustering.

IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER – Different tools suit different tasks! I use both DIY and Turnkey Solutions in my own personal/work data storage environments (as well as a little bit of DAS and even some off site cloud!),. This article is not designed to ‘attack’ or ‘slag off’ one side of the home server market over another! It is to help understand why users might choose one over the other. Not disimilar in some ways to how some people prefer PC gaming vs Console gaming (or even exclusively mobile, though even struggle to wrap my head around that one!).

1. Full control over your hardware

With TrueNAS, Unraid, ZimaOS, Proxmox or OMV you choose everything yourself, from CPU and RAM to motherboard, HBA, NIC, case and power supply. You are not restricted to a small list of approved chassis and expansion units, so you can build around quiet small form factor systems, big tower rigs, or used rack servers depending on your needs and budget.

2. No vendor lock on drives

DIY NAS platforms let you use almost any SATA or SAS drive you like, including shucked external drives and mixed brands. There are no vendor media lists, no compatibility warnings that nag you for using third party disks, and no artificial limits that push you toward expensive branded drives.

3. Advanced file system features

TrueNAS and some other DIY platforms give you direct access to ZFS features such as copy on write integrity, end to end checksums, compression, snapshots, clones and send or receive replication. You can design datasets and snapshot schedules exactly as you want rather than relying on simplified abstractions.

4. Flexible storage layouts and mixed disk sizes

Unraid and ZFS based DIY stacks allow non traditional layouts, with mixed disk sizes, parity only arrays, mirror vdevs, striped vdevs and multiple pools. You can start small and grow over time without following the fixed bay patterns or limited RAID options of many turnkey systems.

5. Deep performance tuning

DIY NAS operating systems usually expose more dials for memory usage, cache behaviour, record sizes, sync policy, queue depths and network stack tuning. Power users can squeeze more throughput or lower latency from the same hardware by testing and adjusting these settings, something appliance firmware often hides.

6. Multi role server in one box

A DIY NAS can be more than just storage. With Proxmox, Unraid, ZimaOS or OMV plus a hypervisor you can run VMs, containers, network services and lab workloads on the same system. This suits homelab users who want their storage server to double as a general purpose compute node.

7. Better use of high end or unusual components

If you invest in many core CPUs, large amounts of RAM, enterprise NVMe or special purpose HBAs, DIY platforms can take full advantage of them. You are not limited by a turnkey vendor firmware that assumes mid range hardware and sometimes underuses powerful components.

8. Lower cost at large scale

Once you move beyond a handful of bays, appliance NAS pricing climbs quickly. Building a DIY NAS with commodity parts or refurbished enterprise gear often gives you a much lower cost per bay and a cheaper upgrade path over five to ten years, especially for media servers and backup targets.

9. Reuse of existing hardware

Many people already have a spare gaming PC, workstation or decommissioned server. DIY NAS software lets you repurpose that hardware rather than buying a completely new appliance. You can then gradually replace parts over time without throwing the whole system away.

10. Independence from vendor roadmaps

With TrueNAS, Unraid, Proxmox or OMV you are not tied to one company product line or release schedule. If a vendor drops a feature, changes licensing, or stops making a class of device, your DIY stack keeps going and you can add or swap components as you see fit.

11. Open source transparency and auditability

Many DIY NAS platforms are open source or based on open distributions. You can inspect the code, follow public issue trackers, and see exactly how data path and management components behave. For organisations with strong security requirements this transparency can be more attractive than opaque appliance firmware.

12. Rich community plugin and container ecosystem

TrueNAS, Unraid, Proxmox and OMV all have active communities that publish templates, stacks and guides for a huge range of self hosted services. New applications usually appear first as containers or community charts, so you can experiment with cutting edge projects long before they arrive in any vendor app store.

13. Clean integration with existing homelab tools

If you already use tools such as Ansible, Terraform, Salt, Proxmox clusters, or Kubernetes, a DIY NAS fits into that world more naturally. It behaves like another Linux or BSD server, so you can reuse automation, monitoring, and configuration patterns that you already trust.

14. Freedom from feature based licensing

DIY platforms generally do not charge extra for adding more cameras, shares, users or applications. If your hardware can handle twenty containers or twenty camera streams, you can run them without buying more licences. That is very different from some turnkey systems where extra features are tightly controlled.

15. Strong privacy control and no enforced cloud accounts

TrueNAS, Unraid, ZimaOS, Proxmox and OMV can all run fully local with no requirement to create cloud accounts or sign in to a vendor portal. You choose if you want remote access and which VPN or reverse proxy you trust, so it is easier to keep storage isolated from external services.

16. Powerful scripting and automation options

Because DIY NAS software sits on standard Linux or BSD layers, you can use cron, systemd timers, full shell scripting and language runtimes such as Python or Go. Backup pipelines, integrity checks, archiving rules and housekeeping tasks can be scripted exactly as you need them.

17. Better fit for larger and denser builds

If you want twenty four, thirty six or more bays, DIY approaches scale more smoothly. You can use dedicated JBOD shelves, fibre or SAS expanders, and multiple HBAs, with TrueNAS or Proxmox managing pools across them. Many consumer appliances run out of official options long before that point.

18. Easier experimentation with new technologies

DIY platforms are ideal for lab work with new storage ideas, for example experimental ZFS features, new compression algorithms, alternative filesystems or clustered storage layers such as Ceph and Gluster. You can try these on real hardware without waiting for a turnkey vendor to embrace them.

19. Ability to virtualise the NAS itself

A DIY NAS stack can sit inside a virtual machine on top of Proxmox, VMware or another hypervisor. That makes it easier to move the entire storage system between hosts, snapshot the system disk, test upgrades in clones, or run multiple separate NAS instances on the same physical hardware.

21. Alignment with strict open source or compliance policies

Some companies and institutions prefer or require that core infrastructure runs on software with open licensing and source availability. DIY NAS stacks based on standard Linux or BSD distributions make it easier to satisfy those policies than closed vendor operating systems.

22. Efficient use of decommissioned enterprise hardware

The secondary market is full of cheap rack servers, HBAs and SAS shelves that are no longer wanted in data centres but are perfect for home or small business storage. TrueNAS, Proxmox and OMV can run happily on this hardware and give you enterprise level resilience for a fraction of the original cost.

23. Custom network roles on the same machine

A DIY NAS can also act as router, firewall, VPN concentrator or reverse proxy if you want to consolidate equipment. Proxmox or Unraid can host a firewall VM, DNS resolver and other network tools right next to your storage, which is not how most turnkey NAS devices are designed to be used.

24. Fine grained control of encryption and keys

DIY platforms usually let you decide exactly how encryption is applied, how keys are stored, how passphrases are entered and how this interacts with snapshots and replication. You can integrate with external key managers or strict manual processes rather than using a one size fits all wizard.

25. Easier avoidance of telemetry and phone home behaviour

If you want a storage stack that never connects to any remote service unless you deliberately configure it, DIY software is easier to keep quiet. You can review services, outgoing connections and packages yourself, instead of relying on a vendor to document what their appliance firmware does.

26. Flexible data retention and tiering schemes

Because you control the hierarchy of datasets, shares and pools, you can implement very detailed retention rules and archiving flows. Cold data can move to slower and cheaper disks, hot data can live on SSD pools, and you can enforce lifecycles with your own scripts instead of fixed vendor policies.

27. Shared skillset across storage and compute

When your storage servers and application servers all run similar bases, for example Debian or FreeBSD, the same administration knowledge applies everywhere. Teams do not need to learn a unique vendor interface for one box and a completely different approach for the rest of the estate.

28. Support for niche and emerging services

DIY NAS ecosystems often adopt new projects quickly, whether that is a young media server, a fresh photo tool, or an unusual database. Community templates for Unraid or Proxmox arrive much faster than official packages on proprietary platforms, so you can explore niche services early.

29. Long term reuse of hardware for other roles

If your storage needs change, a DIY NAS box can become a general server, a lab hypervisor or a test bench machine simply by reinstalling or repurposing the disks. You are not stuck with a chassis that only really makes sense as a proprietary NAS.

30. Lean installations without extra bloat

DIY stacks can be installed in a minimal way with only the services you actually need. There is no requirement to run vendor photo portals, cloud connectors or bundled office tools if you do not want them, which keeps resource use low and reduces the attack surface.

31. Granular control over updates and versions

DIY NAS platforms usually let you decide exactly when to update the core system, plugins and containers. You can hold a known good version for months, run a newer kernel only on a test VM, or pin specific containers while the rest of the stack moves forward, instead of accepting a single vendor update cadence across everything.

32. Ability to run several NAS platforms on one machine

With Proxmox or similar hypervisors you can run TrueNAS in one VM, Unraid in another and maybe a plain Linux storage stack beside them, all on the same hardware. This lets you compare platforms, migrate gradually or dedicate different virtual NAS instances to different clients without buying multiple appliances.

33. Deep visibility for troubleshooting and performance analysis

DIY systems expose full system logs, kernel messages, packet captures and low level profiling tools. When you hit a strange performance issue or network glitch you can drill right down into iostat, tcpdump or perf, rather than relying only on a high level vendor dashboard that may not reveal the root cause.

34. Configuration managed like code in Git

Because most DIY NAS configurations live in text or structured files, you can store them in Git, review changes, roll back to older commits and clone the same setup onto another node. This aligns your storage servers with modern configuration management practices instead of keeping all changes on a single vendor GUI.

35. Option to extend or maintain abandoned components

If a plugin, driver or feature you rely on is dropped by its original maintainer, an open DIY stack at least gives you the option to fork and maintain it or hire someone to do so. With a closed appliance firmware, once the vendor removes or changes a feature you generally have no way to bring it back.

36. Freedom to fully rebrand or white label

Service providers that build solutions for clients can install TrueNAS, Proxmox or OMV on standard hardware and theme the interfaces, hostnames and portals to match their own brand. There is no prominent third party logo on the front of the GUI, which is often preferable when you are selling a complete solution.

37. Direct choice of monitoring and alerting stack

DIY NAS servers can run native agents for Prometheus, Zabbix, Checkmk, commercial monitoring suites and whatever log pipeline you already use. You do not have to rely on a vendor specific cloud portal or proprietary alert format, so storage monitoring fits seamlessly into the rest of your infrastructure.

38. Support for unusual hardware form factors

Because you can install DIY NAS software on almost anything that runs a suitable kernel, it is easier to use very compact systems, blade servers, dense JBOD trays or custom builds that no turnkey NAS vendor offers. This flexibility is valuable when you have physical constraints or leftover hardware that does not match appliance shapes.

39. Full control over repositories and software sources

On a DIY stack you decide which package repositories are trusted, whether you mirror them locally and which versions are allowed. This is useful in secure environments that need all software to come from internal mirrors and want to block any unapproved external package feeds.

40. Faster access to new kernel and protocol features

New SMB or NFS versions, fresh filesystems, driver updates and network features typically land on general purpose Linux or BSD first. DIY platforms that stay close to upstream can adopt these improvements long before a NAS vendor ships them in a future firmware for a specific appliance.

41. Stronger learning value and career skills

Running TrueNAS, Unraid, Proxmox or OMV teaches real storage, networking and operating system concepts. Many homelab users treat their DIY NAS as a training ground, and the knowledge they gain with ZFS, KVM, Docker and Linux often translates directly into professional roles in IT and DevOps.

42. Better use of GPUs and accelerators

DIY NAS systems can use almost any supported GPU or accelerator card for tasks such as Plex transcoding, AI workloads, video processing or scientific computing. You can pass devices through to VMs or containers and tune them as you like, instead of being restricted to a short list of vendor approved cards.

43. True multi tenant storage on a single chassis

With Proxmox or other hypervisors you can run several separate NAS VMs for different customers or departments on one physical box, each with its own web UI, users and policies. This multi tenant approach is attractive for managed service providers and is harder to implement cleanly on a single turnkey NAS.

44. Custom identity and multifactor authentication integration

DIY NAS environments can tie directly into whatever identity stack you prefer, from simple LDAP through to complex single sign on with custom multifactor rules. You can adopt advanced access controls or experiment with new identity providers without waiting for a NAS vendor to support them.

45. Alignment with strict internal security tooling

Organisations that already use SELinux, AppArmor, central audit frameworks or host based intrusion detection can apply the same policies to DIY storage nodes. A TrueNAS or Proxmox box that runs on a standard distribution can join existing security baselines, which is much harder with proprietary NAS firmware.

46. Support for exotic and high performance networking

DIY NAS stacks can use specialist network cards such as Infiniband, RoCE capable adapters or unusual fibre interfaces as long as the drivers exist. This allows you to experiment with very high throughput or low latency technologies that are rarely supported on commodity appliance NAS hardware.

47. Custom backup and replication pipelines

With tools like ZFS send and receive, rclone, Restic or Borg you can build very specific backup and replication flows. You can script encryption, throttling, snapshot selection and multiple targets in a way that fits your environment instead of being limited to the fixed policies of one vendor backup tool.

48. Colocation friendly and data center ready

DIY NAS builds can follow data center norms such as using standard rack servers, redundant power supplies, remote management controllers and IPv6 heavy networks. Colocation providers expect this type of hardware, and DIY software lets your storage blend into a standard server fleet rather than being an odd office appliance.

49. Fine grained admin delegation at operating system level

On a DIY NAS you can use normal user, group and sudo rules with SSH keys to control who can run which commands. One person can manage pools, another can manage virtual machines, another can handle monitoring agents, all with precise restrictions that go beyond the coarse admin or user split of many appliances.

50. Integration with dynamic energy and solar setups

Because DIY NAS software can talk to external APIs and home automation systems, you can schedule heavy tasks such as scrubs, backups or transcoding to run when solar output is high or electricity tariffs are low. This kind of energy aware behaviour is difficult to achieve with fixed vendor power schedules.

51. Deep home automation and MQTT integration

DIY storage nodes can publish events into MQTT, Node Red or Home Assistant whenever backups finish, disks fail or space runs low, and can also respond to automation signals from the rest of the house. This lets your NAS participate in a wider automation fabric rather than living as an isolated appliance.

52. Use of enterprise secrets management for keys and passwords

DIY NAS servers can fetch encryption keys, passwords and API tokens from systems such as HashiCorp Vault or other corporate secret stores. That allows central management and rotation of sensitive data instead of keeping secrets inside a proprietary NAS configuration database.

53. Network boot and golden image strategies

You can build a standard disk image or network boot environment for your DIY NAS with all tooling and configuration baked in. If the system disk fails or you want to spin up a second node, you simply redeploy the image and reattach the existing storage pools, which is a very different model from appliance firmware.

54. Validation of changes through continuous integration

When configuration lives in files managed in Git, you can run linting and simulation jobs in a CI pipeline before applying changes to your DIY NAS servers. This allows you to catch syntax errors or bad parameters automatically, which is impossible when all edits happen only through a click driven vendor interface.

55. Custom user interfaces and portals on top of APIs

DIY stacks expose command line tools and often REST APIs that allow you to build your own lightweight dashboards for particular users or teams. You can present a simplified view for media editors, a different one for backup operators, and keep the full complexity of the base system hidden in the background.

56. Tailored localisation and language choices

If the default language or terminology of the platform does not suit your users, you can adjust translation files or web templates on a DIY system. Community contributions in minority languages are also easier to ship and maintain than on a closed vendor NAS where only official translations exist.

57. Customised drive qualification and burn in workflows

You can design a strict process for testing new disks, for example running multi day read and write passes, specific SMART tests and temperature checks before a drive ever joins a pool. Scripts and reports can enforce this burn in policy across all your DIY NAS nodes, something turnkey platforms rarely expose in detail.

58. Robust behaviour in extreme or niche environments

In vehicles, ships, remote cabins or unstable power conditions you may need unusual behaviours such as aggressive throttling at certain temperatures, logging to serial consoles or special shutdown routines. DIY software gives you the hooks to script and tune these reactions in ways that appliance firmware does not anticipate.

59. Clean integration with formal change management processes

Organisations with strict change control can insist that all NAS configuration changes arrive through reviewed pull requests and automated deployment tools. A DIY NAS whose configuration is driven by code fits smoothly into this world, whereas an appliance managed only through a browser is harder to audit and control.

60. Easy experimentation with clustered storage technologies

If you want to explore scale out storage such as Ceph, Gluster or other distributed systems, DIY hardware and open platforms are the most practical route. You can repurpose existing nodes into a cluster, test resilience and performance characteristics, and later reuse those machines for other lab work if requirements change.

61. Easier long term data salvage and portability

With DIY platforms such as TrueNAS, Unraid, ZimaOS, Proxmox and OMV, the on disk formats and pool layouts are widely documented and used in many contexts. If a motherboard dies in several years, you can move the disks to new hardware, reinstall the same software and import the pools, instead of hunting for an identical appliance or vendor recovery tool.

