UGREEN DXP480T NASync SSD NAS Review

What exactly IS the DXP480T? Ever since UGREEN launched their NASync range of NAS devices on Kickstarter, there has been a lot of interest in this computer accessories and peripheral company making its big move into Network Attached Storage. No doubt hoping to challenge this market’s leaders Synology and QNAP, UGREEN have revealed a 6 system series (the DXP range) and although the first 5 of them are interesting enough, it is the compact yet powerful NVMe Flash-equipped NASync DXP480T that has drawn many a hungry I.T user’s eye! Arriving with a 10 Core Intel i5 Processor, DDR5 memory, PCIe Gen 4 Architecture, 4x m.2 2280 NVMe SSD bays, 10GbE networking, Thunderbolt 4 ports and Wifi 6E connectivity – There is ALOT crammed into this tiny little box! Add to this the ‘still in development’ UGOS NAS software that is included with the system and the $479-519 price tag for early access on Kickstarter (going up to $799 RRP when it hits ACTUAL retail) and what you have here is a fantastic proposition for photo and video editors that are looking for a small footprint, low noise, but high-performance private server. But is it too good to be true? Is there too much hardware in there to stay cool? And why is a big brand like UGREEN turning to crowdfunding? Let’s discuss the DXP480T and whether it deserves your money and your data.

Note – The YouTube Review of the DXP480T NAS is Available HERE

Ugreen DXP480T NAS Review – Quick Conclusion

There is ALOT of like her in the UGREEN DXP480T Flash NAS! Right now there is little to no alternative to this product in the market. Flash/SSD NAS has been around for a long time and even M.2 NVMe NAS systems have been cropping up in one form or another for 2+ years. But desktop and home-accessible M.2 NVMe Flash NAS solutions? Barely any. Notable alternatives such as the storage-rich Asustor Flashstor 6 / 12 Pro or the performance-rich QNAP TBS-464 or TBS-h574TX have been launched in the last 12 months, but the DXP480T is more powerful than the former and less expensive than the latter. However UGREEN and it’s DXP/NASync series are still very, VERY new in the market (green?) and alongside their NAS software being still a good distance away from fully stable, the choice to launch this new series of devices on crowdfunding is still a little puzzling for 12-14 year established brand in the tech sector. The system is fantastically compact, powerful for the scale, very rich in hardware features and all of this rollout out on a price tag at both early backer Kickstarter and eventual retail RRP that is highly challenging to beat!

But this is still a product that is not finished yet and therefore we need to keep that in mind! If this NAS an unfinished game, it is not ‘Cyberpunk’ or No Man Sky’ levels of incomplete – but it is still a good 20-30% unfinished in terms of features and optimization. I will be certainly keeping an eye on UGREEN as they progress, and hopefully they will challenge the status quo of Synology and QNAP right now, but we will have to wait and see. Bottom line, the DXP480T is 100% the BEST M.2 NVMe NAS system for it’s scale in terms of hardware, it’s just the rest of the software development going through the usual beta testing that is holding it back from greatness. Recent softening by UGREEN with regard to users installing 3rd party operating systems (TrueNAS, UnRAID, Open Media Vault, Proxmox hypervisor, etc) with regard to hardware warranty has definitely resolved/calmed the apprehension by many users though, so the beta software hurdle might not even be an issue for you. The crowdfunding still at has 30 days left (at the time of writing) and 9,800 backers pledging over $4,00,000 of funding seems to indicate this! But as always, this is crowdfunding and not traditional retail, so use caution! The DXP480T is a solid and unique system and I hope to talk even more about this and UGREEN spin-offs in future!

Ugreen DXP480T NAS Review –  Retail Package

The retail kit for this system arrives impressively polished for a product still in its crowdfunding phase, featuring a well-decorated and well-presented retail package that efficiently packs a surprising amount of equipment into a modestly sized box.

Upon opening the stylish retail package, you’re welcomed by the system itself, encased in a protective matte plastic wrap. Remarkably compact for a four-bay (technically five) NAS system, it’s slightly larger than a mini PC, making it one of the smallest NAS systems reviewed on NAS compares.

The kit is comprehensive, excluding storage, including a gold-tipped Ethernet cable, thermal pads for M.2 NVMe SSD bays, extra screws, a setup manual, warranty information, and an external PSU.

Notably, the system comes with an official UGreen 140W PSU, reflecting the brand’s reputation for quality power supplies. The inclusion of first-party designed and branded components emphasizes the product’s proprietary nature, distinguishing it from rebranded hardware.

The entire retail kit’s presentation is thoroughly executed, showcasing a thoughtful design even in details like the instruction booklet—a feature many brands have phased out.

 

Every component’s quality is top-notch, setting the stage for a discussion on the DXP480T NAS’s design.

Ugreen DXP480T NAS Review – Design

At a casual glance, you might easily assume that the DXP480T is a mini PC masquerading as a NAS. Given the influx of SOC-powered mini PCs from Eastern brands at low prices, this assumption wouldn’t be far-fetched. However, the DXP480T’s design is meticulously tailored to NAS functionality, with internal components arranged to optimize heat dissipation across its M.2 NVMe slots. This compact unit measures just 17.9cm x 14.2cm x 5.2cm, yet manages to house four M.2 2280 slots and an additional internal 2242 M.2 slot for the UGreen OS, making it one of the smallest NAS systems reviewed here on NAScompares and around half a kilo in weight!

Despite its compact size, the DXP480T does not support hot swapping due to its closed physical enclosure and the nature of M.2 drives, though E1.S drives are starting to challenge this norm. The chassis design is a balanced act of 50% active airflow and 50% heat dissipation, featuring plastic outer edges and a top composed of multiple heat dissipation panels connected to the internal hardware, alongside a large heatsink base with two built-in laptop-scale fans. This design emphasizes cleanliness and efficiency, given its storage capacity.

UGreen’s branding is prominent throughout, establishing a distinctive ‘house style’ for the NASync/DXP series right out of the gate. The system’s dimensions (18cm wide, 14cm deep, and 5.5cm tall, including rubber feet) enhance its appeal, offering a streamlined aesthetic without sacrificing functionality.

The fan-assisted panel, secured by two screws, hinges off to reveal the NVMe storage and the intricately designed heat dissipation panel surrounding it. Despite the limited physical space, UGreen has ingeniously incorporated ventilation from nearly every angle, maximizing passive airflow through mesh-covered vents on four of the system’s six sides.

This setup exposes four M.2 SSD slots, distinguished by build quality and clarity in design. However, the use of external face panels for active cooling restricts the use of SSDs with their own heatsinks. UGreen includes high-quality heat pads that align perfectly with SSD chips, compensating for this limitation.

Internally, the slots are divided into two speeds, likely due to the processor’s PCI lane availability, offering Gen 4 x 4 for the first two slots and PCIe Gen 3 x 2 for the remaining two. This strategic decision, driven by necessity, positions the DXP480T favorably against competitors, even if it means accepting some compromises in SSD speeds.

The minimalistic design extends to the system’s front, featuring only a single LED for power, omitting front-mounted USB ports for local backups. This choice, likely a trade-off for internal design efficiency, may disappoint some users looking for more convenient connectivity options.

In summary, the DXP480T’s design impresses with its compact form factor, efficient heat management, and thoughtful branding. While not without its limitations, particularly in external connectivity, UGreen’s meticulous attention to detail positions this NAS as a compelling option for users prioritizing sleek design and effective thermal management.

Ugreen DXP480T NAS Review – Ports and Connections

As previously mentioned, the DXP480T’s ports and connectivity are located at the system’s rear, which results in a somewhat crowded arrangement and necessitates a few compromises.

One significant compromise concerning the device’s ports is its network connectivity. The system features a default 10GbE over a copper RJ45 connection, offering potential bandwidth of up to 1000 megabytes per second. This feature stands out, especially when considering the device’s competitive pricing compared to other NAS devices released in the last two years. However, the downside is that this is the sole physical network port, limiting options for failover or assigning service priorities to different IPs and devices.

The system compensates for this single network port to some extent with wireless connectivity.

An internal M.2 Wi-Fi card connector houses a Wi-Fi 6E network adapter and two antennas, supporting both host and client interfaces.

However, the current beta version of UGreen’s UGOS NAS software does not stably support this feature, and full development completion is still pending.

Additionally, the DXP480T offers Thunderbolt 4 connectivity via two USB-C connections. While Thunderbolt-enabled NAS devices are becoming popular in post-production environments, the DXP480T’s Thunderbolt ports are limited to host use, not supporting direct connections to Mac or Windows devices as clients. UGreen is exploring options to enable two-way communication for these ports. The device also includes USB 3 and USB 2 connections for storage and peripherals, and while direct host-client interfacing over USB is not supported, these connections add to the system’s versatility. However, the lack of a front-mounted USB port for easy local backups is a notable omission.

There is also an HDMI output, however at this time it can only be used for multimedia via the UGOS and is actioned via the mobile application (with doubles as a remote control). Unfortunately, this is not possible via the desktop/browser GUI and also HDMI access as a parallel GUI (either via an app in the docker/container app, a 3rd party media app like Plex/Emby/Jellyfin or an official HDMI GUI Portal that is comparable to HD Station from QNAP or Asustor Portal)

Despite these limitations, the inclusion of 10 GBE and basic Thunderbolt connectivity in such a compact NAS device, at a competitive price point, is commendable. However, the potential long-term system temperature remains a concern.

Ugreen DXP480T NAS Review – Internal Hardware

When it comes to any kind of NAS system that focuses on SSD media, the internal hardware and layout of the system are paramount. SSD media, when overheated, will inevitably throttle, affecting both its performance and that of the surrounding system. Essentially, heat is the Achilles’ heel of flash SSD systems, and given the DXP480T’s compact size, significant effort will need to be made to manage this.

Equipped with a 10-core i5 processor, 8GB of DDR5 memory, ample storage bays, a dedicated OS SSD, a Wi-Fi card, and a 10G controller, it’s a challenge to fit all this into such a small enclosure. Initially, removing two screws around the storage media bays reveals a plastic layer.

Within, we find each of the individual 2280 M.2 NVMe slots. We also discover the SODIMM DDR5 memory slots, one of which is populated by a Samsung DDR5 memory module. Although the system doesn’t support ECC memory, it benefits from the native DDR5 support for on-die error correction. Nonetheless, many storage enthusiasts will likely be disappointed by the lack of ECC support in a flash server system.

As previously mentioned, the system includes a Wi-Fi 6 Intel wireless adapter connected to two internal antennas that encircle the system. It’s a tidy setup, and barring an upgrade to Wi-Fi 7 in the future, there’s little need for changes. It’s debatable how many users will utilize the 1.2Gbps connectivity offered by Wi-Fi 6E; though technically faster than traditional gigabit LAN, effective use requires close proximity. Despite this, it offers a form of failover for this system with a single physical ethernet connection.

The system also arrives with the UGreen NAS software pre-installed on a 2242 Phison E13 controller SSD, set in a Gen 3 x4 slot. Choosing to install the OS on a dedicated SSD, rather than through an eMMC or USB drive, will please some and annoy others. Typically, NAS brands use a bootloader on a small internal drive to install the OS on the main storage array, affecting the system’s performance based on the internal storage media used. Opting to install the OS directly onto an SSD ensures that system services and software run independently, not impacting the performance of the storage media, allowing for operation with new disks if necessary. However, this also means the OS drive lacks backup or redundancy, rendering the system inoperable should the drive fail, potentially damaging the storage media during intense operations. There are pros and cons, but overall, it seems preferable for the system software and services to reside on their dedicated SSD or partition.

Removing additional screws unveils the system’s core. It’s astonishing how much is packed into such a compact enclosure! The heart of the DXP480T features a custom micro-ITX board, housing an Intel i5 10-core processor (2p + 8e), integrated graphics, 20 PCIe lanes, and a maximum 55W TDP. Despite its compact SOC form, this 12th generation Intel i5 processor offers substantial power, benchmarking well against the N100 and Pentium 8505 models in other UGreen NAS models.

Testing this processor, especially in this early crowdfunding prototype, presents challenges. The DXP480T, like the rest of the UGreen NAS line-up, doesn’t officially support third-party OS installation without voiding the warranty. Consequently, we’re limited in our ability to benchmark using third-party OSs or reference previous benchmarks for similar architectures. The UGreen NAS’s operating system, still in beta, requires further optimization to fully showcase what the hardware can achieve.

This processor is well-equipped with sufficient PCIe lanes to manage the four M.2 NVMe SSDs, offering respectable speeds through SSH. The main concern with this processor selection is the lack of ECC memory support, crucial for high-speed flash systems to minimize bit errors during intensive operations.

Although SOC processors that support ECC are rare, especially from Intel, using one for this system and potentially for the DXP8800 Pro could significantly impact the price and development timeline. Nevertheless, this CPU is arguably the best choice for such a compact system in 2024, balancing power efficiency, heat management, and performance capabilities.

UGREEN DXP480T NASync NAS Tests

The Noise level of the system when in operation is very low and is genuinely only noticeable during busy periods when the twin base mini laptop style fans kick in. Here are the dB levels of the system when in idle/standby:

UGREEN DXP480T IDLE/STANDBY NOISE:

And here is the noise level of the system when the fans are in full active/use:

UGREEN DXP480T ACTIVE USE / FULL FAN NOISE:

The construction of the DXP480T flash NAS deserves high praise. Rather than modifying a mini PC case, UGreen designed a compact flash system from scratch, demonstrating considerable care and attention to component placement. The hardware is undoubtedly attractive, further emphasized by our deep dive into this and the DXP4800 Plus models. Yet, the performance and capabilities of the software remain to be seen.

Ugreen DXP480T NAS Review – Performance & Software

The performance of the UGREEN DXP480T is something of a mixed bag. Clearly, compromises have needed to balance between the hardware resources on offer here and to keep the system’s smaller scale. For example, the 2x Gen 4×4 slots are only possible thanks to the scaling back of the 2x Gen 3×2 slots. They COULD have scaled all the slots (with a decent enough PCIe switch/controller) to all be 3×2 via bifurcation, but I think I prefer the 2 higher-performing slots at least giving me the chance to hit 5-7GB/s. I do wonder what they mean for those who plan on spreading a RAID 5 on the 4 M.2 NVMes – as this effectively means you have 2 drives with more bandwidth and irregular write across the 4 disks potentially (though realistically, it will just end up capping at the speed of drives 3 and 4). The performance of the DXP480T Flash system can be broken down into 2 main areas. Internal Performance and External Performance.

The Storage manager of UGOS features it’s on benchmarking tools that can be used per drive. The initial performance when I was using an early version of the software was severely unoptimized, but regular updates for the UGOS beta has rolled out almost weekly and with each, there has definitely been improvements in the system responsiveness and the performance of the drives. At the most recent test of the software, the Gen 4×4 slots of the system (populated with Phison E18 4×4 M.2 NVMes from Seagate Firecude 530 and Addlink A95) were hitting 5,100-5,500MB/s (5.5GB/s) performance. This is still around 1000MB/s less than what these drives are capable of (factoring in the mobile SoC processor and 8GB RAM), but as the software and services are still in beta, this performance might continue to improve throughout development. Then I ran the same test on the PCIe Gen 3×2 slots on the DXP480T. These ports were populated by Teamgroup T-Force Gen 3×4 SSDs, which have a reported 3,100MB/s performance when used in a x4 slot. However, as slot 3 and 4 of the DXP480T are Gen 3×2, I wondered how this would shake out. I was pleased to see a speed of 1.5-1.8GB/S – exactly what I wanted to see!

Then I accessed the system via SSH and used putty to directly benchmark the SSDs over cl. There was definitely some internal caching taking place in the early tests, however, the performance was still averaging around 5.5-6GB/s, which was very pleasing.

However, in order to ascertain if the SSDs in slots 1 and 2 were sharing any controller/switch (maybe even a larger lane being separated into the other 2 slots) I actioned data transfer between SSD 1 and SSD 2. The speed unsurprisingly halved, but was still much, much between the 1-1.5GB/s I encountered when performing this test 2 weeks and 2 firmware updates ago! Now I was hitting 2.5-3GB/s. For internal bandwidth saturation internally on this scale, that is still pretty good.

Then I performed numerous Windows 10GbE transfer tests. The Windows transfer of 20GB of data hit a clean 1,000MB/s saturation when I was using synthetic testing, but traditional transfers on Read activity (to my Windows 10, Gen 4×4 SSD OS Client) peaked at 550MB/s, but the Write was a little under 500MB/s. This decreased fairly rapidly over sustained performance as very clear oversaturation took hold. Upon raising this with the brand in advance of this review for comment, UGREEN told me that SMB performance and transfers are still undergoing optimization. I hope this is the case!

This continued to be the performance mark when I ran an AJA benchmark.

Crystal disk was run twice (using 2 different file size scales, 64MB and 1GB) and once again Read largely saturated the connection, whilst Write was still only 50-65% saturating the available 10GbE bandwidth.

Then I ended on an ATTO Diskbenchmark test that was..frankly.. wild! It was a fairly consistent 700-800MB/s on average, but the perpetual and sustained performance of ATTO benchmarks to the system definitely revealed some of the areas where optimization is still needed and the system was quickly oversaturated (fans ramping up quickly, the memory use very high for the comparatively simple task).

There is definitely some good performance potential here in the DXP480T – as long as UGREEN continue to improve and optimize. This is a prototype review unit (i.e a review unit provided prior to crowdfunding) and certainly feels that way – but numerous software patches that arrived BEFORE the crowdfunding arrived that improved things granularly and I have no reason to  believe that this will not continue from now till when/if the system begins fulfilment at crowdfunding and eventual full retail. Watch the video below to see the tests in full (it skips ahead directly to the testing):

Click Below to SKIP AHEAD to the Performance Testing of the DXP480T NAS

At the time of writing, the UGREEN NAS software is still in beta, with the mobile application is live now. Reviewing the software included with the DXP480T —as a final product— feels somewhat premature. The NASsync software beta reveals many baseline functions and long-term plans, which you can watch in the video version of the UGREEN UGOS NAS Software Beta Review in the video below:

You can read the MASSIVE Software review (covering the Desktop and Mobile experience) HERE on the NASCompares Review Article.

Regarding Power Consumption Tests of the UGREEN DXP480T NAS

NOTE – Power consumption tests were performed on the DXP480T during an earlier software beta revision. However, 3 further software and system service updates have been issued since these power consumption tests were performed 3 weeks ago and UGREEN (and a fellow YouTube Reviewer) have stated that this has improved the power efficiency of the system. Therefore in the interests of fairness (as the performance testing was performed on this later software revision (v1.0.0.0334), I have withdrawn my power test result and will be retesting soon and presenting it here + in a later video, as time allows.

The TL;DR on the UGREEN NAS software

The software is on track to become a smooth and user-friendly experience, comparable to giants like Synology and QNAP, especially in terms of the web browser experience. Unlike opting for the complexity of TrueNAS or the streamlined, container-focused UI of UnRAID, the UGREEN NAS software is more akin to Synology DSM. The foundation is clearly laid out for expansion in terms of features and tools for the user’s disposal. However, there are notable absences of baseline applications such as container or virtual machine support, and a multi-tiered backup solution within the web GUI (though the UGREEN NAS mobile and desktop clients are in development, expected to preview in March). Basic services for file management, shares, user account control, and an app center—soon to be linked to a repository—are all user-friendly but present some inconsistencies, likely due to its beta status and ongoing development. The physical product may be closer to final development, but the software needs more time for optimization. SMB services were less consistent than desired, and settings changes sometimes didn’t save or recall correctly. This is common for beta software finding its footing, yet it’s important to note that the hardware feels more refined than the software at this stage, months before user delivery. In brief:

What I liked:

• Intuitive UI with services located logically and responsive controls.
• The mobile application for iOS and Android is one of the best I have ever used in NAS!
• Baseline services such as network interface management, user account control, firewall handling, and SSH interface control are all present.
• A clearly defined app center awaiting connection to an online repository.
• Helpful tips and guidance are available on most pages, aiding new users.
• Support for modern services like SMB3 multi-channel and domain services in the beta.
• Clear account and resource management accessible from the desktop, likely appealing to most users.
• The inclusion of a remote access relay service and UGREEN account creation from day one, simplifying remote access for new users with built-in firewall and domain tools.
• UPDATE 5/4/24 – The HDMI output is now full controllable via the mobile application and is intuitive
• UPDATE 5/4/24 – A Docker application has now been added with access to numerous repository options!
• UPDATE 5/4/24 – SSH is now disabled by default

What I disliked:

• Absence of two-factor authentication in the software.
• Lack of virtualization applications at this stage.
• Sporadic SMB performance.
• The Security Advisor tool is only suitable for Antivirus and Anti-Maleware protection, not to scan the system for security weaknesses and advisory actions
• The HDMI output cannot be used by the desktop/browser user to the same extent as the mobile application + cannot be used by container tools (Plex, Home Automation, etc)
• In-progress language integration, leading to occasional default displays in Chinese or error messages in Chinese despite English settings.

Improvements needed:

• Expansion of app integration and desktop client tools for easier system-client bridging.
• Introduction of a default application for device discovery on the local network, a basic service offered by many NAS brands.
• More information on UGREEN account and remote access security.

Acknowledging this is a beta, it’s fair to reserve full judgment until the software fully rolls out. As it stands, this beta is promising yet lacks some established NAS software fundamentals. Hopefully, we’ll see significant advancements as the release approaches.

Ugreen DXP480T NAS Review – Verdict and Conclusion

There is ALOT of like her in the UGREEN DXP480T Flash NAS! Right now there is little to no alternative to this product in the market. Flash/SSD NAS has been around for a long time and even M.2 NVMe NAS systems have been cropping up in one form or another for 2+ years. But desktop and home-accessible M.2 NVMe Flash NAS solutions? Barely any. Notable alternatives such as the storage-rich Asustor Flashstor 6 / 12 Pro or the performance-rich QNAP TBS-464 or TBS-h574TX have been launched in the last 12 months, but the DXP480T is more powerful than the former and less expensive than the latter. However UGREEN and it’s DXP/NASync series are still very, VERY new in the market (green?) and alongside their NAS software being still a good distance away from fully stable, the choice to launch this new series of devices on crowdfunding is still a little puzzling for 12-14 year established brand in the tech sector. The system is fantastically compact, powerful for the scale, very rich in hardware features and all of this rollout out on a price tag at both early backer Kickstarter and eventual retail RRP that is highly challenging to beat! But this is still a product that is not finished yet and therefore we need to keep that in mind! If this NAS was an unfinished game, it is not ‘Cyberpunk’ or No Man Sky’ levels of incomplete – but it is still a good 20-30% unfinished in terms of features and optimization. I will be certainly keeping an eye on UGREEN as they progress, and hopefully they will challenge the status quo of Synology and QNAP right now, but we will have to wait and see. Bottom line, the DXP480T is 100% the BEST M.2 NVMe NAS system for it’s scale in terms of hardware, it’s just the rest of the software development going through the usual beta testing that is holding it back from greatness. Recent softening by UGREEN with regard to users installing 3rd party operating systems (TrueNAS, UnRAID, Open Media Vault, Proxmox hypervisor, etc) with regard to hardware warranty has definitely resolved/calmed the apprehension by many users though, so the beta software hurdle might not even be an issue for you. The crowdfunding still at has 30 days left (at the time of writing) and 9,800 backers pledging over $4,00,000 of funding seems to indicate this! But as always, this is crowdfunding and not traditional retail, so use caution! The DXP480T is a solid and unique system and I hope to talk even more about this and UGREEN spin-offs in future!

PROS of the UGREEN DXP480T NAS

CONS of the UGREEN DXP480T NAS

Exceptional Hardware for the Price4 x M.2 NVMe Flash system at this scale+price is fantastic! Great CPU Power vs Efficiency in the i5-1235u 10GbE as standard is excellentWiFi 6E adds an extra and variable access method10/10 Build Quality Great Scalability Fantastic Mobile Application (even vs Synology and QNAP etc) Desktop/Browser GUI shows promise Established Brand entering the NAS Market Low Noise Very Appealing retail package+accessoriesThunderbolt 4 connectivity ensures FAST local backups The Operating System SSD does not occupy a storage bay (extra 2242 m.2 SSD included)

10GbE Performance was bit underwhelming Crowdfunding choice is confusing Software (still in Beta) is still far from ready 22/3/24 Only 1x Physical Network port means no wired failover Although 2 of the slots are 4×4 Speed, hardware lane limits mean 2 of the slots are 3×2

Click the Link Below to find out more about the UGREEN NASync NAS Series on the brand’s official Site:

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The UGREEN NAS Drives – Should You Back This Kickstarter?

The UGreen NAS series has recently been launched on Kickstarter, presenting an exciting opportunity for enthusiasts and potential users to engage with what the product promises. However, as with any product, especially those launched via crowdfunding platforms, it’s crucial to approach with a balanced perspective, recognizing both its strengths and potential limitations. In this context, the commentary highlights five appealing aspects of the UGreen NASync series and acknowledges five areas of concern or aspects that might be disappointing to some users. This nuanced approach is essential, especially when considering a product in its crowdfunding stage, distinct from a traditional retail purchase. Crowdfunding offers a unique set of risks and rewards, necessitating a careful approach from backers. For a comprehensive understanding, including detailed insights and analysis, it’s recommended to view the extensive one-hour review on YouTube and read the accompanying article for in-depth coverage of the UGreen NASync DXP4800 PLUS.

Important Links The UGREEN NASync Kickstarter Page – HERE UGREEN NASync DXP4800 PLUS NAS Review (Video) – HERE  (Written Review)– HERE UGREEN NASync DXP4800 PLUS NAS Review (Should You Buy Video, Shorter) – HERE UGREEN UGOS NAS Software Review – (Video) HERE – (Written Review) HERE

Reasons I LIKE the UGREEN NAS Drives

First, let’s discuss the really positive and impressive things about the UGREEN NASync series of devices.

The UGREEN NAS Have GREAT Hardware

You really can’t find fault, especially given the price, with the variety of hardware across the six versions of the UGreen NASync series. From an efficient and affordable N100 processor to a robust Pentium and a 10-core i5, the hardware range is impressive. Additionally, these systems come with 2.5G and 10G network connectivity, and some even offer Thunderbolt connectivity.

It’s the finer details that stand out: 8GB of DDR5 memory across the board, SD card slots in several models, and a compact Gen 4 SSD flash model featuring Wi-Fi 6E. The hardware spectrum UGreen offers in their debut series is truly remarkable.

UGREEN NAS Are Arriving With Good Design and Quality Build

The early prototypes of the DXP 4800 Plus and DXP480T showcase impressive build quality and construction. UGreen is evidently investing significantly in this new branch of their tech portfolio, a fact that is palpable in the devices’ build. With unique branding and a robust, predominantly metal construction, these systems feel sturdy. All internal components, including the motherboard and chip arrangement, are UGreen branded, featuring a custom UGreen kernel for the motherboard BIOS. This attention to detail ensures the system feels far from cheap, marking a strong entry into the NAS world with a product that seems exceptionally established.

The UGREEN Mobile Application is very, VERY Good!

You may have heard various opinions about the UGreen UGOS NAS software, which is currently in beta, coinciding with the launch of its crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. While actual product fulfillment might not occur until later in summer 2024, it’s worth delving into the mobile application aspect of their software. UGreen has prioritized the development of their mobile application, making it a comprehensive NAS management tool that stands out in terms of usability. Unlike many NAS software solutions that struggle to adapt desktop functionalities into a mobile format, resulting in a compromised user experience, the UGreen NAS Sync mobile app for Android and iOS is exceptionally well-crafted. It offers extensive control over system features without overwhelming users with complexity. This approach marks a significant departure from merely offering a web portal API in a less reliable mobile app form. UGreen’s investment in developing a potent and user-friendly mobile tool showcases their commitment to enhancing user experience, positioning it highly even when compared to industry leaders like Synology.

UGREEN is an Established Brand, NOT an Unknown or Startup

Unlike many startup and crowdfunded network-attached storage (NAS) solutions I’ve discussed on this channel (check out my history of NAS Kickstarter and Indiegogo articles), UGreen is an established brand in the tech sector. Having been around for nearly 14 years and already known for peripherals, this marks their first foray into network-attached storage. It’s important to recognize that UGreen brings existing brand recognition, a well-developed supply chain, support network, and production experience accustomed to worldwide distribution. A major challenge for many crowdfunded products, not just NAS, is that even great ideas can falter due to production and distribution issues. Having an established brand behind a product can often mitigate these risks, providing a level of assurance seldom seen with traditional indie startups.

The UGREEN NAS Range Are Very Affordable

I’ve already mentioned this, but it’s worth reiterating the exceptionally competitive price point across all six devices in the UGreen NASync portfolio. This pricing strategy is noteworthy both for early crowdfunding backers and for the retail recommended price (RRP) once these devices hit traditional retail channels. The brand’s own website even offers a staggering 40% discount, suggesting these products might be positioned as loss leaders to make a significant impact in the NAS market or that their profit margins are remarkably high. This pricing strategy makes the UGreen NASync series hard to overlook compared to other solutions. While not the cheapest, the pricing is balanced enough to cover production and distribution costs without deterring potential buyers who might consider more established market alternatives.

Specification	DXP2800	DXP4800	DXP4800 Plus	DXP6800 Pro	DXP8800 Plus	DXP480T Plus
Kickstarter Page	HERE	HERE	HERE	HERE	HERE	HERE
Kickstarter Launch	$239.99	$359.99	$419.99	$599.99	$899.99	$479.99
MSRP	$399	$559	$699	$999	$1499	$779
Operating System	UGOS Pro	UGOS Pro	UGOS Pro	UGOS Pro	UGOS Pro	UGOS Pro
CPU Model	N100	N100	8505	1235u	1235u	1235u
CPU Brand	Intel	Intel	Intel	Intel	Intel	Intel
CPU Architecture	X86 12th Gen N Series	X86 12th Gen N Series	X86 12th Gen Intel Pentium Gold	X86 12th Gen Intel Core i5	X86 12th Gen Intel Core i5	X86 12th Gen Intel Core i5
Cores/Threads	4/4	4/4	5/6	10/12	10/12	10/12
Memory (RAM)	8GB DDR5	8GB DDR5	8GB DDR5	8GB DDR5	8GB DDR5	8GB DDR5
ODECC Support	Supported	Supported	Supported	Supported	Supported	Supported
Expandable RAM (max)	16GB	16GB	64GB	64GB	64GB	64GB
Flash Memory (System Disk)	eMMC 32GB	eMMC 32GB	SSD 128GB	SSD 128GB	SSD 128GB	SSD 128GB
SATA Drive Bays	2	4	4	6	8	0
M.2 SSD Drive Slots	2	2	2	2	2	4

Things About the UGREEN NAS Drives That I DO NOT Like

While the five positive aspects of the UGreen NAS product are commendable, it’s essential to approach with a balanced view. In the spirit of thorough evaluation, attention must be turned to aspects of the UGreen NAS product that may not meet expectations or could be considered drawbacks. This critical examination helps ensure a well-rounded perspective before making an informed decision about the product.

The UGREEN NAS are ONLY Available in Germany and the United States

Why on earth is this product only being initially provided in Germany and the United States? I can appreciate that it takes a lot of work to provide a product globally at launch, and even the biggest brands in the tech world may, from time to time, stagger their release schedule and geographical release strategy – resulting in different regions getting their products earlier or later than others. However, UGreen already has an established product availability in numerous other regions. Additionally, this is a crowdfunded product, and one could argue that they want to get as many bums on seats as possible! Limiting the scope of availability for this product at launch to just these two regions has definitely annoyed a lot of users in the UK, France, Australia, Canada… the list goes on and on! Additionally, remember that 40% discount I mentioned earlier for the early crowdfunding backers? Imagine hearing good things about a product and finding out you can get it at a comparatively low price compared to established solutions in the market, but then find out that you are living in one of the regions that isn’t supported and when you eventually can get hold of the product, chances are you are getting it much closer to the RRP! How annoying is that! With Germany just a hop, skip, and a jump away from many other neighbouring countries in Europe, this is a bitter pill to swallow!

3rd Party NAS OS Support is COMPLICATED

The installation of third-party operating systems on the UGreen NAS is a complex topic. Recently, a NASCompares Q&A highlighted users’ concerns about the warranty when installing systems like TrueNAS or UnRAID. UGreen initially stated that installing a third-party OS would void the 2-year warranty, frustrating many. However, discussions at UGreen may lead to a policy allowing third-party OS installations under certain conditions without voiding the warranty. Yet, this has not been finalized. Additionally, installing a third-party OS is challenging due to the custom UGreen BIOS, and attempts to install alternative operating systems have faced significant hurdles, including system reboots, suggesting potential hardware or software safeguards against such modifications. This uncertainty and technical complexity have left many users concerned about the feasibility and warranty implications of using third-party operating systems on UGreen’s NAS systems.

26/03/24 – Update on the use of 3rd Party OS’ on UGREEN NAS with hardware, with regard to warranty*: “The Ugreen team confirms that whatever is promised in their warranty policy will not change, which only covers the hardware. They also mention that there is a risk of damage if you install a third-party OS, including data loss and compatibility issues, etc.” – Ugreen Representative, 26/3/24

NOTE – If you want to hear more about how it went installing a 3rd party OS on the UGREEN NASync DXP4800 PLUS NAS, Watch the video HERE, or in the embedded video below (it’s been set to the correct section):

The UGOS UGREEN NAS Software is Still in BETA and Not Finished

I’ve already mentioned this, but it’s worth reiterating. Currently, the UGreen NAS software isn’t ‘finished’. During my one-month review period, UGreen pushed numerous software updates that improved performance and stability. Yet, key software features are missing, such as two-factor authentication, encrypted volumes support, WORM support, container or virtualization apps, and Plex or Emby applications. While the software is still in beta and not officially launching for many months, allowing room for improvements, it’s somewhat frustrating, especially when the mobile app appears polished in contrast to the desktop experience’s inconsistencies.