62. Broader protocol support and deeper tuning

DIY NAS software lets you expose storage over SMB, NFS, iSCSI, rsync modules, sometimes NVMe over TCP and more, with detailed control of versions, encryption, timeouts and caching. You can tune each protocol for a specific workload instead of accepting whatever subset and presets a turnkey vendor offers.

63. Custom hooks on file and dataset operations

Because you control the base system, you can attach your own scripts when files are written, moved or deleted in particular locations. That allows automatic virus scanning, metadata extraction, indexing, transcoding or business workflows that trigger whenever content changes, rather than relying only on built in features.

64. Comfortable operation with serial console and no local screen

DIY NAS platforms are happy on machines that have only serial console or out of band management with no HDMI or local keyboard. This matches how many server rooms and colocation racks actually work and lets you manage storage over low bandwidth links without any graphical tools if needed.

65. More compression and deduplication options per dataset

ZFS based DIY systems allow you to choose different compression algorithms and record sizes per dataset and to enable or disable deduplication only where it makes sense. You can optimise for databases, media archives or virtual machines individually rather than living with a single vendor setting for an entire volume.

66. Clear separation of storage and management planes

On a DIY NAS you can keep the storage node lean and run most of the management logic on other servers through SSH, APIs or orchestration tools. The storage device can behave as a focused data plane while the control plane lives elsewhere, which is attractive in environments that want very thin appliances.

67. Community culture that embraces experimentation

The forums and communities around TrueNAS, Unraid, Proxmox and OMV are full of people who enjoy deep technical dives, benchmarks and off label use cases. For homelab users and engineers that culture can feel more welcoming than vendor moderated communities that discourage unsupported combinations.

68. Reuse of one reference design across home, lab and office

Once you settle on a particular DIY stack and layout, you can repeat the same design at home, at work and in test environments with only minor changes. Automation scripts, monitoring templates and backup strategies can be shared almost unchanged between all these machines.

69. Neutral target for testing third party backup strategies

A DIY NAS can act as a neutral storage target for many different backup products and appliances from other vendors. You can point various commercial systems at the same TrueNAS or Proxmox storage, then compare how they behave for restore, versioning and verification, something that is harder when your main storage is itself a fixed vendor appliance.

70. No hard limits on shares, datasets or exports

DIY platforms rarely impose artificial limits on the number of datasets, snapshots, exports or shares you can create. As long as the underlying system can handle it, you can build very granular layouts for different teams, applications and projects without hitting a model based cap.

71. Better fit for reproducible research environments

In academic or scientific work, it is often important that another team can rebuild the same stack years later. A DIY NAS with configuration stored in code and based on standard distributions can be recreated on any suitable hardware, which supports reproducible experiments and shared lab setups.

72. Combination of storage and high performance computing

In some labs and studios the same physical machines are used both for heavy compute work and for fast local storage. DIY NAS software can happily coexist with HPC toolchains and schedulers on the same hardware, allowing you to run compute workloads close to the data without separate appliances.

73. Precise control of time and clock integration

DIY platforms give full access to NTP, Precision Time Protocol and kernel timing controls. For environments where consistent timing is critical, such as finance, measurement systems or some industrial setups, the storage node can participate in the same strict time hierarchy as the rest of the infrastructure.

74. Better support for unusual backup and archival devices

If you need to attach tape libraries, optical jukeboxes or rare archival devices, a DIY NAS running a general purpose operating system is more likely to support them. You can install the required drivers and tools for these devices rather than waiting for a turnkey vendor to recognise them.

75. Ideal for storage that is a pure backend service

Some administrators want their storage nodes to be invisible to end users and to present only block or file protocols to other systems. DIY NAS installations can be trimmed down to offer only SMB, NFS, iSCSI or object storage with no media portals or user apps, which suits this backend only role very well.

76. Flexible data transformation and ingestion pipelines

Because you can run whatever tools and containers you like, a DIY NAS can also host data transformation jobs. For example, you can receive raw data, clean it, compress it, encrypt it and then push it to cloud storage or another site, all driven by your own scripts and schedules.

77. Reduced reliance on any single vendor decision

With DIY platforms you are not waiting for one company to decide which media codecs, hardware accelerators or remote access features are allowed. If a particular vendor chooses a direction you dislike, you can still adopt the tools and configurations that suit you within your own stack.

78. No forced hardware replacement at support end dates

When a commercial NAS model reaches the vendor end of support, users are often encouraged to buy a new box even if the hardware is still reliable. With DIY storage you can keep updating the operating system on the same machine for as long as the components remain healthy, decoupling software support from hardware marketing cycles.

79. Good fit for very lean remote management

In remote or bandwidth constrained locations, being able to manage the NAS entirely with text tools and small configuration files is valuable. DIY platforms let you perform upgrades, configuration changes and even troubleshooting over slow links without relying on heavy web interfaces.

80. Custom quality of service tied to processes and containers

On DIY systems you can use native resource controllers to limit bandwidth, CPU time or IOPS per container, process group or user. This makes it possible to enforce complex quality of service rules that prioritise critical workloads while still allowing experimental services to run in the background.

81. Strong separation between data layout and hardware chassis

With pools and datasets defined at the software level, you can move storage from one chassis to another or rebalance between servers without changing how applications see their paths. This separation makes it easier to evolve the physical layer over time while keeping logical layout stable.

82. Use as a standard test bench for vendor devices

A DIY NAS environment can act as a standard reference platform when you test routers, backup appliances or other network gear. Because it is not tied to one brand, it is easier to observe how third party devices behave when they read and write to a known stable storage backend.

83. Ability to layer multiple security models

DIY stacks allow you to combine filesystem permissions, network firewalls, container isolation, mandatory access control frameworks and external identity providers in creative ways. You are not limited to the single security model that a turnkey NAS interface exposes, which allows more nuanced defence in depth.

84. Fine control over logging and audit detail

You can configure exactly what is logged, where logs are stored and how long they are kept, from kernel messages to application events. Logs can be shipped to central collectors in formats that match your existing observability stack, making compliance and forensic analysis simpler.

85. Tailored behaviour for backup and disaster drills

DIY platforms can be wired into automated disaster simulations, where systems are repeatedly torn down and rebuilt to prove that recovery works. Storage configurations can be recreated from code, pools imported and test data restored on a schedule, instead of relying on manual wizard driven tests.

86. Ability to swap out components in the software stack over time

Over the lifetime of a DIY NAS, you can replace almost every layer: change the init system, switch to a different web interface, adopt a new container engine or even move from one DIY distribution to another while keeping the same pools. This modularity keeps the platform adaptable as tastes and technology change.

87. Better fit for organisations that avoid proprietary formats

Some organisations have policies against storing important data in formats that depend on closed code or single vendor tools. DIY NAS solutions using standard filesystems and open source utilities are easier to justify under these rules than appliances that use proprietary volume managers and configuration stores.

88. Helpful for education and training labs

Training providers and universities can deploy DIY NAS stacks inside virtual environments so that students can break, repair and rebuild storage systems without touching production gear. The same images can be reset between classes, giving learners realistic hands on experience at low cost.

89. Capacity to follow very specific legal or regulatory rules

In some jurisdictions or industries, unusual requirements appear, such as special retention schedules, local encryption standards or niche logging rules. DIY NAS environments can be scripted to satisfy these specific requirements even when no turnkey NAS vendor has considered them.

90. Natural choice when mixing many self hosted applications

If you already run a wide range of self hosted tools in containers or VMs, adding storage duties to that world with DIY software keeps everything consistent. The NAS simply becomes another service in the same orchestration fabric rather than a separate product with its own way of doing things.

91. Easier experimentation with new network filesystems

When new network filesystem projects appear, such as experimental user space protocols or research systems, they nearly always target Linux and BSD first. A DIY NAS gives you a platform to test these technologies for specific problems, long before any commercial vendor would consider supporting them.

92. Ability to enforce very conservative update policies

Some organisations prefer to update only once or twice a year after extensive internal testing. DIY NAS stacks allow you to freeze versions and postpone upgrades until you have validated them, instead of accepting automatic firmware updates that may change behaviour on the vendor schedule.

93. Better suitability for mixed licence environments

If you already pay for certain commercial tools but want the storage layer to stay licence free, DIY approaches give you that mix. You can run proprietary database or backup software while keeping the underlying storage platform open and under your control.

94. Simple way to expose standard development environments next to data

With Proxmox or similar platforms you can spin up development VMs or containers right next to the storage that holds source code and artefacts. Developers can work close to large repositories and test data without hauling everything over the network, using the NAS as both storage and dev host.

95. Easier to integrate with custom dashboards and reporting systems

Because DIY NAS boxes export metrics in standard ways or can run your own collectors, it is straightforward to feed storage statistics into company specific dashboards and reports. You can show exactly the charts and summaries that matter for your audience instead of relying on whatever reporting screens a vendor includes.

96. Straightforward reuse of disks in other systems if needed

If your plans change, you can remove disks from a DIY NAS, wipe or repurpose them in other servers without dealing with vendor specific metadata or compatibility warnings. The drives are just drives, not part of an opaque appliance ecosystem that expects to keep them forever.

97. Good platform for testing security tools and hardening guides

A DIY NAS can serve as a lab for experimenting with new security scanners, vulnerability assessment tools and hardening recommendations before you roll them out to production servers. You can observe how these changes affect a real storage workload and adjust accordingly.

98. Realistic environment for practising incident response

Because you control every part of the stack, you can simulate failures, intrusions or misconfigurations on a DIY NAS and then practise your incident response procedure. This kind of training is harder with commercial appliances where you cannot fully control or inspect all layers.

99. Freedom to keep legacy protocols alive while you migrate

In some environments you still need to support older protocols for a while, for example legacy SMB dialects or older NFS versions. DIY NAS systems let you keep these services available during migration while still offering modern protocols to new clients, with careful isolation where needed.

100. Serves as a long lived foundation independent of brand trends

Vendors come and go, change direction or pivot to new markets, but the core technologies behind DIY NAS platforms have existed for decades and are used in many places beyond home storage. Building on that foundation means your data and workflows are less tied to the fashion of any particular hardware brand.

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Finally, for free advice about your setup, just leave a message in the comments below here at NASCompares.com and we will get back to you. Need Help? Where possible (and where appropriate) please provide as much information about your requirements, as then I can arrange the best answer and solution to your needs. Do not worry about your e-mail address being required, it will NOT be used in a mailing list and will NOT be used in any way other than to respond to your enquiry. [contact-form-7] TRY CHAT Terms and Conditions   Alternatively, why not ask me on the ASK NASCompares forum, by clicking the button below. This is a community hub that serves as a place that I can answer your question, chew the fat, share new release information and even get corrections posted. I will always get around to answering ALL queries, but as a one-man operation, I cannot promise speed! So by sharing your query in the ASK NASCompares section below, you can get a better range of solutions and suggestions, alongside my own.

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45Homelab and UnRAID NAS Software Combined

Unraid and 45HomeLab have entered into a partnership focused on delivering prebuilt systems designed around Unraid, with 45HomeLab drawing on the wider hardware background connected to 45Drives and Protocase. Based on the public announcement and the clarification provided by Unraid, the collaboration is being framed as a home lab and prosumer focused offering rather than an enterprise initiative, with the emphasis placed on validated hardware, upgradeable designs, local data ownership, and a simpler route for users who want a ready made Unraid system without having to source and test each part on their own.

Who Are 45Drives?

45Drives is a North American storage hardware company best known for building large capacity data storage and compute systems, with much of its reputation coming from deployments aimed at organizations rather than casual consumer buyers. The company is closely associated with Protocase, which provides the manufacturing base behind its hardware, and over time it has become known for emphasizing practical, serviceable system design instead of tightly closed appliance style products. Its broader identity has generally been tied to storage infrastructure for research environments, institutional buyers, enterprise deployments, and government related use cases, particularly where buyers value high drive density, open platform thinking, and hardware that can be maintained over a long service life rather than treated as disposable.

That background matters here because 45HomeLab does not appear in isolation, but instead comes from the same wider engineering and manufacturing ecosystem that established the 45Drives name. In practical terms, that gives context to why the partnership materials place such a strong focus on chassis construction, replaceable components, repairability, and long term upgrade paths. At the same time, the distinction between 45Drives and 45HomeLab remains important. 45Drives is the more established name connected with professional and organizational hardware, while 45HomeLab is the consumer oriented brand being used for this partnership with Unraid. That separation helps explain why the collaboration is being presented as a home lab and prosumer solution, rather than as a move by Unraid into enterprise infrastructure.

Who are UnRAID?

Unraid is a server operating system developed by Lime Technology, with its origins going back to 2005. It initially gained attention for a storage model that allowed users to combine drives of different sizes more flexibly than many traditional RAID based systems, while also reducing the need to keep every disk active at all times. Over the years, the platform has developed beyond file storage into a broader self hosting environment that supports containers, virtual machines, application hosting, and centralized management from a single interface. That combination has made it particularly relevant to home lab users, media server owners, and small operators who want a single machine to handle several different roles without the complexity often associated with enterprise storage platforms.

Its position in the market is shaped less by raw hardware manufacturing and more by software flexibility and community adoption. Unraid is generally associated with users who want direct control over their own data and services, but who also want a system that is more accessible than building and maintaining everything from scratch. In practice, that has placed it in a middle ground between consumer NAS products on one side and fully custom Linux based server setups on the other. Within this partnership, Unraid brings the software environment, workload focus, and user base, while 45HomeLab brings the physical system design and hardware validation. That division of roles is central to understanding why the partnership is being presented as a practical product collaboration rather than simply a branding exercise.

Why is this a good idea?

The main case for this partnership is that it addresses a common weak point in the self hosting market: software and hardware are often chosen separately, leaving the buyer to work through compatibility, firmware behavior, thermal limits, expansion planning, and general stability on their own. For experienced users, that process can be manageable, but it still takes time and usually involves trial and error. For less experienced buyers, it can be a barrier that keeps them from adopting a self hosted setup at all. A partnership between a software platform like Unraid and a hardware focused company like 45HomeLab makes sense because it reduces that gap. Instead of the customer having to guess which platform combinations will work well together, the expectation is that the testing and validation have already been done before the system reaches the buyer.

It also makes sense because the strengths of the 2 sides are complementary rather than overlapping. Unraid already has an established base of users who want flexible storage and application hosting in a single system, while 45HomeLab comes from a hardware background that places importance on build quality, serviceability, and long term component replacement. When those priorities are combined, the result is easier to position as a durable self hosting solution rather than as a short lifecycle appliance. That is especially relevant in a market where many buyers want something simpler than a fully custom build, but still want to avoid proprietary consumer NAS limitations. In that context, a jointly validated system with standard parts, upgrade paths, and bundled software licensing can be seen as a logical middle ground.

What Do We Know About How this Partnership will be presented as a solution?

Based on the announcement, the partnership is being presented as a ready made answer for people who want the flexibility of a self hosted server without having to design the hardware platform themselves. The emphasis is on systems that arrive prebuilt, tested, and validated for the kinds of workloads Unraid users commonly run, rather than on users assembling parts independently and then solving compatibility issues afterward. In practical terms, that means the offer is not being framed as just hardware on one side and software on the other, but as a combined product where both have been selected with the same use cases in mind. The message is that buyers should be able to start with a system that works as delivered, while still retaining the freedom to expand or modify it later.

The use cases being highlighted are broad enough to make the solution look adaptable rather than narrow. The announcement refers to media storage, file serving, containers, virtual machines, home automation, game servers, security camera management, and local AI workloads. That is important because it suggests the systems are meant to be positioned as consolidated household or small office servers rather than single purpose NAS appliances. At the same time, the hardware side is being described in a way that supports that message, with attention given to replaceable parts, upgradeability, standard tools, and chassis design. The intended impression is that the buyer is getting something easier to adopt than a custom build, but not something locked down in the way many consumer appliances are.

There is also a commercial and positioning element to how the partnership is being presented. The clarification from Unraid makes clear that this should be understood as a partnership with 45HomeLab, not 45Drives, which helps keep the focus on home lab and prosumer users instead of enterprise infrastructure. Another notable detail is that the systems are expected to ship with Lifetime Unraid licenses, which strengthens the idea that this is a complete solution rather than a partially assembled starting point. Taken together, the public messaging suggests that the partnership will be presented as a middle option in the market: more polished and pre validated than building a server from scratch, but more open, serviceable, and ownership focused than a typical closed consumer NAS product.