10GbE Performance was not as great – Subject to Change Later in Development (I Hope)

This is something that will hopefully be addressed as the product undergoes further development through crowdfunding, but it needs highlighting. The prototype I received offered moderate performance over external 10GBE, and while internal performance of the M.2 NVMe drives improved with updates, optimal performance was achieved using SSH rather than native file transmission. Tweaks to enhance network connectivity, like adjusting the jumbo frame/MTU, are unavailable in the current software beta, contributing to an inconsistent experience.

UGREEN-DXP4800-PLUS-1-NVMe-SSD-10GbE-AJA-PERFORMANCE

Additionally, power consumption was about 15 to 20% higher than anticipated, a significant figure considering the system’s robust specifications and storage media.

Not Clear WHY UGREEN Opted for Crowdfunding via Kickstarter

This is probably the biggest problem that users have with UGreen and its NAS system being launched the way it is – why on earth is an established brand launching on crowdfunding? Kickstarter is predominantly targeted towards indie startup companies and those that are trying to launch a new product into a market to gauge interest and find an audience. There is an argument that UGreen, an Eastern company who have yet to formally release a network-attached storage solution, could definitely see the benefit in utilizing both the tools and the relative financial safety afforded to crowdfunding to gauge the interest of a product at launch and ensure financial efficiency. However, to use crowdfunding, but also launch six different SKUs, for a brand that’s been in the tech world for more than a decade is super weird! I get it, most of their prior technological experience has been more in accessories and adapters, so there is an argument that they don’t want to risk too much on a new venture. But I personally would have recommended that they launch just two SKUs via traditional retail purchasing, then launch the rest of the series as a phase 2, if interest in the initial two products is good enough. The 4-bay desktop DXP4800 Plus and DXP480T would have made great options as the market is still crying out for solid 4-bay NAS systems and 2023/2024 has already seen several prominent NVMe flash NAS systems arriving for home and prosumer use – the demand is already clearly there!

Conclusion – Should You Buy/Back the UGREEN NAS?

BOTTOM LINE – The UGREEN NASYnc DXP4800 Plus does not feel ‘finished’ yet and still needs more time in the over, but UGREEN have been very clear with me that this product is not intended for release and fulfilment till summer 2024 and improvements, optimization and product completion is still in progress. Judging the UGREEN NAS systems, when what we have is a pre-release and pre-crowdfunding sample, was always going to be tough. The DXP4800 PLUS is a very well put-together NAS solution, arriving with a fantastic launching price point (arguably even at its RRP for the hardware on offer). UGREEN has clearly made efforts here to carve out their own style, adding their own aesthetic to the traditional 4-bay server box design that plagues NAS boxes at this scale. Equally, although they are not the first brand to consider Kickstarter/Crowdfunding for launching a new product in the NAS/personal-cloud sector, this is easily one of the most confident entries I have seen yet. The fact that this system arrives on the market primarily as a crowdfunded solution (though almost certainly, if successful, will roll out at traditional retail) is definitely going to give users some pause for thought. Equally, the UGREEN NAS software, still in beta at the time of writing, although very responsive and nailing down the basics, still feels like it needs more work to compete with the bigger boys at Synology and QNAP. Hardware architecture, scalability, and performance are all pretty impressive, though the performance of the Gen 4×4 M.2 NVMe slots didn’t seem to hit the numbers I was expecting. Perhaps a question of PCIe bottlenecking internally, or a need for further tweaking and optimization as the system continues development. Bottom line, with expected software updates to roll out closer to launch and fulfillment, such as an expanded App center and mobile client, the UGREEN DXP4800 Plus is definitely a device worth keeping an eye on in the growing Turnkey and semi-DIY NAS market. As an alternative to public cloud services, this is a no-brainer and worth the entry price point. As an alternative to established Turnkey NAS Solutions, we will hold off judgment till it is publicly released.

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UGREEN NASync DXP4800 PLUS Review (Pre-Release)

With many newcomers stepping into the network-attached storage arena, aiming to compete with established giants like Synology and QNAP, UGREEN’s entry is one of the most confident I’ve seen to date. UGREEN, a brand that has existed for quite some time in the computer accessories arena, seems to have a head start over other brands trying to enter the private consumer cloud and entry-level business market. The NASync series, also known as the DXP series, features an unusually large number of SKUs at launch, offering seven different configurations of storage capacity, internal hardware, and external connectivity. In a somewhat unconventional move, the brand has opted to use the crowdfunding site Kickstarter to launch its new product range. Although crowdfunding for NAS solutions was once rare, by 2024, several mid to high-profile crowdfunded NAS solutions have emerged with varying degrees of success. Predominantly East Asian-based brands often utilize Kickstarter to introduce their products to a Western audience, and UGREEN is doubling down on this strategy. Today, we’re examining the DXP4800 Plus, a 4-bay prosumer solution aiming to change expectations for server value. It boasts high-demand features like a powerful Intel CPU, DDR5 memory, Gen SSD storage, 10GbE, and flexible OS usage. There’s a lot to like here, but is this brand’s first foray into NAS storage worth your investment? And should Synology and QNAP be concerned?

Important – The UGREEN DXP4800 Plus NAS is still in the early stages of crowdfunding. The unit provided for review by UGREEN might not represent the finished product if/when crowdfunding is concluded and eventual fulfillment begins. UGREEN is an already long-established and trusted brand, but nevertheless, it is important to keep in mind that this is still a product that is initially being made available via crowdfunding and therefore an element of additional care is always advised, compared with a comparable product purchased via traditional retail outlets.

UGREEN DXP4800 PLUS NASync Review – Quick Conclusion

BOTTOM LINE – The UGREEN NASYnc DXP4800 Plus does not feel ‘finished’ yet and still needs more time in the over, but UGREEN have been very clear with me that this product is not intended for release and fulfilment till summer 2024 and improvements, optimization and product completion is still in progress. Judging the UGREEN NAS systems, when what we have is a pre-release and pre-crowdfunding sample, was always going to be tough. The DXP4800 PLUS is a very well put-together NAS solution, arriving with a fantastic launching price point (arguably even at its RRP for the hardware on offer). UGREEN has clearly made efforts here to carve out their own style, adding their own aesthetic to the traditional 4-bay server box design that plagues NAS boxes at this scale. Equally, although they are not the first brand to consider Kickstarter/Crowdfunding for launching a new product in the NAS/personal-cloud sector, this is easily one of the most confident entries I have seen yet. The fact that this system arrives on the market primarily as a crowdfunded solution (though almost certainly, if successful, will roll out at traditional retail) is definitely going to give users some pause for thought. Equally, the UGREEN NAS software, still in beta at the time of writing, although very responsive and nailing down the basics, still feels like it needs more work to compete with the bigger boys at Synology and QNAP. Hardware architecture, scalability, and performance are all pretty impressive, though the performance of the Gen 4×4 M.2 NVMe slots didn’t seem to hit the numbers I was expecting. Perhaps a question of PCIe bottlenecking internally, or a need for further tweaking and optimization as the system continues development. Bottom line, with expected software updates to roll out closer to launch and fulfillment, such as an expanded App center and mobile client, the UGREEN DXP4800 Plus is definitely a device worth keeping an eye on in the growing Turnkey and semi-DIY NAS market. As an alternative to public cloud services, this is a no-brainer and worth the entry price point. As an alternative to established Turnkey NAS Solutions, we will hold off judgment till it is publicly released.

UGREEN DXP4800 PLUS NASync Review – Presentation

You really do have to hand it to UGREEN. The presentation of the DXP4800 Plus is genuinely top-tier. This brand’s experience in computer accessories has clearly influenced the presentation of their NAS system, opting for glossy retail packaging that boldly showcases the system’s capabilities over a standard dull brown box.

Inside the shiny box is a well-organized shipping container, with the system secured by rigid foam and an accessory kit containing everything needed to get started. As previously mentioned, retail packaging and device protection during transit are often overlooked by brands, risking damage. Despite being largely unpopulated, except for an internal 2242 SSD for the OS, minimizing the risk of damage, the extra effort on protection is appreciated.

The DXP4800 Plus includes nearly everything needed for setup, aside from hard drives. Given the early stage of the system’s crowdfunding campaign, additional storage options may later become available. The included kit, while basic, ensures users new to hosting their own servers have everything required.

It’s the attention to detail that impresses – from M.2 NVMe heat pads of notable quality and thickness for thermal dissipation, to the included Cat 7 network cables with high-quality gold/copper ends, differentiating them from standard cables.

Even the instruction manual, a rarity as most NAS brands now direct users online, stands out with its glossy presentation and offers more than basic setup guidance.

However, the choice of an external power supply (PSU) was unexpected, given UGREEN’s reputation for high-quality power adapters and cables. While not a deal-breaker, it’s curious to see a non-branded external PSU used, especially when the DXP480t model reviewed elsewhere came with a branded UGREEN PSU. This inconsistency in their approach to PSUs is puzzling.

Overall, the presentation of the DXP4800 Plus from UGREEN, a newcomer to the NAS market intending to launch via Kickstarter, is exceptionally well done. Despite some accessory quality inconsistencies, the overall package is commendable for a pre-release sample. Now, let’s proceed to discuss the system’s design.

UGREEN DXP4800 PLUS NASync Review – Design

At first glance, the DXP 4800 Plus appears to be a fairly standard four-disk NAS enclosure, and you might be forgiven for thinking it’s just reiterating the typical case design prevalent among numerous companies. However, there’s more to its design and efficiency than meets the eye. For starters, the external enclosure is entirely metal, enhancing heat dissipation directly from the base panel housing the M.2 modules. Additionally, UGREEN has infused the design with their unique stylistic choices, evident in the presentation of individual bays and the arrangement and accessibility of various ports and connections.

The inclusion of small design flourishes, like the rear removable mesh metallic fan panel that magnetically attaches to the casing, is particularly appreciated. While such a feature is familiar to prosumer PC cases, it’s surprisingly rare in NAS designs – puzzling, given NAS systems’ continuous operation and higher likelihood of accumulating dust and debris. Despite being a relatively minor detail, this fan cover’s presence in UGREEN’s first product impresses me.

Handling individual storage bays, however, presents a mixed reaction. The bold numeric design distinguishes it aesthetically from other NAS brands that often opt for bland, nondescript bays. The tool-less, click-and-load trays that forego the need for a screwdriver for drive installation and the inclusion of individual locking mechanisms (with keys) are commendable features.

Yet, these trays feel somewhat flimsy compared to the more robust trays found in desktop solutions from Synology and QNAP. While they secure the hard drives and align with the internal enclosure runners, the internal locking mechanism doesn’t inspire confidence in its security. The trays’ perceived cheap production quality slightly detracts from the overall positive aesthetic. Despite this, the system supports the latest 22TB hard drives, which means daily interaction with these trays will be minimal.

The main storage area features a pre-constructed PCB with four integrated SATA and power connectors. The system documentation indicates that SAS drives are unsupported, a non-issue for this system’s scale and price point.

Upon removing the base’s metallic panel, the two M.2 NVMe SSD bays and upgradable DDR5 SODIMM ports are revealed. Space constraints make heat sink installation challenging, but UGREEN has anticipated this with the inclusion of thick heat pads in the accessory kit, facilitating heat dissipation through the external casing.

UGREEN’s entry into 24/7 service storage with the DXP 4800 Plus is noteworthy, especially for a brand new to this sector. Their effort to differentiate through design and functionality is largely successful, although the storage trays’ quality could be improved. Overall, the system’s design is a strong point, and I look forward to discussing ports and connectivity next.

UGREEN DXP4800 PLUS NASync Review – Ports and Connections

One of the earliest things to notice about the connectivity on offer on the DXP 4800 Plus NAS is that this system brings back support for SD cards. This may seem almost insane to the average photo and video editor, but SD card readers on NAS devices have been largely absent for almost a decade, despite enormous protestations from photo and video editors for years. Therefore, it’s kind of impressive that UGREEN has opted to provide an SD card slot and a front-mounted USB Type-C connection on the DXP4800 Plus when practically every other brand in the NAS industry does not. It’s going to be a tremendously convenient feature for those wanting to ingest media directly into the system via numerous storage methods and camera systems, making it that much more convenient than many others in the market.

Carrying on the subject of convenience, it’s also worth highlighting that the system not only has a front-mounted USB like the majority of other NAS systems but also arrives with USB Type-C connectivity on the front. This is a surprisingly rare feature in most modern desktop NAS devices, even in 2024.

Flipping the device around, we see that the system has even more USB ports that can be utilized by the system in a host-client relationship. That means that the UGREEN NAS system will act as the host device for connected storage drives and supported peripherals. Unfortunately, this does mean that you cannot directly connect to this device using those USB ports, and the USB 2.0 connections are pretty much exclusively designed for connecting printers and office peripherals, uninterruptible power supplies, or keyboard/mouse in KVM setups alongside the visual output.

The visual output of this system is a 4K 60 frames per second HDMI 2.0 connection. The software for the UGREEN NAS system is still in beta, and currently, the HDMI output is limited to command line access. Currently, there is no graphical user interface afforded to the HDMI output, such as you would find on a QNAP or Asustor NAS system, but as this is a relatively niche feature for many, I’m not going to give them too much of a hard time over this.

Across the rest of the UGREEN NAS range, there is a multitude of different connection profiles and options. In the case of the DXP 4800 Plus, the system arrives with a single 10 gigabit ethernet connection and a single 2.5 gigabit Ethernet connection. Although there is a lack of Thunderbolt connectivity afforded to the more expensive Intel i5 options, the inclusion of these two copper network connections means that not only is there support for failover, but there is also support for link aggregation and port trunking. Given that the system already supports SMB Multi-channel, which can be enabled in the control panel of the UGREEN software, it means in Windows environments, there’s potential for 1.25 GB per second network transmission.The saturation of both of these ports is going to be pretty easy for a four-hard-drive and two NVMe system, and the system does support direct connection from a PC or Mac client directly into the UGREEN system if preferred. However, there is no option for upgrading the system via PCIe cards.

Overall, in terms of ports and connectivity, I’m really happy with everything I found on the DXP 4800 Plus, and although it lacks a bit of scalability in terms of improving upon the network connectivity down the line, what you have at this price point is a fantastic base level of network connectivity, combined with a decent degree of functionality and modern storage expandability to boot. However, all of that connectivity isn’t a great deal if you don’t have much to work with inside, so let’s talk about the internal hardware architecture of the UGREEN NAS.

UGREEN DXP4800 PLUS NASync Review – Internal Hardware

As mentioned earlier, it’s surprisingly confident of UGREEN to launch so many different NAS devices simultaneously for their first foray into network-attached storage. Not only have they provided several different storage scales and architectures, but they are also supporting three different internal hardware CPUs in terms of CPU. The scale in terms of price and capabilities of each system varies, but they include the Intel N100, Intel Pentium Gold, and Intel 12th Generation i5. The DXP4800 Plus arrived with an Intel Pentium G processor that is a five-core, six-thread architecture (one power core, four efficiency cores).

Though not the first to utilize this CPU in domestic and prosumer NAS, nevertheless, this processor is remarkably underused. Generally, when most brands opt to play it safe with the N100/N300 or immediately scale up towards the i5. It’s surprising because the Pentium Gold processor does a surprisingly good job of balancing a reasonable price point versus a decent degree of hardware resources at your disposal. This is a 20 lane Gen 4 processor that still manages to be more power-efficient than the i5 in bigger models.

Arriving with integrated graphics, supporting up to 64 gigabytes of memory (arriving with 8GB of DDR5 SODIMM and two slots), there is a lot to like here. It is especially surprising when you realize that the brand already provides closely priced N100 and i5 models either side of this device in UGREEN’s NAS portfolio. This processor performs exceedingly well with Plex Media Server and, thanks to those 20 lanes, also means there’s a decent spread of available hardware architecture across the whole device.

The layout of the internal architecture is still yet to be confirmed at the time of writing this review, but digging a little into the backend via SSH revealed that each of the M.2 NVMe slots on the base of this system are Gen 4 x 4. However, how this all separates out on the system chipset and whether these are being delivered into PCIe switches to spread the architecture out for the rest of the system storage, double network connectivity, and dedicating lanes to all those available connections, is definitely an area that leaves pause for thought.

Returning to that base panel, we find that the system arrives with an 8GB DDR5 SODIMM memory module and the capacity to add an additional module when needed. 8GB for this system is pretty decent, but do keep in mind that this system does not support ECC memory. Indeed, none of the UGREEN systems support ECC memory, and although they make a point of highlighting the on-die checks associated with DDR5, most experienced storage enthusiasts tend to prefer traditional ECC memory support. Nevertheless, 8GB is a good amount of memory to start with, and it’s great to know that you are not locked in with presoldered and fixed memory on the board, which is a move often used by more economical brands to save some money and dedicate lanes more efficiently. There see to be two network controllers, one 10GbE controller located under a heatsink:

Which I had difficulty identifying, but I suspect is a Marvell AQtion Aquantia AQC113/AQC114/AQC114CS/AQC115Cs, comprising (from official pages) a high-performance,Scalable mGig, Ethernet MAC+PHY Controllers designed to support the following network rates: 10GBASE-T/5GBASET/ 2.5GBASE-T/1000BASET/100BASE-TX/10BASE-Te. When equipped with a PCI Express Gen 4 x4, this family of Scalable mGig Ethernet MAC+PHY Controllers easily handle the 10 GbE line-rate performance. The AQC113, AQC114, AQC114CS, AQC115C device family combines a mGig Ethernet MAC Controller with a full-reach, low-power, highperformance, multi-gigabit, single-port Gen 4 Ethernet Alaska PHY transceiver into a single, monolithic device that is designed using the latest 14nm, multi-gate, FinFET process technology.

And an additional 2.5GbE Controller (the Intel S2363L51 SRKTU, instead of the usual Intel i226-V 2.5GbE we have observed in a number of Topton/CWWK boards of late) that very little information is available for online:

The USB controller/manager appears to be an ASM1543, (from the ASmedia pages) a one Four to two differential channels mux switch with integrated Type-C Configuration Channel Logic Circuitry, using for USB3.1 type-C mux and CC detection application. The signal performance of mux switch is up to 10Gbps SuperSpeedPlus USB bus with low insertion loss and return loss, and it also supports USB plug orientation, configurable as DFP role or UFP role through the setting of strapping pins, and implementing the strapping for the setting/detection of Type-C current mode, following USB3.1 Revision 1.0 and USB Type-C Connector and Cable Revision 1.3 standard specification.

Next, we find a Richtek RT3624BE, (from the manf pages) a synchronous buck controller which supports 2 output rails and can fully meet Intel IMVP9.1 requirements. The RT3624BE adopts G-NAVPTM (Green Native AVP) which is Richtek’s proprietary topology derived from finite DC gain of EA amplifier with current mode control, making it easy to set the droop to meet all Intel CPU requirements of AVP (Adaptive Voltage Positioning). Based on the G-NAVPTM topology, the RT3624BE features a new generation of quick response mechanism (Adaptive Quick Response, AQR) to optimize AVP performance during load transient and reduce output capacitors. The RT3624BE integrates a high accuracy ADC for platform and function settings, such as ICCMAX, switching frequency, over-current threshold or AQR trigger level.=

In terms of the SATA storage management, I found a ASMedia ASM116 SATA host controller(AHCI). Which is upstream PCIe Gen3 x2 and downstream four SATA Gen3 ports. It’s a low latency, low cost and low power AHCI controller. With four SATA ports and cascaded port multipliers, ASM1164 can enable users to build up various high speed IO systems, including server, high capacity system storage or surveillance platforms.

Finally, we find the two M.2 NVMe slots. Each of these slots supports a 2280 length SSD, which, at launch, can be utilized as a storage pool. As the software, and indeed the system as a whole, is still in early development, features such as caching or even tiered caching appear to be absent at this time. Initially, I was really pleased and impressed that the DXP4800 Plus box arrived with twin NVMe four lanes architecture on each individual slot.

This means that this four-hard-drive system also comes with two super-fast 8000 megabytes per second bandwidth SSD upgrade slots – which is tremendously rare and hugely appealing.

Additionally, digging a bit more into the backend of the system via SSH showed that there had been no downgrade on this speed either! Typically, for reasons of lane allocation, consumption, or heat generation in a system, M.2 slots will often be internally downgraded to a lower performance speed (as is often the case with the likes of Synology and QNAP). There was no sign of this here, and this was a genuine breath of fresh air to see such a high speed and high bandwidth connection afforded to these SSD slots.

Earlier in March when I was testing the (late alpha, early Beta) version of the NAS software, system and services, the performance numbers I got were not hugely encouraging internally. However, there have been numerous improvements on the system software and I am pleased to confirm that the M.2 NVMe slots were indeed 4×4 bandwidth and that some brief 1GB transfer/creation testing showed some early 7GB/s benchmarks on the Gen 4×4 SSD I has inside the system. Now we cannot rule out the impact of caching internally and these tests are NOT reflective of everyday (i.e non synthetic) use, but it was definitely an encouraging sign.

However, when I tried to repeatedly move 1GB of data between each of the NM,2 NVMe, the performance would drop down to 2.4Gb/s, which further suggested some lane sharing and a possible bottleneck by a controller perhaps. Again, this is a beta software/system and UGREEN repeated that this system is still undergoing optimization.

External performance over 10GbE was also an area that I really, REALLY hope this is sees significant optimization. I was hitting a bottleneck of around 500-600MB/s on upload and download (on a 10Gbe / 1,000MB/s connection). The performance numbers below were over 10GbE (with the MTU set at 1500 – As the software is currently not allowing me to scale it to 9000 MTU/Jumbo frames) and for 4x HDDs in a RAID 5, I would be happy with 600MB/s realistically. however…

When I was hitting the SAME numbers when I was accessing a Gen 4×4 M.2 NVMe over 10GbE, I would FULLY expect this to be 999MB/s up and down! Instead, the 10GbE connection, using AJA, on a Seagate Firecuda 530 SSD, was still hitting that bottleneck.

Switching to a Windows transfer test, moving 5GB of data to the m.2 NVMe SSD, over 10GbE saw similar results. My test PC in this case was running on a Gen4x4 SSD, so there was no meaningful storage bottleneck on my PC, and the connection was established via a clear 10GbE connection (via a managed Netgear switch) and using a Sonnet Solo 10G adapter over Thunderbolt.

Further testing confirmed performance dips when transferring data between SSDs, indicating a shared pathway. Despite this being a pre-release sample, and acknowledging potential future optimizations, the observed SSD performance, though still faster than many market alternatives, fell comparatively short of expectations given the hardware capabilities (though still higher than the majority of M.2 SSD performance offered by other brands providing HDD SATA + M.2 solutions right now).

The UGREEN NAS’s software, still in beta, promises further insights into the brand’s direction with their NAS solution and its accompanying software and services, warranting a closer examination as development progresses.

UGREEN DXP4800 PLUS NASync Review – Software

At the time of writing, the UGREEN NAS software is still in beta, with the mobile application is live now. Reviewing the software included with the DXP4800 Plus—as a final product—feels somewhat premature. The NASsync software beta reveals many baseline functions and long-term plans, detailed in the video below in our initial overview and first impressions of the UGREEN NAS software:

You can read the MASSIVE Software review (covering the Desktop and Mobile experience) HERE on the NASCompares Review Article.

Alternatively, you can watch the video version of the UGREEN UGOS NAS Software Beta Review in the video below:

The TL;DR on the UGREEN NAS software (UPDATED)

it’s on track to become a smooth and user-friendly experience, comparable to giants like Synology and QNAP, especially in terms of the web browser experience. Unlike opting for the complexity of TrueNAS or the streamlined, container-focused UI of UnRAID, the UGREEN NAS software is more akin to Synology DSM. The foundation is clearly laid out for expansion in terms of features and tools for the user’s disposal. However, there are notable absences of baseline applications such as container or virtual machine support, and a multi-tiered backup solution within the web GUI (though the UGREEN NAS mobile and desktop clients are in development, expected to preview in March). Basic services for file management, shares, user account control, and an app center—soon to be linked to a repository—are all user-friendly but present some inconsistencies, likely due to its beta status and ongoing development. The physical product may be closer to final development, but the software needs more time for optimization. SMB services were less consistent than desired, and settings changes sometimes didn’t save or recall correctly. This is common for beta software finding its footing, yet it’s important to note that the hardware feels more refined than the software at this stage, months before user delivery. In brief:

What I liked:

• Intuitive UI with services located logically and responsive controls.
• The mobile application for iOS and Android is one of the best I have ever used in NAS!
• Baseline services such as network interface management, user account control, firewall handling, and SSH interface control are all present.
• A clearly defined app center awaiting connection to an online repository.
• Helpful tips and guidance are available on most pages, aiding new users.
• Support for modern services like SMB3 multi-channel and domain services in the beta.
• Clear account and resource management accessible from the desktop, likely appealing to most users.
• The inclusion of a remote access relay service and UGREEN account creation from day one, simplifying remote access for new users with built-in firewall and domain tools.
• UPDATE 5/4/24 – The HDMI output is now full controllable via the mobile application and is intiuative
• UPDATE 5/4/24 – A Docker application has now been added with access to numerous repository options!
• UPDATE 5/4/24 – SSH is now disabled by default

What I disliked:

• Absence of two-factor authentication in the software.
• Lack of virtualization applications at this stage.
• Sporadic SMB performance.
• The Security Advisor tool is only suitable for Antivirus and Anti-Maleware protection, not to scan the system for security weaknesses and advisory actions
• The HDMI output cannot be used by the desktop/browser user to the same extent as the mobile application + cannot be used by container tools (Plex, Home Automation, etc)
• In-progress language integration, leading to occasional default displays in Chinese or error messages in Chinese despite English settings.

Improvements needed:

• Expansion of app integration and desktop client tools for easier system-client bridging.
• Introduction of a default application for device discovery on the local network, a basic service offered by many NAS brands.
• More information on UGREEN account and remote access security.

Acknowledging this is a beta, it’s fair to reserve full judgment until the software fully rolls out. As it stands, this beta is promising yet lacks some established NAS software fundamentals. Hopefully, we’ll see significant advancements as the release approaches.

UGREEN DXP4800 Plus NAS Storage Review – Verdict and Conclusion

BOTTOM LINE – The UGREEN NASYnc DXP4800 Plus does not feel ‘finished’ yet and still needs more time in the over, but UGREEN have been very clear with me that this product is not intended for release and fulfilment till summer 2024 and improvements, optimization and product completion is still in progress. Evaluating the UGreen NAS systems, particularly the DXP4800 PLUS, presents a unique set of challenges, given its status as both a pre-release and a pre-crowdfunding sample. This NAS solution stands out not just for its robust construction but also for its exceptional entry price, which seems quite competitive even against its Retail Price Point for the array of hardware it brings to the table. UGreen’s initiative to infuse their extensive experience in computer accessories into a NAS product has resulted in a distinctive aesthetic that sets it apart from the conventional 4-bay server box designs that dominate the market. Their decision to launch through Kickstarter, while not entirely novel in the NAS or personal-cloud arena, signifies one of the most assertive and bold market entries observed to date. The strategy of arriving on the market primarily through crowdfunding will undoubtedly prompt potential users to carefully consider their investment. However, it’s worth noting the significant potential this approach offers for bringing innovative products directly to those who would most benefit from them. The current state of the UGreen NAS software, still in its beta phase, showcases a solid foundation with much promise, despite needing further refinement to stand toe-to-toe with industry giants like Synology and QNAP. The hardware’s scalability and overall performance metrics are commendable, though there’s an observed need for further optimization, particularly concerning the Gen 4×4 M.2 NVMe slots, which didn’t quite meet expected performance benchmarks. This could potentially be attributed to internal PCIe bottlenecking or other factors that may be addressed as the system progresses through its development phase. With the hope of significant software updates and enhancements, such as an expanded App center and a more integrated mobile client, the UGreen DXP4800 Plus is positioned as a noteworthy contender in the burgeoning turnkey and semi-DIY NAS market. Its compelling value proposition as an alternative to mainstream public cloud services, coupled with its attractive pricing, renders it a formidable option for those seeking robust data storage solutions. Yet, in consideration of its potential as an alternative to more established turnkey NAS solutions, a final verdict is reserved until the product’s full public release. The expectation is that, with continued development and user feedback, the UGreen DXP4800 Plus will not only refine its offerings but also significantly influence user expectations and standards within the NAS market.

PROS of the UGREEN DXP4800 PLUS NAS

CONS of the UGREEN DXP4800 PLUS NAS

Exceptional Hardware for the Price 4 HDDs + 2x Gen 4×4 M.2 in 1 box under $400 Good Balanced CPU choice in the Pentium Gold 8505 10GbE and 2.5GbE as standard An SD Card Slot (wielrd rare!) 10/10 Build Quality Great Scalability Fantastic Mobile Application (even vs Synology and QNAP etc) Desktop/Browser GUI shows promise Established Brand entering the NAS Market Not too noisy (comparatively) Very Appealing retail package+accessories

10GbE Performance was underwhelming Crowdfunding choice is confusing Software (still in Beta) is still far from ready 22/3/24 non-UGREEN PSU is unexpected

Click the Link Below to find out more about the UGREEN NASync NAS Series on the brand’s official Site:

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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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Does the Terramaster F4-424 Pro NAS Deserve Your Data?

Today, we’re taking a closer look at the Terramaster F4-424 Pro NAS. This review is also partnered with a YouTube video (HERE) and unlike our full review, this article is focused on helping you understand as quickly as possible whether the F4-424 Pro NAS is the right server for your needs. We have been covering the subject of Terra master NAS for several years and I think it would be fair to say that they are largely considered the ‘cost effective’ option in the NAS market. However in the last generation they made some huge changes to their systems and services. First scaling up the feature set of their TOS NAS platform (currently TOS 5.1, with TOS 6 in very early alpha) to include alot more of the popular requirements of modern Synology NAS users, including BTRFS, Flexible RAID configurations, AI powered photo tools, comprehensive backup tools, etc. Meanwhile, they continued to provide the same level of hardware as alternatives from QNAP and Asustor, such as 2.5GbE, M.2 NVMe Support, HDMI 2.0, newer CPUs, and more. Fast forward to the 2024 generation and we have their latest series, the F4-X24 series. Drawing first blood in terms of hardware over its rivals, its rocking out the gate with the Intel i3-N300 CPU 8 Core Processor and 32GB DDR5 Memory (with a more affordable Intel N95 version and less memory), they were the first to roll out a 2024 generation of devices.

Design Improvements

The Terramaster F4-424 Pro boasts significant design improvements over its predecessors. It features a more modern and streamlined chassis with better ventilation, improved drive trays, and easier access to internal components. Unlike the F4-423, which had a somewhat dated design with minimal ventilation and plastic trays, the F4-424 Pro offers a more robust build. The new design includes flush front-side ventilation, a Terramaster logo panel, and a single rear fan replacing the older model’s clunky dual fans. This redesign not only enhances aesthetics but also improves component accessibility and cooling efficiency.

The ease of accessing the NAS’s internals is a notable enhancement. With just two screws, users can remove the side panel to access the memory slot and M.2 NVMe slots. This feature contrasts sharply with the F4-423, where accessing the motherboard for upgrades was a cumbersome process. The new design clearly borrows successful elements from industry leaders like Synology and QNAP, positioning it as a competitive player in the market.

Impressive CPU and Memory

The heart of the F4-424 Pro is its Intel N300 processor, an 8-core, 8-thread CPU with a base speed of 1.8 GHz, capable of boosting up to 3.8 GHz. This processor sets a high benchmark for mid-range NAS devices, offering integrated graphics superior to many competitors. It also maintains a low 7-watt TDP, striking a balance between performance and energy efficiency.

The NAS comes equipped with 32 GB of DDR5 memory, a notable increase over many similar-priced NAS models in the market. While this exceeds the manufacturer’s stated maximum stable memory, Terramaster assures that their testing validates this configuration. This impressive combination of CPU and memory positions the F4-424 Pro as a strong contender for those seeking a mid-range NAS with high-end hardware capabilities.

Terramaster Operating System (TOS)

TOS, now in version 5.1, has evolved significantly, offering a range of fundamental and mid-level features. While it may not compete directly with the likes of Synology DSM or QNAP QTS in terms of application range, TOS focuses on getting the basics right. It includes multi-site backup options, a flexible RAID storage system, and support for both EXT4 and BTRFS file systems. Click the video below and you will be skipped ahead to the full section on TOS 5.1:

The system also boasts AI-powered photo recognition, a developing surveillance application, and multimedia streaming apps. While the lack of specific apps like a dedicated video station may be a downside for some, Terramaster compensates by providing an all-in-one mobile app and desktop interface that are user-friendly and accessible.

SSD and HDD Support

The F4-424 Pro allows for the installation of NVMe SSDs (Gen 3) in its M.2 slots, offering flexibility in utilizing these as storage pools or intelligent caching. This feature surpasses some competitors who restrict SSD usage or brand compatibility. The NAS supports a broad range of hard drives, up to 22 TB from Seagate and WD, without the restrictive compatibility issues seen in some other brands.

Plex Media Server Performance

The F4-424 Pro excels as a Plex Media Server, handling 4K media transcoding and playback with ease and even supporting early 8K performance. The NAS’s ability to handle high-resolution media without being the bottleneck in the system is a significant plus for users looking to future-proof their media streaming capabilities.

Potential to Upgrade towards TrueNAS Core, Scale and UnRAID

The F4-424 Pro currently drives with arguablely the BEST internal hardware of any 4-Bay Turnkey NAS released in the market so far. However, some users would much rather use the much longer established TrueNAS and UnRAID alternatives in the market. Whether that is because of hefty industry recommendation, or because of previous experience, some users might not want to be locked into using the software that a Turnkey NAS arrives with. So, it will definitely please some users that not only can you VERY EASILY install TrueNAS/UnRAID on the Terrmaster F4-424 Pro (or indeed any Terrmaster that features an x86 CPU). Even more, Terramaster have even made it official online that although they do not encourage users to do this, they will not deny any warranty claims from users who perform this OS change – something a few other brands have been quick to deny. Below is a walkthrough of just how easy it is to install TrueNAS CORE on a Terramaster NAS:

Note – I made a written step-by-step guide to Installing TrueNAS Core HERE. As well as another Video Guide HERE on running UnRAID on any Terramaster x86 NAS, as well as a written guide HERE

There will be users who say that it is cheaper and more flexible to build a server from scratch for TrueNAS or UnRAID, but there are also users who would much rather a ready made hardware solution that has a single warranty to follow, zero build time and already physically designed for 24×7 storage out the gate.

As good as all these sounds though, it is worth keeping in mind that the Terramaster F4-424 Pro is NOT going to be a solution that suits everyone, so let’s go through some of the reasons why you might want to give this NAS a miss.

Reasons to Maybe Skip the Terramaster F4-424 Pro

Nothing is perfect, and much like any other home server system, the F4-424 Pro is not going to be for everybody! To maintain the hardware vs value price point, some compromises were definitely made. Let’s discuss some reasons why the F4-424 Pro might not be ideal for your needs!

Lack of 10GbE Connectivity

One significant drawback is the absence of 10GbE connectivity. Despite its powerful hardware, the F4-424 Pro is limited to 2.5GbE ports. This limitation may hinder its performance in environments where higher network speeds are essential, particularly for users looking to maximize the potential of the NAS’s robust CPU.

Higher Price Point

The F4-424 Pro’s pricing, ranging from $599 to $699, positions it at a higher bracket compared to similar 4-bay NAS models. While it offers a better CPU and more memory, the price difference might not justify the incremental hardware improvements for some users, especially considering the lack of 10GbE.

Limited Range of Client Applications

Terramaster focuses more on hardware than software, resulting in a limited range of client applications for various platforms. This limitation might not suit users looking for a more tailored experience for specific services like video or photo management.

Memory Capacity Concerns

The NAS comes with 32 GB of memory, exceeding the CPU manufacturer’s recommended maximum of 16 GB. While Terramaster assures its functionality, this might raise concerns about long-term stability and performance, especially since this configuration is not standard in the industry.

Past Security Issues

Terramaster was previously impacted by the Deadbolt ransomware attack. While they have since improved security measures, it’s crucial for potential buyers to consider this history when evaluating the long-term security and reliability of the NAS.

Conclusion

The Terramaster F4-424 Pro NAS offers a compelling combination of design, performance, and features, making it an excellent choice for many users. However, its higher price, lack of 10GbE, and other considerations might make it less appealing for some.

Pros and Cons

Aspect	Pros	Cons
Design	Modern chassis, improved ventilation	Only available in 4 bay with this configuration (2 Bay used N95 CPU)
Hardware	Powerful CPU, ample memory	Higher price; lack of 10GbE
Software	User-friendly TOS	Limited client applications
Storage	Versatile SSD/HDD support	M.2 NVMe slots limited in speed (i.e x2 or X1)
Plex Performance	Excellent for 4K and early 8K	Still requires Plex Pass to use H/W transcoding
Security	Improved post-Deadbolt	Past ransomware impact

TerraMaster F4-424 Pro NAS Review – Quick Conclusion

The TerraMaster F4-424 Pro NAS is a powerful 4-bay system with an Intel i3 N300 CPU, 32GB DDR5 memory, and 2x M.2 NVMe SSD bays, offering impressive performance for tasks like Plex media streaming and transcoding. Its redesigned chassis, resembling Synology and QNAP models, improves cooling and accessibility, marking a significant design upgrade. TOS 5 software enhances GUI clarity, backup tools, storage options, and security. The absence of 10GbE and memory limitations are notable drawbacks. Nevertheless, it offers great value in the 4-bay NAS market, appealing to budget-conscious users seeking capable private server solutions.

 

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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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QNAP TBS-h574TX NASBook – The Best Thunderbolt NAS Yet?

QNAP has quite an enviable stronghold on the entire Thunderbolt NAS market, and although a few brands have attempted to challenge their dominance in this area over the years, ever since QNAP first revealed their first Thunderbolt device back in 2017, they have gone from strength to strength and innovated wildly in this area with each iteration. The latest entry into this, the SSD-focused TBS-h574TX NAS system, is potentially the fastest and most powerful entry yet, focusing on the use of E1.S hot-swappable M.2 SSD storage and built using an Intel 13th generation core architecture. Is this TB4 and 10GbE equipped NAS the potential to wipe everyone else off the board? There are a lot of users still unsure whether this $2,000 NAS justifies its investment. So, until the full review is available, please enjoy this shorter-form review focusing on just the highlights (and the lowlights) of the QNAP TBS-h574TX NAS.

QNAP TBS-h574TX System Specifications:

• CPU: Intel® Core i5-1340PE 12C(4P+8E)/16T, up to 4.50GHz
• CPU Architecture: 64-bit x86
• Graphic Processors: Intel® Iris® Xe Graphics eligible
• System Memory: 16 GB on board (non-expandable)
• Drive Bay: 5 x E1.S up to 15mm (5x PCIe Gen3 x2), Pre-install adapter to support M.2 2280 for each slot
• 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet Port: 1 (2.5G/1G/100M)
• 10 Gigabit Ethernet Port: 1 x 10GBASE-T (10G/5G/2.5G/1G/100M)
• Thunderbolt Port: 2 (Thunderbolt 4)
• USB 2.0 port: 1
• USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps) Port: 2
• HDMI Output: 1, HDMI 1.4b
• Dimensions (HxWxD): 60 × 215 × 199 mm (Dimensions do not include foot pad; foot pad may be up to 30mm/1.18 inches high depending on model)
• Weight (Net): 2.24 kg
• Power Supply Unit: 120W Adapter (19VDC output, 100-240VAC input)
• Power Consumption: Operating Mode, Typical 46 W
• Fans: System fan: 2 x 40mm, CPU fan: 1 x 75mm

QNAP TBS-h574TX NAS Review Quick Conclusion

The QNAP TBS-h574TX NAS emerges as an exceptional and uniquely compact yet robustly powerful system, offering outstanding performance and bandwidth capabilities. Its sleek and innovative design sets a new standard in the NAS market, particularly notable for its integration of advanced features like Thunderbolt 4 and a high-capacity 10G connection. These features are further enhanced by the utilization of cutting-edge E1.S/NVMe SSD storage, all seamlessly managed by a highly capable CPU architecture. This makes the TBS-h574TX not just a NAS, but a powerhouse of data management and connectivity. Especially appealing to photo and video editors, the NAS excels in aesthetics, portability, and functionality, making it a viable alternative to traditional portable direct-attached storage systems like LaCie or G-Tech. Its ability to support multi-user access and provide immediate local network connectivity straight out of the box adds to its versatility. Additionally, the system boasts a modest power supply and impressively efficient power consumption relative to the bandwidth it offers, highlighting QNAP’s commitment to balancing performance with energy efficiency.

However, users must note some trade-offs, such as the limitation in PCIe bandwidth for each of the SSD bays, and the fixed memory capacity. While these are necessary adjustments for its compact form, they are points for consideration. Despite these minor limitations, the 13th Gen Intel Core processor used in its configurations demonstrates QNAP’s dedication to incorporating top-tier technology, although there are more advanced CPUs in other models. This system is a testament to QNAP’s ability to innovate, offering a package that promises the high performance of larger NAS units but in a remarkably portable format. It raises the question: Is this the ideal NAS for everyone? Perhaps not. But for those seeking a high-performance, Thunderbolt-enabled NAS that combines portability with powerful capabilities, the QNAP TBS-h574TX is a formidable choice.

DEAL WATCH – Is It On Offer Right Now? Qnap TBS-h574TX-i3-12G Thunderbolt Compact All-Flash | 5 x E1.S or M.2 SSD's, In Amazon UK 55.91 OFF (WAS 1851) [LINK] These Offers are Checked Daily

Reasons You SHOULD Choose the QNAP TBS-h574TX NASBook

If you are looking for a super-fast NAS, built on a powerful architecture, that’s supremely portable and supports the latest ports and connectivity, the TBS-h574TX NAS will likely serve you very well. But why specifically should you choose the TBS-h574TX NAS instead of many other devices on the market right now?

E1.S and NVMe Drive Support

The TBS-h574TX is one of the very first desktop NAS devices to feature E1.S media bays. In the last few years, we have seen a growing trend towards the use of SSDs as the primary storage media for private servers and NAS devices, with some particular standout examples from both QNAP and Asustor focusing on M.2 NVMe SSDs. However, one major downside of M.2 NVMe use is that they do not support hot swapping. This means that in the event of a drive failure leading to a degraded RAID state or the need to introduce a newer and larger capacity drive to an existing storage pool, you are required to power down the system completely. Removing an M.2 NVMe from a system that is powered on will lead it to crash and can be detrimental to the health of both the system and the storage drive. E1.S SSD bays, however, fully support hot swapping in an identical fashion to that of traditional SATA storage drives.

Additionally, the QNAP TBS-h574TX arrives with E1.S storage bays, as well as NVMe adapters that allow you to use regular off-the-shelf M.2 NVMe in these storage spaces and still have access to hot swapping. E1.S drives allow for additional storage space and taller PCB SSD space to be afforded to the storage drives, and although the gains are generally only minimal in traditional 2280 length SSDs, overall the fact that this flash NAS system supports these more flexible SSD options is always going to be desirable.

Thunderbolt 4, 10GbE, and an Intel 13th Gen CPU – YES PLEASE!

I cannot stress enough how good the connectivity is on the TBS-h574TX. Although it is not the first QNAP NAS to arrive with Thunderbolt 4 connectivity, it is definitely one of the smallest devices on the market to feature it. The TBS-h574TX features one Thunderbolt 4 USB-C port on the front for convenience, and an additional port on the rear. Not only can these be used to connect Thunderbolt storage to your NAS system, but more importantly, they allow a user to connect directly, point to point, from a Mac or Windows computer to the QNAP TBS-h574TX system. This opens the door to tremendous performance and, once you factor in the use of M.2 NVMe SSD storage, you are looking at some serious performance. QNAP reports the performance utilizing 5 Samsung 980 Pro SSDs in a RAID environment to hit 1700 megabytes per second for one connected device over Thunderbolt, and in excess of 3,000 megabytes per second for two connected Thunderbolt devices. That’s right, the support of Thunderbolt also allows multiple users to connect to the same storage space simultaneously, as well as the system supporting cross-platform file sharing, which allows the same storage area to be used simultaneously by both Mac and Windows users, regardless of the different operating systems in play.

Then, there is the inclusion of a 10GbE network port. This means that you can attach a third connected high-speed user over either a 10GbE network connection, or utilizing a Thunderbolt to 10G adapter available for around $150 to $200. Of course, you could use this port to connect the TBS-h574TX to a larger 10G equipped network and allow multiple users to enjoy full gigabit network saturation each, but I think a lot of portable users are going to enjoy the fact that a single area of high-speed intelligent storage can be connected to via three high-speed connections, all of which can edit on the fly. There is even an additional 2.5GbE port to connect the device to an existing network while all of this is going on, promoting network and internet shares.

All of this is made possible thanks to a very powerful Intel 13th Gen i5 or i3 CPU option, which is both highly efficient and powerful, thanks to its shrunk-down SOC mobile architecture. All of this adds up to an incredibly powerful system that is ready to reinvent the workflow of small to medium video editing workflows!

Very Compact and Portable

If you are looking for a storage device that needs to be portable, the TBS-h574TX is one of the best examples out there by this brand. Picture the scene: you and a small team of video or photo content creators are on the move, and after a long day of capturing content, you need to back up, edit, and/or distribute what you have created. Thanks to the small-scale stature of the QNAP TBS-h574TX, and its modest and small-scale 120-watt PSU, this system can be carried around very conveniently in a laptop bag and can be set up in minutes to allow multiple users to connect to either edit on the fly or back up from numerous different connected USB and Thunderbolt devices simultaneously.

That isn’t to say you can’t do that with most other NAS systems, but most other NAS systems arrive with clunky and fragile hard drives, have much larger power consumption requirements, or, more importantly, are considerably heavier. This system combats all three of these factors by being light, small, and exceedingly fast.

1TB of Free Cloud Space Included

This is something that I really wish QNAP would do with a lot more of their releases. QNAP has offered for the last year or so access to their own cloud service that allows you to back up the data on your NAS to their first-party encrypted cloud and makes remote access a great deal more convenient to back up data, as well as providing a first-party secondary backup option. Any user can gain access to 16GB of free space, but after that, you have to pay subscription costs in order to gain more cloud storage space on the MyQ9 cloud service. However, the QNAP TBS-h574TX, almost certainly because of its larger focus on video/photo editors, arrives with one terabyte of cloud storage space available on a 12-month license.

This is going to be hugely appealing to those that not only want to access, edit, and back up their data as quickly as possible, but also want a streamlined second-level backup to be integrated into their system, and one terabyte is a hugely generous sum of storage to be offered with this device. Of course, after the one-year license has concluded, you will need to either remove your data from the cloud or pay a subscription fee to maintain it there, but nevertheless, it is great that they have offered this alongside the device, and I really wish they did this more with some of their production-ready systems.

Includes QNAP QuTS ZFS / QTS EXT4 NAS Software, Services and Tools (A Whole Operating System)

The QNAP TVS-h874 NAS comes with a comprehensive software and services package, offering either QNAP QTS or QuTS (version 5.0.1) at initialization. This operating system, resembling Windows 11 and Android OS in design, supports hundreds of applications, services, and functions. It includes numerous mobile and desktop client applications for tailored data interaction. The software also features SSD-specific tools like anti-wearing for SSDs, better ZFS-HDD/SSD profiling, and options for storage, caching, or tiered storage. While QTS/QuTS is highly customizable, offering flexibility and user-friendliness, it does have a learning curve that may challenge novice users. Despite past security concerns, including ransomware attacks due to vulnerabilities in Linux and QNAP’s applications, improvements have been made in QTS/QuTS 5, making the system more secure and user-friendly.

QNAP’s TVS-h874 NAS excels in file management, security, storage management, multimedia handling, business tools, and surveillance. It offers sophisticated file management tools, improved security features with multi-layered protection, and diverse storage, backup, and synchronization options. The NAS supports a wide range of multimedia applications, including AI photo recognition and popular media servers like Plex. For business needs, it provides virtual machines, containers, and surveillance solutions like QVR Pro with extensive camera support. The TVS-h874’s software diversity, despite previous security issues, showcases a rich array of hardware configurations, services, and tools, solidifying its place as a versatile NAS solution. Further testing of its performance, particularly as a Plex Media Server and VM host, is upcoming on the NASCompares YouTube channel.

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Reasons You SHOULD NOT Choose the QNAP TBS-h574TX NASBook

As good as all of the advantages mentioned above sound, realistically, the QNAP TBS-h574TX is a rather specialized piece of equipment, and it’s fair to say that not everyone is going to see all of its hardware and architecture as positives. So let’s go through five reasons why you might want to give the QNAP TBS-h574TX a miss and look elsewhere.

Gen 3×2 M.2 Bandwidth is Disappointing

Despite the remarkably future-proof Intel 13th generation i3 and i5 processor featured inside the TBS-h574TX, the scaling down of this processor by Intel into a mobile processor form, and the requirements by QNAP to keep this system miniature yet still facilitate high bandwidth external connections, have all resulted in particular bottlenecks and compromises being made. Probably one of the most prominent compromises is in the bandwidth afforded to each of the individual E1.S NVMe media bays. Although this processor supports both PCIe Gen 4 and PCIe Gen 3, in order to get the lanes divided neatly across the system, each drive slot is limited to PCIe Gen 3 x2.

Utilizing SSD drives that make bold promises in excess of 3,000 megabytes per second, realistically each of these bays will not really be able to exceed 1500 or 1800 MB per second. In the correct RAID configuration, this should not prove to be much of a problem as you are still going to enjoy the multiplication factor of combining multiple read and write actions across each of the disks in the single RAID storage pool. Nevertheless, there are going to be users who would have hoped to see this system enjoy the PCIe Gen 4 architecture of bigger Thunderbolt devices like the H874T released in late 2023, which features a far more aggressive processor and a larger range of bays in its larger design.

16GB Max Memory (and only 12GB on the i3 Version)

I found it really peculiar that this system rolls out the gate with either 12 gigabytes or 16 gigabytes of fixed memory. The QNAP TBS-h574TX is not the first system to come out with prefixed soldered memory modules internally, and it won’t be the last! There are benefits to having memory fixed in this fashion, such as power efficiency, cost efficiency, and allowing the architecture of the processor and the number of channels it can handle to be better utilized. Nevertheless, this system is running a processor that can handle up to 64 gigabytes of memory, and because of the lack of an upgradable DIMM or SODIMM slot, you are limited to this base level amount throughout the system’s lifespan. 16 gigabytes is still a pretty reasonable amount of memory and more than enough to handle the majority of system processes, but the 12 GB of fixed memory on the i3 version just feels a bit weird and is an unusual memory quantity that feels like it was applied by design and not necessity.

$1800-2000+ Price Tag, is the QNAP TVS-h674T a Better Choice?

The price tag of the QNAP TBS-h574TX is certainly going to put some users off. Arriving at around $1800-$2000, although in the realm of Thunderbolt NAS, this is a reasonable figure, outside of that, and for a 5x10G NAS, it does seem rather high. You do need to factor in that we are talking about a specialized flash system with Thunderbolt 4 connectivity and one of the most modern NAS processors in the market, but that price is certainly going to be tough for some. However, what is probably a little bit more interesting about this price point is what else you can get for this money from QNAP themselves if you look a little broader across their range of solutions. For example, for around $100 more you can pick up the QNAP TVS-h674T – This is the six hard drive and two Gen 4 NVMe tower system.

It arrives with a very similar processor, memory that can be expanded up to 64GB if needed, the SSD slots are Gen 4 x4, it has two Gen 4 PCIe upgrade slots with one of them at x16 speed, and the system even still arrives with Thunderbolt 4 connectivity. You would lose out on the more compact nature of the TBS-h574TX system, have to spend a little more to get a 10GbE connection, and only have two SSD slots instead of five, but overall the 674T system is a better-tiered system for many and might serve as a better choice overall for some users.

Not a Silent NASBook (Unlike the TBS-464 or HS-464)

This is a very minor point, but it has to be said – The QNAP TBS-h574TX is not a silent NAS system. QNAP has rolled out several silent or near-silent systems in the last few years, some of which carried the NASBook branding as seen here on the TBS-h574TX system, unfortunately, because of the largely metal construction of the TBS-h574TX and the fact that it features two rear cooling fans and a small internal CPU fan, the system does make noise when in operation. I should stress, this is still much, much quieter than the average system but there are still going to be users that are going to look at this system and hope that it is silent when in operation. Systems such as the HS-264 and TBS-464 are both genuinely silent or as near silent as possible systems from this brand, although it’s worth remembering that these are significantly less powerful and bandwidth-rich. Ultimately, QNAP has done a great job here balancing power, scale, and portability to fit all of this into such a small single casing. Just don’t be under the illusion that they managed to make the thing completely inaudible!

Deadbolt! We Need to Talk

In 2021/2022, QNAP was one of several brands that were successfully targeted by the ransomware group Deadbolt. This resulted in thousands of systems from QNAP, Asustor, and TerraMaster being remotely encrypted, requiring payment of a ransom fee, costly data recovery services, or free but highly time-consuming data retrieval methods. You can read/watch more about it in the article HERE, but after this event, there was no avoiding that several brands were slightly tarnished with a reputation for being insecure remotely. The affected brands have all implemented numerous changes to their update and security protocols. Although the inherent vulnerabilities have never been truly identified for each individual brand, most believe it was a Linux-based vulnerability that remained unpatched, or at least a vulnerability that, if users did not update their system regularly, had been left open for exploitation. It still required a very specific range of circumstances for this exploit to be utilized by hackers, ranging from leaving network ports and router configurations open unsafely, to leaving certain SSH and administrative protocols enabled by default.

Nevertheless, after this event, QNAP, along with the other affected brands, updated how updates are delivered to the system, tightened default settings, and security protocols to ensure users would need to work harder to put their systems in unsafe states, ultimately resulting in a wake-up call for the NAS industry. This was several years ago, and although the QNAP NAS brand has improved considerably since then, it is still worth pointing out that they were impacted by this. I believe there is an important lesson to be learned here, and until at least 5 years have passed, I will mention this in every QNAP NAS review I do (as well as every Asustor and TerraMaster review too). Once again, you would need to manually place your system into a particularly unsafe state for any vulnerability to be exploited in this fashion. Additionally, a look at any of the security advisories from internet or network-connected platforms (Synology, Microsoft, Google, Apple, literally anyone!) shows that vulnerabilities on these platforms are regularly found by brands and white-hat hackers. The bottom line is, it’s important that buyers know about Deadbolt, but also keep in mind that in most instances, you would need to manually put your system into an unsafe state for particularly virulent ransomware and malware attacks to be effective.

Conclusion – Should You Buy the QNAP TBS-h574TX NASBook?

The QNAP TBS-h574TX is a genuinely unique and impressive piece of equipment, potentially one of the best NAS systems I have ever seen! For such a compact and portable system, it manages to include a phenomenal amount of both internal and external performance and bandwidth – something that the majority of systems at this price point generally need to compromise on one aspect or the other. Additionally, QNAP continues to dominate the market of Thunderbolt NAS storage, and you can clearly see their innovation and improvement with each iteration of this technology – with the TBS-h574TX being one of the sleekest and most impressive entries into this product family. The Thunderbolt 4 on this system does exactly what QNAP says it will, providing huge performance numbers to connected users via this protocol, as well as an additional thousand megabytes per second through the 10G connection. Thanks to the utilization of E1.S/NVMe SSD storage, fully saturating all these connections simultaneously is indeed possible, all enabled by an incredibly impressive choice of CPU architecture that has the muscle to keep things moving in the backend.

Equally, as this system is largely focused on photo and video editors, it is beautifully presented and highly portable. It could easily replace portable LaCie or G-Tech direct-attached storage systems used by many on-site content creators, thanks to its support of multi-user access and local network connectivity right out of the box. Add to that a modest power supply and impressively low power consumption for the bandwidth offered, and this is one of the most beautifully put-together systems by this brand. Of course, when you start miniaturizing and reducing scale, compromises inevitably need to be made for reasons of power efficiency, temperature, and space. The downgrading of the PCIe bandwidth on each of the SSD bays is a necessary but still regrettable inevitability. Likewise, although I’m impressed by the 13th Gen Intel Core processor featured in both configurations available, there are better Intel CPUs already used in other QNAP Thunderbolt systems, and whether this was the reason or logic behind the fixed 12/16 GB memory still remains to be seen. There are definitely video editors who will be completely in love with this system, and you can see why: it promises everything that the larger boxes from QNAP have been offering for years, but in a scale that you can pop in your laptop bag on the go. Is this the perfect NAS? No. Is it the Perfect Thunderbolt NAS? Maybe!

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PROs of the QNAP TBS-h574TX NAS

CONs of the QNAP TBS-h574TX NAS

Exceptionally future-proof 13th Gen i3/i5 Processor (Mid-2023 series) with high end Int.Gfx 2x Thunderbolt 4 connectivity, one is front mounted for convenience Also features a 10GbE and 2.5GbE Connection for direct editing and/or high-speed local networking High internal and external performance and bandwidth for such a compact system Compact and portable, ideal for on-site creators to share and collaborate on-the-fly Enhanced security protocols post-Deadbolt ransomware attack. Wide range of multimedia and business tools. Equipped with QVR Pro for extensive surveillance and numerous Backup/Sync tools as standard. QuTS Has numerous ZFS based advantages + QSAL Antiwear leveling Supports AI photo recognition, AI Surveillance Tools, 4K/8K Plex Support and VM Tools. Arrives with 1TB of Cloud Space with MyQNAPCloudOne for 12 months.

High price range of $1800-$2000. Check out the TVS-h674T for similar pricing and alternative Tiering/Bandwidth allocation Limited PCIe bandwidth on SSD bays. Not a silent operation due to cooling fans.

TerraMaster F4-424 Pro NAS Review

We talk about NAS a lot here on NASCompares, and when we discuss ‘value’ and ‘affordable’ servers, more often than not, we will be discussing a TerraMaster NAS system. Long regarded as the more affordable end of the private server market, they have nevertheless come a considerably long way in a comparatively short time when compared to the ‘bigger players in the playground,’ such as Synology and QNAP. Indeed, the subject of today’s review, the TerraMaster F4-424 Pro, is perhaps one of the most powerful 4-Bay turnkey NAS systems on the market! This, alongside their NAS software closing the gap in a few key areas with their competitors (flexible RAID storage that allows mixed drive deployment, BTRFS, a Surveillance platform in beta, and their own AI photo recognition application leaving beta, to name but a few), has resulted in a decent percentage of the NAS buyer market starting to take the plucky TerraMaster NAS brand more seriously. Throw into the mix that this Intel i3 N300, 32GB DDR5, NVMe slot-equipped, 2x 2.5GbE-connected system is rolling out the gate at under $699, and you have a serious contender of a system here! But, all that rhetoric and spec jargon aside, is it any good? Let’s find out in today’s review.

TerraMaster F4-424 Pro NAS Review – Quick Conclusion

The TerraMaster F4-424 Pro NAS is a powerful 4-bay system with an Intel i3 N300 CPU, 32GB DDR5 memory, and 2x M.2 NVMe SSD bays, offering impressive performance for tasks like Plex media streaming and transcoding. Its redesigned chassis, resembling Synology and QNAP models, improves cooling and accessibility, marking a significant design upgrade. TOS 5 software enhances GUI clarity, backup tools, storage options, and security. The absence of 10GbE and memory limitations are notable drawbacks. Nevertheless, it offers great value in the 4-bay NAS market, appealing to budget-conscious users seeking capable private server solutions.

Terramaster F4-424 Pro NAS Review – Packaging and Presentation

The Terramaster F4-424 Pro NAS arrives in a somewhat bland brown cardboard box, with little to no information about the product on it. This might not come as a surprise, considering that this is primarily an eShop purchase, and the emphasis is more on the product’s performance and features rather than the packaging’s visual appeal.

The internal packaging consists of a foam framework designed to secure the system during transit, which, while functional, feels a bit flimsy. The outer cardboard box is single-layered and doesn’t exude a premium feel. In their defense, Terramaster products are known for offering significant cost savings, often being 20% cheaper or more compared to similar products in the market with similar hardware specifications. Therefore, cost-effective packaging choices like these can be somewhat expected. The accessories that come with the F4-424 are neatly packed in their own cardboard box and include standard items such as a network cable, an external PSU, screws for 2.5″ drives (as the 3.5″ drives are held in screwless trays within the system), drive media stickers (which are rarely used), a screwdriver, and warranty information. However, it’s worth noting that the F4-424 comes with a 2-year warranty, which may disappoint some users when larger brands like Synology and QNAP offer 3-year warranties.

While one can argue that the shorter hardware warranty is a result of cost-cutting measures to maintain an affordable price point, it does feel somewhat limited given the high-quality hardware within this compact system. The external PSU provided is a 3rd-party, unbranded 90W PSU, which is standard for many 4-Bay systems in this category. In summary, the packaging and presentation of the Terramaster F4-424 Pro NAS are generally unremarkable. While cost-saving measures are evident in the packaging materials and the warranty duration, they are somewhat justified by the product’s competitive pricing and robust hardware.

Terramaster F4-424 Pro NAS Review – Design

The F4-424 Pro arrives with a complete design overhaul in comparison to other 4-Bays released by the brand in the last decade. The previous 4-Bay chassis design had been looking rather dated for longer than many would have liked, as well as featuring a much more closed cooling system and awkward disassembly when assessing upgradable components such as M.2 NVMe slots and RAM slots.

The F4-424 arrives with a smaller but more curved chassis that massively improves passive cooling, hot swapping, and accessing the internal motherboard on the fly. The side panels have now got ventilated ‘Terramaster’ logos, as well as the base of the system have better-placed ventilation points.

Indeed, the rear active cooling has improved vastly over the chunky twin fan block of the previous design and is now a single internally placed 120mm fan that creates a much sleeker look. The new Terramaster chassis in the F4-424 Pro is highly comparable to the likes of the Synology Diskstation 4-Bay series – both in ventilation placement and in color/material, arriving in brush matte black plastic.

The system now features improved click and load SATA media bays, though the means to eject them is at the top and not the bottom, which feels a little counterintuitive. Each tray used removable click and hold panels that hold 3.5” media drives in place (as well as screw holes for 2.5” media), with each tray neatly guiding into combined SATA and DATA connectors internally.

The system storage software also allows users to mix and match storage drive capacities, which may sound crazy on day 1, however if you were to deploy the system with 1-2 drives at the start and years later want to add more drives of a larger capacity, the Terramaster TRAID system will utilize the large capacity available in a way that regular RAID configurations such as RAID 5 would not. Again, TRAID could be compared against the Synology Hybrid RAID configuration which does the same thing, as well as both supporting BTRFS or EXT4 as the system system of choice.

The front of the system has some discreet LEDs that denote storage, system, and network health and activity, however they are perhaps a little TOO discreet and although I could increase the brightness, they were very small! Also, while they are clearly being inspired by their competitors in a number of ways for the design of the F4-424 Pro, the fact the system lacks a front-mounted USB port for convenient external storage or peripheral use is a bit of a shame. Overall, the design is very appealing and a massive improvement over practically ALL other desktop NAS systems to date.

Terramaster F4-424 Pro NAS Review – Ports and Connections

The ports and connectivity of the F4-424 Pro present a mixed bag, and while nothing is particularly bad, there are some omissions that might irk the hardcore network users. The system comes equipped with 2x 2.5GbE network connectivity, and it also supports USB to 2.5GbE network adapters, offering a maximum network throughput of at least 279MB/s on a single port. This can be significantly increased by bonding them with features like LAG, Trunking, SMB Multi, and more, especially when using USB adapters and the right storage media.

However, considering the ‘PRO’ naming convention, the fact that this system is available in a non-pro version with a lesser processor but the same ports, and the price tag, there will be users disappointed by the absence of 10GbE support. Other systems with similar hardware and architecture have addressed this by including a PCIe upgrade slot through creative allocation of PCIe lanes internally. The F4-424 Pro’s lack of 10GbE or the means to add it later might be a sore point for some users.

The rear USB ports consist of both USB 3.2 Gen 2 10GbE type A and C slots, in addition to supporting USB storage drives, which can be configured in several ways for intelligent backups with the TOS software. These ports can also be assigned to virtual machine environments using the supported VirtualBox app. The HDMI port is 2.0b and supports up to 4K at 60FPS. However, Terramaster has yet to introduce any HDMI parallel GUI platform (similar to Asustor Portal or QNAP HD Station) that would enable an independent local GUI for a KVM setup.

Nonetheless, you can use the HDMI port if you wish to install a third-party NAS OS like TrueNAS or UnRAID, although this may limit the brand’s future warranty support in such cases. In summary, the ports and connections on the F4-424 Pro offer a mix of functionality, and while they are not subpar, the absence of 10GbE or the potential for future scalability to this speed may be a dealbreaker for some users.

Terramaster F4-424 Pro NAS Review – Internal Hardware

Opening up the side panel of the F4-424 PRO is significantly easier than previous releases from the brand in the 4 bay tier and just requires the removal of 2 screws, then simply slides off. This reveals the main controller board of the F4-424, the passive CPU cooler/heatsink covered N300, single memory upgrade slot and the 2x M.2 NVMe SSD bays.

The F4-424 Pro benefits from the continued miniaturization and power efficiency scaling of popular CPUs from Intel and AMD towards smaller mobile revisions. This is also further caused by the recent retirement of the Intel Celeron, Pentium, and some Core processor naming by Intel on their newest releases, merging these families into newer N100, N95, and N300 revisions for 2023/2024.

The N300 inside the F4-424 is an i3 8-Core Processor, with 8 threads, low base frequency with an aggressive boost when needed and an impressively powered integrated graphics component too. In Plex testing, the F4-424 did very well indeed and played pretty much everything we threw at it (even some introductory 8K media) in both native playback and with hardware transcoding enabled.

The extent to which the TOS NAS software is able to fully utilize the i3-N300 CPU is debatable, as that becomes a matter of software efficiency, and that is something that brands need to spend huge percentages of their R&D budget on to achieve – and remember that the F4-424 Pro is still comparatively economical in its pricing.

The system arrives with 32GB of DDR5 memory, which is MASSIVE by the standards of other NAS 4-Bays in the market, arriving on a single SODIMM module and is non-ECC (again, price limitation no doubt, but also a CPU limitation too by Intel). Talking of CPU limitations, the N300 CPU is rated at a maximum of 16GB of memory by Intel, yet Terramaster provides 32GB. Terramaster states that as long as you are using their own SODIMM memory modules, you can fully utilize the full 32GB in their TOS software as they have designed it that way, but I was unable to fully test and verify this.

Then there are the 2x NVMe M.2 bays that allow you to install 1-2 Gen 3 SSDs inside to make this technically a 6 Bay NAS (4x SATA and 2x M.2). You can use these M.2 bays for the TOS operating system (so apps, services, and features run with low, low latency), as caching for the main storage, or even as just standalone storage pools for priority storage.

Digging into the hardware architecture, we were able to see that these are PCIe Gen 3×2 architecture, which was to be expected given the 8 (technically 9) lanes of PCIe afforded to the N300 CPU. This means that you will halve the speed of any PCIe Gen 3×4 SSDs that you install in these bays, which is quite common these days nonetheless and is at least x2 speed when many of their competitors would have spread the lanes out more and restricted these slots to x1.

However, we do need to at least highlight that an alternative allocation of these lanes (1 M.2 perhaps or limiting the lanes/speed in other areas) might well have allowed a x2 or x4 PCIe slot or onboard 10GbE to be available. Overall, for the price tag and capabilities at your disposal in the F4-424 Pro, I am really happy with the hardware inside and it definitely puts it ahead of the majority of other 4-bays available in 2024 so far in terms of internal HW.