Taken at face value, the partnership between Unraid and 45HomeLab appears to be aimed at a specific gap in the market: users who want the flexibility and control of self hosting, but do not want the added work of sourcing, validating, and maintaining a hardware platform entirely on their own. The combination of Unraid’s software environment with 45HomeLab’s hardware design approach gives the partnership a clear logic, particularly when it is framed around upgradeability, standard components, and long term ownership rather than closed appliance style convenience. The distinction between 45HomeLab and 45Drives is also important to how the arrangement is being presented, because it keeps the focus on home lab and prosumer buyers. Overall, the partnership is best understood as a practical attempt to package self hosting in a more accessible form without removing the flexibility that makes it appealing in the first place.

Learn More in the UnRAID Press Release HERE:

 

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This description contains links to Amazon. These links will take you to some of the products mentioned in today's content. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Visit the NASCompares Deal Finder to find the best place to buy this device in your region, based on Service, Support and Reputation - Just Search for your NAS Drive in the Box Below

Need Advice on Data Storage from an Expert?

Finally, for free advice about your setup, just leave a message in the comments below here at NASCompares.com and we will get back to you. Need Help? Where possible (and where appropriate) please provide as much information about your requirements, as then I can arrange the best answer and solution to your needs. Do not worry about your e-mail address being required, it will NOT be used in a mailing list and will NOT be used in any way other than to respond to your enquiry. [contact-form-7] TRY CHAT Terms and Conditions   Alternatively, why not ask me on the ASK NASCompares forum, by clicking the button below. This is a community hub that serves as a place that I can answer your question, chew the fat, share new release information and even get corrections posted. I will always get around to answering ALL queries, but as a one-man operation, I cannot promise speed! So by sharing your query in the ASK NASCompares section below, you can get a better range of solutions and suggestions, alongside my own.

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Minisforum N5 AIR NAS Review – A Lighter Better Way?

Minisforum entered the NAS market in Summer 2025 with the N5 and N5 Pro, 2 closely related 5 bay systems that stood out for combining a compact desktop form factor with relatively high-end AMD hardware, 10GbE plus 5GbE networking, and less common expansion features such as OCuLink and a PCIe slot. Between the 2, the N5 Pro drew more attention for its Ryzen AI CPU and ECC memory support, while the standard N5 was generally the more accessible option because it retained most of the same chassis design and connectivity at a much lower entry price. That first generation also established the basic identity of the range, namely a compact 5 bay NAS platform aimed more at prosumer and homelab users than at the usual entry-level turnkey NAS audience (albeit, with some bumps along the road in the first wave of devices – more on that in a bit).

The N5 Air now appears to take over that lower tier position in the lineup, sitting beneath the N5 Pro and alongside the higher end N5 Max that Minisforum previewed more recently. In practical terms, the N5 Air does not radically change the formula of the original N5, because it keeps the same Ryzen 7 255 CPU class, the same broad 5 bay plus NVMe storage approach, and the same expansion-minded design philosophy. What it changes is the balance of cost, materials, and positioning. The result is a system that looks intended to preserve the strengths of the original N5 platform while making the entry point slightly lower and the product identity within the range a little clearer.

Where to Buy the Minisforum N5 NAS Series: Minisforum N5 AIR NAS ($519) – HERE Minisforum N5 PRO NAS ($959) – HERE Minisforum N5 NAS ($529) – HERE

Minisforum N5 AIR Review – Quick Conclusion

The Minisforum N5 Air is best viewed as a lower-cost refinement of the original N5 rather than a major new generation. It keeps the same core strengths that made the 2025 N5 notable, including a compact 5 bay design, Ryzen 7 255 CPU, Radeon 780M graphics, 10GbE plus 5GbE networking, 3x internal NVMe slots, OCuLink, and a PCIe x16 physical slot running at PCIe 4.0 x4, which still gives it a broader hardware feature set than many similarly sized NAS systems. The main changes are in positioning and materials, with a lighter plastic-led chassis, a more practical matte finish, and a lower entry price, making it easier to see as the current entry point in the N5 family. Storage flexibility remains one of its strongest points, with 5 SATA bays for bulk capacity and 3 NVMe slots for cache, containers, VMs, or faster working storage, while the slide-out internal design and socketed DDR5 memory up to 96 GB help keep the platform user-serviceable and upgrade-friendly. Performance appears solid for the class, with enough CPU and storage headroom for multi-hundred MB/s file operations, easy saturation of 10GbE from NVMe storage, reasonable idle power draw for an AMD-based NAS, and enough media capability for direct playback and general multimedia duties, even if AMD still lacks the same simple transcoding appeal as Intel in some setups.

The weaker side remains MinisCloud OS, which is functional and includes ZFS snapshots, compression, Docker, remote access, media tools, and mobile apps, but still does not feel as polished or mature as the hardware deserves, making the N5 Air easier to justify as a hardware-first purchase than as a fully rounded turnkey NAS appliance. That distinction matters, because buyers planning to use TrueNAS, Unraid, or another third-party NAS OS will likely find the value proposition much stronger than buyers expecting a highly refined out-of-box software experience. There is also some broader platform context, as early N5 and N5 Pro units drew user discussion online around first-wave storage and controller-related issues on some systems, though later production appeared more stable and there is no basis to treat that as a confirmed N5 Air problem. Overall, the N5 Air is a practical and well-specified NAS platform that retains most of what made the original N5 relevant, and while it is not the most polished turnkey NAS in software terms, it remains a strong option for users who prioritise compact size, flexible storage, multi-gig networking, and expansion over software maturity alone.

Minisforum N5 AIR Review – Design & Storage

At a glance, the N5 Air remains very close to the chassis concept established by the earlier N5 and N5 Pro. It uses the same compact 199 × 202 × 252 mm footprint, the same 5 bay desktop layout, and the same slide-out internal assembly that allows access to memory, NVMe storage, and internal expansion without dismantling the whole enclosure. That layout still makes the system easier to service than many compact NAS designs in this size class, particularly for users who expect to upgrade memory or flash storage after purchase. Minisforum has kept the internal structure largely unchanged, so the Air still feels more like a revision of an existing platform than a ground-up redesign.

The main physical change is in the external construction. Where the earlier N5 and N5 Pro leaned more heavily on a metal outer shell, the N5 Air shifts to a more plastic-heavy chassis and a revised front finish. That change reduces the quoted weight from 5 kg to 4 kg, which is significant in relative terms for a desktop NAS of this size, but it also changes the character of the system.

The original front panel treatment on the N5 generation was prone to showing fingerprints quite easily, so the move to a more matte presentation is arguably more practical. At the same time, the change away from a more metal-heavy enclosure may lead some buyers to question long-term thermals and overall build perception, even if the basic form factor remains the same.

In storage terms, the N5 Air continues to offer 5 SATA drive bays for 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch media, with Minisforum quoting support for up to 30 TB per bay and a total raw HDD capacity of up to 150 TB. Alongside that, it includes 3 internal M.2 NVMe slots, with a claimed ceiling of up to 8 TB per slot, taking total flash capacity to a further 24 TB. As with the earlier N5 platform, the design is clearly intended to separate bulk storage and faster flash tiers in a flexible way, whether that is for caching, containers, VMs, or all-flash working datasets alongside larger HDD pools. The preinstalled 64 GB OS storage also occupies 1 of those internal SSD positions, which remains a practical inclusion for a turnkey setup but does still consume part of the internal flash footprint.

Minisforum continues to position the N5 Air around mixed media deployment and ZFS-oriented storage management, with support listed for RAID 0, RAID 1, RAID 5 or RAIDZ1, RAID 6 or RAIDZ2, snapshots, and LZ4 compression within MinisCloud OS. The system is therefore being presented less as a fixed-purpose home NAS and more as a compact storage platform that can be adapted for archive storage, media serving, backup tasks, and lighter virtualization.

It is also worth noting, as platform context rather than as a direct criticism of this model, that some early N5 and N5 Pro units drew user complaints online around SATA-side stability and storage behavior under certain workloads, although those reports appeared inconsistent across users and later production units seemed to fare better. That background does not confirm any equivalent issue on the N5 Air, but it remains part of the lineage around this hardware family.

Minisforum N5 AIR Review – Internal Hardware

The N5 Air is built around the AMD Ryzen 7 255, an 8-core, 16-thread processor with boost up to 4.9 GHz and a stated 45 W to 55 W operating range. In practical terms, this places it in the same compute tier as the original N5 rather than the N5 Pro, which used the more capable Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 370. That distinction matters because the N5 Air is not trying to move upmarket on raw CPU throughput. Instead, it keeps the same general processing profile as the earlier standard model, which is still relatively strong for a 5 bay NAS in this size class and substantially above the level of entry ARM or Intel N100 based systems.

Graphics are handled by the integrated Radeon 780M, again matching the original N5 and sitting below the Radeon 890M found in the Pro model. For NAS duties, that matters less in terms of display output and more in relation to media handling, accelerated workloads, and light edge compute. Minisforum continues to market the platform around AI-adjacent use cases, Docker deployments, and media serving, but the Air is clearly the more modest version of that vision. It can still support eGPU expansion over OCuLink and accepts a PCIe add-in card internally, so the compute story here is less about the onboard silicon alone and more about the range of hardware paths the system leaves open.

Memory remains user-upgradeable through 2 DDR5 SO-DIMM slots with support for up to 96 GB at 5600 MT/s, but unlike the N5 Pro there is no ECC support listed. That keeps the Air aligned with the original N5 and preserves one of the more important practical differences between the standard and Pro classes. In a market where some newer compact NAS systems are moving toward soldered memory, Minisforum retaining socketed DDR5 remains relevant because it gives buyers flexibility over cost and capacity at the point of purchase and later on. That said, buyers specifically looking for ECC-backed storage integrity or heavier VM density will still view the N5 Pro as the more appropriate tier in the lineup.

From a platform perspective, the N5 Air also appears to keep the same broad internal topology as the earlier N5 generation, including the split NVMe lane arrangement and the dedicated SATA controller architecture behind the 5 drive bays. That continuity is useful for understanding where the Air sits, but it also means some of the discussion around the earlier units still forms part of the background. In particular, some first-wave N5 and N5 Pro users reported online issues around controller behavior, power management, and storage-side stability under certain operating conditions, although those reports did not appear universal and later units seemed to be less affected. For the N5 Air, the important point is not to assume the same fault is present, but to recognise that this is still an evolution of an existing hardware platform rather than a completely new internal design.

Minisforum N5 AIR Review – Ports and Connections

The N5 Air keeps the same broad external I/O philosophy as the earlier N5 and N5 Pro, which is to say it offers a level of connectivity that is notably more flexible than most compact 5 bay NAS systems in this price bracket. On the rear, it includes 1x 10GbE RJ45 port, 1x 5GbE RJ45 port, 1x OCuLink port, 1x HDMI 2.1 output, 1x USB4 port, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 2 port, and 1x USB 2.0 port. On the front, there is an additional USB4 port and a further USB 3.2 Gen 2 port. Taken together, that gives the Air a more workstation-like I/O profile than a conventional closed NAS appliance.

Networking remains one of the more important features of the system. The N5 Air uses a 10GbE port based on the Realtek RTL8127 and a 5GbE port based on the Realtek RTL8126. Compared with the earlier N5 and N5 Pro, which paired the 5GbE port with Realtek but often used an AQC113 controller for 10GbE, this means the Air moves to a more consistent dual-Realtek controller setup. Functionally, the headline remains the same, namely that the system can support multi-gig client access well beyond standard 2.5GbE NAS territory, whether for direct workstation links, faster switch uplinks, or more demanding shared file workloads.

The USB4 and OCuLink support continue to define the range more than any of the USB-A ports do. Minisforum still positions the USB4 implementation not just as a display or peripheral connection, but also as part of direct host connectivity and higher speed external workflows. Alongside that, OCuLink remains unusual in a NAS at this level and gives the system a route toward external PCIe-based expansion such as eGPU support or other bandwidth-sensitive devices. Internally, the machine also retains a PCIe x16 physical slot wired at PCIe 4.0 x4, which means the external I/O is only part of the expansion story, not the whole of it.

Video output support is also unchanged in broad terms, with HDMI and USB4 both listed for high resolution display output, including up to 8K at 60 Hz or 4K at 144 Hz. For most NAS buyers this will not be a deciding factor in itself, but it does align with Minisforum’s attempt to present the N5 family as more than simple storage boxes. The Air can be used as a direct-attached media endpoint, a light desktop-style appliance, or a hybrid storage and compute system in ways that many traditional NAS systems do not attempt. Whether that added flexibility is necessary will depend on the deployment, but in terms of raw connectivity the N5 Air remains unusually well equipped for its class.

Minisforum N5 AIR Review – Noise, Heat, Power Use and Speed Tests

Minisforum N5 AIR Review – Miniscloud OS NAS Software

The N5 Air ships with MinisCloud OS preinstalled on the included 64 GB system SSD, continuing Minisforum’s approach of treating the software stack as part of the out-of-box experience rather than expecting every buyer to start immediately with a third-party NAS OS. In practical terms, the platform remains centred on a ZFS-based storage model with built-in snapshots, LZ4 compression, multi-user account separation, remote access features, and container deployment. The interface is available across desktop, mobile, and local system access, and it is clearly intended to present the N5 Air as a turnkey NAS rather than only as bare hardware for TrueNAS, Unraid, or OpenMediaVault users.

In general use, MinisCloud OS appears functional but still not especially mature. Core tasks such as pool creation, snapshot management, file access, user permissions, and backup jobs are present and reasonably straightforward to work through, but the overall design still lacks the consistency seen in more established NAS platforms. Different parts of the interface can feel as though they were developed with different design priorities, and the result is a system that works in broad terms without always feeling cohesive. That does not make it unusable, but it does make it harder to treat the software as a primary buying reason in the same way buyers might with Synology DSM or QNAP QTS.

The feature set itself is relatively broad on paper. MinisCloud OS includes Docker deployment, VM tools, AI-assisted photo indexing, media playback, Time Machine support, remote sharing, and mobile-led backup functions, along with HDMI output management for local media use. Some of these features are more convincing than others.

The mobile application appears more polished and coherent than the desktop client in several areas, and basic backup or file access tasks seem better aligned there. By contrast, some system-level controls still feel incomplete, with examples including missing fan control in software, uneven interface presentation, and gaps around security and broader service maturity that make the platform feel like an actively developing beta rather than a fully settled NAS OS.

That remains the main software conclusion for the N5 Air just as it was for the earlier N5 and N5 Pro. MinisCloud OS is useful as an included baseline and may be enough for buyers who want simple storage, remote access, and a handful of bundled services without much setup effort.

However, it still feels secondary to the hardware rather than central to the value of the product. Most buyers considering this system are likely to be doing so because of the chassis, networking, expansion, and CPU platform first, with the included OS treated as a starting point rather than the final destination.

Minisforum N5 AIR Review – Verdict and Conclusion

The Minisforum N5 Air does not substantially reinvent the N5 formula, but that appears to be a deliberate choice rather than a limitation in itself. In hardware terms, it keeps most of what made the original N5 relevant, including the Ryzen 7 255 platform, 5 bay storage layout, 3 NVMe slots, 10GbE plus 5GbE networking, OCuLink support, and the internal PCIe expansion slot. What has changed is mostly around materials, controller choices, and pricing. The move to a lighter plastic-led chassis and a revised front finish helps separate it physically from the earlier model, while the controller revisions and lower asking price make it easier to position as the more accessible member of the current range. In that sense, the N5 Air is best understood as a practical rework of the standard N5 rather than a major new generation, and for many buyers that may be enough.

That said, the balance of this system depends heavily on what the buyer expects from it. The hardware remains the strongest part of the package, particularly for users who value expandability, multi-gig networking, and a compact chassis that does more than a conventional 5 bay NAS in the same price range. At the same time, the software side still feels less mature than the hardware deserves, and the shift away from the older metal-heavy chassis may not appeal to everyone. Buyers planning to install a third-party NAS OS will likely view the N5 Air as a strong value-oriented platform with relatively few direct alternatives at this size and price. Buyers looking for a polished turnkey NAS with refined software, longer platform maturity, and fewer open questions may take a more cautious view. Overall, the N5 Air is a capable and well-specified NAS platform with a clear use case, but it remains easier to recommend on hardware merits than as a fully rounded appliance.