Terramaster F4-424 Pro NAS Review – TOS Software

f you are an existing Terramaster NAS owner, or are someone that has been considering their NAS brand for your private server purchase, then you might have heard that they recently released their latest BIG software update. Upgrading from TOS 4 to TOS 5, this new update brings a huge range of improvements in the GUI, available applications, supported services, security and user controls to their NAS systems.  It is important to note that even though TOS 5 is now fully released and in its non-beater version, some applications are still in beta within this software platform and although I will touch on them throughout this review, I will make a point of highlighting when some applications in full release or are still in Beta. These include Terra Photos, Terrasync tools, Centralized Backup, and elements of Terra Search and Surveillance Manager. Although all of these applications are still available in the app center, the experiences I had with them still demonstrate that they are not in their final form and suffered weak resource sharing with the rest of TOS5. Otherwise, all other elements discussed in this review are in their full-release candidate form. Additionally, at the time of writing, TOS5 is not available for ARM processor NAS devices. I made a MASSIVE review of TOS 5 in it’s own dedicated article below, which I recommend you read if you want to know the FULL scope of what TOS 5 can and cannot do:

Click Below to read the FULL Review of TOS 5 for Terramaster NAS

What I liked in TOS 5

• The GUI is considerably clearer and much more vibrant.
• The options and icons in the GUI are much more responsive and clear against other background activities.
• There are considerably more backup and synchronization tools in TOS5.
• There are a vastly improved number of storage configurations and services available at your disposal.
• The mixed drive TRAID Is going to win serious points with ex-synology owners.
• The system includes direct tech support and remote access terminal for official support and difficulties
• The network isolation mode in TOS5 is both unique to the brand and particularly helpful.
• The resource monitor is 10 times better than in previous versions of TOS 5 and genuinely useful.

• The upgrade path between TOS4 and TOS5 is not as smooth as it should be. And will confuse some and concern others.
• Multimedia tools are a little lacking and although there is a general DLNA media server application and the photo app in beta, there is no dedicated video or music tool available.
• The Surveillance tool has kinda gone dark/disappeared!

New Features & Improvements in Existing Services in TOS

In TOS 5, not only have the storage structure and data interaction mode been reconstructed but also, compared with the previous generation, it adds more than 50 features and 600 improvements. The new features meet more business requirements, as well as significantly improve response speed, security, and ease of use.

Browser Access to TOS is Now 3x Times Faster

TOS 5 adopts progressive JavaScript language and a lightweight framework with a faster loading speed. TOS 5 features bidirectional data binding, easier data manipulation, and automatic synchronous response to data changes in the page; UI, data, and structure separation make it easier to change data without the need to modify logic codes. Using progressive JavaScript language, TOS 5 has a more lightweight framework. In addition, through two-way binding of data, the view, data and structure are separated. When the page is operated, it automatically responds to changes in data, which makes the system “lighter” and achieves a faster loading speed.

New caching technology avoids network round trips between the server and the database, bypasses the calculation that occupies resources, saves server resources, and improves response time and waiting time, so TOS 5 has the fastest response time in the current TOS family. Compared with the last generation, the TOS 5 response speed has increased by 300%! Use WASM to optimize the calculation method and execute the back-end complex calculations on the front-end, thereby reducing the calculation pressure on the server. In addition, TOS 5 uses the most popular back-end language at the moment, which can support high concurrent requests. Compared with traditional interpreted languages, the compilation speed is faster.

Improved Resource Monitor in TOS 5

The new iconic resource monitor board allows you to grasp the operating status of your TNAS comprehensively and intuitively in real-time; at-a-glance visibility of system load, CPU and memory usage, network traffic, disk I/O, device temperature, storage, processes, online users, listening ports, and system resource occupancy. Historical records of up to 30 days can be easily traced back.

Full One Button System Isolation Mode Available in TOS 5

TerraMaster’s unique security isolation mode completely isolates your TNAS device from the external network through network isolation, digital signature, and file format restriction, providing a safer operating environment and effective protection against virus and ransomware attacks.

Support of the WORM File System in TOS5

Data can be written at one time within the customized protection period and cannot be deleted or modified. This effectively protects your data from malicious damage, deletion, or tampering and provides data protection for up to 70 years; essential for the financial, judicial, medical, and scientific research sectors, as well as other business users.

Improved Storage, Backup & Sync Features in Terramaster TOS 5

TOS 5 features optimized storage architecture to reduce the system space occupation. The file deduplication system, file system compression, TRAID elastic array, and other functions also save you up to 40% of storage space

Single Portal Folder Level Backup for Home and SMB Users

Reduce complexity and embrace simplicity. All backup needs can be completed through a single portal, providing one-stop backup solutions including Central Backup, TerraSync, Duple Backup, Snapshot, USB Copy, CloudSync, and other comprehensive backup tools. This meets your clients’ disaster recovery and restoration requirements, as well as backup policies and destinations.

Business Focused ProActive Backups for Larger Business

To improve management efficiency, medium and larger-sized businesses need a centralized and active backup solution for multiple users, PCs, and servers. Centralized Backup is a business-oriented backup solution that supports backup and restoration for multiple device types. You can centrally backup data of dozens or even hundreds of PCs, servers, or virtual machines with only one TNAS.

New Flexible RAID Support in TRAID in TOS 5

By optimizing the traditional RAID mode, TerraMaster RAID (TRAID) gives you flexible disk array configuration, flexible online migration, capacity expansion, and redundancy policies. As well as improving disk space utilization, it also provides solutions and security protection for storage space changes caused by new business requirements. Much like Synology Hybrid RAID (SHR) in that you can mix drive capacities for improved storage after the RAID redundancy calculation. I reached out to Terramaster directly on this and they confirm that this function is supported in TOS 5.

Multiple Client Sync with TerraSync in TOS 5

TerraSync, a TerraMaster self-developed synchronization tool, realizes data synchronization between multiple users and multiple devices. It efficiently implements data sharing among branch offices and data synchronization between individuals on multiple devices and platforms, which assists employees in collaborative work and improves work efficiency.

New CloudSync Application for Bare Metal-to-Cloud Live Sync in TOS 5

The new CloudSync app integrates multiple cloud drives and syncs them into one application, including Google Drive, One Drive, Amazon S3, Backblaze, Box, Dropbox, Koofr, OpenDrive, pCloud, Yandex disk, and Aliyun. This allows users to centralize the management of multiple synchronization tasks and add a variety of cloud disk synchronization options including Aliyun and Rackspace. A more flexible, stable, and efficient solution for data synchronization between your TNAS and cloud drives is facilitated by your choice of customized synchronization strategies, such as traffic control, scheduled tasks, and encryption.

CCTV Surveillance in Terramaster TOS 5

TNAS is an ideal video recording storage device. The new Surveillance Manager makes full use of TNAS storage resources to realize camera management, real-time monitoring, video storage, playback, query, event and activity monitoring and recording, providing you with economic and flexible video monitoring management tools to safeguard your personal and property safety.

AI Photo Recognition Now Available in TOS 5 with Terra Photo

Terra Photos is TerraMaster’s brand-new AI photo management application that provides smart solutions for your photo management and sharing; it uses intelligent AI algorithms to identify and classify faces, pets, locations, and other objects in your photos.

Docker Added to Existing Container Tools in TOS 5

Combined with docker-compose and portainer, the new Docker Manager features an optimized operation interface, with multiple new features which provide visual management that meets all your requirements for container customization and flexible configuration.

New Update to Terramaster’s Mobile App, TNAS Mobile 5

To adapt to TOS 5, TNAS mobile has also ushered in a comprehensive update, TNAS mobile 5. Featuring an optimized user interface and interaction, it has also added mobile phone backup, photo management, personal folders, team folders, data safebox, TerraSync, remote administrator, and other functions, which provide more convenience for remote access, mobile office, and remote management of your TNAS. Once again, I need to highlight that the T6-423 NAS needs to be viewed with its price tag always in mind. With software and hardware that is available on other NAS brand devices, it is easy to imagine that this device is a much, more affordable alternative to QNAP or Synology NAS. However, you should always remember that this device is still aimed at those looking for a first dip into NAS and if should be compared with WD NAS and D-Link when making your choice of NAS. it is DEFINITELY better than those and arrives at a better price, but it may still be a year or more before the Terramaster TOS Software platform can compete with DSM and QTS. That said, the Beta is really showing that TOS is going to evolve even further and for more information about the TerraMaster TOS operating System, I recommend visiting my software review here from a couple of years ago.

Key Software and NAS tasks that are supported are:

• RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, JBOD – as well as TRAID, the Flexible RAID configuration
• Apple Time Machine Backup
• Cloud Migration and Synchronization
• NAS to NAS Rsync Support
• Plex Media Server
• Docker
• Mail Server
• Web Server
• DLNA Media Server
• WordPress Server
• Download Server
• Snapshot Support

With a good range of applications to choose from, as well as the support of modern NAS applications in the mix, the TerraMaster T9-450 does give you a good base with which to start your NAS journey, though it may feel a little streamlined for those with greater NAS experience. It is also worth mentioning that TOS 5.1 is currently available in Beta (as of Jan 2023 to now) and includes numerous improvements that include:

1. Upgraded kernel – The TOS 5.1 kernel has been updated from 4.19 to 5.15. Compared to the previous generation kernel, TOS 5.1 Beta optimized EXT4/Btrfs/NTFs file systems and SMB3 file server, used ext4/f2fs/ubifs file system encryption in the encryption API, enabled Apple M1 SoC functionality under Linux and added USB 4 interface support, which greatly improved the performance and security of file system.

2. 4K hardware decoding – The new hardware decoding driver for Intel Jasper Lake GPU is added, which will significantly improve 4K video hardware decoding capability for TerraMaster NAS.

3. Storage pool expansion via USB – By connecting TerraMaster USB disk array, users can easily expand the storage space of the storage pool for TNAS. It supports TRAID/RAID 0/RAID 1/RAID 5/RAID 6 array mode and provide 10Gb storage bandwidth. Compared with eSATA or mini SAS expansion enclosures, TerraMaster USB expansion enclosures are more economical and more convenient.

4. Hyper Cache – TerraMaster Hyper Cache is TerraMaster unique SSD cache acceleration tool. Hyper Cache can provide up to 3 cache modes to choose from to suit different usage needs, and can also create disk arrays for SSDs to increase cache speed and security. Such configuration delivers high-speed storage that’s ideal for video editing.

5. Categorized notifications – TOS 5.1 Beta optimizes system messages and divides message notifications into four levels: information, success, error, and warning. Each level of messages is marked with a more eye-catching symbol of different colors. User can always keep track of any abnormalities in the system and ensure the security of the system and data.

6. USB storage management – TOS 5.1 fully optimizes the mounting of USB partitions. The system will record the path of the last mounted USB partition. When re-mounting next time, the original path will be allocated first to provide more storage space for the use and backup of USB.

7. Optimized Docker Manager – TerraMaster launches updated version of Docker Manager and updates the Docker engine to 20.10.17 version. The optimized interface brings it in line with users’ aesthetics and usage habits. Container deployment is more flexible and TerraMaster NAS utilization is optimized.

8. Better AI computing performance – TOS 5.1 replaced the more powerful Intel OpenVINO AI computing engine, combined with the new Terra Photos application, the intelligent photo recognition efficiency increased by 30%. Terra Photo is designed for home users and photography enthusiasts to manage photo storage, share and access photos from anywhere.

Terramaster F4-424 Pro NAS Review – Conclusion and Verdict

The TerraMaster F4-424 Pro NAS is a powerful 4-bay turnkey NAS system that offers competitive pricing and robust hardware. With its Intel i3 N300 CPU, 32GB DDR5 memory, and 2x M.2 NVMe SSD bays, it provides excellent performance for various tasks, including Plex media streaming and hardware transcoding. In terms of design, the F4-424 Pro features a sleek and modern chassis with improved cooling and hot-swapping capabilities. It represents a significant step forward in design compared to TerraMaster’s older 4-bay models, aligning more closely with industry leaders like Synology and QNAP. The addition of TOS 5 software brings significant improvements in GUI clarity, backup tools, storage configurations, and security features. However, the absence of 10GbE support and limited scalability in this regard might disappoint advanced users. Additionally, while the hardware exceeds Intel’s memory limitations, full utilization of the 32GB DDR5 memory is reliant on Terramaster’s own SODIMM modules, and this could be a limitation for some users. Overall, the TerraMaster F4-424 Pro NAS offers excellent value for its price, with competitive hardware and software features. It positions itself as a strong contender in the 4-bay NAS market, particularly for those looking for an affordable yet capable private server solution.

Powerful Hardware:** Equipped with an Intel i3 N300 CPU and 32GB DDR5 memory, delivering robust performance. Redesigned Chassis:** Improved design for better cooling, hot-swapping, and internal accessibility. TOS 5 Software:** TerraMaster’s TOS 5 software offers a clear GUI, enhanced backup tools, expanded storage options, and improved security features. Affordable Price:** Competitive pricing under $699 makes it an attractive option for its hardware and software capabilities. Flexible RAID Support:** Supports various RAID configurations, including TRAID for flexible disk array setup. Multiple Client Sync:** TerraSync tool efficiently synchronizes data across multiple users and devices. CCTV Surveillance:** Surveillance Manager offers video recording and monitoring features for added security. AI Photo Recognition:** Terra Photos uses AI algorithms to classify and manage photos effectively.	No 10GbE Support:** Lacks 10GbE support, potentially limiting network speed for some users. Memory Over-specification:** The inclusion of 32GB memory may raise concerns, given the CPU’s maximum support of 16GB. Limited Packaging Quality:** Packaging and presentation are basic and may not match the standards of competitors.

Click the link below to take you to your local Amazon store and where to buy the terramaster F4-424 Pro NAS.

 

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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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U-NAS NSC-810A NAS Case Review

In this review, we take a closer look at the U-NAS NSC-810A NAS Case, a compact storage enclosure designed to address the storage needs of various users. Our evaluation will provide a detailed examination of its design, features, and overall performance, offering a fact-based assessment to assist you in making an informed decision regarding its compatibility with your specific storage requirements. Whether you are a professional seeking reliable data storage solutions or an enthusiast embarking on a home NAS build, our analysis aims to provide a balanced and factual perspective on the U-NAS NSC-810A.

Note – You can watch the video review of the U-NAS NSC-810A NAS Enclosure HERE on YouTube

Hardware Highlights in Brief:

• Chassis Type: Mini-Tower.
• Color: Black.
• Motherboard Compatibility: Micro ATX, Mini-ITX.
• PSU Form Factor: 1U Flex (not included).
• Front Ports: 1 x USB 3.0, 2 x USB 2.0, Audio (mic & headphone).
• Cooling: 2 x 120mm Gelid Ultra Quiet Fans (variable speed).
• Expansion:
• Hot-Swap Drive Bays: 8 x 3.5” SATA/SAS.
• Internal Drive Bay: 1 x 2.5” HDD/SSD.
• Expansion Slots: 2 x PCI / PCI Express.
• Dimensions (L x W x H): 315mm x 275mm x 197mm (feet not included).
• Net Weight: 5.6KG.

U-NAS NSC-810A NAS Case Review – Quick Conclusion

The U-NAS NSC-810A NAS Case provides a compact and well-organized storage solution with several advantages. It offers 8-Bay storage capacity and a user-friendly internal layout, including pre-connected SATA cables and effective cooling options. The option to replace the rear backplane and space for a 2.5” SATA SSD drive add to its versatility. However, some limitations include the non-standard PSU, potential constraints for M-ATX motherboards, and interference issues with larger PCIe cards. Despite these considerations, the NSC-810A remains a practical choice for specific storage needs, provided users account for its unique features and limitations.

U-NAS NSC-810A NAS Case Review – Packaging

Storaxa NAS – What Has Happened in the First 12 Months?

The Storaxa NAS Kickstarter campaign, initiated by Arrowtrack in 2023, marked its first year as a significant entry in the realm of crowdfunding projects. This article aims to methodically dissect the unfolding events and key developments of this period, maintaining a neutral and factual stance throughout. Over these 12 months, the campaign navigated through various challenges and milestones, characteristic of many crowdfunded endeavors. Central to the whole campaigns woes were the reported financial difficulties encountered, notably the withholding of funds by the payment processor Stripe. This situation precipitated a series of delays in production and delivery, directly impacting the campaign’s trajectory. Concurrently, communication between Arrowtrack and its backers was a focal point, with periods of minimal updates and responses raising questions among the project’s supporters. Arrowtrack’s efforts to keep backers informed included regular updates on the production process, supplier negotiations, and hardware design adjustments. Despite these attempts at transparency, there remained an undercurrent of concern among backers regarding the campaign’s financial management and documentation.

This article attempts to present an unbiased chronicle of the Storaxa NAS Kickstarter campaign’s first year, tracing its highs and lows. It seeks to provide readers with a clear, unvarnished understanding of the events as they unfolded, reflecting the complexities and challenges inherent in the world of crowdfunding technology projects.

Currently, at the time of writing (Jan 5th 2024) the status of the Storaxa Kickstarter campaign is not entirely clear. Updates are arriving on average twice a month (based on an annual average). Delivery/fulfillment timelines are still tremendously vague, and communication between the campaign organization Arrowtrak/Storaxa and the 4,900+ backers has slowed down significantly with self-imposed deadlines and schedules being regularly broken. This campaign is still showing life and there is still more than enough evidence to backup that this is NOT a scam. However, long-running silence periods from the company, poor timekeeping and comparisons that are being drawn to other projects that have arisen in 2023 (both crowdfunded and straight to retail) have resulted in questions being asked and no answers being given. Let’s start right at the beginning and discussing what the Sotraxa IS/WAS and how the campaign started.

NOTE – You can watch the full 4 HOUR video that covers everything that happened in the first 12 months of the Storaxa Kickstarter NAS Campaign HERE

The Storaxa NAS Kickstarter from Feb 2023 – What is/was it?

What is the Storaxa Kickstarter NAS and why is it a big deal to alot of potential storage buyers? Well, let’s rewind a bit. If you want to own a private network attached storage (NAS) solution in your home or office, until relatively recently, you only really had two options. The easiest, but more expensive option is to buy a ready-to-go NAS solution from the likes of Synology or QNAP, which is a ready-to-go out-the-box, arriving with its own software and services included (more often referred to as a ‘turnkey’ solution). Alternatively, the more affordable option, but more technically challenging, is to build your own server (or repurpose old tech) and then install open-source software onboard, such as TrueNAS or UnRAID. One option easy but expensive, the other way is cheaper but features a substantially higher learning curve. So, what is the solution? Well, in the last year or two we have seen big increases in a 3rd option, a middle ground between Turnkey NAS and FULL DiY, in the form of NAS servers from companies such as Topton and CWWK (we reviewed one here), which are ready-built desktop NAS devices (CPU, Memory, OS SSD, etc), but either arriving completely OS-free or include popular Open-Source software preinstalled. These solutions not only arrive at an overall price point lower than turnkey NAS (which needs to factor in the software costs and continued technical/software support), but they more often than not arrive with even better hardware too. Better CPU choices, better default connectivity and all of this whilst allowing OpenSource software users to skip the whole ‘build the thing from scratch’ element and get thermal paste under their fingernails! So, what has the Storaxa Kickstarter got to do with this?

Well, because it arrives as one of the most compelling examples of this growing 3rd option open to potential NAS buyers that we have seen. With the Kickstarter campaign arriving at frankly incredibly low price points, even when compared against the numerous alternatives available on Aliexpress etc, as well as a dual OS (proxmox) and Dual network management/NAS architecture too thanks to WiFi antenna, few NAS solutions have promised to delivery so much for so little. So, what’s the catch? Well, Kickstarter! Like any crowdfunded project, the solution is a crowd-funded project that lacks the guarantee of a refund if the campaign is unsuccessful or suitable recompense if the eventual product does not meet its promises. So, thanks to alot of regular subscribers to the YouTube channel highlighting this project, doubts in the air around pricing, all alongside some interesting back-and-forth with the creators, I want to follow the progress of the Storaxa Kickstarter NAS right to when/if it crosses the finish line. Maybe it will be the breaking point for a new kind of solution that established names in the industry wake up and smell the coffee over? Maybe it will not and these videos and paragraphs will simply form a record of what when right and what went wrong. Regardless, it will be interesting to find out!

Storaxa NAS – Too Good to be True? The Initial Pitch

The initial campaign from the Storaxa group for this NAS was made up of several elements. It arrived with a production video that made the system look easy to use and access, not uncommon in this kind of kickstart project presentation. The initial general outlined specifications were:

Base/Entry Storaxa NAS Specifications

• Linux OS (Promox Base, TrueNAS Scale & OpenWRT VMs)
• Max 142TB Storage
• 5xHDD
• 4xSSD
• TrueNAS
• WiFi 6E
• 2x 10GbE + 4x 2.5GbE
• Intel & AMD CPU
• SD + MicroSD Card Reader

The design is pretty much the main thing that stood out. The actual casing, at least as far as a 5x SATA bay chassis) is fairly standard, but it is only when you factor in the additional 4x M.2 NVMe 2280 SSD bays and twin rear dual band antenna that the unique design that is being proposed here standards out notably.

Sketches and 3D plans of the Stroaxa NAS chassis were shown, as well as a breakdown of the main component placement on the internal motherboard were also shown. This was one area where questions arose around PCIe lane distribution and potential heat concerns around the project. Some of these concerns were answered in the comments section, whilst others were approached in the backers-only section. Kind of odd that 

Here is the breakdown of the hardware in the base line Storaxa NAS (further configurations were rolled out later on after a backer poll was conducted):

Hardware Specifications of Initially Proposed System:

• Intel N6005 Pentium Silver CPU (Quad Core, x86, 2.0 – 3.3Ghz)
• Integrated Graphics, 450Mhz – 900Mhz
• 16GB 3200Mhz SODIMM (non-ECC) Memory
• Five SATA 3.5″ Hard Drive Bays (2.5″ SSD with adapter)
• Four M.2 NVMe SSD 2280 Slots (Gen 3)
• Internal 128/120GB SSD (OS Drive, OverP Considerations)
• WiFi 6 (802.11ax), Twin External Antenna and Dual Band
• 4x 2.5GbE Network Connections
• HDMI 2.0 4K 60FPS (+DP)
• 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gb/s) Type A/C and 2x USB 2.0 Type A
• 20cm x 18cm x 26cm Chassis
• Twin Rear Cooling Fans and Heat dissipating casing

Here is a similar board below, from the Storaxa pages:

Now, as mentioned, Storaxa has stated that they are using an existing hardware architecture for the internals of the Storaxa, providing a few examples of the architecture and references deep in the comments section. Long before this though, blogs and forums (once again, I have to give props to Reddit and STH here) had already called out that it was likely the boards used in Mini PCs under the TopTon and CWWK branding. An example of which we reviewed – CWWK AIO-T6 6-Bay NAS Review. Bang For Buck? (Massive Review and Hardware Breakdown) HERE on NASCompares

For a closer look at how the CWWK AIO-TT6 NAS looks, you can use the gallery below. 

Alternatively, you can watch the video review below (SELF PLUG ALERT!!!):

Following repeated questions by some users about the background of the team,, the team appeared on a video published on a backer-only update on the 9th Feb ’23:

Additionally, It is worth highlighting that they had already detailed their key members in the initial Kickstarter presentation (repeated below):

The Storaxa NAS Team Members:

• Marvin He is responsible for the industrial design. He made use of a 3D printer to print the structure and design from CAD. He printed and tested all the parts, and made sure the assembly is feasible and easy. 
• Matt Wang is our electrical engineer. He is responsible for two parts in the development of Storaxa. Firstly, he communicates with the PCB supplier and solve related technical issues. Secondly, he confirms all the specifications and design of the PCB that connects with the SSDs.
• Keith Zhou is our procurement and logistics executive. When there is shortage for different parts in making Storaxa, he will find substitutes for engineers and PCB suppliers. He is also familiar with VAT for importing and exporting, as he worked in an international logistics company for the past year.
• Thomas Li is our system engineer. All of Storaxa’s software development is created by him. For example, he decides which Linux distribution to pre-install, and test the compatibility and reliability between software and hardware
• Li-Sau Man (Karen) is responsible for PR and customer service. Alongside strong writing and editing skills, she has a good understanding of digital communication channels and tools. She is effective in circulation of internal and external communications including newsletters, campaigns, speeches.

In a backers-only update, there was further information on the Plex Media server performance of the Soraxa, in an unlisted YouTube video. Again, it is good to see some test benchmarks and user case information to relate with, but these videos being unlisted still seemed unnecessary. Original text below from Feb 3rd:

Testing Plex with AMD 5825U

The easiest way to run Plex on Storaxa, is to install the Plex app in the Truenas-SCALE official app catalog. To ensure the system is not constrained by memory, we installed 64GB of RAM, and assigned 50+ to the TrueNAS-SCALE VM. We prepared H.264 30fps 1080p videos, and stream at 720p so as to force Plex to transcode. The streaming client is a MacBook pro connected via an ethernet cable. We managed to run six player instances  simultaneously, each playing a different video, without noticeable stutter.

It is worth remembering that alot of the information above was to only backers, which is still rather odd and only reasons of patent/IP protection might cover this – but it would be an odd stance to take on only the smaller % of the details. Nevertheless, I want to remain optimistic. It is not impossible that the Storaxa can be released and be a good product for the price point, but we are still talking pretty thin margins! For example, a similar Topton/CWWK/etc board can be purchased with the same N6005 CPU, SSD and 8GB of memory for £246 (so, approx $339) on Aliexpress. There are lots of differing examples under different brand names, but here is an example:

And the baseline Storaxa NAS (no add-ons, just the Intel Pentium N6005, 120/128GB NVMe, WiFi 6 module and 16GB of memory) comes in at $274. And that also has to include the casing, antenna, testing, time spent with software installation and testing/Q.C (PLus that free 32GB Memory card too now). Even if you factor in the profit margin that sellers on AliExpress need to factor in per sale vs the savings made possible by bulk buying by Storaxa team at the production level – that still leaves a remarkably narrow profit margin. It was this, plus the comments sent my way, odd presentation inconsistencies (nothing big, but blips here and there) that led to the video below:

Storaxa NAS –  Late Feb ’23 Update

When the Kickstarter concluded, it passed all stretch goals and at the time of writing, the stats are:

“5,917 backers pledged $1,924,001 to help bring this project to life.”

Regarding the Pledge Manager (for users to customize/confirm their order), it arrived a week later than expected, as Storaxa stated Pledgebox recommended aiming for the 25th Feb, so funds would be appropriately wired over and to eliminate errors when exporting backer pledges from Kickstarter to PledgeBox). Additionally, there were further breakdowns on the Storaxa page regarding the Schematics and Main board/layout of each configuration, detailed as follows:

Before we start, here is a schematic diagram of the main board with the key components. Please click on the image to view the diagrams for all the other CPU configurations. You can refer to these diagrams to help you choose your options. For experts and backers with advanced knowledge on NAS, these may be enough. 

After several requests for updated videos of the system being connected and from multiple angles, the following was provided in the backers-only area and via unlisted videos:

Uncut, Unedited Demo

Here is the uncut unedited demos as requested. We included a different angle to show all the cables and you can see that WiFi is disconnected and nothing is under the Storaxa. It can be viewed in 4K so you can see everything clearly. 

As per further updates and details on the stretch goals that were hit during the progression of the campaign, they proposed that they would  include an additional 32GB SD Card with all Sotraxa purchases after the campaign hits $1.9 Million (which it did). Their original update:

Also we have decided on the Stretch Goal #5. For the final stretch goal, we want to add something that won’t increase the SKU and something that everyone can benefit from. Once we hit $1.9 million, we will include one 32GB microSD card with the recovery image for all Storaxa units. You can use it to store snapshots and since you can always leave it in the slot, it won’t be easy to lose.

Regrding shipping, Staraxa state that they worked with a backer volunteer to test ship an item as a demonstration of the means of shipping to the EU and that it was received without any additional tax/customs payments being required:

One of the most asked questions was about extra VAT, customs and taxes that backers will need to pay regarding shipment to the EU. We have already explained that our forwarder has included all customs and taxes in their quotation and they will send it in a way to avoid extra charges to the recipient. During one of these discussions, a backer volunteered to help us test this shipping method to see if any additional VAT was charged. We were contacted by that backer yesterday after she received the package without any extra VAT.

Storaxa NAS – March Updates

The Storaxa timeline has now shifted forward, with pledges stated at 82% of completion as of 27/03. Likewise, the timeline has now been updated on the project by the Storaxa team:

Users who had access to the Pledge manager were given a considerable number of options with regard to customizing their Storaxa, with detailed pricing throughout. There were reported payment issues and bank authentication issues, but these were PlexBox/PlegeManager related. If a user wanted to stick with the default configuration (Intel N6005, 16GB DDR4, WiFi6, 120GB SSD, 2.5Gx4), The Lowest Priced Storaxa NAS Configuration remained at $274:

However, the range of configurations was surprisingly diverse.

Configuration Options –  Wireless Module #1

Configuration Options – OS Drive #2

Configuration Options – CPU Choice #3

Configuration Options – Network Connectivity Choice #4

Configuration Options – Memory Capacity Choice #5

If you wanted to scale the Storaxa up to the maximum configuration of the system (Intel i7-1265U, 64GB DDR4, WiFi6e, 2TB SSD, 10Gx2, 2.5Gx2), that increased the price by $390, making the Highest Priced Storaxa NAS Configuration at $664:

There were also additional options for adding additional Storaxa NAS systems, storage media, spare PSUs and drive adapters.

The Optional Add ons and Media Choices Available:

So, if you wanted to opt for the Storaxa system with 20TB Seagate Ironwolf Pro’, 4TB WD Black SN850X PCIe4 SSDs and spare Boot disk, the Maximum Specification Storaxa System was priced at $2899.

For perspecitve, the QNAP TVS-h874 8-Bay NAS (no media included, 32GB, no 10GbE) is currently priced at approx at $2498 (one example below):

That is a huge saving indeed. This once again makes me want to hope that devices like this can/do happen and can give biggest/etablished names in the NAS industry pause for thought!

Elsewhere. there was continued back and forth regarding concerns about the CWWK board and the diminished SATA speed potential vs the bandwidth/lane allocation across the system (Most detailed example HERE). The Storaxa Team responded 5 hours later, highlighting that the default/baseline configuration will have these more limited bandwidth issues. This is something that many more experience tech users/builders had postulated earlier in the crowdfunding stages, but less experienced users or those less familiar with CWWK/Topton systems seen online might have been less aware. This is another one of those points of presentation where the simplicity of the solution in the initial Kickstarter videos and bullet points have glossed over the capabilities of a system at this pricepoint:

Below was our March update that goes into more detail about the pledge manager and pricing comparisons:

The March/April period also saw the Arrotrack/Storaxa site go live. Though in an early skeleton form that largely copied the content of the Kickstarter campaign (though the March 31st update was now publically visible)

The domain ownership appears to be alot older, but according to waybackmachine the site has only really seen active changes in the last month or so (understandable).

One notable thing is that although the number of unique and available pages was limited, the Fulfillment and Returns page is completed. This is quite surprising, given that the device has yet to or even finished production. This might seem a bit ‘cart before the horse has bolted’, but one could also argue that this is a further positive move by them that underlines that they intend to fulfill, but are also aware of the thin-ness of their profit margins to withstand cancellations at the 11th hour.

April 2023 Storaxa NAS Updates

April (and very late March) saw two main updates to the Storaxa Kickstarter campaign, as well as two updates to the project timeline. This was also combined with a few questions surrounding the business address of Arrotrack (the company that Storaxa creators are trading under).

There have been several references to the project being slightly delayed (not unusual with Kickstarters) and also a few extra details surrounding the regional delivery plans. The key updates from Storaxa though surrounded confirmation of the AMD layout and changes to the Intel schemes.

Free DDR5 Upgrades

Due to a change in the Intel Storaxa board layouts and specification support, Storaxa confirmed that those opting for the higher-end configurations would have an upgrade from DDR4 to DDR5 Memory. This was largely down to these boards not supporting DDR4 memory, but nonetheless, a welcome bonus for those affected.

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Future of Storaxa NAS, Post Crowdfunding?

There was also a discussion of Storaxa plans post-fulfilment, with Storaxa clearly indicating that they plan on continuing production after fulfilment of Storaxa Kickstarter units concludes. Hopefully, this occurs after ALL backers have been satisfied, as it is not unheard of for some Kickstarter campaigns to introduce late-stage outside retail options in order to financially support the initial Kickstarter pledges, which might have been priced incorrectly. Again, there is NO INDICATION of this and it is perfectly normal/sensible for them to keep an eye on the future. Indeed, its actually a positive sign in many respects that they are thinking long term.

Talking of long-term thinking and planning, I have to give them credit for sharing some of the background finance matters of the project with backers. As the initial pledges and additional sums garnered by the dynamic pledgebox have rapidly increased the campaign total, Stripe (the financial management in the middle) has opted to hold 50% of the collected funds until the fulfilment of orders begins (for reasons of product and backer satisfaction). This is not unusual and quite a useful safeguard when followed correctly by the intermediary parties, but it is good that Storaxa showed this exchange. I would still have preferred these to not be behind ‘backer only updates’ and it doesn’t change anything regarding fulfilment commitments, beyond the 2nd 50% of collected funds – but it’s still a positive move by them to share this.

There is, of course, the argument that they lose nothing by sharing this and gain goodwill by doing so, but it’s still a net positive. This is what they had to share:

“The result of the review is that Stripe will hold 50% of the funds from PledgeBox until fulfillment begins. Based on the payment terms outlined in the supplier contract, Stripe will distribute payments in the following manner: 50%, 35%, and 15%. We will keep Stripe updated with our mass production status in order to release the funds. For different components, we have to pay a deposit of 60% to 80%. For the main board we only need to pay a 50% deposit for mass production. Although we didn’t expect any funds to be held by Stripe when they asked for the review, the total funds from Kickstarter (100%) and Pledgebox (50%) is enough for all deposits.”  – Storaxa, April 12th Update

Storaxa also showed the current balance of funds collected at the time of writing:

Lots of positive reception to this move (with merit) and high praise for this transparent move.