Where to Buy the Minisforum N5 NAS Series: Minisforum N5 AIR NAS ($519) – HERE Minisforum N5 PRO NAS ($959) – HERE Minisforum N5 NAS ($529) – HERE

PROS of the Minisforum N5 Air

CONS of the Minisforum N5 Air

5 bay SATA design in a relatively compact desktop footprint, in a space you would normamlly find 4x SATA 3x internal NVMe slots for cache, apps, VMs, or faster storage tiers 10GbE + 5GbE networking included as standard PCIe x16 physical expansion slot wired at PCIe 4.0 x4 OCuLink support for external PCIe or eGPU expansion User-upgradeable DDR5 SO-DIMM memory up to 96 GB Lower entry price than the earlier N5 while keeping most of the same core hardware Slide-out internal design makes memory and SSD upgrades easier than on many compact NAS systems  Change in design has resulted in a price drop vs the original N5 Model and noticably cheaper than N5 Pro (2025)

MinisCloud OS still feels unfinished compared with more established NAS software platforms Plastic-led chassis may be seen as a downgrade in build feel versus the earlier metal-heavy N5 design No ECC memory support, unlike the N5 Pro Included 64 GB OS drive occupies part of the internal SSD footprint

 

 

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This description contains links to Amazon. These links will take you to some of the products mentioned in today's content. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Visit the NASCompares Deal Finder to find the best place to buy this device in your region, based on Service, Support and Reputation - Just Search for your NAS Drive in the Box Below

Need Advice on Data Storage from an Expert?

Finally, for free advice about your setup, just leave a message in the comments below here at NASCompares.com and we will get back to you. Need Help? Where possible (and where appropriate) please provide as much information about your requirements, as then I can arrange the best answer and solution to your needs. Do not worry about your e-mail address being required, it will NOT be used in a mailing list and will NOT be used in any way other than to respond to your enquiry. [contact-form-7] TRY CHAT Terms and Conditions   Alternatively, why not ask me on the ASK NASCompares forum, by clicking the button below. This is a community hub that serves as a place that I can answer your question, chew the fat, share new release information and even get corrections posted. I will always get around to answering ALL queries, but as a one-man operation, I cannot promise speed! So by sharing your query in the ASK NASCompares section below, you can get a better range of solutions and suggestions, alongside my own.

WE LOVE COFFEE

 

UniFi and the Airwire – Did Ubiquiti just SOLVE Everyone’s WiFi MLO Issue?

Ubiquiti has introduced the UniFi AirWire, a WiFi 7 client adapter designed to address one of the more limited areas of current WiFi 7 deployment: the client side. While WiFi 7 access points and routers have been marketed heavily around Multilink Operation, many currently available client devices still rely on single-radio implementations that switch between bands rather than maintaining simultaneous links. The AirWire is positioned as a dedicated external client that aims to deliver true STR MLO operation across 5 GHz and 6 GHz, with Ubiquiti claiming improved throughput, lower latency, and better resilience than conventional integrated client hardware.

At a hardware level, the AirWire is a USB-C connected WiFi 7 adapter with a 4-stream design, support for 5 GHz and 6 GHz 2 x 2 MU-MIMO operation, and a quoted uplink capability of up to 5.8 Gbps on 6 GHz and 4.3 Gbps on 5 GHz. It also adds a high-gain antenna design and a dedicated scanning radio for real-time spectrum analysis. At $199, this places it well above the cost of generic USB wireless adapters, but it is also targeting a more specific role: enabling multi-gigabit wireless client connectivity in environments that already have the access point infrastructure to support it.

You can buy the Airwire via the link below – doing so will result in a small commission coming to me and Eddie at NASCompares, and allows us to keep doing what we do! 

UniFi Airwire – Design

The UniFi AirWire has a noticeably different physical design to the compact USB WiFi adapters that are typically associated with desktop or laptop client upgrades. At 117 x 117 x 42.5 mm and 537 g, it is much closer in appearance to a standalone wireless bridge or directional client than a conventional dongle. That larger enclosure is directly tied to its intended function, as Ubiquiti is clearly building around higher power operation, larger antenna structures, and the thermal requirements that come with sustained WiFi 7 activity across multiple radios.

The housing is made of polycarbonate and includes a fold-out top section that appears to be part of the antenna assembly and directional positioning of the unit. This gives the AirWire a more deliberate deployment profile, where placement and orientation are likely to matter more than they would with an internal laptop radio or a low-profile USB adapter. On the front, there is also a 0.96-inch status display, which provides at-a-glance information during setup and operation without needing to rely entirely on software feedback from the host system.

From a practical standpoint, the design reflects that this is not intended to be an invisible add-on for casual wireless use. It is an external client device built to sit on a desk or near a workstation, with a form factor that prioritizes radio performance and signal handling over portability. That makes it less discreet than mainstream client adapters, but it also aligns with the product’s stated purpose as a high-performance WiFi 7 endpoint for users trying to push beyond the limitations of standard integrated wireless hardware.

UniFi Airwire – Internal Hardware

Internally, the UniFi AirWire is built around a dual-band WiFi 7 architecture that focuses entirely on 5 GHz and 6 GHz operation, without any 2.4 GHz support. Ubiquiti rates the device as a 4-stream client, split across 2 x 2 MU-MIMO on 5 GHz and 2 x 2 MU-MIMO on 6 GHz.

This layout is central to its stated role as an STR MLO client, allowing both bands to be active simultaneously rather than relying on the more common single-radio behaviour seen in many current WiFi 7 client devices.

Ubiquiti also specifies a high-gain antenna design, with 11 dBi quoted on both 5 GHz and 6 GHz, which is significantly more aggressive than the antenna arrangements found in most integrated laptop or mobile WiFi hardware. Alongside this, the AirWire includes a dedicated scanning radio for real-time spectral analysis. That separate scanning capability is notable because it suggests the unit is not just focused on link speed, but also on monitoring local RF conditions and interference in parallel with normal client operation.

The trade-off for that hardware approach is power and thermals. Ubiquiti lists maximum power consumption at 18 W, with USB PD 5/9/12V support and separate normal and performance power profiles. In practical terms, that places the AirWire closer to a compact external network appliance than a typical USB wireless adapter. It also helps explain the larger chassis, the need for external power flexibility, and the expectation that sustained performance operation will demand more cooling headroom than a smaller bus-powered client device could realistically provide.

UniFi Airwire – Connectivity

The UniFi AirWire connects to the host system over USB-C, but from a networking perspective it is presented as a 5 GbE interface over USB 3.2 Gen 2. That distinction matters, because although the wireless side of the device is rated far higher in combined theoretical bandwidth, the host connection places an upper practical ceiling on what can be delivered to the attached PC, laptop, or workstation. In effect, the AirWire is designed to behave more like an external multi-gig network adapter than a conventional USB WiFi dongle.

On the wireless side, the AirWire operates on 5 GHz and 6 GHz only, with support for WiFi 7, WiFi 6, WiFi 5, and 802.11n data rates across a wide range of channel widths. Ubiquiti lists support for EHT 20/40/80/160/240/320 MHz, alongside HE, VHT, and HT modes on earlier standards. The maximum quoted link rates are 5.8 Gbps on 6 GHz using 320 MHz bandwidth and 4.3 Gbps on 5 GHz using 240 MHz bandwidth, though actual results will depend heavily on access point capability, spectrum availability, regional channel restrictions, and signal conditions.

Power delivery is also part of the connection design. Ubiquiti specifies USB PD 5/9/12V support, with 15 W in normal mode and 20 W in performance mode, while maximum device power consumption is listed at 18 W. This means that, depending on how the host system is connected and powered, full performance operation may require more than a single low-power USB port can reliably provide. That makes cable quality, port specification, and available USB power budget more relevant here than they would be for standard client adapters.

The AirWire also includes support for wireless meshing and real-time spectral analysis, which extends its connection role beyond basic client access. In a UniFi environment, setup is intended to be handled through UniFi AutoLink for rapid onboarding, reducing the need for separate client-side software installation. Even so, the broader connection experience will still depend on the surrounding infrastructure, particularly whether the connected UniFi access point supports the required WiFi 7 and 6 GHz features needed for the AirWire to operate in the way it is being marketed.

UniFi Airwire – Verdict?

The UniFi AirWire is a more specialised product than its USB-C connection initially suggests. Rather than serving as a low-cost way to add basic WiFi 7 support to a system, it is designed to address a specific gap in the current client ecosystem: the lack of widely available true multi-radio MLO hardware on the device side. Its value therefore depends less on headline wireless specifications alone and more on whether the surrounding network environment is already capable of taking advantage of simultaneous 5 GHz and 6 GHz operation, wider channel support, and multi-gigabit client throughput.

On that basis, the AirWire appears to be an interesting but clearly targeted piece of hardware. The larger chassis, higher power requirements, directional design, and likely dependency on a strong WiFi 7 6 GHz deployment mean it is not a universal client upgrade for every user. However, for users already invested in UniFi WiFi 7 infrastructure and looking for a higher performance external client than the current mainstream market provides, it introduces a form factor and feature set that are still relatively uncommon. Whether that translates into a meaningful real-world advantage will depend on testing, particularly around sustained throughput, latency behaviour, thermal limits, and the practical impact of STR MLO outside of ideal conditions.

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Finally, for free advice about your setup, just leave a message in the comments below here at NASCompares.com and we will get back to you. Need Help? Where possible (and where appropriate) please provide as much information about your requirements, as then I can arrange the best answer and solution to your needs. Do not worry about your e-mail address being required, it will NOT be used in a mailing list and will NOT be used in any way other than to respond to your enquiry. [contact-form-7] TRY CHAT Terms and Conditions   Alternatively, why not ask me on the ASK NASCompares forum, by clicking the button below. This is a community hub that serves as a place that I can answer your question, chew the fat, share new release information and even get corrections posted. I will always get around to answering ALL queries, but as a one-man operation, I cannot promise speed! So by sharing your query in the ASK NASCompares section below, you can get a better range of solutions and suggestions, alongside my own.

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ZimaCube 2 NAS Announced – Bigger? Better? The Same?

IceWhale’s original ZimaCube and ZimaCube Pro established the company’s move beyond compact single-board servers and into desktop NAS hardware aimed at prosumers, creators, and home lab users. The standard ZimaCube launched at $699 with an Intel N100, while the ZimaCube Pro raised the ceiling with an Intel Core i5-1235U, 10GbE, Thunderbolt 4, faster 7th-bay M.2 performance, and broader appeal for heavier workloads. Both systems were positioned less as closed NAS appliances and more as flexible personal cloud platforms, with ZimaOS pre-installed and support for alternative operating systems such as TrueNAS, Unraid, Proxmox, pfSense, and Linux distributions. As with many crowdfunded hardware products, the first generation also required some early post-launch refinement, particularly around areas such as fan behaviour, thermal tuning, and broader system optimisation, which was reflected in community support discussions and early optimisation guidance from IceWhale.

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The newly revealed ZimaCube 2 family builds directly on that same idea, but with a clearer emphasis on higher-performance local storage, hybrid workloads, and hardware expansion. The new range starts with the $799 ZimaCube 2 Standard, moves to the $1,299 ZimaCube 2 Pro, and extends to a $2,499 Creator Pack that adds 64GB of memory, 1TB of SSD storage, and an NVIDIA RTX Pro 2000 GPU. Based on the specifications revealed so far, IceWhale is positioning this generation as a more capable platform for media serving, virtualization, containers, AI-assisted workloads, and direct-attached creative workflows, while continuing to stress open hardware, multi-OS support, and the absence of ecosystem lock-in. Unlike the first ZimaCube generation, which began as a Kickstarter-era product, the ZimaCube 2 line is already being presented through standard pre-order retail channels ahead of its expected March 30 shipment window.

ZimaCube 2 – Design & Storage

From a design standpoint, the ZimaCube 2 family appears to retain the same broad desktop form factor as the earlier models, with listed dimensions of 240 x 221 x 220 mm. IceWhale is continuing with the same general visual approach: a compact metal chassis, magnetic front panel, and a visible RGB lighting element rather than the more utilitarian styling used by many conventional NAS systems. The company is also still presenting the system as something intended to sit on a desk rather than be hidden away, which places equal weight on appearance, acoustics, and accessibility alongside storage capacity.

The storage layout remains one of the more distinctive parts of the design. As before, the system uses a 6-bay SATA arrangement for 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch drives, but it is paired with a separate 7th-bay expansion structure built around 4 M.2 slots.

IceWhale continues to frame this as a hybrid storage design, separating bulk-capacity HDD storage from faster solid-state tiers for cache, active project data, applications, or virtualised workloads. In practical terms, that gives the ZimaCube 2 a broader remit than a basic backup NAS, since it is being positioned to handle both long-term storage and higher-speed local workloads within the same enclosure.

What is different in this generation is less the physical layout itself and more the way IceWhale is defining its purpose. The company is now pushing the 6+4 architecture more explicitly as a tiered storage platform for creators, self-hosters, and home lab users, with references to 164TB+ capacity, active “hot zone” NVMe storage, and room for long-term archive duties. That said, the overall storage philosophy is still familiar rather than radically new: the ZimaCube 2 appears to refine and repackage an existing concept instead of introducing a fundamentally different chassis or bay arrangement. The main change is that IceWhale is placing greater emphasis on workflow separation, SSD acceleration, and long-term expandability than it did with the original launch material.

ZimaCube 2 – Internal Hardware

Internally, the ZimaCube 2 range is split more clearly than the first generation. The base ZimaCube 2 moves to an Intel Core i3-1215U with 8GB of DDR5 memory, while the ZimaCube 2 Pro uses an Intel Core i5-1235U with 16GB of DDR5. At the top end, the Creator Pack keeps the same Core i5 platform but adds 64GB of memory, 1TB of NVMe storage, and a discrete NVIDIA RTX Pro 2000. That gives IceWhale a broader spread than before, from an entry configuration that is still positioned above the original N100-based ZimaCube to a much more workstation-like variant aimed at GPU-assisted workloads.

The wider platform also reflects a shift in how IceWhale wants these systems to be used. The first ZimaCube family already supported alternative operating systems, containers, media serving, and some expansion, but the ZimaCube 2 line places far more emphasis on concurrent mixed workloads. IceWhale is explicitly framing the hardware around virtual machines, Docker containers, AI tools, real-time media handling, and direct high-speed project access, which explains the move to newer mobile Intel processors, DDR5 memory, and a more aggressive expansion story. In that sense, the second generation is less a conventional NAS refresh and more an attempt to position the product as a compact storage server with broader compute utility.

In practical terms, the main difference is not clock speed, since both chips top out at 4.40GHz, but core count and thread count. The i5-1235U adds 4 more Efficient cores, 4 more threads, and 2MB more cache, which should make it noticeably better suited to heavier multitasking, containers, background services, and mixed NAS plus VM workloads.

At the same time, the headline changes need to be read carefully. The ZimaCube 2 Pro remains on the same Core i5-1235U class processor as the previous ZimaCube Pro, so not every model represents a major CPU leap. The more meaningful changes are in how the range is tiered, the addition of a pre-configured GPU-equipped Creator Pack, and the clearer effort to make higher-end use cases part of the official positioning rather than secondary possibilities. For buyers comparing model to model, the internal hardware story is therefore partly about real platform flexibility and partly about IceWhale packaging familiar capabilities into more defined product tiers.

ZimaCube 2 – Ports & Connections

The connectivity story is one of the clearer areas where IceWhale is trying to separate the ZimaCube 2 family from entry-level NAS hardware. Across the new range, the headline feature is the inclusion of 2 rear Thunderbolt 4 or USB4-class USB-C connections rated at 40Gbps on both the standard and Pro tier, which IceWhale is positioning for direct Mac or PC attachment as well as high-speed external expansion. That is a notable distinction from many mainstream NAS products, which typically rely on Ethernet alone for primary high-speed access. Here, IceWhale is clearly trying to support both networked storage use and direct-attached workflow scenarios from the same box.

Networking is also relatively strong on paper. Based on the revealed specifications, the ZimaCube 2 family includes 2 x Intel i226 2.5GbE ports and 1 x Marvell AQC113 10GbE port exclusively on the Pro model. In practical terms, that allows for several deployment options, including direct multi-gig connections, use as a higher-speed shared storage node, or separation of management and data traffic. For users comparing it with the previous generation, the main point is that higher-end network capability now appears to be treated as a core part of the wider ZimaCube 2 platform rather than something reserved only for the Pro model.

The rest of the external I/O is fairly conventional but functional. IceWhale lists 4 x USB-A 3.0 ports, 1 x USB-C 3.0 port, DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.0, and a 3.5mm audio jack. Combined with the PCIe expansion support inside the chassis, that gives the platform a broader connection profile than a typical sealed NAS appliance. Even so, the real significance here is not any single port in isolation, but the fact that IceWhale continues to present the ZimaCube 2 as a hybrid device that sits somewhere between a NAS, a small server, and a compact workstation-class storage platform.

ZimaCube 2 vs ZimaCube 1 – What Has Changed?

The biggest change is at the bottom of the range. The original ZimaCube was built around Intel’s N100, DDR4 memory, Gen 3 expansion, and 2 x 2.5GbE, which made it the more basic model in the lineup. By contrast, the new ZimaCube 2 raises the baseline to a Core i3-1215U with DDR5 memory, while keeping the same overall 6-bay chassis concept and hybrid storage approach. That is a meaningful improvement in entry-level compute capability, but it does not completely remove the gap between standard and Pro variants, since the non-Pro ZimaCube 2 still stops at 2 x 2.5GbE and does not gain the extra 10GbE port.

The Pro side is a more mixed story. The original ZimaCube Pro already offered a Core i5-1235U, DDR5, 10GbE, Thunderbolt 4, and faster M.2 performance in the 7th bay, so the ZimaCube 2 Pro does not represent the same kind of obvious jump seen on the standard model. In CPU terms, it appears to stay in essentially the same class, which makes this look more like a product refinement than a full hardware reset. IceWhale is clearly pushing the second generation more aggressively toward creator workflows, virtualization, AI-related use cases, and direct-attached high-speed storage, but that broader messaging should not be mistaken for a major leap in every core hardware area.

That leaves the ZimaCube 2 generation looking unevenly improved depending on which model is being compared. The standard ZimaCube 2 is substantially more capable than the first non-Pro system, while the ZimaCube 2 Pro looks more like a cleaner, more retail-ready continuation of what the first Pro already set out to do. The new Creator Pack is the main addition that materially changes the shape of the lineup, since it introduces a pre-configured GPU-equipped option rather than leaving that path entirely to user expansion. So while IceWhale is presenting the ZimaCube 2 family as a broader second-generation platform, the actual extent of change varies quite sharply between the base and Pro tiers.

ZimaOS – The Software that is included with the ZimaCube 2 (Is it actually any good?)

ZimaOS is IceWhale’s Linux-based NAS operating system, developed out of the earlier CasaOS foundation and originally tied closely to the ZimaCube hardware before becoming available more broadly as a standalone platform. In practical terms, its main appeal is that it tries to lower the barrier to entry for first-time NAS users without stripping away too much of the flexibility expected from a self-hosted system. Based on the information provided, the software combines a browser-based management interface with a dedicated Zima Client application for desktop and mobile, giving it a more guided and consumer-facing feel than many free NAS operating systems.

Installation appears relatively straightforward, using a standard image-writing process and USB boot method, and the platform is light enough to run on modest boot media rather than requiring a large dedicated SSD. The interface focuses heavily on accessibility: native file browsing, straightforward share creation, basic RAID setup, network management, cloud and LAN storage integration, drive mapping, local backup jobs, and remote access are all presented in a simplified GUI rather than being heavily dependent on command line work. That simplicity is one of its clearest points of distinction from platforms such as TrueNAS and OpenMediaVault, which can offer deeper storage control but are often more intimidating to less experienced users.

At the same time, ZimaOS is not being positioned as a stripped-down toy platform. IceWhale is clearly treating it as a full software layer for a turnkey NAS or personal cloud deployment, with support for app containers, developer mode, SSH access, SMB sharing, Time Machine compatibility, AI-assisted semantic search, and direct Thunderbolt connectivity on supported hardware. The client application is also an important part of the package, since it extends the platform beyond simple browser access by adding local discovery, mapped access, backup synchronisation, and peer-to-peer file transfer in a way that many free NAS platforms do not include by default.

However, the software still has some visible limits: configuration depth remains lighter than enterprise-oriented rivals, some features appear to be more polished than others, and direct Thunderbolt or USB4 support may still depend heavily on driver compatibility and the exact hardware being used. Its RAID tools are deliberately simple, but do not currently match the flexibility of more mature systems in areas such as mixed-drive storage schemes.

Pricing also shows how IceWhale is segmenting the platform in 2026: the base ZimaOS Free tier includes core features, the Zima Client for mobile and PC, Thunderbolt support, developer mode, support for up to 4 disks, and 3 members, while ZimaOS+ adds unlimited disks and unlimited users for a $29 lifetime license (to confirm, any ZimaCube, Zimaboard and ZimaBlade device includes the lifetime license). Taken together, ZimaOS appears to sit in a useful middle ground: more approachable than many traditional NAS operating systems, more complete than many lightweight hobbyist options, and increasingly viable both as bundled software for ZimaCube hardware and as a standalone OS for low-cost custom systems.

ZimaCube 2 – Worth it? Price and Release Date?

Taken at face value, the ZimaCube 2 family looks more like a measured revision of the original concept than a major generational leap. Compared with the first ZimaCube, there are clear upgrades in entry-level processor choice, memory platform, expansion framing, and product segmentation, but the broader structure remains very familiar. The unchanged chassis dimensions, continued 6-bay plus 7th-bay layout, and the fact that the Pro model remains in essentially the same CPU class as before all make this feel closer to the kind of 2 to 3 year refresh cycle often seen from established turnkey NAS vendors such as Synology and QNAP, rather than a wholly new platform that significantly expands the portfolio or redefines what the product is.

That said, this does not make the ZimaCube 2 underwhelming in absolute terms. Even if the scale of change appears evolutionary rather than transformative, it is still a notably well-equipped system on paper, with ZimaOS included, direct Thunderbolt 4 or USB4 connectivity, PCIe expansion, hybrid storage flexibility, and a full hardware and software turnkey approach that many DIY alternatives do not offer in one package. The result is a platform that may not radically depart from the first ZimaCube’s formula, but still presents a relatively complete and capable storage server solution for users who want open deployment options without having to assemble and integrate everything themselves.

In pricing terms, IceWhale is placing the ZimaCube 2 range above the original entry model but still within the upper end of the prosumer NAS and compact server market. The ZimaCube 2 starts at $799, the ZimaCube 2 Pro rises to $1,299, and the Creator Pack reaches $2,499 with its added GPU, memory, and larger SSD allocation. That means the new range is not being introduced as a low-cost disruption, but rather as a more fully specified turnkey platform aimed at users who want performance, flexibility, and direct connectivity in a single package. IceWhale is currently listing the systems as pre-orders, with shipping expected to begin from March 30, suggesting that the second generation is being brought to market through a more conventional retail path than the original crowdfunding-led launch.

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Finally, for free advice about your setup, just leave a message in the comments below here at NASCompares.com and we will get back to you. Need Help? Where possible (and where appropriate) please provide as much information about your requirements, as then I can arrange the best answer and solution to your needs. Do not worry about your e-mail address being required, it will NOT be used in a mailing list and will NOT be used in any way other than to respond to your enquiry. [contact-form-7] TRY CHAT Terms and Conditions   Alternatively, why not ask me on the ASK NASCompares forum, by clicking the button below. This is a community hub that serves as a place that I can answer your question, chew the fat, share new release information and even get corrections posted. I will always get around to answering ALL queries, but as a one-man operation, I cannot promise speed! So by sharing your query in the ASK NASCompares section below, you can get a better range of solutions and suggestions, alongside my own.

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The Terramaster F2-425 – Should You Buy This NAS?

The TerraMaster F2-425 takes the same underlying hardware platform as the F4-425 and adapts it to a smaller 2 bay format aimed at simpler home and small office environments. With the same Intel Celeron N5095 processor, 4GB of upgradeable DDR4 memory, and single 2.5GbE connection, it delivers comparable compute capability in a more compact enclosure that prioritizes quiet operation and minimal physical footprint. The appeal of the F2-425 is less about expansion and more about practicality, targeting users who want centralized storage, backups, and media services without managing a larger multi drive system. It fits particularly well in scenarios where space, noise, and cost matter more than raw throughput or long term capacity growth. Rather than competing with higher end 2 bay NAS units that include NVMe caching or faster networking, the F2-425 focuses on providing a straightforward Intel based NAS experience that covers common use cases while leaving room for memory upgrades or alternative operating systems if requirements change later.

Amazon in Your Region	Terramaster F2-425 PLUS	B&H NAS Shop

Accessible Entry Into Intel NAS for Smaller Setups in the F2-425

The F2-425 stands out by bringing an Intel x86 platform into the more compact and cost sensitive 2 bay NAS category. Many 2 bay systems at this size and price rely on ARM processors, which can limit software compatibility and long term flexibility. By contrast, the F2-425 provides an Intel based environment that supports a broader range of applications, containers, and services, while remaining relatively affordable for home and small office users. Its value is less about raw performance and more about flexibility, giving users access to an x86 ecosystem without stepping up to more expensive 2 bay models that add NVMe caching or higher speed networking. For buyers who want a simple, compact NAS that can comfortably handle file sharing, backups, and media services, but who also want the option to expand functionality through third party applications or alternative operating systems, the F2-425 offers a balanced and practical entry point.

Simplified Capacity Planning for Home Users on the F2-425

On the F2-425, TRAID plays a slightly different role and aligns more closely with simplicity than scale. In a 2 bay NAS, users are often limited to RAID 1 or single disk configurations, which can make capacity upgrades feel restrictive. TRAID allows the F2-425 to handle mismatched drive sizes more gracefully, reducing the penalty of upgrading one drive at a time. This is particularly useful for home users who may start with smaller disks and later replace them individually rather than investing in a matched pair upfront.

The system abstracts much of the complexity away from the user, making storage expansion more approachable for those who do not want to manually manage RAID levels or rebuild arrays. While the absolute capacity ceiling is lower than on the 4 bay model, the F2-425 benefits from a storage system that prioritizes ease of use and gradual growth rather than strict optimization.

Quiet, Consistent Performance in a Compact Chassis of the F2-425

The F2-425 emphasizes steady and predictable performance rather than raw throughput, which aligns well with its smaller enclosure and typical use cases. With fewer drive bays and a lower likelihood of simultaneous high demand from multiple users, the Intel Celeron N5095 is generally sufficient for file serving, media playback, and routine background tasks. Hardware assisted video decoding allows the system to handle 4K media streaming with reduced CPU load, helping maintain responsiveness even during playback. The smaller chassis and lower overall thermal output also contribute to consistent behavior under everyday workloads, without aggressive fan ramping in most scenarios. For users placing the NAS in a living space or home office, this balance between performance and noise control can be more relevant than peak throughput figures.

Straightforward Management for Individual and Family Use with the F2-425

On the F2-425, the same TOS 6 platform is presented in a context that favors simplicity and accessibility. The interface is largely self contained and can be managed through a browser or the TNAS mobile application, which is useful for users who want basic control without learning advanced system administration. Features such as automated photo backups, shared folders, and user account isolation are easy to configure and align well with typical home usage.

In a smaller NAS, the emphasis is less on complex workflows and more on reliability and ease of access, and TOS 6 supports this by consolidating most tasks into a single interface. For users moving from external drives or cloud storage, the software environment on the F2-425 provides a relatively gentle transition into centralized network storage.

Long Term Flexibility Beyond the Default Software of the F2-425

The F2-425 also benefits from its openness as an x86 based system, which can be especially relevant in a smaller NAS that may change roles over time. While many users will initially deploy it as a simple file server or media box using TOS 6, the ability to switch to a different operating system later allows the hardware to be repurposed rather than replaced. This could include running a lightweight home server, experimenting with container workloads, or using it as a learning platform for NAS and Linux based systems. In a compact 2 bay device, this flexibility helps offset the more limited expansion options by giving the hardware multiple potential use cases across its lifespan. For users who want a small NAS that is not locked into a single software path, the F2-425 offers a degree of freedom that is less common in this size and price range.

Network Bandwidth Ceiling Reached Quickly in the F2-425

On the F2-425, the same single 2.5GbE port presents a different but still relevant constraint. Although a 2 bay NAS is less likely to push extreme throughput compared to a 4 bay system, even a pair of modern hard drives in RAID 0 or during parallel access can approach the limits of a 2.5GbE connection. This reduces the benefit of faster drives and makes performance gains from certain configurations less noticeable in real world use.

For users who plan to use SSDs or who already have a multi gigabit home network, the absence of faster native networking may feel restrictive. As with the F4-425, expansion via USB adapters is possible, but it adds another dependency rather than providing a clean, integrated solution. For a device positioned as an Intel based NAS, the networking capabilities may feel conservative relative to current expectations.

No SSD Cache or High Speed Tier Options on the F2-425

On the F2-425, the lack of NVMe support affects usability in a more subtle but still meaningful way. A 2 bay NAS often benefits from SSD caching to compensate for limited drive count, improving responsiveness during file browsing, small file access, and application use. Without NVMe slots, users are restricted to SATA based storage, and dedicating a drive bay to an SSD for caching or fast storage comes at the cost of usable capacity or redundancy. This reduces flexibility, especially for users who want to mix performance and safety in a compact system. While the F2-425 can still perform well for basic file serving and media playback, it does not offer a clear upgrade path for users who later want faster storage tiers without replacing the system entirely. In this size class, the absence of NVMe support reinforces its role as a straightforward storage appliance rather than a performance tunable platform.

Limited Headroom for Future Software Demands of the F2-425

In the F2-425, the same N5095 processor is generally adequate for its intended use cases, but it still represents a compromise when viewed against newer entry level Intel CPUs. For a compact NAS, the processor is sufficient for file sharing, backups, and media playback, but it offers less margin for expanding into additional services or more demanding applications. As operating systems and third party tools evolve, performance expectations tend to rise, and the older architecture may reach its limits sooner than more recent alternatives. This does not prevent the F2-425 from performing its current role effectively, but it does mean that users planning to grow their usage beyond basic tasks may encounter constraints earlier in the system’s lifespan. The CPU choice reinforces the device’s position as an entry level Intel NAS rather than a long term performance platform.

Hardware Feature That Adds Little Day to Day Value in the F2-425

On the F2-425, the HDMI port has even less practical relevance for most users. Given the device’s smaller size and typical placement in home environments, it is unlikely to be connected directly to a display for regular interaction. As with the larger model, the HDMI output does not provide access to a graphical interface or media center functionality under the default operating system. This limits its usefulness to diagnostics or alternative OS installation scenarios.

For users expecting local playback or direct control via a monitor and keyboard, the presence of HDMI may create expectations that are not met in practice. In everyday use, the port remains largely unused, making it more of a technical inclusion than a functional feature for the target audience.

Narrow Upgrade Path Compared to Nearby Alternatives of the F2-425

The F2-425 faces a similar issue within TerraMaster’s broader range, particularly when compared to other compact Intel based NAS models that include NVMe slots or more efficient processors. While the initial cost is lower, the lack of internal expansion options means users are largely locked into the performance profile they purchase on day 1. For buyers who later decide they want faster storage tiers, improved networking, or more responsive application performance, there is limited scope to evolve the system without replacing it entirely. In this context, the F2-425 works best for clearly defined and stable use cases, but it is less forgiving if requirements change. The presence of more flexible alternatives nearby in the lineup makes this limitation more noticeable when evaluating long term ownership.

Conclusion and Verdict of the F2-425 Review – Should You Buy?

The TerraMaster F2-425 offers a compact and accessible route into Intel based NAS ownership, focusing on everyday storage, backups, and media services rather than advanced performance tuning. Its smaller form factor, quieter operation, and simpler capacity planning align well with home and small office environments where space and ease of use matter more than throughput. The inclusion of TOS 6 and support for alternative operating systems provides flexibility at the software level, helping extend the usefulness of the hardware across different roles over time. However, like its 4 bay counterpart, the F2-425 has clearly defined limits. The lack of NVMe support and faster native networking means there is little room to grow into more demanding workloads, and the aging processor reinforces its position as an entry level Intel NAS. For users with modest, stable requirements, it can serve reliably as a central data hub. For those who anticipate expanding performance needs or experimenting with higher speed storage and networking, nearby alternatives may offer better long term value, even if they come at a higher initial cost.

Amazon in Your Region	Terramaster F2-425 PLUS	B&H NAS Shop

 

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This description contains links to Amazon. These links will take you to some of the products mentioned in today's content. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Visit the NASCompares Deal Finder to find the best place to buy this device in your region, based on Service, Support and Reputation - Just Search for your NAS Drive in the Box Below

Need Advice on Data Storage from an Expert?

Finally, for free advice about your setup, just leave a message in the comments below here at NASCompares.com and we will get back to you. Need Help? Where possible (and where appropriate) please provide as much information about your requirements, as then I can arrange the best answer and solution to your needs. Do not worry about your e-mail address being required, it will NOT be used in a mailing list and will NOT be used in any way other than to respond to your enquiry. [contact-form-7] TRY CHAT Terms and Conditions   Alternatively, why not ask me on the ASK NASCompares forum, by clicking the button below. This is a community hub that serves as a place that I can answer your question, chew the fat, share new release information and even get corrections posted. I will always get around to answering ALL queries, but as a one-man operation, I cannot promise speed! So by sharing your query in the ASK NASCompares section below, you can get a better range of solutions and suggestions, alongside my own.