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AMD 5825U Layout Detailed

The manufacturer had completed the CAD of the main board for the pre-production sample.

Intel Component Changes Highlighted

As previously mentioned, there layouts for the internal boards for the Storaxa for each configuration have started arriving and they stated that due to hardware shortages, there would need to be component changes:

“There is a delay for the upgraded Intel CPU schematic. The manufacturer discovered that there is a shortage for some of the parts in the design. So they need to change to parts with a more stable supply. All main features remain unchanged. It will be ready after April 3. We will publish an update once that is ready. This does not delay mass production. Backers who wish to see the schematics before finalizing their choices can rest easy, because the survey deadline is extended to end of April. ” – Storaxa, March 31 Update

Later in a 2nd April 2023 update, they went on to show the system block diagram that factored in these component changes. These included upgrades to a DDR5 memory channel (which would lead to the free DDR5 upgrades mentioned above).

(later in the April 19th Update)

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Business Address Changes

One slight fly in the ointment during the campaign this last month or so arose regarding the business address of Storaxa/Arrotrack. The campaign creators sharted a draft of the invoice that they would be using for finished order fulfilment and the address for this China/HK-based company had changed to a U.S/Denver address:

To confirm, the invoice stated ‘360 S Quitman StreetDenver CO, 80219 US’ and the original Arrotrack company was Unit 1113, 11/F, Global Gateway Tower, 63 Wing Hong Street, Cheung Sha Wan, Kowloon, Hong Kong. This was confirmed in their own company documentation provided below:

A quick Google of the new U.S register address showed a slightly underwhelming business location:

This did raise a few concerns in the comments section and (far play) to Storaxa; they were not being secretive about this address/location. Answering direct questions about this in the comments:

They did go on to further clarify reasoning for this, stating that it was needed in order to proceed with a crowdfunding campaign, due to local restrictions imposed on Chinese companies. The duality of the registered addresses was for reasons of finance and handling returns/shipping.

Below is the timeline for the first half of April and everything, bar the pre-production samples being shared directly with backers (direct images and real-world examples) was correct.

 

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At the start of April 2023, we asked Tom @Lawrence Systems for his perspective on the project, it’s viability and his initial thoughts. It is worth highlighting that this was presented his immediate perspective and without any additional research on his part.

May 2023 Storaxa NAS Updates

May 2023 saw 4 official Updates by the Storaxa team on their Kickstarter campaign, mainly focusing on the changing of the system PSU from an external model to an external one, and the Pledgebox credit/payment issues.

Changes from an Internal PSU to an External PSU

This goes into a lot more detail for the reasons for/against, as well as the logic they outline in their decision, but this quote below summarizes it best:

“After careful consideration and evaluation, we have decided to use an external GaN power supply with a 5.5*2.5 barrel jack in 140W/180W/200W depending on the chosen CPU (N6005/5825U/1235U,1256U). GaN (gallium nitride) is a new technology that allows for smaller, more efficient, and cooler power supplies. It has several advantages over traditional silicon-based power supplies, including higher efficiency, faster switching speeds, and smaller size. A Type-C PD power supply was not chosen because of the higher cost we couldn’t fit into our budget. The power supply will be external, which will allow for more space in the case for better thermal management and air circulation for heat dissipation. This also gives users more space for customization inside the case. And it is easier to replace the power supply if needed. We have several suppliers lined up and will decide on the final one soon. Here are some images of the potential power supply. It is meant to plug directly into a power socket. It has a C6 socket, so you can also choose to use it like a power brick by using it with standard C5 cable (not included). The power supply will only come with the plug suitable for your delivery location.” – Storaxa Team, Update 19, May 25th 2023

They also supplied an updated system build graphic to detail the case in progress and adjusted layouts:

May 22nd also saw an update on the motherboard that is intended for the baseline N6005 Pentium models, with the stated arrival of the production sample for testing and assessment. See below:

Storaxa NAS Case Changes

As pleasing as this way, I was more concerned with the production and information on the casing for the Storaxa system, as that is one fo the truly unique elements of this system. How the change to an external PSU and the difference in architecture between the configurations impacting the case cooling/shape was also addressed in this same May 2023 update:

“Getting the first sample is a critical milestone because it lets us finalize the case design. The case sample will be ready in the week of June 5, 2023. Our plan has always been to use the same case for all the different versions of Storaxa. This is so that all units have a uniform appearance and also it will help save on production costs. However, with the introduction of the higher-performance versions, the power supply unit had to increase. And with the increased wattage, we also struggled with thermal management. Moving the power supply outside was the best solution. We thought about keeping it inside for the basic model, but decided against it because it will be easier to have the same case and it will be easier for assembly and repair. The external power supply has many positives. There is more room inside for air circulation for heat dissipation and also gives users more space for customization inside. It can also be replaced more easily.” – Storaxa Team, Update 18, May 22nd 2023

The Storaxa Group continue:

“The new case has three easy-access openings, two on top and one at the bottom. The top ones are for the 4 M.2 slots and the boot drive. The bottom is for access to the main board with the DDR RAM and the 2 onboard M.2 slots. The side air vents are also larger for better air flow. Since the power supply has moved, the main board is also raised, leaving more space for personalization and airflow. This means the ports in the back are all raised higher.” – Storaxa Team, Update 18, May 22nd 2023 

They have updated their current projected timeline with the shipping of the first wave of solutions in the 2nd half of July (see blow):

The last 30 Days or so of the Storaxa NAS Kickstarter campaign (going into the 15th May) have been a fantastic mix of good news, bad news and just plain odd news. Although the Storaxa team have continued to respond to comments and enquiries, they have certainly been a little less prompt. That said, between the evolution of the campaign as it moves through the proposed production timeline and a couple of the hurdles that will be covered in this May update, there might be reason enough for these. Let’s go through all the updates (both project-published ones and those made in the comments).

PledgeBox Issues

Pretty much the big topic that has been bubbling around the Storaxa Kickstarter in this period was the Pledgebox manager not factoring in payments previously made to people’s existing backing sums. In short, a % of users found that their initial payments had been ignored and new ‘balance due’ messages had appeared. It is still not certain how many users were affected by this out of the 5,917 backers of the project (though some backers took to reddit to try and poll the numbers of those affected/unaffected), but clearly, this issue was big enough to be raised and referred to a decent amount in the comments. This is the image provided by Storaxa in their update to denote how the issue appeared to those affected users:

What caused this issue in the Pledge manager is still unclear, but Storaxa/Arrotrack did address this in their project update on May 2nd:

“We apologize for a new issue on PledgeBox that crossed out the bonus amounts of backers’ pledges from Kickstarter. If you are experiencing this issue, please wait patiently as we try to fix all the affected accounts within one week. There is no magic button to fix all the accounts at once, so we need to do it individually. Please understand that we may not be able to reply to all your messages, emails, and comments, as we are focused on resolving this issue. This issue does not affect how we will fulfill your rewards so we kindly ask for your patience as we fix this.” – Storaxa Update #16 HERE

This seemingly continued to be raised in the comments section and although individual queries were addressed by the group in the general comments section, it wasn’t until May 15th that we saw the issue fully confirmed as resolved by Storaxa in a full backers only update:

“The issue with the subtracted Kickstarter bonus has been resolved. Thank you backers for your patience as we fixed the problem. If we missed anyone with this issue, please don’t hesitate to reach us so we can fix it.”  – Sroaxa Update #17 HERE

Initial Motherboard Errors and Changes

The board that is to be used inside the Storaxa (though differing fractionally in each CPU Config) had only really been shown in schematic, Diagram and CAD form up to this point and understandably, many users had been chasing for updates on this. Although already volunteered by Storaxa that the board use was being produced by the same manufacturer as the likes of Topton/CWWK NAS systems, real world examples of the mainboard for the Storaxa were still ‘coming soon’. So, with that in mind, the initial update for this on May 2nd was a little bitter-sweet.

Although they showed a board in the update (which had been promised already), it was highlighted that mistakes in the layout had been recognized and therefore more work/time was needed for completion:

“The manufacturer tested the first print of the mainboard last week and discovered that there were some mistakes in the layout. Since it is Golden Week holiday here, the factory will be on break this week. The new samples for testing will be ready next week. We will continue monitoring their work and update you about the progress” – Storaxa Update #16 HERE

Fast forward two weeks and we saw the next update, which included images of the ready-soldered and prepared board for the default N6005 board. Arriving somewhere between the design of the N6005 board HERE and J6412 board HERE on Aliexpress, the photos are a little oblique. I appreciate that Storaxa state the manufacturer has supplied these, but a top-down angle would have been nice. Still, better something than nothing:

There is no avoiding that there has been contention in the response to this update regarding the main board of the storaxa NAS. The first issue for many was that the Intel N6005 model is the entry-level device and many of the much higher configurations (who have paid considerably more into this project since the Pledgebox option appeared) have been left to wait. Now, on the one hand, given that the Kickstarter began with pledging on the initial N6005 configuration, it makes sense that chronologically that would be the first thing to be on the timeline for production. But given the scale of the upgraded components (significantly more power-hungry processors, 10GbE, Gen 4 SSDs, etc) in this compact chassis on boards that are not available right now on AliExpress etc right now, it’s understandable why users opting for these more unique configurations are wondering about their system delivery window.

The other hardware change that has occured in the recent project update was one that many had already raised early in the campaign (myself included), regarding the PSU. Storaxa have opted to remove the PSU from the internal casing of the device and opting for an external PSU (with a promise to elaborate more on this in the next project update). Now, on the face of it, I have always been a fan of external PSUs. They are easier to replace and in some cases, can remove internal heat generation and/or restrictive airflow blocking in more compact systems (more in the case of bare-PSUs, not blocks). However, in the case of the more aggressive system configurations, this might well result in quite large PSUs and add this also raises the question of external PSU quality. That was always a factor in ANY PSU, but ask anyone who has ever purchased a cheap PSU for their GFX-Card laptop or external PCIe Box on eBay/Ali and they will discuss ‘noisy’ PSUs or those that just feel ‘unsafe’. This is pure conjecture right now of course and until the PSU in question is shared in an update, it’s way to early to complain. But some users are definitely less keen on external power bricks in bigger NAS systems, as that can also result in an easy-to-disconnect power connection or extra part to lose!

Delay in Order Shipping and Fulfilment Warned

The above changes regarding the system board and possibly due to the impact of the Pledge Manager issues requiring attention (again, an assumption on my part) have led to Storaxa highlighting delays to shipping an order fulfilment in this campaign. Initially, shipping was timeline’d to start in Mid-June, but now looks like the end of July:

“We have been working diligently with our manufacturer to complete the designs and samples of the main boards. Even though our manufacturer started work earlier than scheduled, not all the pre-production samples will be completed on time within the 45 days stated in our contract. They have explained to us that ever since our campaign, they have become more busy and received even more orders. The estimated dates were accurate but due to not enough man power, any mistakes and redesign delayed the samples. The production time of assembling the units will not be affected. They have been very accommodating during this whole process, so we believe that they are sincere and tried their best to keep to our schedule.  Due to the bottleneck in completing the pre-production samples, the shipping date will be delayed for 30 days. We apologize for this inconvenience and we thank you for your patience and understanding.” – Storaxa Update #17 HERE

Delays in Kickstarter campaigns are hardly unusual and fair play to them for, at the very least, raising it now. It’s still going to be disappointing for many, but after many users quering the shipment date, this is something to go on.

Arrotrack / Storaxa Domain Ownership Expiry?

A rather odd point and one that was raised in the comments of the Kickstarter comments for the Storaxa was that the domain for the Arrotrack company (the group producing the Storaxa) had a very, very short domain registration time remaining. In my last update (in the April Update below) I highlighted that Arrotrack and Storaxa has a website up and running that had further information on the updates made available to non-backers, details of the company (something of a debate there that was discussed) and information regarding terms of returns and support. Well, that domain was registered on 23/05/20 but seemingly is going to expire on 23/05/23.

Now, this in itself is not the end of the world. Notwithstanding that this is not directly connected to the Kickstarter campaign, the company could be moving to a new domain and letting this expire (since realizing a new domain and site was needed). Likewise, they could be running the clock out on it to exchange it’s ownership to a new party. Nevertheless, it’s an odd little thing.

Potential Refunds to Customers of HDD/SSD Storage Bundles

One matter that increased in the comments of the Kickstarter campaign comments of the Storaxa over the last couple of months was to do with the price of storage media. When the Pledgebox manager for Storaxa NAS went live, one of the additional configuration options included adding SATA HDD/SSD media and PCIe Gen 3/4 m.2 NVMe SSD Media. However, since these options were first made available and priced, the general cost of alot of these drives (and other alternative drives that were not included in the Pledgebox from 3rd parties, location dependant) have seen noticeable decreases. So, many users wanted to know if reductions in the cost of drives would be reflected in their purchases (i.e. partial refunds?). Storaxa addressed this in their mid-May update:

“Due to the delay in completing the main boards, the delivery of the accessories such as SSD and HDD will also be delayed. Although we already paid the deposit, we  were able to renegotiated with our supplier to give us a discount on the drives if the prices drop. In the event that market prices drop lower than our previous negotiated price, we will receive a discount. In turn, we will offer that same discount to backers who have added the drives to their pledges and refund the difference to you.” – Storaxa Update #17 HERE

Now, fair play to Storaxa. very few would have expected them to refund these savings. Mainly as the quantity of HDDs and SSDs would have likely been quoted and paid partially/fully at Distribution shortly after the closing of the Pledgebox. These are all still promises and considerations that are being outlined on a crowdfunding project that has still not (at the time of writing) shown details on money in/out on the media ordered, or final shipping devices. But this is nonetheless a positive stance to take in this update and one that I wanted to highlight in my updates.

Here is my round-up of the updates above (and a few of the April updates), all in one video. Enjoy!

June 2023 Storaxa NAS Updates

June saw three updates from Storaxa on the production of their system (the first larger than the two that followed, but all three addressed new information). The main subjects covered with the new intended Shipping Test, are fulfilment of the SD Card stretch goal (part of the shipping test), errors and issues encountered at production and planned tutorials and guides. There was also updated information on the GaN external Power Supplier, it’s a 19V supply with a 5.5*2.5 barrel jack in 140W/180W/200W depending on the chosen CPU (N6005/5825U/1235U,1256U).

“It is meant to plug directly into a power socket. It has a C6 socket, so you can also choose to use it like a power brick by using it with standard C5 cable. The power supply will only come with the plug suitable for your delivery location. After getting your feedback from the last update, we will include the C5 cable for your convenience.” – Storaxa Team, Update 19, June 7th 2023

Board for the 5825 CPU Storaxa NAS, Good and Bad News

The early June update started on a positive note, with the announcement that the production samples of the AMD 5825 controller board on their #20 update. This was a little soured for some by the additional note that the Intel board configuration systems had fallen behind schedule:

“We are proceeding with production now. However, the upgraded Intel main boards are behind schedule. By starting with two versions first, we can avoid delayed production overall. As long as the upgraded Intel board samples are ready within two weeks, we can stay on the delivery schedule for end of July.” – Storaxa Team, Update 20, June 7th 2023

Still, this was good news for those backers who had opted for one fo those AMD config choices. However, this was a little short-lived, when comments from the Storaxa group highlighted that they had hit a tech roadblock pertaining to the detection of the M.2 NVMe.

Twelve days later, in the June 19th Update, the Storaxa team highlighted that an issue was recognized in the AMD 5825 board:

“During testing of the AMD 5825 main board, the 4 top M.2 slots could not be read or detected. After further testing, we discovered that something went wrong during SMT and there was a problem with one of the resistors on the main board that affected the recognition of the ASM2812X chip PCB. We are fixing this now. This is not a big problem and it will be fixed in a week. Once it is complete, we can continue with testing and production.”– Storaxa Team, Update 20, June 7th 2023

Later in their final update of June, they did state that the SMT issue had been resolved:

“The AMD 5825 main board has finished SMT. The problem with the unrecognized ASM2812X chip has been fixed and testing and production can continue. The upgraded Intel versions can proceed after this.” – Storaxa Team, Update 21, June 30th 2023

The Storaxa SD Card Shipping Tests and System Recovery Images

In the early stages of the kickstart campaign, when alternative versions of the Storaxa configuration, rewards and stretch goals were being shared, one thing that was discussed was an SD card for every backer that contained the system recovery image (dependent on the OS choices across both elements of the system).

Although it became quickly clear that providing an ‘one for all’ system image for the SD card become untenable, they stated that they will provide the means to download these at launch, but use the SD cards for every backer as a means to test shipping:

“Since before our campaign started we tried our best to quote the lowest price for shipping to keep the price of Storaxa as low as possible. We didn’t give up that search even until after the campaign so we can keep the add-on and extra units shipping cost low too. We found a logistics company that quoted prices that we couldn’t believe. This would be very good for us because we can save some costs, but we didn’t think it was safe enough to entrust them with your rewards which ranges from hundreds to thousands of dollars. However, they assured us they have global coverage and can ensure the safe delivery of all rewards. To back up their proposal, they are willing to do a shipping test to show us they can handle all our orders.  Due to this, we are happy to announce we will conduct a shipping test by sending you the free 32GB microSD unlocked in the final stretch goal ahead of schedule. This test will show us the reliability of this new service and also serve as a practice run of fulfillment. We will start sending it out on June 15. It will take around 7 – 14 business days to be delivered. – Storaxa Team, Update 20, June 7th 2023

This still led to the question of less experienced users who wanted to have a recovery/initial-boot SD Card for this system, two of which Storaxa stated the following:

“We originally stated that the microSD card will come with a system recovery image for your Storaxa. However, after careful consideration, due to the fully customization feature of the Storaxa, no single image will fit everyone’s purposes. Therefore, we will send you a blank card so you can create the image right for you with the instructions below. (We will post the instructions again after you receive your Storaxas). We are starting to make the tutorial videos this week. We will film some demos to teach the basics on how to install and run the software for the Storaxa. The videos will be posted on our Youtube channel. We will start with some simple videos first and ask for your feedback before we move on to tutorials for the more advanced uses of Storaxa.” – Storaxa Team, Update 21, June 19th 2023

Storaxa is stated to arrive with the system pre-installed and pre-configured, so you can plug in the network/power cables and drives, and start using it. Storaxa boots to Proxmox VE, which hosts 2 virtual machines, which respectively has TrueNAS-SCALE, and OpenWRT installed.

We cover this and more in our June Update video below:

July 2023 Storaxa NAS Updates

Right at the tail end of the month (31st July to be precise), Storaxa rolled out an update that was largely centered around 4 videos of the system (in a component-out state) being demo’d. The specifications for the unit and client machine they state are the testing system are:

• AMD Board
• 64GB Memory
• 1TB Samsung 970 Pro Boot SSD
• WiFi 6 Card (via an M.2 riser adapter card)
• 10GbE (Via TB3 adapter)
• 5x 16TB HDD (unconfirmed, but not hugely important for these tests)
• 3x WD Black SN750 SSDs
• Connected to Macbook Pro

The system board seemed to be connected via a standard multilane to SATA adapter, though I couldn’t quite 100% confirm the means that the 3x m.2 NVMe bays were connected (clear cable type there though). The testing Mac book was connected via a Thunderbolt3-to-10GbE adapter. The first test was a 10GbE transfer test (video here):

Next, there was a straightforward copy/paste into a RAIDZ1 (i.e comparable ZFS alternative to RAID 5). Video HERE, but result screen below:

Finally, there was a session of Plex testing, with three videos being streamed at once in H.265 and H.264. Again, the video is HERE.

Also, the Memory cards that formed one of the stretch goals from the initial Kickstarter campaign (more on that shortly) have started to arrive in Europe. The card from my pledge arrived on July 31st via Royal Mail, no signature was required but was trackable from Hong Kong onwards.

Rewinding back to the very start of the month, July started quiet – REAL quiet! In fact, it was unusually quiet times for Storaxa, with a period of over 2 weeks of Storaxa no longer responding to public comments or producing any updates. This was eventually addressed in the comments, backers section, on Reddit and more by concerned users who had noticed the sudden gear change.

That said, things seemingly returned to normal in the 2nd half of 2023, returning to a lot of those older comments, including my own (shown before/after), with apologies and highlights that a bigger update will be coming at the end of the month:

 

Backer SD Cards Arriving

Last month, Storaxa detailed that as a move to test shipping fulfilment in preparation for the eventual full Storaxa shipment and test the company shipping companies’ rather impressive delivery quotation, they would send backers their stretch goal included 32GB SSD Card (quote below from the June Update).

“We are starting the shipping test this week. Please expect to receive the package in 10 to 20 days. We will email you the tracking number through the PledgBox system within one week of sending out. This test will help us as a test run for when when we ship your Storaxas and also help us test the flexibility of shipping your rewards in different patches. We received mixed feedback about this test, but we feel this will help us to ensure you receive your rewards safely without additional costs.” Storaxa Team, Update 21, June 19th 2023

Cards began arriving in mid-July and it quickly became clear that these were being shipped by region/country/continent, with the U.S (likely the largest % of backers being located) being the first to state they had received the cards:

Additionally, some incredibly kind users (such as u/AkaiYui97 on Reddit, credit for images below), shared the contents of the Storaxa SD card delivery.

That said, not everyone (at the time of Writing, July 30th 2023) has received their SD card and it looks like Europe has been one of the last in the list of regions shipped to. Again, most likely a % based staged shipping method based on the locations of backers.

Now, on the face of it, we are talking about an SD card here… with an exceptionally low value. Although in itself a very low-value item, it’s worth remembering that these cards were shipped as a test of the shipping company and prospected fulfilment. Also, several users highlighted that the SD cards had tracking information indicating that they were received in Hong Kong in the last full week of July.

At the time of writing, the SD cards for the UK/Europe have started to be trackable and users might well see their cards arriving during the course of this week (31/07 – 4/08), as indicated by the tacking below.

Production and Shipment of Storaxa Now Delayed till September 2023

Another point worth touching on, and one that was certainly anticipated by many, was the officially stated delay of the Storaxa first fulfilment from 2nd Half of July to the 2nd Half of September. How this will impact users based on their configuration choice and global location is yet to be elaborated upon (there IS an update stated to arrive on July 31st, which might address this), but for now, the project is now slated for later in 2023. Not a huge surprise and not unusual for Kickstarter.

 

The final statement from Storaxa regarding the updated timeline was as follows:

“The production timeline is the same as last update. Mass production will begin in September and shipping will start in the second half of September. All major parts and components have been ordered and will arrive before that time. The case and chassis sample is arriving at the end of this week so we can show that to you soon too.”  – Storaxa Team, Update #24, 1st Aug

 

Aug/Sept 2023 Storaxa NAS Updates

In recent developments regarding the Storaxa NAS by Arrowtrack, a series of unexpected challenges have emerged, primarily involving financial delays and fund withholding by the payment processor, Stripe. As backers eagerly await the product’s release, Arrowtrack has been surprisingly transparent about the situation, providing updates on every facet from supplier negotiations to production adjustments. Here’s a quick breakdown of the key points from their latest updates.

Situation Affecting the Storaxa NAS by Arrowtrack (Updates #27 and #28 Summary)

• Funds Withholding by Stripe:
  • After successfully raising funds on Kickstarter, Arrowtrack encountered issues with their payment processor, Stripe. Due to the sudden large transaction amount from their campaign, Stripe withheld a significant portion of their funds.
  • Initially, Stripe released only 50% of the funds after Arrowtrack provided all the necessary documents. The rest of the funds were expected to be released during production time.
  • Instead of releasing the funds as expected in June, Stripe extended the payout date to August 31.
  • Just a week after confirming that the funds would be released on time, Stripe decided to hold the funds for another 60 days (until November 7). The primary reason was a high rate of refunds, which triggered their system for a further review. Arrowtrack believed these refunds were due to backers changing their minds about options before the delivery date.
  • Stripe had previously disabled the chat function on Arrowtrack’s account dashboard, limiting their communication. In Update #28, this function was re-enabled, which Arrowtrack took as a positive sign.

• Financial Details:
  • Kickstarter funds raised: $1,688,332.29.
  • Pledgebox funds: $950,257.09, with $982,864.57 being held by Stripe.
  • Deposit for mass production and ODM: $2,116,258 of $3,074,638.
  • Account Balance (as of Sept 4th): $480,874.
  • Arrowtrack has paid around 70% deposit for all manufacturing costs, including materials, parts, setup costs, and ODM/OEM costs. However, the current balance is insufficient for completing production.

• Production and Delivery Delays:
  • The delays in Stripe’s payout affected Arrowtrack’s ability to maintain their original schedule.
  • Production was initially postponed until September, and after the latest delay, the shipping has been rescheduled to start in the second half of November.
• Negotiations with Suppliers and Manufacturers:
  • Arrowtrack has been in negotiations to extend payment deadlines to ensure deposits aren’t forfeited.
  • In the wake of extreme weather conditions in southern China, meetings with some suppliers were postponed. Still, Arrowtrack managed to renegotiate with all but two suppliers for a 3-month extension on final payment.
  • Production of the upgraded Intel boards was paused due to payment uncertainties but is set to resume in two weeks.
• Review Sample and Refunds:
  • There was a delay in sending out a review sample to NASCompares, but Arrowtrack hopes to use this time to gather feedback from the review.
  • Arrowtrack has received 20 refund requests so far and is appreciative of their backers’ patience and understanding.
• General Backer Support:
  • Arrowtrack expressed deep gratitude to their backers for their understanding and support during this difficult time. They highlighted the importance of their backers’ continued faith in the project’s success.

Arrowtrack’s Storaxa NAS project faced significant challenges primarily due to Stripe withholding funds. This caused delays in production, requiring renegotiations with suppliers and adjustments in their delivery schedule. Despite these hurdles, the company remains committed to delivering the product, and backers have shown substantial support and understanding. Of course, we also need to remain grounded and remember that we are only seeing half the story here. Additionally, although Storaxa has been forthcoming with its updates, these updates and regular comments have reduced in frequency in the last few months. Additionally, lack of further documentation of suppliers being used, further communication with Stripe being shared, the recent update arriving later than stated and many users (myself included) reporting that these last two updates did not result in email notifications to users (yet all others did) – these are all matters that remain pertinent to many users following this campaign. These are mostly small potato arguments in the grand scheme of things, but it is important to remain as objective as possible. Users who have invested thousands of dollars towards the system in an upgraded state + storage media purchased now a considerable time ago might well be having understandably cold feet.

Reactions to the Storaxa’s updates on the issues with Stripe by the backers of the campaign were mostly positive, save for a few users highlighting that update #28 arrived late and that proactive email notifications appeared to be disabled (still unconfirmed, but certainly noted online). One user (@Ruan) did take the time to do a breakdown of the finances as stated and made efforts to highlight potential issues of finance in the numbers reported, but this had to be built on only partial by partial numbers related to finances and stock procured by Storaxa, and therefore open to error. Neverthless, even at a casual glance and only using the barebone numbers provided by the campaign creators, the margins do seem rather thin. I wanted to share it here (linked below, just click the image) as I think it’s worth keeping in mind about the scale of this project, once you factor in multiple base configurations and the storage upgrades that have been added:

The post examines the finances of the Storaxa Kickstarter NAS campaign in light of potential delays, as half of the funds are being held by the payment provider, Stripe.

• The total funds raised on Kickstarter and PledgeBox combined is $3,621,444.95.
• A deposit of $3,074,638.00 was made for mass production and ODM, leaving a balance of $546,806.95.
• Using a breakdown of addons, including HDDs, NVMes, SSDs, and Samsung 980 Pro 2TB NVMes, the post calculates the total estimated addon cost at $537,600.
• This leaves just $9,206.95 for global shipping of at least 5,000 packages, and other costs like SD cards, which is viewed as unrealistic.
• Analyzing the base Storaxa unit costs, the post estimates that at least 8,000 units were necessary from the original pledge, and there may be a discrepancy in the number of additional units backed versus those being produced.
• Three hypotheses are proposed:
  1. The creators got an exceptional deal on addons.
  2. The creators won’t profit and are primarily pushing their brand.
  3. More funds than expected were used for non-Storaxa addons, which might hinder the actual Storaxa product development.

The post concludes by asking for an update on the actual numbers of non-Storaxa Addons and clarity on why the production costs appear so high, emphasizing concerns about delivery costs. From the information provided, there are several points to consider:

1. Funds Being Held: Storaxa mentioned that Stripe is holding onto 50% of the funds raised from the campaign. If this is accurate, it would indeed create a liquidity issue for the company.
2. Discrepancy in Costs: Based on the post’s calculations, the funds left after accounting for production costs and the estimated addon costs appear insufficient to cover worldwide shipping of at least 5,000 packages, plus other ancillary costs. This raises concerns about whether all the promised items can be delivered without additional funding.
3. Estimated Addon Costs: The calculations for the addon costs are based on minimum values, and as mentioned in the post, if backers ordered more than one of an item, these costs would rise. Moreover, the post speculates that many might have chosen higher-priced items, which would further strain the finances.
4. Unit Discrepancy: The analysis suggests a potential discrepancy between the number of Storaxa units backed and those being produced, pointing to possible over-production or an underestimation of the number of units required.
5. Three Hypotheses: The post’s hypotheses suggest that Storaxa either secured an incredibly good deal on addons, isn’t looking to profit and is pushing their brand, or has used more funds for non-Storaxa addons than projected, potentially hindering Storaxa product development. The validity of any of these hypotheses would significantly affect the interpretation of Storaxa’s financial situation.

The BIG takeaway here is that Storaxa will need to start engaging with its audience more regularly. There are many in the comments who would point out that this project has seen more updates than many other campaigns on the Kickstarter platform. However, we are still talking about a campaign with $1.8 Million raised in the initial campaign and a further $2 Million in pledge upgrades – these are bot atypical numbers for an average Kickstarter campaign on average (it happens, but most polished campaigns will live in the 5-6 figures in $). Given the reported change in work on their side related to negotiating with suppliers for later deadlines on payments and maintaining the project through this relative period of ‘hand-on’ inactivity, many would like to see higher engagement with their audience in the comments, further updates, tests/demonstrations in-house with the units that they have, further details of the communications with Stripe (share those conversations in greater details to well further refunds perhaps?) and just generally make their activity and presence felt more than it is. Kickstarter is NOT Amazon or eBay, but it does thing on communication and transparency, something that Storaxa was good on and now arguably becoming weaker on during this period of flux. As always, I will continue to follow this evolving crowdfunded NAS campaign.

Sept / Oct 2023 Storaxa NAS Updates

If I had to describe the Storaxa NAS Kickstater campaign throughout October and at the very start of November 2023 in one word, it would be….quiet! In updates the previous month (#27 and #28), the Storaxa group stated that production was not possible due to delays in finances arriving from the payment handler ‘Stripe’. Nevertheless, it did/does seem very quiet on storaxas side throughout all of this and no comments by backers were responded too and the update that was slated for October 12th ended up being late (with virtually no explanation or indication), leading to a lot of user debate about the health of the campaign, the validity of the Stripe funds statements and the information provided up to this point in the official campaign updates. Indeed, in terms of actual milestone events in the last calendar month, there was only really four to speak of. The first was the comment that Storaxa made in response to weeks of silence, which was as follows:

Again, the above comment was after weeks of silence and no replies from users. Equally, this was the only comment on the campaign by Storaxa in that time and although a lot of comments/responses followed, they did not engage with them. Questions surrounding the state of the campaign, further verification of the stripe matters, where the existing funds were being spent, further information on suppliers and more. At the same time as this, there was also the public zoom discussion that I had arranged with Storaxa NAS backers (posted several times on the comments thread, with one of the last ones HERE). It did seem rather coincidental that Storaxa had not been replying to users for an extended period of time, but opted to do so on the day of the public zoom with the post discussed above). This was an organized zoom discussion for backers of the Storaxa NAS Kickstarter campaign, organized by Robbie @ NASCompares. This is NOT an official zoom organized by/in conjunction with the Storaxa/Arrowtrack group. Below you can watch the full zoom call:

There is of course the question of why I did not just host a zoom with Storaxa/Arrowtrak instead, putting users’ questions directly to them? This was asked a few times and (as I discuss in the comment below), I HAD reached out to Storaxa previously for a zoom Q&A session, but they declined to reply.

When Sotraxa did reveal an official update (update #29), it was rather small and largely repeated similar to what the singular comment a few days before had said, but adding a pinch more on production and showing a change that was going to be implemented to the hardware design:

03:57:22 – Update Frequency 04:00:33 – Early Rewards and Address Changes 04:02:28 – Cat Issues 04:03:00 – Is the Storaxa AMD Module using an Aoostar Motherboard? 04:05:20 – Backer Zoom on Jan 30th 2024

The component change related to the internal cage, here:

Now, I AM pleased that they are providing more information! But as discussed in the video, there seems to be a lot of information that they could be supplying that could calm a lot of people’s concerns, yet for one reason or another do not. Such as:

• Information about the existing orders they have with production suppliers (Pro forma invoices, names of the suppliers if possible, images of any hardware that has been delivered at all – and if not due to reasons of deposits/credit agreements needing conclusion, supply further information on this
• More information on the back and forth with Stripe. More of the emails, more of the correspondence. Only 2 images have been shown regarding communication and have been cropped significantly
• Further images on the existing hardware they have an how this new bay/cage component is better/worse than what was in the prototypes and AMD samples
• Clarification on the sourcing and reasoning behind the design change, as many have raised question marks about it’s origin
• Further clarification on how, if the stripe money holding will cease on Nov 7th, how production resuming on 13th Nov will happen so fast. it’s impact on fulfilment?