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Aoostar WTR Max… but with an Intel i5 Now

The Aoostar WTR Max Intel version is best understood, at least at this stage, as an early preview of a known NAS design rather than a finished retail product. The unit sent to me appears to retain the same general WTR Max concept as the earlier 2025 model, built around a compact 6-bay SATA layout plus 5 M.2 NVMe slots, while replacing the Ryzen 7 8845HS used in the current WTR Max 8845 with Intel’s Core i5-1235U. That CPU change is significant because these 2 processors target different kinds of systems: the Ryzen 7 8845HS is an 8-core, 16-thread chip with a 45W default TDP and boost speeds up to 5.1GHz, whereas the Core i5-1235U is a 10-core, 12-thread Alder Lake-U part with 2 performance cores, 8 efficiency cores, a 15W processor base power, and a launch date going back to Q1 2022. On paper, that makes the Intel version a potentially more efficiency-focused or cost-focused variation of the same platform, rather than a direct step up from the AMD model. That distinction matters, because this is not yet a product with confirmed pricing, confirmed availability, or a final release timetable, so the more useful question at this stage is not whether it definitively replaces the existing WTR Max 8845, but whether Aoostar is preparing to turn this chassis into a broader platform with multiple hardware tiers built around different CPUs and buyer priorities.

If this version works as intended, its appeal is fairly easy to understand even before full launch details are known. The original WTR Max formula already stands out because it combines high drive density, modern external connectivity, and small-footprint DIY NAS flexibility in a way that relatively few systems currently do, and an Intel alternative could broaden that appeal for buyers who prefer Intel media features, lower-power mobile silicon, or simply a lower entry point than the Ryzen-based model if Aoostar prices it accordingly. At the same time, this remains a first look at hardware provided by the brand, not a final buying recommendation. Until Aoostar confirms retail positioning, regional availability, and exact specifications for this Intel edition, it makes more sense to treat the device as an interesting platform variation with clear practical potential, rather than a confirmed replacement for the existing AMD version already listed by Aoostar at $669 in its current storefront

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The Aoostar WTR MAX Nas is available from the following places: Aoostar WTR Max NAS $699 on Amazon – HERE Aoostar WTR Max NAS $679 on Official Site – HERE Aoostar R1 N150 2-Bay NAS $179 – HERE Aoostar R7 4-Bay NAS $419 – HERE Aoostar R7 2-Bay 5825U NAS $399 – HERE Aoostar Oculink 800W ePCIe Docking Station $169 – HERE Aoostar GEN12 Gen4 PC $374 on AliExpress – HERE

Aoostar WTR Max Intel Version – Storage

The storage layout appears to be unchanged from the earlier WTR Max 8845 design. Physically, this platform combines 6 SATA drive bays with 5 M.2 2280 NVMe slots, giving it a mixed storage approach that is more flexible than most compact DIY NAS systems in the same size class. Aoostar’s official specification for the current WTR Max 8845 lists support for up to 6 x 24TB SATA HDDs and 5 NVMe SSDs, with the M.2 allocation split across PCIe 4.0 x2 and PCIe 4.0 x1 links rather than giving every slot the same bandwidth. In practical terms, that matters less for bulk storage and more for how the system is likely to be used: large-capacity SATA bays can be assigned to primary data, backup, or archive duties, while the NVMe slots are better suited to cache, application storage, containers, VMs, or high-speed working data. For a NAS aimed at users choosing their own OS and storage strategy, that mixed topology is one of the main reasons the WTR Max platform is notable in the first place.

The Intel Core i5-1235U is also a sensible fit for this kind of storage-heavy design because, like the Ryzen 7 8845HS used in the existing AMD version, it supports up to 20 PCIe lanes and PCIe 4.0 connectivity. That does not automatically mean the Intel model will perform identically in every storage scenario, because lane routing, controller choice, and motherboard implementation still determine how those lanes are divided between SATA, NVMe, USB4, OCuLink, and networking. Even so, on an early preview basis, the key point is that Aoostar does not appear to have changed the overall storage proposition of the WTR Max by moving to Intel. The appeal here remains the same: this is a compact chassis that can hold a large amount of slower capacity storage alongside a meaningful amount of flash storage, which makes it suitable for users who want both traditional NAS volume space and a faster SSD tier in the same enclosure.

Aoostar WTR Max Intel Version – Ports and Connections

The Aoostar WTR Max platform is already unusually well equipped on connectivity, and the Intel preview unit appears to preserve that same approach. On the currently listed WTR Max 8845 model, Aoostar specifies 2 x 10GbE SFP+ ports based on the Intel X710 controller, alongside 2 x 2.5GbE LAN ports, 1 x USB4 port, 1 x OCuLink port, 2 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 ports, 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 1 port, 1 x Type C port, 1 x HDMI output, a 3.5mm audio jack, a microSD card slot, and DC input. In practical terms, that gives the system a broader mix of storage, networking, and external expansion connectivity than most compact DIY NAS solutions, especially once the dual 10GbE and OCuLink are factored in. For an early preview, that matters because the appeal of the Intel version is not just the CPU change itself, but the fact that Aoostar seems to be pairing that CPU with the same high-connectivity platform rather than trimming the I/O to create a lower-tier model.

From the CPU side, the Core i5-1235U also makes sense in a system that leans heavily on external I/O. Intel’s official specifications list support for Thunderbolt 4 and PCIe 4.0, which aligns well with the inclusion of USB4 and helps explain why this processor can still fit into a NAS design with multiple high-bandwidth ports despite being a lower-power mobile chip. By comparison, the Ryzen 7 8845HS used in the current AMD version is the stronger processor in raw core configuration and sustained power class, but the Intel option may still hold practical appeal for buyers who place more value on Intel platform familiarity, media handling, or a potentially lower-cost entry point into the same chassis.

At this stage, though, the key observation is simply that Aoostar does not appear to have repositioned the WTR Max Intel model as a cut-down connectivity variant. Based on the preview hardware and the existing WTR Max specification, this still looks like a NAS platform built around unusually broad networking and expansion options first, with the CPU choice acting as the variable element.

Aoostar WTR Max Intel Version – Internal Hardware

Internally, the previewed WTR Max Intel unit appears to follow the same motherboard and chassis logic as the existing AMD-based design, with the main change being the move to Intel’s Core i5-1235U. That processor combines 10 cores and 12 threads in a hybrid layout made up of 2 performance cores and 8 efficiency cores, supports PCIe 4.0, and provides up to 20 PCIe lanes to distribute across storage, networking, and external expansion.

*Thanks to TechnicalCity and Nanoreview for their comparisons of these two processors

It also supports up to 64GB of memory officially on Intel’s own specification pages, across 2 channels, and does not list ECC memory support. By comparison, the Ryzen 7 8845HS commonly associated with this class of WTR Max hardware is an 8-core, 16-thread processor with PCIe 4.0, 20 usable PCIe lanes, support for DDR5-5600, and a much higher maximum supported memory capacity on AMD’s specification sheet. In simple terms, the Intel version looks less like a redesign of the platform and more like a rebalancing of it, using a lower-power mobile CPU that still has enough I/O resources to support the dense hardware layout that defines the WTR Max.

That internal trade-off is likely where the Intel model will either make sense or not, depending on the intended workload. The Ryzen 7 8845HS remains the stronger chip on paper for sustained multi-threaded tasks, heavier virtualization, and broader memory headroom, while the Core i5-1235U shifts the system toward a more efficiency-oriented profile and brings Intel’s integrated graphics stack into the equation. For a NAS like this, that could matter for media-focused deployments, lighter VM use, or users who simply prefer Intel’s platform characteristics, but it also means the Intel version should not automatically be viewed as equivalent to the AMD model in raw processing terms.

It is also worth noting that Aoostar’s current public WTR Max 8845 materials refer to the retail model as using a Ryzen 7 PRO 8845HS rather than the standard Ryzen 7 8845HS, which suggests the final retail naming and CPU positioning around this series may still vary depending on region or configuration. As an early preview, the most accurate conclusion is that the internal hardware remains recognisably WTR Max in structure, but the CPU choice changes the expected character of the system more than the exterior suggests.

Aoostar WTR Max Intel Version – Price, Launch Date, More?

At the time of writing, Aoostar has not publicly listed this Intel Core i5-1235U version of the WTR Max on its storefront, so price, release date, and regional availability remain unconfirmed. By contrast, the currently listed WTR Max 8845 is shown on Aoostar’s site at $669, reduced from $699, and the product naming has shifted to specifically identify that model as the WTR Max 8845 rather than simply the WTR Max. That naming detail is relevant because it suggests Aoostar may be preparing the chassis for more than 1 CPU configuration, even if the Intel variant has not yet been formally announced. The Core i5-1235U itself is not a new processor, having launched in Q1 2022 with a 15W processor base power, while the Ryzen 7 8845HS used in the 2025 WTR Max model is a newer and higher-power chip with an 8-core, 16-thread design and a 45W default TDP. Taken together, that makes the Intel preview unit look less like a replacement for the existing AMD version and more like a possible alternative tier within the same product family.

The more important question is what Aoostar intends to do with this platform next. If the company keeps the same chassis, storage layout, and broad I/O design while offering multiple CPU variants, the WTR Max could become a more flexible series rather than a single fixed model. In that context, an Intel version would make sense as a lower-cost or differently positioned option for buyers who do not need the stronger processing profile of the Ryzen 7 8845HS, or who specifically want an Intel-based media and virtualization platform. At this stage, though, that remains an informed reading of the hardware direction rather than a confirmed launch plan. Since this unit was sent as an early preview sample and Aoostar has not yet published a retail page for the Intel edition, the most accurate conclusion is that the WTR Max Intel version is promising as a product idea, but still undefined in the areas that matter most for a final purchasing decision: official pricing, shipping regions, final specification sheet, and release timing.

The Aoostar WTR MAX Nas is available from the following places: Aoostar WTR Max NAS $699 on Amazon – HERE Aoostar WTR Max NAS $679 on Official Site – HERE Aoostar R1 N150 2-Bay NAS $179 – HERE Aoostar R7 4-Bay NAS $419 – HERE Aoostar R7 2-Bay 5825U NAS $399 – HERE Aoostar Oculink 800W ePCIe Docking Station $169 – HERE Aoostar GEN12 Gen4 PC $374 on AliExpress – HERE

 

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The Lincstation E1 Review

The LincStation E1 is a compact 2-bay NAS from LincPlus aimed at users who want a simple way to move file storage, backups, and basic media access off third-party cloud services and onto local hardware. It is built around an ARM platform and combines 2 x SATA drive bays with 2 x NVMe slots, which gives it a433 storage layout that is more flexible than many entry-level NAS units in this price class. Rather than targeting enthusiasts who want extensive customization from day 1, the E1 is positioned as a ready-to-use system with LincPlus’s own LincOS software, desktop and mobile apps, and a feature set focused on everyday tasks such as file sharing, photo backup, remote access, and media browsing. From a review perspective, the main appeal of the E1 is not that it competes directly with higher-end NAS systems on raw performance or software maturity, but that it tries to offer a broad hardware and feature package at a very low entry cost. The combination of 1GbE networking, dual NVMe support, and a compact chassis makes it an interesting option for first-time NAS buyers, light home users, or anyone looking for a secondary backup device with low power usage. At the same time, its value depends heavily on expectations, especially around software polish and the realities of buying storage media separately, so it is best evaluated as a budget-oriented turnkey NAS with clear strengths and equally clear limitations.

Want to Learn More about Lincplus Lincsation NAS Solutions? The N1, N2 and S1 all include an UnRAID Software License included: Lincstation N2 NAS – BUY for $409 – Blog Review – YouTube Review Lincstation N1 NAS – BUY for $339 – Blog Review – YouTube Review Lincstation S1 NAS – BUY for $489 – Blog Review – YouTube Review

Kickstarter Disclaimer!!! This is NOT traditional retail

At the time of review, the LincStation E1 is positioned as a crowdfunding product rather than a standard retail NAS, which means buyers should treat it differently from an item sold through normal retail channels with established return policies and support expectations. LincPlus is not an unknown brand and has released other NAS and computing products, but crowdfunding still carries delivery, software maturity, and post-launch support risks, so any purchase decision should factor in the reduced consumer protections compared with conventional retail.

Lincstation E1 NAS Review – Quick Conclusion

The LincStation E1 is a low-cost, compact 2-bay NAS that stands out mainly because it combines 2 x SATA bays and 2 x NVMe slots in a small ARM-based enclosure while still aiming to be a turnkey product rather than a DIY project, which makes it an appealing option for first-time NAS buyers or users who want a simple local backup/file server with low power draw and basic private cloud-style features; the hardware package is strong for the price category, the included accessories are unusually complete, and the overall design is practical for light home storage, media access, and phone backup use, but the key caveat is that the software experience (LincOS) is still developing, with the mobile app appearing more mature than the desktop and web interfaces and some expected security and usability features not yet fully in place in the reviewed build, so the E1 makes the most sense if it is judged as a budget-oriented NAS with good hardware value and a work-in-progress software platform rather than a polished replacement for established NAS ecosystems.

Lincstation E1 NAS Review – Design & Storage

The LincStation E1 uses a compact vertical desktop chassis with a plastic outer shell and a front panel that keeps visible hardware elements to a minimum. At 218.5 x 88 x 140 mm and 907 g, it is physically smaller and lighter than many conventional 2-bay NAS systems, which affects both placement and cooling design. The front panel includes status LEDs for the 2 SATA bays (S1, S2), 2 NVMe slots (M1, M2), network activity/status, and the power button LED, so users can check basic drive and network state at a glance without opening the software interface. There is no front display panel, and the clean exterior design is clearly focused on compactness and low manufacturing complexity rather than service indicators or advanced controls.

The primary storage section is built around 2 top-loading drive trays that support both 3.5-inch and 2.5-inch SATA HDD/SSD media. These trays are accessed from the top of the chassis and use integrated pull handles that sit relatively flush when closed, which helps reduce accidental snagging and keeps the top surface visually tidy. The supplied accessory pack includes mounting screws and a screwdriver, which is relevant here because 2.5-inch drives require screw mounting rather than tool-less insertion. The tray design is simple and functional, but there is no locking mechanism, no front latch key, and no hot-swap enterprise-style caddy system, so the emphasis is clearly on basic home use rather than secure or high-frequency drive replacement.

A secondary storage layer is provided by 2 underside M.2 ports, both supporting M.2 2280 NVMe SSDs. These slots are located under the bottom panel rather than on an internal motherboard tray accessed from the side, which means initial installation is straightforward but drive swaps are less convenient than the top SATA bays. The box contents include 2 thermal pads for SSDs of different thicknesses, which is a notable detail at this price point because it indicates the NVMe area was designed with at least basic thermal contact in mind rather than treating the slots as purely optional expansion. Functionally, these NVMe slots can be used for cache or as storage pools, which gives the system more deployment flexibility than a standard 2-bay HDD-only NAS.

The storage layout is technically more ambitious than many entry-level NAS devices because it combines 2 x SATA bays for bulk capacity with 2 x NVMe slots for faster storage tiers in a very small chassis. Based on the provided CPU/PCIe layout, the system is built around the RK3568 platform with PCIe and SATA resources split across NVMe and SATA connectivity, with the SATA side also involving a JMB575 SATA controller path for the drive bay implementation. In practical terms, this means the E1 is designed to support mixed workloads such as HDD-based backups plus SSD cache, or separate SSD-backed application/media indexing storage alongside larger mechanical drives. This is still a consumer NAS layout, but from a hardware planning perspective it gives more options than a basic ARM 2-bay design that only exposes SATA.

From a mechanical and thermal design perspective, the main compromise is internal space density, especially around the underside NVMe area and the airflow path shared across the enclosure. The chassis uses a single base-mounted fan and passive ventilation openings around multiple sides, with the SATA bays above and the NVMe slots below, so the internal airflow strategy is relatively simple and constrained by the compact dimensions. This approach is consistent with the low-power RK3568 platform and the intended use of 2 local drives plus optional NVMe, but it also means there is limited room for large heatsinks, cable routing, or internal upgrades beyond the defined storage slots. As a result, the E1 offers a technically flexible storage layout for its class, but it remains a tightly integrated, compact NAS design rather than a modular enclosure built for extensive hardware modification.

Lincstation E1 NAS Review – Internal Hardware

The LincStation E1 is built around the Rockchip RK3568, a quad-core ARM SoC (Cortex-A55 class) running at up to 2.0 GHz. This is a low-power embedded platform commonly used in compact network and edge devices, and it is a practical fit for a NAS that prioritizes basic file services, light media tasks, and low idle power over high parallel compute performance. In this system, the RK3568 is paired with 4 GB of embedded DDR4 memory, with no indication of user-upgradeable RAM, which places the E1 firmly in the entry-level category for multitasking and container-heavy workloads.

From an architecture standpoint, the E1’s hardware is more interesting than a typical low-cost 2-bay ARM NAS because it exposes both SATA and NVMe storage within a single compact design. The provided block layout shows the RK3568 distributing PCIe lanes across NVMe connectivity and additional controller paths, while the SATA bays are implemented through a JMB575 SATA controller stage. This matters because the system is not simply attaching 2 SATA drives directly to a minimal embedded board, but instead using a more layered I/O design to support 2 x SATA bays plus 2 x NVMe slots within the limits of the SoC’s available interfaces.

The hardware platform also includes a 1GbE network interface, HDMI 2.1 (TMDS) output, and a mix of USB connectivity, which indicates that the E1 is designed as more than a headless file box even if its primary role is NAS storage. The CPU/PHY layout also reflects the shared nature of resources in compact ARM systems, where PCIe, USB, and SATA connectivity are allocated carefully to balance cost and capability. In practical terms, the hardware specification is broad for the class, but users should still view it as a constrained embedded platform, not as a substitute for x86 NAS hardware with higher throughput ceilings or large virtualization headroom.

At a system design level, the internal hardware choices are clearly optimized around low power draw, compact thermals, and cost efficiency. The RK3568 platform, embedded memory, and compact board-level integration reduce complexity and help keep the device small, while the storage expansion is pushed into the defined SATA and M.2 bays rather than broader internal upgrade options. This makes the E1 a purpose-built appliance with a relatively fixed hardware profile: flexible in storage configuration, but limited in CPU and memory scalability once deployed.

Lincstation E1 NAS Review – Ports and Connections

The LincStation E1 provides a basic but functional I/O layout split across the front and rear panels. On the front, there is 1 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A port, which is the highest-speed external USB connection on the unit and the most practical port for temporary storage imports, external backup drives, or direct file transfers. The front panel also includes the status LEDs for both SATA bays, both NVMe slots, network activity, and the power button with integrated LED, so operational state is visible from the main user-facing side of the device.

On the rear panel, the E1 includes 1 x RJ-45 LAN port, 2 x USB 2.0 Type-A ports, 1 x HDMI 2.1 (TMDS) port, a reset button, and a 12V/5A DC power input jack. The rear USB ports are limited to USB 2.0, which is sufficient for low-speed peripherals or occasional backup devices, but they are not ideal for sustained high-speed external storage workflows. The HDMI output is an important inclusion in specification terms because it expands potential use cases beyond standard NAS access, although the practical value of that port depends on software support and feature maturity.

In networking terms, the hardware specification lists 1 x Gigabit RJ-45, while the review transcript references 1GbE operation during testing and performance discussion, so this is an area where buyers should verify the final shipping specification and campaign listing before purchase. Regardless of the final Ethernet speed, the E1 only provides a single wired LAN port, which means no link aggregation, no failover path, and no dual-NIC network segmentation. The system does, however, also support Wi-Fi connectivity according to the review material, which may help with placement flexibility or initial setup, but wired Ethernet remains the primary connection for NAS use.

Lincstation E1 NAS Review – Software and Services

The LincStation E1 runs LincOS, which is positioned as an integrated NAS platform for file access, backup, remote connectivity, and media services rather than a bare system that requires users to install a third-party OS. Based on the provided feature overview, the core service set includes LincAccess for remote access without manual port forwarding, System Upgrade for background firmware updates, Secure Space for encrypted storage, Local Share over SMB, Backup Disk and Sync Disk for scheduled backup/sync tasks, Remote Download, Smart Album for local photo analysis/tagging, and Video Center for media browsing and playback. On paper, this gives the E1 a broad set of consumer NAS functions, especially for users who want a single interface for files, phone backups, and basic media management.

In practical use, the software experience appears to vary significantly depending on whether the system is accessed via desktop client, web browser, or mobile app. The review transcript describes the desktop client as functional but visually and structurally closer to a mobile-first interface, with some sections feeling sparse or less optimized for larger screens. The mobile application is described as the more mature experience, with better flow for common tasks such as file access, photo backup, service control, and SMB management. By contrast, the browser-based interface is described as much more limited, which is relevant because web UI access remains a standard workflow for many NAS users.

The main issue at the time of review is software maturity rather than feature absence alone. The transcript indicates that newer builds added functions that were missing in earlier testing, which suggests active development, but also confirms that the platform is still evolving and not yet fully polished. Specific concerns raised include weak desktop/web UX consistency, limited clarity in some backup/sync terminology for less experienced users, and missing or underdeveloped areas in security and administration workflows (for example, the absence of 2FA and other standard NAS security tooling in the tested build). As a result, the E1 software stack is best understood as a usable but still developing platform that may improve over time, but should not be evaluated as equivalent in maturity to long-established NAS operating systems.

Lincstation E1 NAS Review – Noise, Temp and Power Performance Tests

Testing in the review focused on real-world NAS usage with 2 x 4TB Seagate IronWolf HDDs installed in the SATA bays and 2 x 1TB NVMe SSDs in the M.2 slots. In this configuration, the unit was used for file transfers, mobile backups, and sustained read/write activity to observe behavior under load rather than synthetic benchmark-only results. The review also notes that the NVMe slots were constrained in practical throughput relative to full higher-lane NVMe operation, with observed expectations around a capped transfer range consistent with the platform and lane allocation.

Acoustically, the measured noise level was reported at around 41 to 43 dB at idle, and remained in a similar 42 to 43 dB range under heavier activity. That indicates a relatively stable acoustic profile during testing, likely due in part to the inability (at the time of recording) to directly tune fan behavior in the software build initially tested. The result is not silent, and the plastic chassis plus compact internal layout may contribute to audible drive and airflow presence, but the unit also did not show a major noise spike during CPU and storage activity in the tested setup.

Thermally, the system was run for about 4 hours under sustained read/write activity, including transfers involving attached USB storage and mobile device backup traffic. Reported external surface temperatures were around 38 to 41°C on the chassis sides, with perforated ventilation areas reaching about 43 to 44°C. The hottest areas were around the underside NVMe region and between the installed drives, which is consistent with the compact internal layout and base-mounted cooling approach. With the 4TB HDDs used in testing, the reported drive temperature was around 51°C during this sustained activity period, while other external port-side areas remained around the low-to-mid 40°C range.

Power consumption results were in line with a low-power ARM NAS platform. With low CPU utilization (below roughly 15%) and drives/SSDs in idle or light activity states, the measured draw was around 12 to 12.2 W. Under heavier use, with CPU utilization above roughly 75% and simultaneous HDD/NVMe read/write activity, reported power draw increased to about 19.4 to 19.7 W. SMB transfer performance over the network was reported at roughly 180 to 200 MB/s on HDD-based access, while NVMe-backed activity was described as saturating the available network path in testing, which is broadly consistent with the stated Ethernet and storage configuration constraints.

Lincstation E1 NAS Review – Conclusion & Verdict

 

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This description contains links to Amazon. These links will take you to some of the products mentioned in today's content. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Visit the NASCompares Deal Finder to find the best place to buy this device in your region, based on Service, Support and Reputation - Just Search for your NAS Drive in the Box Below

Need Advice on Data Storage from an Expert?

Finally, for free advice about your setup, just leave a message in the comments below here at NASCompares.com and we will get back to you. Need Help? Where possible (and where appropriate) please provide as much information about your requirements, as then I can arrange the best answer and solution to your needs. Do not worry about your e-mail address being required, it will NOT be used in a mailing list and will NOT be used in any way other than to respond to your enquiry. [contact-form-7] TRY CHAT Terms and Conditions   Alternatively, why not ask me on the ASK NASCompares forum, by clicking the button below. This is a community hub that serves as a place that I can answer your question, chew the fat, share new release information and even get corrections posted. I will always get around to answering ALL queries, but as a one-man operation, I cannot promise speed! So by sharing your query in the ASK NASCompares section below, you can get a better range of solutions and suggestions, alongside my own.

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UniFi UNAS 4 NAS Review – Simple Safe Storage?

The UniFi UNAS 4 is Ubiquiti’s desktop 4 bay NAS and part of the company’s growing UniFi storage portfolio. Positioned as a compact network storage appliance, it is designed to provide centralized file storage, backups, and shared access within a local network, while also integrating with the wider UniFi management platform. The 4 bay form factor is widely considered a practical starting point for NAS deployments, offering enough capacity for RAID redundancy while maintaining a relatively small physical footprint suitable for offices, home labs, and small business environments. At $379, the UNAS 4 enters the market as a relatively affordable turnkey NAS that includes both hardware and the UniFi Drive software platform. The system combines traditional SATA storage bays with NVMe SSD caching support and 2.5GbE networking, while also introducing PoE+++ power as a deployment option. On paper, the device aims to deliver a straightforward storage solution that focuses on core NAS functionality rather than attempting to compete directly with more feature heavy platforms.

UniFi UNAS 4 Review – Quick Conclusion

TLDR: The UniFi UNAS 4 is a compact $379 4 bay NAS aimed at straightforward file storage and backups, with a clean UniFi oriented deployment that includes PoE+++ power plus data over a single cable and a bundled 90W adapter for non PoE setups. It combines 4 SATA bays with 2 M.2 NVMe slots for SSD caching, simple click and load drive trays, and a small front status display, while UniFi Drive provides the expected NAS services such as SMB and NFS access, RAID options, snapshots, encryption, share links, and multi user management, plus backup support that can include other UNAS targets, SMB destinations, and several cloud providers. The main compromises are the single 2.5GbE port that caps throughput and offers no redundancy, NVMe trays not being included despite the slots being present, and a USB C port that currently functions mostly for basic external storage rather than broader expansion, so it fits best when the goal is uncomplicated storage within a UniFi managed environment rather than a more flexible, performance oriented NAS platform.

Here are all the current UniFi NAS Solutions & Prices: UniFi UNAS 4  (4 Bay + 2x M2, $379) – HERE UniFi UNAS 2 (2 Bay, $199) – HERE UniFi UNAS Pro (7 Bay, $499) – HERE UniFi UNAS Pro 4 (4 Bay + 2x M.2, $499) – HERE UniFi UNAS Pro 8 (8-Bay + 2x M.2, $799) HERE

You can buy the UniFi UNAS 4 NAS via the link below – doing so will result in a small commission coming to me and Eddie at NASCompares, and allows us to keep doing what we do! 

 

UniFi UNAS 4 Review – Design & Storage

The UniFi UNAS 4 uses a compact desktop chassis that differs from the more traditional box shaped NAS designs seen from many competing brands. The enclosure is relatively narrow and deep, giving it a vertical appearance that resembles some earlier consumer NAS designs. The casing itself is constructed from polycarbonate rather than metal, which keeps overall weight down to around 2.6 kg without drives installed. Ventilation is primarily handled through openings along the upper portion of the chassis, with airflow directed toward a rear mounted cooling fan.

At the front of the unit is a small 1.47 inch color LCM display that provides basic system information. This panel is not touch enabled but can show details such as drive activity, network activity, and general system status. It acts primarily as a quick visual reference rather than a full control interface. For most configuration and monitoring tasks, the system is intended to be managed through the UniFi Drive interface via a web browser or mobile application.

The primary storage configuration consists of 4 drive bays supporting either 3.5 inch or 2.5 inch SATA drives. Each drive uses an individual tray that slides into the chassis and clicks into place without requiring screws for 3.5 inch drives. The trays are ventilated and designed for relatively straightforward installation or replacement, although they are not lockable. Compared with earlier UniFi NAS designs that grouped multiple drives into a single tray, the use of separate trays simplifies drive access and improves hot swap usability.

In addition to the main hard drive bays, the system includes 2 M.2 NVMe slots intended for SSD caching. These slots are located in a separate compartment on the base of the device and can be accessed by removing a small cover using the included key. Once installed, these SSDs can be used to provide read and write caching to improve responsiveness when working with frequently accessed data. At the time of writing, these NVMe drives cannot be used as independent storage pools and are limited to caching roles.

One design choice that may affect installation is that the trays required to hold the NVMe SSDs are not included in the retail package. Instead, they must be purchased separately or obtained as part of pre populated SSD modules from Ubiquiti. While the M.2 slots themselves are built into the device, the lack of included trays adds an additional step and cost for users who intend to make use of SSD caching alongside the main hard drive storage.

UniFi UNAS 4 Review – Internal Hardware

Internally, the UniFi UNAS 4 is built around a quad core ARM Cortex A55 processor running at 1.7 GHz. This type of processor is commonly used in embedded networking hardware and lower power storage appliances, where efficiency and reliability are prioritized over raw processing performance. Ubiquiti has extensive experience deploying ARM architectures across its networking and infrastructure products, and the choice here aligns with the system’s intended role as a dedicated storage appliance rather than a general purpose server platform.

The system includes 4 GB of LPDDR4 memory, which is fixed and not user upgradeable. For the core functions the device is designed to handle, such as file transfers, backups, and storage management, this amount of memory is generally sufficient. However, the fixed memory configuration does place a ceiling on how much additional functionality the hardware could realistically support in the future, particularly if the software platform expands with additional services or heavier workloads.

From a power perspective, the system is designed to operate within a relatively modest power envelope. The maximum system power consumption is rated at 90 W, with a maximum drive power budget of 80 W. Power delivery is handled through PoE+++, allowing both data and power to be carried through the same Ethernet connection when used with compatible infrastructure. For deployments without PoE support, the device ships with a 90 W PoE+++ adapter, allowing it to be powered from a standard mains outlet while still maintaining the same connection layout.

UniFi UNAS 4 Review – Ports and Connections

The UniFi UNAS 4 keeps connectivity simple, with a single 2.5GbE RJ45 port handling both network data and PoE+++ power delivery. This allows the unit to be deployed with a single cable when used with compatible switches or injectors, which can reduce cable clutter and simplify placement compared with NAS systems that require separate power and network connections. The port supports 2.5G, 1G, 100M, and 10M link speeds, so it can operate in mixed networks even if 2.5GbE infrastructure is not available.

The main limitation is that there is only 1 network interface, with no secondary port for link aggregation, redundancy, or dedicated management traffic. In practical terms, this reduces options for failover and makes the network connection a single point of dependency. It also places a hard ceiling on throughput, which is relevant on a 4 bay system where aggregate drive performance can exceed what a single 2.5GbE link can sustain in some workloads.

For external expansion, the device includes a 5 Gbps USB C port intended for attaching external storage. In its current form, it functions primarily as a straightforward way to connect a USB drive for basic transfers rather than as a broader expansion interface. The hardware capability suggests potential for wider use cases, but the available functionality is mainly determined by what UniFi Drive supports at the software level.

UniFi UNAS 4 Review – Software and Services

The UNAS 4 runs UniFi Drive and is managed through the same UniFi style web interface used across the wider portfolio, with system status, storage, backups, and user access presented through a single dashboard. For typical NAS use, the core functions are in place: initializing drives, building RAID storage, creating shared and personal drives, enabling file services, and checking drive health information. The interface is mostly structured around completing common tasks quickly and keeping administration consistent with other UniFi products, rather than exposing a long list of granular configuration controls. That approach makes initial setup and day to day management relatively straightforward, but it also means experienced NAS users may notice limits in how far the system can be tuned.

File access is centered on SMB and NFS, with browser based file management available for basic upload, download, and folder navigation. The web file manager covers essential functions and includes share link creation plus thumbnail and preview handling, but it is not designed as a full productivity layer with collaborative editing or advanced file workflow tools. Client access is largely built around standard network shares and UniFi’s account-driven identity layer, and while the system can be deployed locally without relying on a UniFi account, the most integrated remote workflow is clearly designed around UniFi’s own UI and identity services rather than third party remote networking options.

Data protection features cover most of what is expected for a general purpose file NAS. UniFi Drive supports snapshots, encrypted storage, and configurable retention policies, which covers common rollback needs and basic ransomware recovery strategy when paired with sensible scheduling. Backup tooling is one of the stronger areas in terms of scope, supporting tasks to another UniFi NAS, to SMB targets, and to cloud services such as Google Drive, OneDrive, Dropbox, Amazon S3, Backblaze B2, and Wasabi. Time Machine support is also present for macOS environments, and Microsoft 365 backup is part of the broader UniFi Drive direction, even if the overall feature set remains more storage and protection focused than application focused.

The limitations are consistent with the UNAS 4’s role and its hardware profile. There is no iSCSI target support, which restricts certain virtualization, hypervisor, and block storage workflows, and there is no container or VM layer intended for running third party services directly on the device. NVMe support remains limited to SSD caching rather than separate pools, and on the UNAS 4 that caching is also constrained by the single 2.5GbE connection, which can cap how much of the cache benefit is visible over the network in sustained sequential transfers. More broadly, system level configuration remains relatively contained, with fewer advanced networking and scheduling controls than many established NAS platforms provide.