Finally, storaxa got in touch after Update #29 to state that they still wish to send a review prototype. Of course, I will continue to oblige with this, but nevertheless that campaign still moves forward with a lot of unanswered questions by backers and the current state of the campaign. If/when this unit arrives, I will let backers know and proceed with the original testing as discussed. I hope I have more positive news to share with you in the next update.

 

Unfortunately, at the time of writing this article (Jan 5th 2024), there has not been any further communication from the brand about this review unit, originally sent on 31st October 2023. 

December 2023 Update

Which leads to the December 2023 update. Sadly, very little has changed and is covered in greater detail i nthe video linked below (I have linked to the specific part, just click play. However, the TLDR is:

03:57:22 – Update Frequency – Storaxa assured users that they would maintain updates every 7-10 days, but then unfortunately only maintained this for a week and have now been largely silent since December 7th 2023 (29 Days since the date of this article’s publication)

04:00:33 – Early Rewards and Address Changes – Storaxa/Arrowtrak DID respond to users address change requests

04:03:00 – Is the Storaxa AMD Module using an Aoostar Motherboard? – There were questions being raised on Reddit regarding a very similar motherboard being used on the Aoostar NVMe NAS system and claims that the motherboard inside the Storaxa is the Aoostar model.

This is the system to which they are referring – LINK TO VIDEO

04:05:20 – Backer Zoom on Jan 30th 2024 – I/NASCompares have raised the idea of a backer zoom (not anyway officially endorsed by Stooraxa to discuss the campaign so far)

Video:

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Why Did I Back the Storaxa NAS on Kickstarter? (IMPORTANT!!!!!)

Originally, I had no real intention of backing the Storaxa NAS Kickstarter project. As a long-time follower of channels such as Slope’s Game Room and his Kickscammer series, as well as only backing a tremendously small number of projects on the platform (and even then, for small sums comparatively) I have always had an especially sceptical mindset for alot of crowdfunding projects that have tremendously small profit margins early doors. Additionally, I was not in the market to buy a new NAS solution, as I cover plenty on my YouTube channel and (though contrary to popular belief, I rarely get to keep them and the ones that I do, go into channel content) I already have two personal servers up and running that I am in no rush to replace.

However, after I was contacted by several existing backers of this project and potential backers looking for a 2nd opinion, I started looking into the Storaxa a little more, contacting the organizers about a future review. After this point, a few different things happened. The campaign was nearing conclusion and more backers had been in touch that weekend to express further concern (alongside rising questions on the usual public forums, such as Reddit and STH). So, I made a video on the campaign, my initial impressions, my own questions about the price point vs distribution, and further questions surrounding heat dissipation. This resulted in my original message to the Storaxa group regarding reviews being screenshotted and shared to the comments section of the official page by the organizers themselves, with many points being highlighted (but not all) in my video being addressed.

The odd thing was that I never got a reply to that message personally, only hearing about this from other backers, who too thought the way it had been handled rather odd. So, I sent a follow-up message, with further questions, explaining my position, the methodology behind my video and my intentions in greater detail. The response came two days later, stating that I was playing media games and did not address my questions (stating that the answers were in the comments section – of which only 2/6 were, with 1 other in the backers only area and 3 others surrounding the team, Opensource distribution and production fulfilment waves not answered). Needless to say, I replied with my questions once again (with a few new points) and sadly have never received a reply to that one to date. So, why, after all that, did I back the project?

Now, one hurdle that is part kickstarter’s design and part campaign presentation choice is/was to do with how information is relayed to potential/existing backers. There needs to be a central framework that can be adapted to all projects of all types – there is no ‘one shape fits all’ campaign mould that can be used. This proved especially true when (at that time of writing) the comments section comprised around 2,000 comments (now at more than 6,000 – without a search function too!) and many comments were broken into sub-conversations (and the Kickstarter framework only allows X number loaded in), a long thread of hundreds of voices with the facts getting soon mixed with assumptions and contradiction in places, potentially leading to an echo chamber effect. Again, this is the framework that Kickstarter has for its central conversation thread and not the design of the project organizers. Nonetheless, this did lead to an issue. The bulk of the main information was published behind the main update section, which was set to only be visible to backers and shared videos for the project were made unlisted and shared with backers online.

At this point, I was intrigued enough by the campaign conclusion, the subject of OS-free NAS solutions rolling out from the east more and more, keen to see if/how it could deliver, as well s wanting to ensure an element of accountability and reference for the future. So, I decided to back the project in order to update users on the progress of this unusual NAS regularly. What follows are my monthly updates on the Storaxa Kickstarter NAS. Starting with that initial video from February 6th 2023 and with information, screen grabs and important milestones/changes in the campaign as time moves on. Hopefully, this article will end with high-order fulfilment, everyone getting their Storaxa system, a new kind of NAS solution entering the market and this growing 3rd choice between the Turnkey solutions and full DiY Opensource builds getting bigger and better, but we will have to wait till Summer 2023 to find out. 

Note – I have broken all the information below into monthly chunks (with the 2x Feb chunks being an exception, as the campaign concluded at the end of that month and a volley of updates happened at the end). I am writing the February coverage retroactively, so I apologise in advance if my tenses on some parts are incorrect. I did not even realise at that time that I would be making this article and therefore, it’s been a case of catching up with myself! Additionally, I am composing this with the most recent information FIRST (eg months in reverse order), and updating it each month, so those following this article can get notifications about the updates with the Storaxa NAS summarized. Alternatively, you can browse the comments section HERE or if you are a backer, use the page’s own official updates HERE.

 

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Synology RS422+ NAS Drive – Should You Buy It?

Should the RS422+ NAS from Synology be your next big tech purchase? With such a wide range of private server solutions on the market, it’s never been a better time to be a NAS buyer, looking to move your data away from a public cloud provider, or even to run them side-by-side as a 2-tier backup solution for your home or business needs! Synology has a tremendously diverse range of NAS solutions, but with the previous generation(s) of solutions in their portfolio now appearing on offer, as well as available at discount at 2nd hand eTailers – does the RS422+ deserve your data? We already made a massive review on the Synology RS422+ NAS HERE, but today I want to hit the Pros and Cons head-on and help you decide much quicker on whether this NAS is for you.

HARDWARE HIGHLIGHTS CPU: AMD Embedded Ryzen R1600 2-Core 2.6-3.1Ghz Memory: 2GB DDR4 ECC SODIMM (FIXED) SATA Bays: x4 SATA 3.5/2.5″ Bays M.2 NVMe Bays: No Network Ports: 2x 1GbE PCIe Upgrade: Yes, Only for 10GbE Upgrade (E10G22-T1-mini) Software Platform: DSM Warranty: 3yr Warranty

5 Reasons the Synology RS422+ is a Good NAS for You

So, first up, let’s discuss the high points! Here are the five reasons why the Synology RS422+ NAS drive deserves your money and your data!

Note – if you are in a hurry, you can watch my ‘Synology RS422+ – Before You Buy’ video below HERE

#1 – The RS422+ is Compact, Low Noise and has Low Power Use

The RS422+ is designed with a compact form factor, making it easy to fit in various environments, from small offices to crowded server rooms. The device’s low noise level ensures a quiet working atmosphere, making it suitable for noise-sensitive environments where maintaining a professional atmosphere is essential. Its low power consumption is not only beneficial for reducing energy costs, but it also helps minimize the environmental impact, contributing to a greener and more sustainable workspace.

#2 – Runs EVERYTHING in Synology DSM 7

Runs EVERYTHING in Synology DSM 7: The RS422+ is fully compatible with the latest Synology DSM 7 operating system, providing access to a wealth of applications, services, and features that simplify data management and enhance productivity. DSM 7 offers improved security, better performance, and a more intuitive user interface, ensuring an optimal user experience. With the extensive application ecosystem available through DSM 7, you can run a wide range of services, from backup solutions to multimedia streaming, all from a single device.

#3 – Fast/Easy Upgrade to 10GbE

The RS422+ supports easy upgrades to 10GbE network connectivity, enabling fast data transfer speeds and improved performance for bandwidth-intensive applications. This high-speed connectivity is crucial for businesses and professionals dealing with large volumes of data, such as video editors or data analysts. The ability to upgrade to 10GbE ensures that your NAS remains future-proof and adaptable to the evolving needs of your organization.

#4 – Includes ECC Memory

The inclusion of Error Correction Code (ECC) memory in the RS422+ helps prevent data corruption and ensures the integrity and reliability of your data. ECC memory automatically detects and corrects single-bit memory errors, reducing the risk of system crashes and data loss. This added layer of protection is particularly valuable in environments where data integrity is crucial, such as financial institutions or scientific research facilities.

#5 – Storage Advantages in SHR, BTRFS and Fast Repair

The RS422+ supports Synology Hybrid RAID (SHR), Btrfs file system, and fast repair features, offering flexibility in storage management, data protection, and quick recovery in case of drive failures. SHR automatically optimizes storage capacity and data protection levels based on the number and size of installed drives. The Btrfs file system enables advanced features such as snapshot replication, data deduplication, and file-level data integrity checks. Fast repair minimizes downtime and accelerates the recovery process when a failed drive is replaced.

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5 Reasons the Synology RS422+ Might NOT Be the NAS for You

While the Synology RS422+ NAS has numerous advantages, there are also some potential drawbacks that may dissuade certain users from investing in it. Here are the top reasons why you might want to consider alternatives to the Synology RS422+ NAS:

#1 – Default Memory is 2GB and Fixed

The RS422+ comes with a fixed 2GB memory, which may not be sufficient for some advanced applications or heavy multitasking. Upgrading the memory is not possible due to its fixed nature, limiting the potential for performance improvement as your needs evolve over time. This limitation can be particularly challenging for organizations with growing data processing requirements or those running memory-intensive applications.

#2 – 1GbE Default Network Connectivity

While the RS422+ can be upgraded to 10GbE, the default network connectivity is 1GbE, which may limit performance for users with high bandwidth requirements. This default connectivity may not be suitable for environments with multiple users accessing the NAS simultaneously or those transferring large volumes of data frequently.

#3 – Lack of Storage Expandability

The RS422+ has limited storage expandability, which could be a concern for users with growing storage needs. This limitation may necessitate the purchase of additional NAS devices or other storage solutions to accommodate increasing data volumes, potentially adding to the overall cost and complexity of the storage infrastructure.

#4 – Lack of M.2 NVMe SSD Slots

The RS422+ does not have M.2 NVMe SSD slots for cache or storage, which could limit its performance compared to other NAS devices that offer this feature. M.2 NVMe SSDs provide significantly faster data access and transfer speeds, enhancing overall performance and responsiveness, particularly for I/O-intensive tasks such as virtualization or large-scale file transfers. The absence of M.2 NVMe SSD support in the RS422+ may make it less attractive for users who require the highest possible performance from their NAS solution

#5 – The RS422+ is More Expensive than it should be!

Despite its numerous advantages and features, the RS422+ is priced higher than some of its competitors at £730 vs similar/better hardware in the desktop DS923+ at £550+, which may deter budget-conscious buyers. The higher cost may be difficult to justify, regardless of it being a rackmount and ‘business tax’, particularly for users who do not require all the advanced features offered by the RS422+ or for those who are not looking to scale up their storage needs significantly beyond older gens (many of which also still support traditional PCIe PCIe Cards). In such cases, more cost-effective NAS alternatives may provide better value for money, while still meeting the users’ storage and performance requirements. In conclusion, while the Synology RS422+ NAS has numerous strengths that make it a strong contender in the market, its lack of M.2 NVMe SSD slots vs the likes of the DS923+ and DS1522+, plus higher price point may be deal-breakers for some users. It is essential to consider your specific storage, performance, and budgetary requirements before making a decision, and to explore alternative NAS solutions that may provide a better balance of features and cost.

What We Said About the Synology RS422+ NAS in our FULL Review

Massive Synology RS422+ Review Article – HERE

YouTube Synology RS422+ Review – HERE

What Synology has produced in the RS422+ Rackstation NAS is an intriguing middle ground between their more cost-effective ARM-based rackmount solutions and their more expensive scalable and upgradable servers. On the face of it, you are getting a tremendously compact but capable 1U 4-Bay rackmount server that, as soon as you factor in the included DSM software and services, is very good value for businesses that want to move their data out of 3rd party cloud and into something they have full control over. Additionally, that CPU (though a fraction divisive when compared previously vs Intel chips in the desktop DS1522+) makes more sense here in this more affordable Rackstation solution. The lack of NVMe M.2 SSD slots, fixed 2GB memory and lack off rails I am less keen on here (and I am still a little on the fence about the way they have pursued 10GbE upgrades in this system) but you are still getting a very well built and small scale NAS solution here and Synology have found a good price point here for this complete solution. Additionally, the fact that Synology has not been so restrictive on HDD use in this system than in more enterprise solutions in 2022 is welcoming too, though they are still taking an odd stance on some drives nonetheless. Ultimately, I can recommend the Synology RS422+ Rackstation NAS to smaller business users, though looking for a compact and very easy-to-deploy NAS solution for surveillance, central business storage, additional backup layers and for DSM as a whole. Though multimedia users might want to give it a miss.

DEAL WATCH – Is It On Offer Right Now? Synology 4-Bay Rackmount NAS RackStation RS422+ (Diskless),Black Amazon UK 52.62 OFF (WAS 1714) [LINK] Synology 4 Bay NAS 1.4Ghz Quadcore CPU - RS422+ Rack Station, Black Amazon USA 36.93 OFF (WAS 896) [LINK] These Offers are Checked Daily

Aoostar R1 and R7 NAS Review

In 2024, the landscape of digital storage and data management is evolving rapidly, influenced heavily by the rising costs of third-party cloud services such as Google Drive, iCloud, and Dropbox. As subscription fees climb, many individuals and businesses are reconsidering their reliance on these external cloud solutions. The increasing financial burden is pushing a growing number of users towards exploring private, on-site server solutions for data storage and management. This shift is driven by the desire for more control over data, enhanced security, and, notably, a more cost-effective long-term storage strategy. In this context, the network-attached storage (NAS) market is witnessing an interesting divergence in user preferences. On one end, there are full turnkey NAS solutions from well-known brands like Synology and QNAP. These devices are valued for their ready-to-use nature, coming with comprehensive software ecosystems and user-friendly interfaces. They are ideal for those who prefer ease and simplicity, offering reliability without the need for deep technical engagement.

Conversely, the other end of the spectrum is dominated by build-it-yourself NAS solutions, leveraging free software platforms such as TrueNAS Core and TrueNAS Scale. This approach appeals to tech enthusiasts who enjoy customizing their systems. It offers greater flexibility and can be more cost-effective, allowing users to repurpose existing hardware or select components that meet their specific needs. However, this option demands a good grasp of both hardware and software intricacies. Amidst these options, a middle ground is becoming increasingly popular, especially among users who seek a balance between the plug-and-play convenience of turnkey solutions and the customization freedom of DIY systems. This is where products like the Aoostar R1 and R7 NAS units find their relevance. These NAS models aim to provide a compromise, offering the foundational benefits of pre-built systems with opportunities for customization to suit individual preferences. They cater to users who want more control than what standard turnkey solutions offer but prefer to avoid the complexities of a full DIY setup.

Aoostar R1 2-Bay NAS (Intel N100 Version)		Aoostar R7 2-Bay NAS (AMD Ryzen 7 5700U Version)
Amazon >>> $419 (Check Amazon HERE)	Aliexpress >>> $309 (Check Aliexpress HERE)	Amazon >>> $419 (Check Amazon HERE)	Aliexpress >>> $388 (Check Aliexpress HERE)

Aoostar R1 and R7 NAS Review – Quick Conclusion

Even on a casual analysis of the Aoostar R1 and R7 NAS units, it is clear that these devices offer a compelling option for those in the market for a NAS solution that strikes a balance between turnkey and DIY systems. The Aoostar R1, with its Intel Processor N100, and the R7, powered by the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, cater to a diverse range of needs, from basic home storage to more demanding small business applications, providing two solutions that provide significantly higher calibre hardware for the price point than comparable level offerings from Synology and QNAP. On the positive side, both models showcase a thoughtful design that maximizes internal space while maintaining a compact external footprint. Their double-sided micro ITX motherboards and the ability to accommodate multiple storage options highlight a commitment to efficiency and flexibility. The ease of access for upgrades and maintenance, thanks to the removable external casing and internal frame, is another plus, making these units user-friendly. However, there are areas where improvements could be beneficial. The cooling system, particularly in the R7 model, raises concerns, especially considering the potential for heat build-up given the powerful Ryzen processor and the proximity of the CPU fan to the hard drive bays. The absence of 10GbE connectivity in the R7 is a notable limitation for users seeking higher network performance. Additionally, while the pricing of these units is competitive, the lack of ECC memory support in the more powerful R7 model is a missed opportunity to appeal to a broader professional market. The Aoostar R1 and R7 NAS units present a viable middle-ground solution for those looking to move away from third-party cloud services or seeking an alternative to the extremes of the NAS market. While they may not satisfy the most demanding users or those seeking the highest level of customization, they offer a solid balance of performance, ease of use, and expandability.

DEAL WATCH – Is It On Offer Right Now? These Offers are Checked Daily

Aoostar R1 and R7 NAS Review – Packaging & Retail Kit

The Aoostar NAS arrives in a simple, unadorned box, constructed from single-layer cardboard, which seems to prioritize cost-effectiveness over aesthetics. Inside, the unit is nestled in a thin plastic mold that conforms to its shape, providing basic protection during shipping. This minimalistic approach to packaging reflects a focus on practicality and cost-reduction, a common strategy in the tech industry, especially for budget-friendly products.

As this device is designed to balance high value with low cost, the choice of packaging materials clearly indicates where the brand has chosen to economize. The packaging is the first aspect where cost-saving measures are apparent, suggesting that Aoostar has allocated resources more towards the device’s functionality rather than its unboxing experience. This decision is not uncommon among technology manufacturers, especially when the goal is to offer competitively priced products without compromising on core features.

Included accessories are practical and sufficient for setting up the device: an external PSU, a setup instruction guide, an HDMI cable, and the Aoostar NAS unit itself. These components provide the essentials needed to get the system up and running right out of the box. The inclusion of a setup guide is particularly helpful for users who may be new to setting up NAS systems, ensuring a smooth and guided installation process.

The unit does not come with any additional storage drives, aside from the internal OS NVMe SSD which already has Windows 11 installed. This decision keeps the overall package weight under 1KG, making it lightweight and easy to handle. Customers should be aware that they’ll need to purchase additional storage drives separately if they wish to expand the NAS’s capabilities, especially given its support for up to two 3.5-inch hard drives as previously noted. The absence of an Ethernet cable in the package might seem unusual, but this can be seen as another cost-saving measure by Aoostar. It is likely presumed that many users already possess such cables, or prefer to select cables of a specific length or quality to suit their setup. This omission, while minor, is a reminder of the company’s focus on delivering a high-value product at a lower cost.

The included external 90W PSU is a fairly standard component and comes with a local regional mains cable attachment. This power supply unit is compatible with the device, ensuring reliable power delivery for optimal performance. The inclusion of the regional mains cable attachment is a thoughtful addition, catering to the specific needs of the user based on their location. However, the 90W rating of the external PSU for the Aoostar R1 seems somewhat excessive, considering the modest power requirements of the N100 CPU inside the NAS. This higher wattage is likely not fully utilized given the CPU’s efficiency and low power consumption. It’s possible that Aoostar uses the same 90W PSU across different models for consistency in manufacturing, which might explain its presence in the R1 kit despite the unit’s lower power needs.

Ultimately, while the Aoostar R1 system will never fully utilize the 90W capacity of the PSU, this choice might reflect a standardized approach in the production line, particularly when considering the similarities with the Aoostar R7. The R7, equipped with a more powerful Ryzen 7 8-core processor, would have higher power demands, possibly justifying the use of a 90W PSU in its kit. This uniformity in power supply units across different models can be a strategic decision to streamline production and reduce costs. Overall, the packaging of the Aoostar NAS might not impress in terms of visual appeal or materials, but the contents of the retail kit are thoughtfully chosen and entirely functional. The focus seems to be on delivering a good quality product with the necessary accessories for operation, rather than on providing a premium unboxing experience. This approach aligns with the brand’s apparent strategy of offering high-value, cost-effective computing solutions.

Aoostar R1 and R7 NAS Review – Design

The Aoostar R1’s physical design stands out in the NAS market due to its taller stature compared to many turnkey 2-Bay NAS devices. However, when considering its overall volume, it aligns closely with models like the Synology DS224+ and QNAP TS-264 NAS. This height difference, while noticeable, does not significantly impact the unit’s footprint, making it a viable option for users accustomed to the size of mainstream NAS devices.

The ventilation system of the Aoostar R1 is meticulously designed, dividing airflow management into three key areas for optimal cooling. The first area is a large base vent equipped with a 90mm fan, which forms the foundation of the unit’s cooling mechanism. This base vent is crucial for maintaining a steady airflow, ensuring that the internal components remain at an optimal temperature during operation.

Adding to the cooling efficiency, there’s a top-mounted and removable vent panel. This panel not only facilitates easy access for maintenance but also enhances the ventilation by covering the additional ventilated drive trays. The removable nature of this panel demonstrates a thoughtful design, allowing for both effective cooling and convenient maintenance.

The system also includes a robust combined CPU heatsink and an attached copper fan, strategically positioned to direct airflow towards the top panel. This arrangement enhances heat dissipation, crucial for maintaining system stability and performance. The design indicates a careful consideration of airflow dynamics, ensuring that the heat generated by the CPU is effectively managed. While the overall design is impressive, there are some reservations about the positioning of the CPU and main micro-ITX board, especially in the context of the higher thermal design power (TDP) Ryzen 7 equipped Aoostar R7 model. The concern lies in these components being sandwiched between the HDD bays, which could potentially impact thermal management. However, this is less of an issue in the N100-equipped R1 version, which has a much lower TDP and therefore generates less heat.

The main storage bays in the Aoostar R1, although functional, have a slightly flimsy construction and utilize removable drive screw grommets that feel somewhat cheap. This aspect of the design might raise questions about durability and long-term reliability. Despite this, the bays serve their purpose and allow for the installation of storage media with relative ease.

Both 3.5″ and 2.5″ SATA media can be installed in these bays, with the latter requiring additional screws for secure placement. This flexibility in media compatibility is a plus, catering to different storage needs and preferences. The design ensures that the drives, once installed, feel secure in the trays and directly connect to combined data and power SATA connectors internally, eliminating the concern of loose cables. In terms of aesthetic comparison, the Aoostar R1’s design bears a resemblance to the Mac Pro desktop from the mid-2010s or the Drobo Data Transporter. This comparison highlights the unit’s modern and professional appearance, which may appeal to users who appreciate sleek and functional design in their tech devices.

Hot swapping of the 2 SATA storage bays is not supported with the pre-installed Windows 11 software, but this functionality is likely to be achievable with alternative operating systems such as TrueNAS or UnRAID. The flexibility to install different operating systems adds to the device’s versatility, catering to users who require more advanced storage management features. Internally, the Aoostar R1 is equipped with additional storage capabilities, featuring a single M.2 NVMe Gen 3 2280 slot. This slot comes preoccupied with the OS drive, highlighting the unit’s readiness for immediate use. The inclusion of an M.2 slot offers fast data transfer speeds and efficient storage, enhancing the overall performance of the device.

The Aoostar R7 NAS, on the other hand, benefits from an additional M.2 NVMe SSD 2280 slot, also supporting Gen 3. This extra slot in the R7 model provides greater flexibility and capacity for storage expansion, making it a more suitable choice for users with higher storage demands. Finally, the base 90mm fan of the Aoostar R1 operates very quietly, contributing to a pleasant user experience. However, during operation, the CPU fan becomes audible, even under light use. This noise level is possibly due to the motherboard’s placement directly between the SATA bays, which may affect airflow and consequently the cooling efficiency of the CPU fan.

Aoostar R1 and R7 NAS Review – Ports and Connections

The Aoostar R1 and R7 models boast identical port configurations, a design choice that simplifies user understanding across the product line. This uniformity in ports ensures that users can have a consistent experience regardless of which model they choose. The similarity in port offerings across these models reflects a streamlined approach to product design, making it easier for users to transition between different models if needed.

Among the available ports, there are 2 USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type A 10Gb/s ports and a USB-C port, providing high-speed data transfer capabilities. These ports are ideal for connecting external storage devices, high-resolution cameras, or other peripherals that benefit from fast data transfer rates. The inclusion of a USB-C port also adds a level of future-proofing, as it’s becoming the standard for many modern devices.

Additionally, there are two USB 2.0 ports, which are most suitable for connecting peripherals like a keyboard and mouse, especially when using the NAS with its visual outputs. These ports, while not suitable for high-speed data transfers, are perfectly adequate for input devices. Their inclusion ensures that essential peripherals can be connected without occupying the more valuable high-speed ports.

Regarding visual output, the units are equipped with an HDMI 2.0 and a DisplayPort 1.4 connection, both capable of supporting 4K resolution at 60FPS. This capability is particularly beneficial for users who need high-definition output, such as for media servers or digital signage. The ability to deliver 4K content smoothly makes these NAS units versatile in various settings, from home entertainment to professional environments. The support for KVM (Keyboard, Video, Mouse) is dependent on the NAS software in use and its capability to support an external graphical user interface. The Windows 11 software included with these units is a standard desktop operating system, not a server version of Windows. This choice implies that the NAS is intended for users who are comfortable with a familiar, user-friendly interface rather than a specialized server environment.

The default network connection on the Aoostar R1 consists of 2x 2.5GbE ports, which also support auto-negotiation with 1GbE networks. This feature ensures compatibility with a wide range of network speeds and environments, making it a flexible choice for different types of network setups. The 2.5GbE connectivity offers a balance between high-speed data transfer and compatibility with existing network infrastructures.

Users have the option to expand network capabilities using various USB-to-2.5GbE adapters, which typically cost between $15-25. These adapters provide an affordable way to add more network connections, enhancing the unit’s functionality in complex network environments. This flexibility is particularly useful for users who need to integrate the NAS into a network with specific requirements. The absence of a 10GbE port is understandable in the modestly powered Aoostar R1, equipped with an N100 processor, but it is a more noticeable limitation in the higher-powered Ryzen 7 8-Core Aoostar R7. Ideally, it would have been preferable to have a 10GbE port, possibly by repurposing the internal additional M.2 NVMe port to an external 10GbE connection through an adapter or motherboard modification. Such a feature would significantly enhance the data transfer capabilities of the R7 model, making it more suitable for environments with higher network performance requirements.

There is no PCIe upgradeable slot in these models, and the full extent of the PCIe lanes afforded to this architecture is already maximized. This limitation is understandable, considering the compact form factor and the intended use case of these NAS units. While it limits the potential for hardware upgrades, it also ensures a more stable and reliable system by design. Overall, it’s evident that the physical connectivity of the Aoostar R1 and R7 models aligns with the rest of the Aoostar N1 and N7 Mini PC series, albeit with modifications tailored towards a 2-Bay NAS system. This consistency in design across different models reflects a strategic approach to product development, focusing on creating versatile, user-friendly devices that cater to a range of needs and preferences.

Aoostar R1 and R7 NAS Review – Internal Hardware

Accessing the internal hardware of the Aoostar R1 is a straightforward process, involving the removal of four screws located at the base panel. This user-friendly design is indicative of Aoostar’s commitment to making their devices easily serviceable. Once the screws are removed, the external casing can be easily lifted off, revealing the inner components.

Sliding out the internal frame, the double-sided micro ITX motherboard becomes visible, showcasing the compact and efficient design of the Aoostar R1. This reveals the intricate engineering that has gone into maximizing the use of space within the unit. The double-sided nature of the motherboard is a clever use of space, allowing for more components to be fitted into the compact NAS unit.

On one side of this motherboard, the combined CPU cooler and heatsink are prominently featured. This setup is crucial for maintaining optimal operating temperatures and ensuring the longevity and reliability of the CPU. The integration of the cooler and heatsink into a single unit demonstrates a focus on efficient thermal management within the compact form factor of the NAS.

Here are the side-by-side specifications of the Aoostar R1 and R7, which vary in price by around $100-150 depending on your configuration:

Specification	Aoostar R1	Aoostar R7
CPU	Intel Processor N100 quad-core	AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, 8 cores/16 threads
Graphics	24EU Intel HD graphics @ 750 MHz	AMD Radeon Graphics
RAM	Up to 16GB DDR4-3200 (1x slot)	Up to 64GB DDR4-3200 (2x slots)
Storage	512GB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD (optional)	512GB M.2 2280 NVMe SSD (optional)
Additional M.2 Slot	None	1 (M.2 2280, NVMe)
Networking	2x 2.5GbE, WiFi 6	2x 2.5GbE, WiFi 6
USB Ports	2x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 2x USB 2.0	2x USB 3.2 Gen 2, 2x USB 2.0
Video Output	HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4	HDMI 2.0, DisplayPort 1.4
Power Supply	90W external PSU	90W external PSU
Dimensions	162 x 162 x 198 mm	162 x 162 x 198 mm
Weight	Approx. 1kg	Approx. 1kg

There are concerns about the placement of the CPU fan in the Aoostar R1, as it is positioned directly above a 3.5″ hard drive. This configuration could potentially lead to the intake of warm air into the cooler, affecting its efficiency, or it might limit the dissipation of heat from the heatsink. Such a design choice may have implications for the thermal management of the device, especially under heavy use.

Flipping the motherboard reveals the M.2 NVMe storage bay(s) in the R1 and R7 models, respectively. The R1 model includes a single M.2 NVMe slot, while the R7 benefits from an additional slot. This difference in storage expansion capabilities highlights the R7’s suitability for more demanding storage requirements. Each model comes with two SODIMM DDR4 memory slots, offering flexibility in memory configuration. Customers have the option to purchase the device without memory, or they can opt for configurations with 16GB or 32GB (2x 16GB) of 3200MHz DDR4 RAM. This choice allows users to tailor the memory to their specific needs and budget.

It’s important to note that the system does not support ECC Memory, which, while not critical for this scale of operation, could have been a beneficial feature in the more powerful R7 unit. ECC Memory offers improved data integrity, which is particularly useful in environments where data accuracy is paramount. However, for most home and small office applications, the lack of ECC Memory is not a significant drawback. The Aoostar units come equipped with WiFi 6 support, delivered via an M.2 AX Intel WiFi module. This modern wireless standard provides faster and more reliable internet connectivity. The WiFi module feeds into two internal antennas located on the base of the frame on either side, ensuring optimal signal reception and transmission.

This integration of advanced networking capabilities into the Aoostar’s design is an impressive modification of the existing architecture of other Aoostar mini PCs, now adapted for a 2-Bay NAS system. The transformation from a standard mini PC to a NAS system involves more than just adding hard drive bays; it requires a thoughtful reconfiguration of internal components to support NAS functionalities effectively. However, concerns about the physical placement of the motherboard persist, especially considering the Aoostar models are designed for 24/7 operation. While the systems will experience extended idle periods, during busy times, the CPU could potentially experience performance throttling due to insufficient cooling. This concern is more pronounced in the R7 model, equipped with a more powerful Ryzen 7 processor, which generates more heat and thus requires more efficient cooling.

Both the Intel N100 in the Aoostar R1 and the Ryzen 7 in the R7 feature multi-core architectures and integrated graphics. However, the Vega graphics in the R7 are notably superior in terms of performance and capabilities. This difference in graphics processing power makes the R7 model more suitable for tasks that require more robust graphical processing, such as media transcoding or light gaming.

Aoostar R1 and R7 NAS Review – Verdict and Conclusion

Even on a casual analysis of the Aoostar R1 and R7 NAS units, it is clear that these devices offer a compelling option for those in the market for a NAS solution that strikes a balance between turnkey and DIY systems. The Aoostar R1, with its Intel Processor N100, and the R7, powered by the AMD Ryzen 7 5700U, cater to a diverse range of needs, from basic home storage to more demanding small business applications, providing two solutions that provide significantly higher calibre hardware for the price point than comparable level offerings from Synology and QNAP. On the positive side, both models showcase a thoughtful design that maximizes internal space while maintaining a compact external footprint. Their double-sided micro ITX motherboards and the ability to accommodate multiple storage options highlight a commitment to efficiency and flexibility. The ease of access for upgrades and maintenance, thanks to the removable external casing and internal frame, is another plus, making these units user-friendly. However, there are areas where improvements could be beneficial. The cooling system, particularly in the R7 model, raises concerns, especially considering the potential for heat build-up given the powerful Ryzen processor and the proximity of the CPU fan to the hard drive bays. The absence of 10GbE connectivity in the R7 is a notable limitation for users seeking higher network performance. Additionally, while the pricing of these units is competitive, the lack of ECC memory support in the more powerful R7 model is a missed opportunity to appeal to a broader professional market. The Aoostar R1 and R7 NAS units present a viable middle-ground solution for those looking to move away from third-party cloud services or seeking an alternative to the extremes of the NAS market. While they may not satisfy the most demanding users or those seeking the highest level of customization, they offer a solid balance of performance, ease of use, and expandability.

 

Aoostar R1 2-Bay NAS (Intel N100 Version)		Aoostar R7 2-Bay NAS (AMD Ryzen 7 5700U Version)
Amazon >>> $419 (Check Amazon HERE)	Aliexpress >>> $309 (Check Aliexpress HERE)	Amazon >>> $419 (Check Amazon HERE)	Aliexpress >>> $388 (Check Aliexpress HERE)

Aoostar R1 and R7 NAS PROS

Aoostar R1 and R7 NAS CONS

– Compact and efficient design with double-sided micro ITX motherboards. – Flexibility in storage options with support for multiple drives and M.2 NVMe SSDs. – User-friendly access for upgrades and maintenance. – Good balance of performance and price, especially in the R1 model. – Support for WiFi 6 and multiple high-speed USB and networking ports. – Windows 11 pre-installed, offering a familiar operating system environment.

– Potential for inadequate cooling, particularly in the R7 model. – Lack of 10GbE connectivity in the R7, limiting higher network performance. – No support for ECC memory, which could be a drawback for professional users. – Concerns about the physical placement of components and their impact on system cooling and longevity. – The R7’s higher price point might be a barrier for some users, considering the noted limitations.