Client side tooling is also still relatively limited compared with ecosystems that offer a more developed sync, selective download, and offline pinning experience across desktop and mobile. UniFi Drive does provide client app support and identity driven access, but the overall workflow remains closer to traditional network share usage than to a full cloud drive style experience. As it stands, the software aligns with the UNAS 4’s positioning as a storage and backup appliance with a clean management layer, rather than a platform intended to replace a more feature dense NAS operating system.

UniFi UNAS 4 Review – Noise, Temp, Temp & Performance

In practical use, performance on the UNAS 4 is largely shaped by its single 2.5GbE connection. With mechanical drives, the system can deliver consistent transfer rates that sit within the expected ceiling of a 2.5GbE link, but it does not have the networking headroom to take full advantage of what a 4 drive array can potentially deliver under sustained sequential workloads. This is most noticeable when using higher capacity 7200 RPM drives, where the combined throughput of multiple disks can exceed the network limit even before SSD caching is factored in.

Testing with mixed file transfers showed typical throughput in the range of roughly 180 to 250 MB/s depending on file type and workload, with higher results generally observed once NVMe caching was enabled. A 50 GB Windows transfer completed at a pace that aligned with these figures, with sustained rates remaining stable rather than spiking briefly and then dropping sharply. The overall behaviour suggests that the device can maintain steady network limited transfers, but it is not designed to chase peak throughput beyond what 2.5GbE allows.

NVMe caching improved responsiveness and helped maintain higher sustained transfer speeds, particularly during repeated reads and writes where the cache could play an active role. However, the caching implementation is limited to acceleration rather than acting as a separate storage tier, and the benefit is workload dependent. Large sequential transfers still remain constrained by the network port, while smaller or more frequently accessed data sees more practical gains from the cache layer.

From an operational standpoint, power draw remained relatively modest for a 4 bay system. A baseline measurement with no drives installed was around 14.1 W. With 4 HDDs and 2 NVMe SSDs installed, idle power use was observed at around 46 W, rising to roughly 50 to 51 W under active read and write workloads with moderate CPU and memory utilization. The relatively small gap between idle and active indicates that drive idle draw forms a significant portion of the total consumption in typical day to day use.

UniFi UNAS 4 Review – Conclusion & Verdict

The UniFi UNAS 4 is a compact 4 bay NAS that prioritizes straightforward storage deployment, particularly for users already running UniFi hardware and UniFi management. Its pricing, PoE+++ support with an included adapter, NVMe caching capability, and generally simple physical drive access make it a practical option for core NAS tasks such as shared folders, backups, and centralized file storage. The hardware choices are consistent with that goal, and the platform is best assessed as a storage appliance rather than a general purpose server. On the software side, UniFi Drive provides the expected baseline services for this category, including SMB and NFS file access, RAID options, snapshots, encrypted storage, share links, and multi user management. Backup support is broader than the basics, with options that can include remote UNAS targets, SMB destinations, and several mainstream cloud services, along with Time Machine support for macOS. Management is clearly aimed at keeping configuration simple through a unified interface, but it also remains more limited than mature NAS platforms in areas such as deeper system tuning, third party remote access alternatives, and broader application style features.

The trade offs are easy to identify. A single 2.5GbE port limits peak throughput and removes options such as link aggregation or network failover, which matters more on a 4 bay system than it would on a smaller unit. The NVMe slots are limited to caching rather than independent pools, and using them adds cost due to trays not being included. Cooling behaviour can become more noticeable if fan speed increases, and the USB C port currently operates mainly as an external drive attachment point rather than a broader expansion interface. Overall, the UNAS 4 makes the most sense when its role is kept narrow, and when UniFi Drive’s storage and backup feature set, alongside UniFi ecosystem integration, is a meaningful part of the purchase decision.

You can buy the UniFi UNAS 4 NAS via the link below – doing so will result in a small commission coming to me and Eddie at NASCompares, and allows us to keep doing what we do! 

PROs of the UniFi UNAS 4

CONs of the UniFi UNAS 4

$379 pricing is competitive for a turnkey 4 bay NAS with UniFi Drive included 4 bay 2.5 inch and 3.5 inch SATA support for flexible capacity planning 2 x M.2 NVMe slots for read and write SSD caching PoE+++ support enables single cable power plus data deployment 90W PoE+++ mains adapter included, so PoE infrastructure is optional Simple click and load HDD trays with straightforward access for drive installs and swaps Front 1.47 inch color LCM display provides basic status and activity visibility UniFi Drive software includes RAID options, snapshots, encryption, share links, and user management

Single 2.5GbE port limits throughput and provides no network redundancy or aggregation M.2 NVMe trays not included, adding cost to use SSD caching USB C port is currently limited in utility beyond basic external storage attachment

 

Here are all the current UniFi NAS Solutions & Prices: UniFi UNAS 4  (4 Bay + 2x M2, $379) – HERE UniFi UNAS 2 (2 Bay, $199) – HERE UniFi UNAS Pro (7 Bay, $499) – HERE UniFi UNAS Pro 4 (4 Bay + 2x M.2, $499) – HERE UniFi UNAS Pro 8 (8-Bay + 2x M.2, $799) HERE

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Gl.iNet Slate 7 vs Beryl 7 Travel Router – Which Should You Buy?

At first glance, the GL.iNet Beryl 7 (GL-MT3600BE) and the GL.iNet Slate 7 (GL-BE3600) appear very closely matched. Both are compact dual band WiFi 7 travel routers, both include dual 2.5GbE ports, USB 3.0 expansion, OpenWrt based firmware, and support for VPN client and server deployment. They are designed for similar use cases such as securing public WiFi in hotels and airports, creating a private subnet for multiple personal devices, or acting as a portable gateway for temporary work setups. On paper, their wireless speed ratings are identical, and their overall feature sets overlap significantly. However, there is a clear price separation, with the Beryl 7 typically retailing at $139.99 and the Slate 7 positioned higher at $169.99. Given how similar they appear in specification tables, this comparison focuses on what justifies that difference, looking beyond headline WiFi 7 support and examining hardware platform choices, memory configuration, interface design, performance ceilings, and overall positioning within the travel router lineup.

If you are in a hurry – here is the TL;DR – the Slate 7 is $30-40 more, and for that you get a touchscreen LCD panel to allow for client-less configuration on the fly, it arrives with double the base memory (1GB, as opposed to 512MB) and a much more performance focused processor (a Qualcomm, rather than a Mediatek, which is much more widely supported and used in router applications and services). If you can spare the $30-40, get the Slate 7!

 

Gl.iNet Beryl 7 Travel Router		Gl.iNet Slate 7 Travel Router
Buy From Gl.iNet	Buy From Amazon	Buy From Gl.iNet	Buy From Amazon

Gl.iNet Beryl 7 vs Slate 7 – Wireless Connectivity

Both the GL.iNet Beryl 7 (GL-MT3600BE) and the GL.iNet Slate 7 (GL-BE3600) are dual band WiFi 7 routers operating across 2.4GHz and 5GHz, with identical rated wireless speeds of 688Mbps on 2.4GHz and 2882Mbps on 5GHz, for a combined 3600Mbps class rating. Neither device includes 6GHz support, which means both are technically WiFi 7 implementations without access to the expanded 6GHz spectrum or 320MHz channel widths. Instead, they focus on delivering WiFi 7 features such as improved OFDMA efficiency, 4K QAM, preamble puncturing, and Multi Link Operation within the existing 2 band framework.

In practical use, this means the wireless experience between the two routers is very similar when connecting modern WiFi 7 client devices. Multi Link Operation allows compatible devices to aggregate traffic across 2.4GHz and 5GHz simultaneously rather than choosing a single band. This can improve stability and reduce latency under load, particularly when multiple devices are active. However, because neither router supports 6GHz, both are limited to 160MHz channels, which caps the theoretical advantage compared to tri band WiFi 7 platforms. For most travel environments where surrounding networks are congested and spectrum is shared, the absence of 6GHz may not be the primary limiting factor.

It is also relevant that WiFi 7 client adoption is still developing, and many connected devices will continue to operate using WiFi 6 or earlier standards. In those cases, both routers fall back to backward compatible modes with similar performance characteristics. Since their radio specifications are aligned and both omit 6GHz, there is no material wireless generation advantage of one over the other. The distinction between these two models therefore lies less in raw WiFi 7 capability and more in the hardware platform and resource allocation that supports that wireless layer.

Gl.iNet Beryl 7 vs Slate 7 – Wired Connectivity

From a wired networking perspective, both the GL.iNet Beryl 7 (GL-MT3600BE) and the GL.iNet Slate 7 (GL-BE3600) are equipped with dual 2.5GbE ports. Each device includes 1 port typically designated as WAN and 1 as LAN, but both allow role reassignment within the software. This means either router can be configured to accept a multi gigabit internet uplink while simultaneously providing a 2.5G wired connection to a local client such as a workstation, NAS, or switch. In contrast to earlier travel routers limited to 1G LAN outputs, both of these models are capable of sustaining multi gigabit throughput on both ingress and egress.

In practical deployment, this gives both devices flexibility in scenarios where internet speeds exceed 1Gbps or where high speed local transfers are required. For example, a user connecting to a fiber service above 1G can feed that into the WAN port and still provide full 2.5G bandwidth to a wired LAN device. This configuration also supports load balancing or failover setups when combined with USB tethering or repeater modes. Since both routers share this dual 2.5G configuration, there is no structural limitation on either side in terms of raw Ethernet throughput.

The differences in wired behavior emerge more subtly in how the internal hardware handles sustained traffic across those ports, rather than in port specification alone. On paper, the Ethernet configuration is effectively matched between the two models. Both remove the earlier compromise seen in WiFi 6 travel routers where users had to choose between multi gigabit WAN or LAN, and both provide the same baseline flexibility for wired high speed connectivity in a compact travel format.

Gl.iNet Beryl 7 vs Slate 7 – Internal Hardware

Although their wireless ratings and Ethernet layouts are nearly identical, the internal hardware platforms of the GL.iNet Beryl 7 (GL-MT3600BE) and the GL.iNet Slate 7 (GL-BE3600) are based on different SoCs with distinct design goals. The Beryl 7 uses a MediaTek quad core processor operating at 2.0 GHz per core, paired with 512 MB of DDR4 memory and 512 MB of NAND flash. The Slate 7 instead uses the Qualcomm IPQ5018 platform, which integrates a quad-core ARM Cortex-A53 CPU running at about 1.0 GHz with additional packet processing and network subsystem features, and pairs that with 1 GB of DDR4 memory and 512 MB of NAND flash.

In real-world router workloads, CPU architecture and memory allocation each play a role. A higher clock speed like that in the Beryl 7 tends to benefit single threaded tasks such as some encryption operations and packet inspection. The Qualcomm IPQ5018’s emphasis on networking, hardware acceleration, and integrated network subsystem may offset its lower clock speed, particularly in tasks like NAT, traffic classification, or other system-level switching operations, and the doubled memory of the Slate 7 provides more space for concurrent services, queuing, and package expansions without immediate memory contention. In practice, the two platforms reflect different design priorities rather than a simple faster/ slower division.

Both devices provide a single USB 3.0 port for data expansion alongside a USB Type-C port for power input, meaning external storage, USB tethering, or a cellular dongle must share the same data port; using one function prevents the simultaneous use of the others. The Slate 7 also includes an integrated touchscreen display that provides real-time status information and direct toggling of features such as VPN or network mode, while the Beryl 7 relies solely on web and mobile app based controls. Internally, the distinction therefore is not just MediaTek versus Qualcomm, but a trade-off between frequency-focused CPU design, expanded system memory, and user interface enhancements.

Gl.iNet Beryl 7 vs Slate 7 – Deployment

When translating specifications into practical deployment behavior, the most measurable difference between the GL.iNet Beryl 7 (GL-MT3600BE) and the GL.iNet Slate 7 (GL-BE3600) appears in VPN throughput. The Beryl 7 is rated at up to 1100Mbps with WireGuard and up to 1000Mbps with OpenVPN DCO in client mode. The Slate 7, powered by the Qualcomm IPQ5018 platform, is rated at up to 490Mbps with WireGuard and up to 385Mbps with OpenVPN DCO. Although the Qualcomm platform is well optimized for routing and packet handling, the higher clock speed MediaTek processor in the Beryl 7 provides substantially more headroom for encrypted throughput. In scenarios where the internet connection exceeds 500Mbps and VPN encryption is permanently enabled, the Beryl 7 is less likely to become the limiting factor.

In raw LAN and WiFi performance, both devices operate within a similar ceiling due to identical wireless radios and dual 2.5GbE ports. Real world file transfers over 2.5GbE typically settle below theoretical maximums, often in the 230MB/s to 240MB/s range depending on workload and protocol overhead. Neither device consistently saturates the full 2.5GbE line rate under mixed routing and wireless conditions, which reflects internal processing overhead rather than port limitation. From a pure switching and routing standpoint without heavy encryption, both platforms are capable of sustaining high multi gigabit traffic within expected travel router boundaries.

Both units are rated to support up to 120 concurrent devices, which exceeds typical travel usage but provides insight into scheduler and resource allocation capacity. The Slate 7’s 1GB memory pool may provide additional stability when multiple OpenWrt services, monitoring tools, DNS filtering, and USB storage sharing are active simultaneously. The Beryl 7, meanwhile, demonstrates a clear advantage when encrypted traffic volume is high relative to available WAN bandwidth. As a result, the performance distinction depends less on wireless speed and more on whether the primary workload is VPN intensive broadband use or service heavy multi feature deployment.

Gl.iNet Beryl 7 vs Slate 7 – Which One Should You Buy?

The GL.iNet Beryl 7 (GL-MT3600BE) and the GL.iNet Slate 7 (GL-BE3600) are closer in capability than their price difference might initially suggest. Both deliver dual band WiFi 7 across 2.4GHz and 5GHz, both provide dual 2.5GbE ports, both support OpenWrt with extensive plugin flexibility, and both are designed for securing public internet connections while travelling.

From a purely wireless and Ethernet standpoint, they are effectively matched. The practical separation appears in internal resource allocation and user interface design. The Beryl 7, priced at $139.99, offers significantly higher rated VPN throughput and a faster clocked processor, making it better suited to users with high speed broadband connections who intend to run persistent encrypted tunnels. The Slate 7, priced at $169.99, provides double the system memory and integrates a touchscreen interface that allows direct device control without relying entirely on a browser or mobile app.

The decision therefore depends on workload priorities rather than headline WiFi generation. If the primary requirement is maximizing encrypted throughput over fast WAN connections, the Beryl 7 presents stronger performance value at a lower price. If the focus is on memory headroom for multiple services, a more integrated on device interface, and a Qualcomm based networking platform, the Slate 7 may justify its higher cost. Neither device includes 6GHz support, meaning both are dual band WiFi 7 implementations rather than full tri band models.

For users specifically seeking 6GHz spectrum and 320MHz channel capability, a different tier of hardware would be required. Within the compact dual band travel router segment, the distinction between these two models is defined less by WiFi 7 itself and more by how each device balances CPU performance, memory allocation, and interface design within a portable form factor.

Gl.iNet Beryl 7 Travel Router		Gl.iNet Slate 7 Travel Router
Buy From Gl.iNet	Buy From Amazon	Buy From Gl.iNet	Buy From Amazon
PROs	CONs	PROs	CONs
+ Cheaper + Smaller & Lighter + Lower Power Consumption	– Less RAM – Lesser CPU	+ LCD Control Screen + Better Hardware Inside + Better Build Quality	– More Expensive – Larger – Slate Pro Model Coming Soon

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This description contains links to Amazon. These links will take you to some of the products mentioned in today's content. As an Amazon Associate, I earn from qualifying purchases. Visit the NASCompares Deal Finder to find the best place to buy this device in your region, based on Service, Support and Reputation - Just Search for your NAS Drive in the Box Below

Need Advice on Data Storage from an Expert?

Finally, for free advice about your setup, just leave a message in the comments below here at NASCompares.com and we will get back to you. Need Help? Where possible (and where appropriate) please provide as much information about your requirements, as then I can arrange the best answer and solution to your needs. Do not worry about your e-mail address being required, it will NOT be used in a mailing list and will NOT be used in any way other than to respond to your enquiry. [contact-form-7] TRY CHAT Terms and Conditions   Alternatively, why not ask me on the ASK NASCompares forum, by clicking the button below. This is a community hub that serves as a place that I can answer your question, chew the fat, share new release information and even get corrections posted. I will always get around to answering ALL queries, but as a one-man operation, I cannot promise speed! So by sharing your query in the ASK NASCompares section below, you can get a better range of solutions and suggestions, alongside my own.

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