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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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U-NAS NSC-410 NAS Case Review

In an era characterized by the exponential growth of digital data and the ongoing demand for reliable storage solutions, Network Attached Storage (NAS) enclosures have emerged as essential devices for both personal and professional data management. They offer centralized data storage, accessibility, and data protection, making them an integral part of modern computing environments. In this review, we undertake a comprehensive analysis of the U-NAS NSC-410 NAS Enclosure, a versatile solution that has garnered attention in the storage technology landscape. The U-NAS NSC-410 is notable for its functional design and its potential to address a range of storage needs across various use cases. It blends practicality and aesthetics while accommodating the latest storage technologies. Throughout this review, we will closely examine the NSC-410’s external design, internal components, usability, performance capabilities, and potential applications.

Whether you are a technology enthusiast in search of a reliable home storage solution, a professional seeking to streamline data management for your organization, or an individual looking to secure and manage digital assets, this review aims to provide an impartial assessment of the U-NAS NSC-410 NAS Enclosure. Our objective is to offer you valuable insights to help you determine whether this enclosure aligns with your unique storage requirements and expectations. Join us as we navigate the intricacies of the U-NAS NSC-410, dissecting its features and capabilities to assist you in making an informed decision within today’s data-driven landscape.

Note – You can watch the video review of the U-NAS NSC-410 NAS Enclosure HERE on YouTube

Hardware Highlights in Brief:

• Chassis Type: Mini-Tower
• Motherboard Compatibility: Mini-ITX
• Power Supply: 150W/250W 1U Flex
• Front Ports: 1 x USB 3.0
• Side Ports: 2 x USB 2.0, Audio (mic & headphone)
• Cooling: 1 x 120mm Gelid Ultra Quiet Fan
• Expansion: 4 x Hot-Swap Drive Bays (2.5″/3.5” SATA/SAS), Up to 3 x Internal Drive Bays (2.5” HDD/SSD), 1 x Full Size PCI/PCI Express
• Dimensions: 263mm x 195mm x 197mm (feet not included)
• Net Weight: 4.1 KG

U-NAS NSC-410 NAS Case Review – Quick Conclusion

The U-NAS NSC-410 NAS Enclosure combines practicality and functionality, making it a reliable choice for various storage requirements. While its design may appear somewhat dated, its sturdy build, user-friendly features, and expandability options stand out. However, the unconventional motherboard placement can limit CPU fan choices and airflow. Consider compatibility and specific use cases, especially for CPUs with higher cooling demands. Overall, the NSC-410 offers a solid storage solution with a few trade-offs but remains a practical choice within its design parameters.

U-NAS NSC-410 NAS Case Review – Packaging

The packaging for the U-NAS NSC-410 NAS case is quite straightforward. It arrives in a standard brown box, which can be described as rather generic in appearance.

Upon opening the box, you’ll find that the NSC-410 4-Bay enclosure is very well protected, nestled within white hard foam that effectively safeguards it during transit.

The included accessories are neatly organized within their dedicated kit box. Inside, you’ll discover practical items such as cable ties, a molex power splitter, screws designed for both 2.5” and 3.5” HDDs, and a SATA 2.5” plate for securing a drive.

Additionally, it’s worth noting that the brand offers optional accessories for purchase separately, including SAS rear-connected backplanes and a PCIe EXTENSION KIT.

For those who prefer a more streamlined approach, there’s an option to acquire the NAS case prepopulated with an Intel Celeron NAS built configuration for $179. This configuration features an Intel J3455 processor and 2GB SODIMM Memory, known as the U-NAS NS-410.

The power supply unit (PSU) arrives pre-installed, with the 2x molex power connectors already pre-connected to the storage backboard. In summary, the accessories kit provided with the U-NAS NSC-410 NAS case is comprehensive and adequately protects the contents. While the packaging may be somewhat generic in appearance, it offers good value for its price point and includes all the necessary components for setup and use.

U-NAS NSC-410 NAS Case Review – Design

This particular case may seem familiar to some, as it has been available under various brand names on online marketplaces like Aliexpress and Amazon. However, it comes bearing the U-NAS logo prominently displayed at the top, establishing its origin.

The chassis of the NSC-410 is predominantly characterized by its metal external lid, which envelops three sides of the case. In terms of dimensions, it measures 263mm x 195mm x 197mm, aligning with a desktop-style 4-Bay enclosure.

Upon unboxing, the case’s metal slides are found protected by a layer of plastic, a feature that can be effortlessly removed. It’s worth noting that while the metal casing might be considered somewhat thin, it imparts a sense of solidity and durability.

The external lid showcases a brushed and smooth metal finish, contributing to its overall appearance. Ventilation is concentrated on one side of the case, primarily where the motherboard and CPU are typically positioned, and notably absent on the top, right side, and base of the chassis.

Examining the front panel, it is constructed from plastic and lacks a dedicated cavity for an LCD panel. This design choice results in a conspicuous and relatively large vacant space on the front panel. However, it includes a clearly visible USB Type-A USB 3.2 Gen 1 (5Gb/s) port, in addition to robustly designed power on/off and reset buttons.

A distinctive feature can be found at the corner edge of the front panel, where 2x additional USB 2.0 Type-A ports and sound (audio In/Out) ports are located. This uncommon addition enhances the case’s functionality.

The individual storage bays within the case are not equipped with locking mechanisms but feature ample ventilation. Each storage tray is designed for easy removal and includes a spring-loaded handle for added convenience. Inside, each bay incorporates combined SAS/SATA connectors, facilitating connectivity.

Moving to the rear panel, a single large 120mm fan is included to manage cooling. Notably, there is a clear M-ITX backplane panel, although its vertical placement may deviate from the horizontal orientation commonly seen in most compact NAS cases.

In terms of aesthetics, it’s essential to acknowledge that the case may appear somewhat dated by the standards of 2023/2024. Nevertheless, it compensates for this with its robust construction, signifying durability as a primary attribute.

U-NAS NSC-410 NAS Case Review – Inside

The U-NAS NSC-410 NAS case features an internal 1U FLEX PSU. It can be purchased with a choice of a 150W PSU included for $157.99 or a 250W PSU for $169.

However, it’s worth noting that some users might prefer a standard SFX PSU, which tends to be easier to source in physical retail shops, unlike the less common 1U FLEX PSU. The provided PSU includes a main 20 PIN connector, 2x SATA power connectors, and 2 additional smaller motherboard port connectors.

Within the case, you’ll find that the SATA data cables are pre-connected to the rear backboard, streamlining the setup process. Furthermore, the power for the SATA backboard comes pre-attached, facilitated by 2x molex power cables.

The internal fan is a silent 120mm GELID fan, contributing to noise reduction. The front panel cables are well-organized, ensuring a neat interior layout. These front panel connectors encompass a USB 3.2 Gen 1 Port, Power, Reset, LEDs, Audio In/Out, and 2x USB connectors.

It’s important to note that the M-ITX motherboard is mounted on its side within the case, a configuration that some may find unconventional. The PCIe slot is full-width but of ¾ length, accommodating single-card height expansions.

One notable consideration is that the CPU fan height cannot exceed 60mm, and possibly even less for optimal cooling. This limitation could pose challenges for more high-performance CPUs like Intel Core i5 and above or serious AMD Ryzen processors unless users are willing to invest in integrated and compact copper-piped CPU heatsinks and fans.

For those seeking a SAS backplane, U-NAS offers a replacement rear backplane version. Additionally, there is room for a 2.5” SATA SSD drive, and an additional SATA cable is included for this purpose.

In summary, the U-NAS NSC-410 is a compact case with practical features. However, the placement of the motherboard in close proximity to the 4-Bay SATA drive cage at an angle may significantly limit CPU fan options and potentially obstruct horizontal airflow, making it important to carefully consider component compatibility.

U-NAS NSC-410 NAS Case Review – Conclusion and Verdict

So what do I think of the U-NAS NSC-410 NAS Enclosure? It’s clear that this device try to bring a blend of practicality and functionality to the realm of network-attached storage solutions. While not without its limitations, the NSC-410 showcases several notable features that cater to a range of storage requirements. The enclosure’s design, with its metal external lid and compact footprint, offers a sturdy build, though it may appear somewhat dated in the context of contemporary aesthetics. The inclusion of a 120mm GELID fan for cooling, pre-connected SATA data cables, and well-organized front panel connectors contributes to an overall user-friendly experience.

One noteworthy aspect is the placement of the M-ITX motherboard, which, while unconventional, enables space-efficient design. However, this placement may restrict CPU fan choices and potentially affect airflow. The availability of alternative power supply units, SAS backplane options, and additional storage expandability via the 2.5″ SATA SSD drive slot enhances the enclosure’s versatility. It is important to consider the specific use case and compatibility requirements when assessing the suitability of the NSC-410, particularly for CPUs with more demanding cooling needs.

The U-NAS NSC-410 NAS Enclosure offers a pragmatic storage solution. Its practical features and solid construction make it a viable choice for those seeking a reliable network-attached storage solution, although some trade-offs exist. Ultimately, it is a product that can fulfill various storage needs within its design parameters.

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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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A Guide to the Best 8-Bay NAS Drives to Buy Right Now

Delving into the world of NAS for business purposes, it becomes clear that the 8-Bay NAS drives mark a significant leap in seriousness and capability. While NAS systems are commonly used in homes, for budget-friendly options, and in small businesses for basic storage needs, the 8-Bay variants signify a major step up. These systems, compatible with both hard drives and SSDs, showcase the advanced capabilities of NAS brands. Historically, 8-Bays have been pivotal in transitioning from Desktop to Rackmount servers, offering enhanced storage, performance, and redundancy. Such systems boast features like 10-gigabit ethernet, Xeon processors, and increased memory, catering to a broader range of users and processes than their predecessors. Early on, NAS brands integrated 8-Bay desktop servers into their offerings, recognizing the need for compact, powerful desktop solutions to compete with traditional rackmount servers. With an array of 8-Bay NAS systems available, each with unique hardware and software features, yet similarly priced, the choice can be overwhelming. In this guide, I aim to spotlight the top three 8-Bay NAS drives to consider in 2023/2024, selected for their value, scalability, and power. Let’s dive in.

Best NAS of the Year (Honourable Mention) QNAP TVS-h874T $2999-3499 – Buy Here on Amazon – Buy HERE on B&H (Best Value) Terramaster T9-450 $999-1099 – Buy Here on Amazon – Buy HERE on B&H (Best Software) Synology DS1821+ $1099 – Buy Here on Amazon – Buy HERE on B&H (Best Hardware) QNAP TVS-h874 $2000-2500-3000 – Buy Here on Amazon – Buy HERE on B&H

What Have All the Best 8-Bay NAS Drives Have in Common?

It is worth remembering that although there are ALOT of different 8-Bay NAS drives available to buy, they are by no means created equal! With numerous super-budget brands popping up online, it can be tempting to consider these alongside the premium NAS brands. However, all too often they offer solutions righty seem ‘too good to be true’ and then are gone from the web before your warranty even gets cold! So, whether you are looking at the three best 8-Bay solutions that I am recommending below OR are looking at another 8-Bay NAS you saw on offer/recommended elsewhere – the best NAS system ALWAYS includes the following software and services:

• Combined Hardware & Software Solution – That means that you are buying the hardware, but it ALSO includes a web browser GUI, mobile apps and desktop client apps (including backup, media, streaming, surveillance and file management software)
• All NAS systems in this guide are compatible with (and can be accessed by) Windows, Mac, Android and Linux operating systems
• All NAS Solutions arrive with between 2-3 years Warranty (with the option to extend to 5 years)
• All NAS drives can be accessed locally over the network, as well as secure remote access is possible with brand-supported services (at no additional cost)
• The most modern and regularly updated NAS systems will support the very latest 20TB NAS hard drives (such as the Seagate Ironwolf 22TB and WD Red 22TB)
• All the recommended solutions support multiple drive configurations (RAID) for drive failure protection and performance enhancements
• All solutions receive regular updates to their security, features and services
• All recommended NAS drives can connect and synchronize with cloud services (Google Drive, DropBox, OneDrive, etc), as well as Business/Enterprise services such as AWS, Azure, Backblaze and more
• All NAS solutions (regardless of brand) feature the ability to host a shared drive on your PC/Mobile/Laptop systems that are synchronized with the NAS via the network/internet, but is shown in your native operating system file manager (i.e Mac Finder or Windows Explorer)
• All the NAS solutions listed can be accessed DIRECTLY via an ethernet/network cable being connected from your PC/Mac system, to the NAS RJ45 port for 100MB/s and higher connectivity
• All the best NAS solutions (regardless of brand) feature backup and sync tools that can be installed on your local client computer and allow regular backups of your files and system data

So, make sure that if you are looking at a NAS solution that is NOT recommended below, that it includes all of the above as these are some of the clearest areas that brands all too often cut orders to produce cheaper by ultimately inferior NAS servers for home and business.

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Honourable Mention: The QNAP TVS-h874T Thunderbolt4 NAS

0-176TB, 8-Bays, 2x PCIe 4×4 M.2 NVMe 2280, PCIe Gen 4×16 Upgrade Slot, Intel Core 12th Gen i7/i9 CPU, 32-64GB DDR4 (non-ECC) Memory, 2x Thunderbolt4 Port, 2x 2.5Gbe Port, KVM, ZFS or EXT4 Setup, 3-5yr Warranty

Current Price/Availability on Amazon – $2999-3499

Hardware Review – LINK (h874) – h874T Review Coming Soon

YouTube Video Review – Watch (h874) – h874T Review Coming Soon

In summarizing the capabilities and potential of the QNAP TVS-h874T NAS, released as a late 2023 update to its predecessor, it’s clear that this system represents a significant leap forward in desktop NAS technology. Priced over £2500, it’s a substantial investment, designed with future-proofing in mind. The TVS-h874T not only maintains the longevity and high-end status of the TVS-h874 but also brings to the table enhanced direct data access through Thunderbolt 4 integration. This advancement, supporting IP over Thunderbolt protocol, significantly boosts connectivity and speed, making the system an ideal choice for demanding tasks such as 8K video editing and high-performance computing needs in business environments. However, the question of whether Thunderbolt NAS is the right fit for all users remains. For those requiring high-speed, multi-user access and scalability, the TVS-h874T is a strong contender. Its support for the latest PCIe 4 standards ensures compatibility with high-performance upgrades, reinforcing its position as a future-proof investment. The software, featuring QTS and QuTS, might require some acclimatization, particularly for those familiar with simpler systems like Synology’s DSM. Yet, the benefits, especially for ZFS enthusiasts, are undeniable, offering advanced RAID management and a plethora of applications and services.

The TVS-h874T’s stance on open hardware and software compatibility is a significant plus in an industry increasingly leaning towards proprietary systems. It accommodates a range of third-party hardware and software, adding to its versatility. In the face of growing concerns over NAS security, the system is well-equipped with comprehensive tools and settings for enhanced security and data protection, addressing the pressing issue of ransomware attacks. In conclusion, the QNAP TVS-h874T stands out as an exceptional choice for businesses and power users who require a robust, scalable, and secure NAS solution. It offers an excellent balance of price, performance, and features, making it a worthy investment for those seeking top-tier server-side capabilities. However, for users with simpler storage needs or those not requiring the advanced features of Thunderbolt NAS, traditional Thunderbolt DAS devices might be a more suitable and cost-effective option. The TVS-h874T, with its advanced capabilities, is undoubtedly a powerhouse in NAS technology, but its full benefits will be best realized by those whose requirements align closely with what this advanced system has to offer.

 

DEAL WATCH – Is It On Offer Right Now? QNAP TVS-h874T-i9-64G, 8-bay Thunderbolt 4 NAS, Intel Core i9 CPU, 64GB RAM Amazon UK 61 OFF (WAS 3860) [LINK] These Offers are Checked Daily

 

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Best All Round 8-Bay NAS Drive – Synology DS1821+ NAS

0-176TB, 8-Bays, 2x NVMe Cache Bays, Quad-Core Ryzen V1500B 2.2Ghz CPU, 4-32GB DDR4 ECC Memory, 4x 1Gbe Port, 1x PCIe 3×8 Upgrade Slot, 5yr Warranty

Current Price/Availability on Amazon – $1099

Hardware Review – LINK

YouTube Video Review – Watch

What I said in my review Dec ’20:

What you have here is a solid piece of hardware that very much lives up to everything Synology promises, even if some of those promises aren’t to everyone’s taste. With a hardware architecture that we have already tested to notable success in the DS1621+ previously, we already knew that this NAS would be able to do everything it promised. Many users looking to spend their annual business budgets on an improved or extended data storage solution will find the balanced position of hardware vs software found by the Synology DS1821+ to be quite desirable, as well as the scaled potential to upgrade external performance via PCIe and storage via eSATA. However, there is no ignoring that despite the fact this 2020 release excels in many things, it also arrives with a little bottlenecking in a number of others. The continued default utilisation of 1Gbe on the newest generation by Synology is somewhat perplexing and although I have continued admiration for Synology’s engagement with intelligent M2 NVMe cache utilisation and providing a solution that allows more flexible upgrade paths, I know that there are still users who just wish they could use that super fast NAND for raw storage pools and have better than gigabit connections out by default.

It has never been a secret that buying a Synology NAS solution was always a largely ‘software over hardware’ purchase, and the DS1821+ is still a fine example of that balance. However, with other brands closing the gap in what they can offer the SMB (Small/Medium Business) user, while still providing superior hardware and similar warranty coverage, there is the tiniest feeling that the DS1821+ is a NAS that sits on its laurels a bit. Hugely upgradable and still with that award-winning and fantastically intuative DSM software, the DS1821+ is about buying a solution you can adapt within its lifespan and not one that will knock your socks off on day one. A solid and dependable data storage solution, if a little safe, at the end of 2020.

DEAL WATCH – Is It On Offer Right Now? Synology DS1821+ 8-Bay Diskstation NAS (AMD Ryzen V1500B Quad-Core 2,2 GHz 4 GB Amazon USA 100 OFF (WAS 3464) [LINK] Synology DS1821+8bay NAS V1500B Quad-Core 2.2 GHz,Black Amazon UK 4.53 OFF (WAS 1059) [LINK] These Offers are Checked Daily

 

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Most Powerful 8-Bay NAS Drive – QNAP TVS-h874 NAS

0-176TB, 8-Bays, 2x PCIe 4 M.2 NVMe 2280, PCIe Gen 4×16 Upgrade Slot, Intel Core 12th Gen i5/i7/i9 CPU, 16-64GB DDR4 Memory, 2.5Gbe Port, 10Gb x2 Prots (Intel i9 Version), KVM, ZFS or EXT4 Setup, 3-5yr Warranty

Current Price/Availability on Amazon – $2000-2500-3000

Hardware Review – LINK

YouTube Video Review – Watch

What I said in my review Dec ’22:

The QNAP TVS-h874 NAS is easily one of the most hardware-capable desktop NAS systems that I have ever seen (as you would expect for £2500+) and has clearly been designed with phenomenal future proofing in mind! If you are concerned about the longevity of this NAS, this hardware architecture will still be top tier 5 years from now, with the added support of PCIe 4 meaning that high capacity and performing micro upgrades throughout its life also ensuring it remains relevant long after. It’s price tag clearly moves this purchase out of the home and squarely into the business market (though likely those that take their media seriously will add it to the cart) and the TVS-h874 will function as a solid solution for Video editing (even at 8K), high frequency and performing VMs, large scale AI powered Surveillance setup, hybrid cloud/on-prem alternative to Office 365/Google Workspace services and as the center point for all your data storage operations. Crucially though, it is that the hardware on offer here will be able to do ALL of these at the same time, therefore maximising the investment for most businesses that want to move aware from their cloud dependant ops. In terms of software,t things are a little less absolute, with QTS and QuTS still getting a little busy at times, with a steeper learning curve than its big rival DSM from Synology. That said, die-hard fans of ZFS (Zettabyte File System) will adore the inclusion of benefits in RAID handling, management and recovery that are exclusive to that platform, whilst enjoying the wide range of applications and service benefits in QuTS that are often restricted to Linux platforms.

The slightly conveluded approach to release hardware that does complicate the selection process (different CPUs in the Intel 12th Gen family changing the rest of the system architecture) is something that I hoped this brand would graduate from (for the sake of simplicity), but for many, this level of choice in hardware and budget will be welcome. As is QNAP’s position on the support of 3rd party hardware (drives, PCIe upgrades, etc) and software, something that we have seen a worrying trend in the last few years against elsewhere in the industry but some other brands, to err towards 1st party/proprietary compatibility more and more. There are still lingering doubts by some on the security of NAS, with ransomware attacks on the rise and ALL brands and ALL platforms being targetted (NAS, Cloud ,etc), finding a middle ground between ease of use and depth of security being a tricky tie rope walk indeed. The TVS-h874 arrives with a wide range of Day 1 tools, further rigid defaults in QTS/QuTS in 2022/2023, considerable security settings to configure and multiple system scan tools for recommendations & preventative measures available. The QNAP TVS-h874 is probably the most powerful desktop/tower NAS drive I have ever reviewed and if you are looking for a system that can legitimately do anything server-side, but you are also willing to put in the time to configure it correctly – you will genuinely be hard pushed to find a better system in 2022, 2023 and likely 2024 at this price point and scale.

 

DEAL WATCH – Is It On Offer Right Now? QNAP TVS-h874-i5-32G Intel Core i5 Processor, 32 GB RAM, PCIe Gen 4 expandabilit Amazon UK 32.98 OFF (WAS 2638) [LINK] QNAP TVS-h874 NAS Tower Ethernet LAN Black Amazon UK 72.76 OFF (WAS 3743) [LINK] QNAP TVS-h874T-i9-64G, 8-bay Thunderbolt 4 NAS, Intel Core i9 CPU, 64GB RAM Amazon UK 61 OFF (WAS 3860) [LINK] These Offers are Checked Daily

 

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Best Value Hardware 8-Bay NAS Drive – Terramaster T9-450 NAS

0-198TB, 9-Bays, 2x PCIe Gen 3 M.2 NVMe 2280, Intel C3558R Atom Quad Core CPU, 8-32GB Memory, 2x 10GbE SFP, 1x 2.5GbE Port, PCIe Slot (TBC), 2yr Warranty

Current Price/Availability on Amazon – $999-1099

Hardware Review – LINK

YouTube Video Review – Watch

What I said in my review May ’23:

Terramaster has really changed the playing field with the T9-450 NAS. I was already a big fan of their latest generation of 6-Bay, 9-Bay and 12-Bay desktop chassis – providing a pretty substantial amount of storage in a tower design that borrows ventilation methodology traditionally found in rackmounts, but the T9-450 takes this logic and doubles down on it hard. The dual 10GbE on the system means that, despite it’s comparatively modest price point (when comparing against similar scale solutions from Synology and QNAP) you genuinely have a solution with the potential to allow you to enjoy every single MB/s or GB/s of your RAID externally. This is further bolstered with additional 2.5GbE ports, m.2 NVMe bays, uncomplicated support of HDDs/SSDs and just generally a very sensible system that shows how much Terramaster has matured as a brand. The TOS software is still not quite up there with Synology’s DSM or QNAP’s QTS in terms of ease of use and AAA+ features, but it is definitely a great entry point OS that has tighted it’s security since the brand was targetted by a ransomware group (along with other brands, they were affected by Deadbolt attacks) – it certainly lacks some of the background optimization of it’s competitors, but then this is reflected in the budget of the system too.

The internal PCIe slot that has been largely ignored is a bit of a missed opportunity and I am not a big fan of how they have addressed memory compatibility, but overall it is very, very tough to criticise the T9-450 NAS when you factor in the value of the package here. Factor in that you can very easily swap out the OS for many others, and it largely silences alot of the negatives here too. Overall, the T9-450 could potentially be the best NAS that Terramster has ever released and if they continue to address later releases with the same level of hardware value, this could definitely give the bigger names in the industry something of a headache down the road. I highly recommend this system for its value and performance potential!

 

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The QNAP TVS-h874T NAS Drive Review

The unveiling of the TVS-H874T at Computex in summer 2023 marked an important update to the existing TVS-h874 model. This system, positioned in the higher end of the market with a launch price between $2999 and $3499, caters to a niche yet demanding audience. Aimed at content creators, 4K video editors, and those involved in production, the TVS-H874T is designed to meet the intensive demands of high-resolution content management and creation. As the fourth, or by some measures, the fifth generation of Thunderbolt NAS technology, the TVS-H874T raises important considerations for potential users. It represents a significant investment in network storage technology, particularly for professionals who need high-capacity and high-speed storage solutions. This launch prompts several critical questions: Will the TVS-H874T truly benefit content creators and post-production users who are considering it? Does it justify its high price tag in comparison to the capabilities it offers? And, in the evolving landscape of digital storage, are users better off investing in this advanced NAS system, or might traditional Thunderbolt DAS devices suffice for their needs? The answers to these questions will determine the real-world impact and success of the TVS-H874T in a highly specialized market.

QNAP TVS-h874T NAS Highlights

• Intel 12th Gen i7 or i9 Configuration Options, in 12 Core and 16 Core Versions (20/24 Thread Respectively) with Integrated UHD Graphics 770
• 32-64GB DDR4 Memory (128GB in Testing)
• PCIe Gen 4 Architecture (PCIe 4×6 PCIe Upgrade Slot and PCIe 4×4 M.2 NVMe)
• 8x SATA Bays, Supporting the latest 20TB & 22TB Hard Drives
• Thunderbolt 4 Connectivity
• 350W Internal PSU (Graphics Cards Supported)
• HDMI/KVM Support with USB 3.2 Gen 2 10Gb Connections, Type C and Type A
• Choice of ZFS or EXT4 System Software and File System

QNAP TVS-h874T NAS Review – Quick Conclusion

In summarizing the capabilities and potential of the QNAP TVS-h874T NAS, released as a late 2023 update to its predecessor, it’s clear that this system represents a significant leap forward in desktop NAS technology. Priced over £2500, it’s a substantial investment, designed with future-proofing in mind. The TVS-h874T not only maintains the longevity and high-end status of the TVS-h874 but also brings to the table enhanced direct data access through Thunderbolt 4 integration. This advancement, supporting IP over Thunderbolt protocol, significantly boosts connectivity and speed, making the system an ideal choice for demanding tasks such as 8K video editing and high-performance computing needs in business environments.

However, the question of whether Thunderbolt NAS is the right fit for all users remains. For those requiring high-speed, multi-user access and scalability, the TVS-h874T is a strong contender. Its support for the latest PCIe 4 standards ensures compatibility with high-performance upgrades, reinforcing its position as a future-proof investment. The software, featuring QTS and QuTS, might require some acclimatization, particularly for those familiar with simpler systems like Synology’s DSM. Yet, the benefits, especially for ZFS enthusiasts, are undeniable, offering advanced RAID management and a plethora of applications and services.

The TVS-h874T’s stance on open hardware and software compatibility is a significant plus in an industry increasingly leaning towards proprietary systems. It accommodates a range of third-party hardware and software, adding to its versatility. In the face of growing concerns over NAS security, the system is well-equipped with comprehensive tools and settings for enhanced security and data protection, addressing the pressing issue of ransomware attacks. In conclusion, the QNAP TVS-h874T stands out as an exceptional choice for businesses and power users who require a robust, scalable, and secure NAS solution. It offers an excellent balance of price, performance, and features, making it a worthy investment for those seeking top-tier server-side capabilities. However, for users with simpler storage needs or those not requiring the advanced features of Thunderbolt NAS, traditional Thunderbolt DAS devices might be a more suitable and cost-effective option. The TVS-h874T, with its advanced capabilities, is undoubtedly a powerhouse in NAS technology, but its full benefits will be best realized by those whose requirements align closely with what this advanced system has to offer.

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QNAP TVS-h874T NAS Review – PACKAGING & ACCESSORIES

The retail box of the QNAP TVS-874 NAS is fairly standard and pretty much the same as the bulk of other devices in this tier of storage. Large brown box, big sticker denoting the device inside and it’s architecture – all pretty normal (if a little dull) stuff. That said, I am always very interested in the actual protection that is afforded to these devices in transit in terms of protection from shock, motion and pressure damage. Despite the QNAP TVS-874 NAS arriving unpopulated (i.e. no drive media included), there are still quite fragile devices that are susceptible to silent damage (cracks on the internal boards, loosening of connectors internally, dislodging of transistors or chips that often you do not realise happened till months/years down the line). In the case of the QNAP TVS-874 NAS, this device has a fantastically dense level of protection.

The unit is encased in a rigid hard foam that 100% prevents the device moving in transit, as well as absorbing the bulk of any physical or shock-based impact when in transit (built in Taiwan, these devices will travel more than half the globe easily). The accessories kit is held tightly in a pre-cut panel in the foam and that is pretty much it! Unless a forklift truck arm manages to punch a pallet of these in a warehouse, this is pretty much as good a level of protection as you can get. Indeed, there is enough protection here that I would ship this fully populated with little to no concern frankly. Let’s discuss what is included in the QNAP TVS-874 retail kit.

There is actually not too much in the way of accessories included with the QNAP TVS-874 NAS. No external PSU (it is a chunky internal 350W), only one ethernet cable (CAT 5e), screws for 3.5 and 2.5″ media (despite the trays being click-and-load), keys for the bays, external mains lead and docs related to the product. Not a vast amount, but pretty much everything you are going to need.

The included documents are a first-time setup manual (very light on details and far more recommended to use online resources), information on the included 3 years warranty and details on how to extend that warranty to 5 years. The cost of adding two additional years of warranty is typically relative to the cost of the device. So, for example, a TS-464 that costs around £550 will cost around £89 to add 2 more years, whereas the £2500 TVS-h874T i7 version will cost you £599. The extra warranty is purely optional and although it took QNAP longer than many wanted to create a much more user-friendly warranty support system (they now have the colour-coded system), its good to have that choice available. Extra warranty used to only be an option that could be applied in the first 60 days of ownership, but has been extended recently to within the first 9 months for a limited time. Otherwise, you still have the 3 years of hardware warranty and effective product-lifespan support in software (generally around 8-10 years depending on the device) in firmware updates that include security and service extras.

Another very, very small extra in the accessories pack that I am both happy (and sad) about is the inclusion of a couple of adhesive heatsinks that you can attach to drives installed in the two M.2 NVMe 2280 bays. Now, on the one hand, this is good because it is surprising how few brands/devices that feature M.2 NVMe SSD bays (most NAS’ these days actually) do NOT include heatsinks in the NAS retail kit, despite M.2 NVMe SSDs getting very hot during sustained access – something that forms a big part of SSD caching. So, I AM chuffed they are included (they are not expensive and show the brand is aware of this temp factor), however they are pretty small! I know that the only component you should worry about really is the SSD Controller (it will bottleneck/throttle when too hot), as the storage NAND works better when warm – but it would have been nice if QNAP included full-length 2280 Hheatsinks (they are like $10) instead. Still, better to have them than not at all!

That said, the fact the system does not arrive with a Thunderbolt 4 Cable is a little disappointing. I can appreciate that USB-C Thunderbolt 4 certified cables are not cheap, but nor is the TVS-h874T and unlike a mains power cable, ethernet cable or a USB cable, Thunderbolt 4 cables are not so common. This is additionally exacerbated by the fact that there is a non-Thunderbolt version of this device (the TVS-h874), so it is not as if someone will choose this version unless they specifically want to use Thunderbolt 3/4.

The accessories included with the QNAP TVS-874 are fairly standard stuff, which is not a bad thing. The protection afforded to it in transit is first class and although the retail packaging itself is a bit bland (again, enterprise product that is bought over the internet – so why make it ‘snazzy’), overall QNAP TVS-874 NAS presentation is pretty spot on – it’s just a shame about the lack of a TB4 cable. Let’s discuss the design of the system itself.

QNAP TVS-h874T NAS Review – Design

The design of the QNAP TVS-h874T chassis is very similar to that of the TVS-872XT, which is unsurprising as that was the debut for this NAS design and one that has continued in most of the brand’s high-profile releases in the 5 years. It is pretty much the classic 8 SATA bay shape you would expect, but there are a few elements that are seemingly still quite unique to QNAP. As you might expect, the chassis design is largely metal throughout (with areas of the front panel and trays in plastic) that aids heat dissipation in this 24×7 server, with ventilation on practically all sides working in conjunction with a more enterprise internal fan arrangement (more on that later). Although the bulk of the physical space is dedicated to those storage bays, this system is still a bit deeper than many 8-Bay devices on the market (such as the Synology DS1821+ and Lockerstor 8), which is largely down to a larger degree of internal cooling, aggressively sized CPU heatsink and larger PCIe expandability.

Of course, one physical design feature on the TVS-h874T that is slowly growing out of fashion (but still, in my opinion, has tremendous utility) is the front visible LCD panel that gives you realtime information about the system operation, along with navigation buttons. Now, on the face of it, an LCD panel on a network/remote access storage device seems a bit redundant. However, speaking on behalf of the IT storage community, having that extra option to visible SEE the nature of an alert (RAID degradation, temp sensor, etc) without the need to log in, go through 2-step authentication and access the logs is a nice extra feature. The same goes for the ability to cycle through the device’s LCD options to find out the IP and identity of the device, so you can go straight in without having to use network scanners to locate the device. It’s a small extra and although it is by no means worth the price of admission on this £2.5K NAS, I am glad it is still there in the 2023 generation.

Another thing this device needs to take ALOT more seriously than many other NAS devices of the same storage scale is ventilation. The system TECHNICALLY has 4 fans! 1 PSU fan (doesn’t really count), two large 120m fans on the rear and an additional 80mm fan beside them. This large arrangement of fans runs in conjunction with heatsinks that are arranged across the main controller boards (with the CPU heatsink being especially large). Given this system will be running a hugely powerful CPU, PCIe 4 M.2 SSDs (notorious for getting quite hit in operation at peak), those two PCIe slots (Gen 4 and Gen 3) AND 8 bays of SATA storage – cooling in 24×7 deployment is going to be CRUCIAL! I was always impressed by the cooling system on the TVS-872XT/X, but there is no avoiding that this is not exactly going to be a whisper-quiet system! Indeed, those content creators and editors in post-production that are considering this system for editing on PCIe4 Storage over 10GbE (or scaling up towards 25/40Gb on SFP or Thunderbolt) should be aware that close proximity to the device is going to be hard going! Again, at this scale of storage and level of design, this should come as no surprise – but it is still worth noting.

The eight storage bays of the TVS-h874T use QNAP’s plastic click-n-load plastic trays. Nicely designed, rigid and is not going to be affected by heat. The trays support toolless 3.5″ media installation (as well as holes for screwing in 2.5″ media). The TVS-h874T can be populated with a little as a single HDD/SSD if you choose (which would be odd!), but partial population is growing in popularity these days, thanks to larger 20TB, 22TB and even 24TB NAS Hard Drives arriving.

On that subject, the QNAP TVS-h874T does not have any perceived unreasonable limitations on hard drive compatibility and support (something, their biggest rival Synology has been debating with its user base about throughout 2022), meaning that by current commercial HDD compatibility in December 2022, the TVS-h874T can support (in it’s base, not expanded form) 176TB of raw storage. I mention expandability because the TVS-h874T can be expanded using two of any of the range of QNAP expansion devices (scaling from 2-Bays all the way to 12/16-Bays), as well as more if you use the SAS expander options. Expansion on the software side is a little less comprehensive, with your native storage expansion method (i.e just increasing the storage pool with more drives and expanding volumes) still being less smooth/possible in the ZFS QuTS setup than on the EXT4 QTS setup (which you cannot switch between after initialization without formatting the system). Still, this is a huge amount of storage expandability to have, whether you are considering Day 1 partial population or adding new expansion chassis’ later.

Each of the bays is SATA 6Gb/s, with most current enterprise-gen HDDs hitting 260-270MB/s or so (which promised 400-450MB/s HDDs from Seagate in their Mach2 still being rolled out slowly, plus their NVMe HDD EXO series still at the private testing phase at larger data centers at the time of writing). The connections are clean, wire-free combined DATA+Power connectors inside an aluminium cage. The system (depending on whether you opt for QuTS ZFS or QTS EXT4 at start up) supports numerous RAID configurations in RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, 50 and 60, as well as RAIDZ and especially business-centric triple parity configs. Opting for ZFS as your file system at initialization also allows you to benefit from considerably faster RAID build speeds (as the traditional volume layer is absent), RAID resilvering (ie re-introducing drives that have the same party/raid-group data that were cloned or accidentally ejected, is dramatically reduced in rebuild time to minutes, not hours), and other benefits towards inline data compression and deduplication (covered later).

Whereas the EXT4 setup, though lacking these ZFS advantages, DOES allow you to expand storage on the fly more easily and also allows you to take advantage of the QTier combined storage media pools (again, more on that later). The only thing missing for me is a fluid RAID system (such as Synology’s SHR, Drobo’s BeyondRAID or Terramaster’s TRAID) that allows you to use HDD/SSDs of different capacities in a single RAID and be able to take advantage of the higher capacities. I am still kinda surprised that they have yet to introduce this in their software and services. Still, this is a very minor blip on an otherwise great selection of storage services and support.

Alongside the LCD Panel mentioned earlier, the TVS-h874T also has numerous LEDs that denote system activity (much like other NAS brands that ditched LCD panels) These cover the individual eight storage bays health and activity, the system access activity, network status, USB access and even dedicated LEDs for the M.2 NVMe SSD Bays inside. These LEDs (and the LCD in fact) can have their brightness decreased or deactivated if you want.

The system also has a front-mounted USB Copy Button and USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gb/s) port for local backups. QNAP was the first to include these faster USB 10Gb ports to their systems (as far back as 2017 in fact), and alongside the port, there are also two more on the rear of the device. QNAP also has one of the broadest ranges of compatible USB devices (storage, 2.5/5G network adapters, wireless adapters, office peripherals, remote controls, tuners and more), as well as allowing you to assign them to virtual machines. I know one-touch copy buttons are a little old hat (local in a remote access world), but speaking as someone who have never REALLY trusted ‘autosave’ in software, the idea that my local USB backups can be triggered automatically, on a schedule OR MANUALLY by hand, is a range of choice I will always appreciate!

Overall, although very little has changed in the external design of the TVS-h874T compared with the 4-5 years older TVS-872XT, that is not a bad thing. They have clearly refined the cooling in this time, adapted a few new hardware upgrades into an existing framework and it still continues to be a remarkably well-built chassis in 2022/2023. Let’s discuss the external connectivity of the TVS-h874T NAS.

QNAP TVS-h874T NAS Review – Ports & Connections

The connectivity that the QNAP TVS-h874T NAS arrives with is all good, if fairly standard stuff (unless you opt for the Intel i9 version – more on that later). As mentioned earlier, there are a plethora of fans on the rear of this 8-Bay, but when it comes to the default connections on offer, there is only really three. It is in it’s long term scalability that the connections of the QNAP TVS-h874T that things start to get a little spicy.

Despite this being a desktop NAS, an external PSU Is completely out of the question. Even if you only factor in the eight SATA bays and core CPU/Memory setup, this would still push the required base power needed to make an internal PSU largely inevitable. However, once you factor in the Gen 4 PCIe slots and Gen 4 M.2 NVMe slots, we are talking hundreds of watts potentially being needed. The QNAP TVS-h874T NAS has an internal chunky 350W PSU that, although relatively easy to replace later down the line through QNAP or 3rd parties, is going to be a small pain to actually get to. Not a big issue, but one worth factoring in, as the PSU is the 2nd most fragile part of any NAS system. This system also has the support of some GPU cards, though the PSU lacks any additional power connectors for beefier upgrade cards.

The default network ports of the QNAP TVS-h874T NAS are 2.5GbE, with the system arriving with two ports. Using Link Aggregation/Port Trunking or SMB Multichannel in supported setups to hit between 279MB/s and 558MB/s. This eight-bay NAS will EASILY saturate this kind of bandwidth (even with rather domestic class storage media), but it is when you start to factor in upgrades towards 10GbE and 25GbE ports on this system that you will really see it stretch it’s muscles!

The QNAP TVS-h874T-i9-64G version of this series arrives with two 10GbE ports by default (something that I think is a bit of an oversight on the i5 and i7 models) but even then, the combination of 8 bays of SATA storage, 2x M.2 NVMe PCIe Gen 4 Bays and potential to add PCIe 4 NVMe storage and/or Network combo cards means that this system has TENS OF THOUSANDS of Megabytes of internal performance potential. So how much of that can actually be realized externally? Well, going by QNAP’s published performance figures (as I personally simply do not have the hardware environment to simulate this), we can see the following:

In short:

• 2.5GbE x1 = 295MB/s Sequential Read, 295MB/s Sequential Write
• 2.5GbE x2 = 590MB/s Sequential Read, 590MB/s Sequential Write
• 10GbE x1 = 1179MB/s Sequential Read, 21179MB/s Sequential Write
• 10GbE x2 = 2344MB/s Sequential Read, 2344MB/s Sequential Write
• 25GbE x1 = 2948MB/s Sequential Read, 2954MB/s Sequential Write
• 25GbE x2 = 3313MB/s Sequential Read, 3231MB/s Sequential Write

Note – RAID Volume: RAID 50 (8 bay and above), RAID 5 (4 bay to 6-bay), RAID 1 (2 bay), Single (1 bay). SSD / HDD : Fully populated, Samsung 860 EVO 1TB SATA SSD / Seagate ST1000NM0033 1TB HDD / Samsung PM9A1 960GB M.2 NVMe PCIe Gen4 / Samsung PM9A3 (MZQL2960HCJR-00A07) 960GB U.2 NVMe PCIe Gen4

However, the above stats have seen an upgrade, since the release of newer high-performance media, improved network adapters and how the system can bond multiple connections. The QNAP TVS-h874T benefits from the advancement in this technology in the year since the non-Thunderbolt version arrived with the following performance over 25GbE optional network adapters:

RAID 50, Fully populated, Samsung 860 EVO 1TB SATA SSD / Seagate ST1000NM0033 1TB HDD / Samsung PM9A1 960GB M.2 NVMe PCIe Gen4 / Samsung PM9A3 (MZQL2960HCJR-00A07) 960GB U.2 NVMe PCIe Gen4

Obviously, these are official stats and your own individual performance is going to be different (different storage media, RAID config, client hardware, file sizes, etc), but given these figures are based on SATA storage and do not even factor in the performance of storage pools made of those M.2 NVMe SSDs over PCIe 4×4 (so 6-7GB performance potential, which is where 100GbE cards start to become useful), these are still incredible performance figures!

The QNAP TVS-h874T also arrives with an HDMI output that can be used in conjunction with QNAP HD Station to create a completely parallel external GUI. This GUI has its own range of 1st and 3d party applications available that span a large number of services – Multimedia, office work, surveillance, standalone PC use and more. All the while, with QuTS/QTS running on the NAS with ALL its services still running. Oddly, the HDMI port is HDMI 1.4b, which means that although it will output 1080p at 60FPS, it will cap 4K at 30FPS. This aside, the QNAP TVS-h874T also benefits from HD Station, a parallel GUI that runs with QTS/QUTS to deploy numerous applications with a visual output. There are several key applications in the QNAP lineup that can take advantage of this feature, such as Photo, Music and Video station, as well as allowing a standalone Surveillance station with KVM support and even running a standalone PC with a connected keyboard and mouse. This is joined with several 3rd party apps for multimedia, office tools and communication. This combined with the wide range of unofficial third-party tools in the homebrew site ‘QNAP Club’ results in a tremendously versatile additional use for your NAS.

That said, HD Station in QTS/QuTS has received fewer improvements in recent years compared with other apps in the brand’s lineup, leading to several apps becoming less stable or simply unusable when connected with QTS/QuTS (eg QuMagie on QuTS and Photo Station on HD Station being largely uncommunicative). Its a shame, because aside from Asustor, QNAP is still one of the few brands to offer this feature on their platform and for those of you looking to directly output the media to a 4K TV (with a remote control over IR, USB or over the network with QRemote) it will result in a less polished experience. Alongside the HDMI output, the NAS also features USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gb/s) ports. This means that alongside the support of a wide range of accessories and expansion devices,  you can connect 1,000MB/s external storage – VERY useful for those that want to add a convenient and affordable USB backup to their existing multi-tier backup strategy. Indeed, the range of expansions that are supported by the QNAP TVS-h874T NAS are pretty broad, ranging from 2-Bays, all the way upto mixed media 16-Bays!

However, the biggest potential upgrade/scalability element of the QNAP TVS-h874T NAS that we still need to discuss is the PCIe Upgrade slots. Thanks to the 12th gen Intel Core that this NAS arrives with, the main PCIe upgrade slots are PCIe Gen 4×4 and (wait for it) PCIe Gen 4 x16!!! This means that one slot has a potential 8,000MB/s of bandwidth available to a connected card, and the other has a staggering 32,000MB/s available. Just to put that in perspective, a 10GbE will need 1000MB/s of bandwidth to allow full saturation. You could install a dual port 100GbE network upgrade card in this slot and there would STILL be more than a third of the available bandwidth potential remaining untapped!

The support of PCIe Gen 4 in the QNAP TVS-h874T NAS is something that puts this system into a whole different tier of storage compared with all other 8-Bay Desktop NAS systems right now, with the bulk of them arriving with PCIe Gen 3 or even PCIe Gen 2. These two PCIe 4 upgrade slots AND the two M.2 NVMe PCIe4 M.2 NVMe slots mean that you have the potential to comfortably hit internal performance numbers with those two SSD drives that dwarf anything the eight SATA drives (even with SSDs) could ever hit. For video editors that are considering a NAS for post-production in multiple 4K video edits and/or beginning with 8K in their workflow, this is the kind of setup that you need to be looking at!

This is made even easier to achieve when you loo through the official QNAP QM2 upgrade card range. The cards, with several new PCIe4 entries, allow to to scale things up in your storage even further with some featuring 4x PCIe 4×4 M.2 NVMe SSD bays or even a 2x 10GbE and 2x PCIe4 M.2 NVMe SSD Combo card. Currently there is no sign of a Thunderbolt 3 or Thunderbolt 4 Card (as seen in the TVS-872XT or TVS-h1288X), but this might well be down to the continued shortage of Thunderbolt components right now (as the Intel Core 12th Gen family has complete TB4 Compatibility).

Overall, when it comes to the connectivity of the QNAP TVS-h874T NAS, the default range of external connections are actually quite pedestrian when compared against other QNAP NAS released in the last 1-2 years, with the lack of 10GbE on the default model (aside from the Intel i9 having 2x 10GBASE-T at a premium) is pretty surprising/disappointing. That said, the scalability and upgradability that the QNAP TVS-h874T affords the end user are pretty incredible and unparalleled on ANY other desktop NAS right now. Let’s get our screwdriver and take a good look at the inside of this NAS.

The WORLD’S FIRST Thunderbolt 4 NAS – But Should You Care?

As previously mentioned, the QNAP TVS-h874 is technically not a new NAS system, but rather upgrades the existing TVS-h874 with Thunderbolt 4 connectivity. QNAP is now well into technically its fourth or fifth generation (depending on how you look at these things) of Thunderbolt NAS equipped solutions, providing a direct and convenient connection between the NAS and a Thunderbolt client system (supporting both Windows and macOS). The Thunderbolt ports are connected via a PCIe card that inhabits one of the slots, but luckily only occupies the lower speed PCIe slot and not the larger and more capable x16 slot. These ports allow up to two simultaneous users to connect with the TVS-h874 NAS directly, cable to cable, as well as allowing the system to continue to be accessed via traditional network and remote internet means for hundreds of users. As these are rear-mounted ports, you are going to need slightly longer cable considerations, as well as factoring in the ambient system noise when in close proximity. The general system operation noise is fairly average for a metal enclosure eight-drive NAS, but once you factor in larger capacity hard drives above 8TB and more enterprise-class drives for performance, this ambient operational noise is definitely going to be more of a consideration for those working in close quarters with the system.

When connecting the device to your Mac or Windows system over Thunderbolt, as long as you have QNAP Qfinder Pro software installed, the system will prompt you to state that it sees that the system has been connected and invite you to mount the drive in a similar fashion to that of a network drive. You will not need to format the QNAP system in order for it to appear, and during the drive initialization over Thunderbolt, you will be invited to map this drive alongside your existing OS client hardware storage locally. When interfacing with the QNAP via this cable, you can access the storage inside at a typical object file and folder level, but you can also access the full QNAP QTS and QuTS GUI just as you would when accessing the NAS via the network or internet.

Performance numbers when connecting with the device over Thunderbolt will depend heavily on several factors. Similar to connecting a traditional Direct Attached Storage (DAS) RAID device, Thunderbolt is just the connection between your client device and the storage. You will need to ensure you have a sufficient number of storage drives and an appropriate RAID configuration to get the best performance possible. In the case of this 8-bay device, if you use high-capacity, more affordable but slower mechanical hard drives, you will need to populate quite a few to start seeing higher performance numbers as multiple drives are being read and written to simultaneously. Likewise, there are ways to improve performance further with the use of SATA SSDs and/or using PCIe Gen 4 NVMe SSDs in the available slots inside the system. These drives provide significantly higher performance but generally come in smaller capacities and at a higher price point. In reality, the QNAP TVS-h874 does not need to be fully populated on day one, and you can start with two or three drives and gradually, over the years, increase your number of drives one by one. Just bear in mind that the real performance this system can output can only be achieved when utilizing the fastest storage media or fully populating the device. Additionally, there is the fact that this system utilizes IP over Thunderbolt architecture to create a Thunderbolt-connected NAS, leading to a significant performance difference compared to traditional direct attached storage systems. Below are some peak performance numbers from QNAP using the highest performance media available:

 

However, we cannot escape the fact that many users considering this device for photo and video editing are not going to be too sure about the main differences between Thunderbolt NAS and Thunderbolt DAS, as there are more to the differences than just performance. Expanding on the key factors from the comparison between Thunderbolt 4 DAS and Thunderbolt 4 NAS:

• Connectivity: The QNAP TVS-h874’s support for both Thunderbolt 4 and 3 stands out as a significant feature, offering flexibility and future-proofing. This dual compatibility ensures that the NAS can seamlessly integrate with current devices while being ready for future technological advancements, making it a long-term investment for users looking to upgrade their client devices to Thunderbolt 4 in the future.
• Cross-Platform File Sharing: NAS systems, unlike DAS, provide a versatile solution for environments utilizing multiple operating systems. This is particularly beneficial in professional settings where Windows, Mac, and Linux systems coexist. The NAS’s ability to facilitate easy file sharing and access across these platforms without compatibility issues greatly enhances workflow efficiency and collaboration.
• Multi-User Environment: NAS systems are specifically designed to cater to environments where multiple users need to access and share data simultaneously. This is in contrast to DAS, which is primarily focused on single-user access. NAS systems can handle multiple data requests efficiently, making them ideal for collaborative settings like offices, creative studios, and data centers.
• Expandability: NAS offers more robust options for expanding storage capacity over time compared to DAS. This includes the ability to add more drives, utilize additional expansion units, and leverage advanced storage technologies like M.2 NVMe SSDs. Such expandability is crucial for businesses and power users who anticipate growing data storage needs.
• Price and Hardware: The advanced capabilities of NAS, including support for extensive user access, higher storage capacities, and sophisticated data management, require more powerful hardware. This includes faster processors, more memory, and better cooling solutions, which contribute to the higher cost of NAS systems compared to DAS, which is typically more basic in its hardware requirements.
• Performance: While DAS offers high-speed, straightforward access for individual users, making it ideal for tasks that require fast data transfer rates without the need for complex networking, NAS systems are optimized for multi-user access and offer a range of services and applications. NAS systems may not match the raw speed of DAS for single users but provide a more versatile and scalable solution for data storage and access in a networked environment.

Each point highlights the specific advantages and considerations of choosing between Thunderbolt DAS and NAS, catering to different user requirements and scenarios.

QNAP TVS-h874T NAS Review – Internal Hardware

The internal arrangement of the QNAP TVS-h874T NAS is actually surprisingly spacious for an 8-Bay desktop NAS with so much hardware potential. The main 8 bays obviously take up the bulk of the available space, but the first thing that strikes you is that there is a great deal more spacing between the components for that airflow.

The rear fans lead to a completely open area behind the main storage bays that takes up around 30-35% of the available chassis space and there is an additional side fan that blows air directly onto the massive silver CPU heatsink at all times.  The main SATA bays are held in an aluminium cage and the PSU is pretty far away from the main PCIe upgrade slots (something of a problem in the older TVS-1282 and TVS-h1288X that made card installation and maintaining cool running a little more challenging).

That silver heatsink (common in 24×7 server systems as opposed to direct CPU fans) is pretty vast and (especially in the case of the 12 Core i7 and 16 Core i9) very much needed! It is also directly vented in line with the separate rear fan, ensuring that it is taking maximum advantage of the active airflow.

Now, as good and fast as the CPU and architecture inside the QNAP TVS-874 NAS is, the way that the specs and choice of hardware in the greater TVS-hx74 range has been distributed is a little less smooth. With a 4-Bay, 6-Bay and 8-Bay version available, you would be forgiven for thinking that it is just three separate configurations on offer. However, the reality is that there are SIX different hardware versions available (spanning five different CPUs, scaling in clock speed, cores and threads) with differing default memory quantities. We already covered that the Intel i9 version also arrives with 2x 10GbE connectivity (absent in other devices and using a PCIe slot). Normally, I would be a fan of the buyer’s option to scale their budget between storage bays and power, but despite all these systems using 12th Gen Intel Processors, each processor has a different level of PCI lanes afforded to it and this then impacts the rest of the system architecture. Let’s quickly compare the hardware architecture of the three NAS systems and their sub-versions:

Feature	TVS-h474	TVS-h674	TVS-h874T
# of SATA Bays	4x SATA	6x SATA	8x SATA
M.2 NVMe Bays	2x M.2 (Gen 3×2)	2x M.2 (Gen 4×4)	2x M.2 (Gen 4×4)
CPU	Intel Pentium Gold G7400	Intel i5 12th Gen i5-12400 Intel i3 12th Gen i7-12100	Intel i9 12th Gen i9-12900 Intel i7 12th Gen i7-12700 Intel i5 12th Gen i7-12400
Cores	2-Core / 4 Thread	i5 6 Core / 12 Thread i3 4 Core / 8 Thread	i9 16 Core / 24 Thread i7 12 Core / 20 Thread i5 6 Core / 12 Thread
CPU Speed	3.7 Ghz	i5 Max 4.4Ghz i3 Max 4.3Ghz	i9 Max 5.1Ghz i7 Max 4.9Ghz i5 Max 4.4Ghz
Graphics	Intel UHD Graphics 710	Intel UHD Graphics 770 Intel UHD Graphics 730	Intel UHD Graphics 770
Memory	8GB Default	16/32GB	32/64GB
Memory Max	128GB SODIMM DDR4 (2 Slot)	128GB SODIMM DDR4 (2 Slot)	128GB SODIMM DDR4 (2 Slot)

If we skip over the difference in the actual traditional CPU power (which is expected if you were comparing a Pentium and i3 versus an i9), the hurdles start when you notice that the TVS-h474 has Gen 3×2 M.2 slots, whereas the 6-Bay and 8-Bay have Gen 4×4 – so potential bandwidth of 2,000MB vs 8,000MB/s. The same goes for the main PCIe upgrade lanes, with the 4 Bay having that massive PCIe 4 x 16 slot, but the 2nd slot is another Gen 3 x2 2,000MB/s slot. These are very small details, but they could have been easily avoided by either fixing the TVS-h474 with an i3 minimum OR just releasing the series in a fixed CPU=Bay standard (as observed in the TVS-X72 and TVS-1282 ranges). With 3 version of the 8-Bay, two of the 6 Bay and the 4-Bay being very overshadows, the narrative and presentation of the range gets a little messy. Then you can take a closer look at the CPUs themselves and how they scale up.

As you can see, even ignoring the frequency differences (whooah, the Pentium dual core at 3.7Ghz and the i9 at 16 Core 5.1Ghz when pushed to burst), even CPU Benchmark’s scoring of these processors is pretty vast, with the Intel Pentium Gold G7400 in the TVS-h474 scoring 6804, and every other CPU several times higher! Yes, we also need to factor in the running costs of these SSDs (24×7 use on such high-end CPUs is going to add up on the electricity bill), but I would argue that when you are looking at systems like these, you have long since given up aspirations of power saving! The memory that the TVS-h874T arrives with is DDR4 3200Mhz SODIMM and can be upgraded towards 64GB officially, though the CPUs (for the most part) all support up to 128GB on two channels. Sadly, ECC memory is not supported, which is one of the few counter-arguments out there (IMO) for opting for a XEON over an Intel Core in a system like this one. That said, this is still a great level of memory supported by the system and although the base amount changes depending on the system bay number and CPU type you choose (grumble, grumble), I cannot really fault it!

Now, the big guns! Those M.2 NVMe SSD Bays. M.2 NVMe SSD bays on NAS devices are not a ‘new thing’. Indeed, these have been a staple of desktop NAS devices now for a few years and something of an expected minimum. However, the development that has been going on with M.2 NVMes from SSD brands such as WD, Seagate and Samsung has been rather fierce (with the tiniest pinch of slow down caused by the pandemic and hardware shortages relating to semiconductors). Pretty much 99% of all NAS devices that have M.2 NVMe SSD bays are using PCIe Gen 3 (or even PCIe Gen2) slots. This is down to only CPUs that were released commercially in the last 2-3 years having support of PCIe Gen 4 lanes. As the TVS-x874 series and it’s 12th Gen Intel Core architecture have Gen 4 support, the M.2 slots (with the exception of the TVS-h474) are Gen 4×4 – so 8GB/s (not Gigabit, GigaByte) of bandwidth each! This is a huge deal, as that means you can install these super fast SSDs in these bays for your QNAP QuTS ZFS Operating System, for individual Apps/Services (VMs, Databases, etc) and even as your general storage!

The good news is that unlike Synology and its inclusion of M.2 NVMe SSD slots, the 2280 slots inside the QNAP can be used for more than just read/write caching. The use of SSD caching to provide performance benefits to a slower, but larger and more affordable Hard Drive RAID away are quite well established in the NAS industry, using the SSD space to either write files to the system faster (acting as the primary write area, before moving the data) or increase the speed of accessing commonly requested files on the NAS (making copies of those files onto the SSDs, though largely tiny files are optimized and do not really affect larger block/sequential data). So, if you are looking to use this drive in the centre of your content creation workflow or in post production, you could use the 2 M.2 NVMe SSD Bays as your editing space (acting the NAS over 10-25-100GbE via an upgrade card – perhaps even Thunderbolt 3/4 if/when QNAP release one), and the HDD RAID array as your archive that products back up/archive onto. You can even create individual ZFS RAID pools for warm-cold storage, then also use a remote NAS, USB or Cloud space to sync/backup with too. Thanks to features like WORM, Non-Linear Editing (NLE) and locking, you can ensure that data is not edited by more than one user, with the added benefits of using the QNAP programs such as QSync to create native synced NAS folders on your client devices (iOs, Mac, Windows, Android, Linux – with cross-platform sharing) so that other teams of people can work with the data on the NAS. In testing on the TVS-h874T with a Seagate Firecuda 530 and WD Black SN850 M.2 SSD (both Gen 4) we were able to hit 6.49GB/s and 6.18GB/s Sequential Read respectively in the QNAP Storage Manager Benchmark Tool. That is approx 27 TIMES the speed of a conventional NAS hard drive!

However, though the QNAP TVS-h874T supports SSD caching on these bays, it also supports their use in QTier (if you opt for QTS / EXT4 at initialization). This is similar to caching but in QTier the available HDD and SSDs are combined into a single storage area and it intelligently moves files periodically to the appropriate storage media as it analyzes their access and requests. Finally, if you wish, you can use the NVMe SSD bays for just a fast accessing and performing storage pool and volumes of it’s own. These two bays, plus the main SATA HDD bays, plus adding a PCIe SSD storage card in an available slot means that the TVS-h874T has enormous storage potential. These m.2 bays can also be used for system upgrades, but these are still quite few in reality and it is only the google TPU m.2 upgrade that increases AI system processes that are recommended in 2022/2023 so far.

I am well aware of how much I have been ‘banging the drum’ about PCIe 4 architecture in this review, but I cannot overstate how future-proof this makes the QNAP TVS-h874T NAS! It is a shame that the TVS-h874T suffers something of a presentation hurdle for the less technically versed who need to take some time to bone up on the range of specs before choosing the right model, but that does not really detur from the fact that the TVS-h874T NAS arrives with the best desktop NAS hardware I have ever seen! Let’s discuss those software and services found in QuTS and QTS 5 that are included with this NAS server.

QNAP TVS-h874T NAS Review – Software & Services

Alongside the hardware of the TVS-h874T NAS, you also receive the complete software and services package of QNAP QTS or QuTS (currently in version 5.0.1) that can be selected at the initialization. This is a complete operating system. similar in design and presentation to Windows 11 and Android OS, it runs hundreds of applications, services and functions, as well as arriving with many mobile and desktop client applications that allow you to interact with the data on your NAS in a much more tailored way. Alongside this, the QNAP QuTS/QTS software on the TVS-h874T also includes a few extra SSD tools for anti-wearing on SSDs, better ZFS-HDD/SSD profiling and even options to separate the media into storage, caching or tiered storage where appropriate. The performance and services of QTS have been covered many times on this channel, so reviewing it’s individual performance on the TVS-h874T NAS is a difficult task, as we have to look at two key things. Is QTS/QuTS a good software platform and is QTS/QuTS going to give you support of the full range of services that you intend to use this NAS for, in both 1st and 3rd party?

On the first score, I can comfortably say that QNAP NAS software and services have truly come into their own and the balancing act of supplying the end-user with the flexibility to use the system ‘their way’, whilst still keeping it user-friendly is the best it has ever been. Is it perfect, no. In its efforts to make itself customizable in every way possible, QTS/QuTS develops an inadvertent learning curve that may catch some novice users unaware. Likewise, although QTS/QuTS 5 has done a lot of work on its presentation of information and notifications, there is still the odd moment of ‘TMI’ when switching between services on the fly. QNAP’s NAS software is still easily one of the most adaptable in the market right now and allows users to have a truly unique storage environment if they choose and although not quite as user-friendly as Synology DSM, it counters this by being fantastically flexible by comparison (from file/folder structure to 3rd party services support and connectivity). That said, 2022 had a bumpy start for the brand when a series of ransomware attacks were targetted at the brand (them and several other NAS brands) that was caused by a combination of vulnerabilities in Linux (which practically all NAS and Android software is built upon) but also in how applications in the QNAP platform were allowed to have external access. In previous revisions of QTS/QuTS, customization and guidance for changing settings on the system was made very easy and open but lacked a lot of the gravitas and significance that these changes made to the system being highlighted to less experienced users (such as allowing the QNAP to adapt remote ports on your router over UPnP and how the HBS3 program allowed remote access. These omissions, vulnerabilities and communication issues in QTS have seemingly been resolved and QTS/QuTS 5 seems to be a much tighter system on the whole (as much as anything can be once you open it to the internet). But many users still feel that the brand needs to do more and therefore until QNAP can remove the lingering stories of ransomware and malware over time, this is always going to be an existing sensitive issue for buyers. In order to see the extent of the latest version of QNAP TS 5.0 use the links below to the written review and video below released in late 2021 (QuTS 5.1 Review coming in the next week or so):

FULL Written QNAP QTS 5 Review	FULL Video Review of QNAP QTS 5

Although the full review of QNAP QTS is available in the article and video linked above, let’s discuss the highlights of the platform. First off there are the software and services for managing files and folders on the fly. QTS/QuTS includes several tools for managing files in your web browser (with full copy, paste, archive, extract, sharing, etc options built-in), as well as smart system/file search functionality. It is worth noting that 95% of the apps and services in either QuTS and QTS are identical, but there are a few exceptions that are restricted to either version for reasons of file system architecture and end-user. For example, as QuTS is ZFS based, it does not require the volume layer and writes are committed directly to the storage pool of drives.

The security when using your TVS-h874T NAS (again, a continued area of contention and criticism for QNAP in the past) in terms of customization and alerts have been noticeably improved and upgraded in both their deployment and presentation in QTS. These range from a multi-layered security advisor to control anti-malware scans, anti-virus schedules, firewall monitoring and more. There is also a range of access and security credential tools that are quite far-reaching all built-in. With QNAP having to prove its platform is safe more than most, there is a bit shift positively in this direction in the latest versions of QTS.

Overall storage management, access, mounting and how this factors into backups have also been massively diversified in QTS and along with numerous means to create a very unique storage system (factoring RAID, multi-stage 1-2-3 backups, connecting with cloud drive/objects and how this is presented to the end-users are incredibly deep. It can lead to a situation in which the end-user is a pinch overwhelmed, but you cannot say that QNAP is not providing the tools – they are just almost TOO numerous in their presentation.

The same goes for multimedia handling on the QNAP TVS-h874T, with a wide range of tools for handing photos, music and video in a tailored GUI to each media type. This is made considerably easier with QNAP’s multimedia console tool that provides a single GUI that can be used to handle all the backend setup of all your individual media apps. QNAP also provides AI photo recognition to allow decades of photos to be searched intelligently for people and subjects to quite an impressively deep degree (not needing internet access to do so, with the AI onboard the system). Then you have support for a wide range of 3rd party multimedia tools such as Plex media server, Emby, Twinky and Kodi (unofficially).

Then you have business tools (small, medium or even enterprise) included that can range from the deployment of multiple virtual machines across many platforms and a dedicated 1st party container deployment tool. One very unique feature of QNAP QTS compared with other NAS brands in their deployment of VMs is that they include 2-3 click download options in their respective applications that allow you to download ready to use VM in Windows 7,8 and 10, as well as a VM market place for more enterprise virtual clients and even a Ubuntu 18/19/20 VM deployment tool that allows you to quickly set up a VM and then access remotely OR use the HDMI+KVM set up locally. The container station tool also has its own pre-built tool repository too.

Finally, for surveillance use, the TVS-h874T arrives with QVR Pro which allows you to have a business-class surveillance platform hosted on your NAS. This platform has its very own GUI that supports thousands of IP Camera brands, as well as the software arriving with 8 camera licenses with the TVS-h874T, a multi-camera feed display, intelligent alerts, AI services (hardware appropriate), multiple client tools for mobile/desktop clients, integration of 3rd party system management tools and you can even attach USB cameras to your QNAP NAS and have local cameras fed into the NAS too. HOWEVER, if you want to use the QuTS ZFS platform, you will need to use the QVR Elite program which is much more hardware efficient and allows bigger surveillance setups BUT reduces the included Camera licences from 8x to 2x. Additionally, the approach towards the camera licence validity period in QVR Elite is different to that of QVR PRO.

So, software on the QNAP TVS-h874T is pretty diverse and although the brand has seen its fair share of security complaints in the past, I think that it would be hard for me to ignore the range of NAS hardware configuration, services and tools that are included.  Tests of the QNAP TVS-h874T on how it performs as a Plex Media Server, host for Virtual Machines and more will be conducted shortly over on NASCompares YouTube channel. I recommend visiting there to learn more. Below is the short ‘Before You Buy’ video review for the QNAP TVS-h874T NAS (Hour Long video review coming very soon.

QNAP TVS-h874T NAS Review – Conclusion & Verdict

In summarizing the capabilities and potential of the QNAP TVS-h874T NAS, released as a late 2023 update to its predecessor, it’s clear that this system represents a significant leap forward in desktop NAS technology. Priced over £2500, it’s a substantial investment, designed with future-proofing in mind. The TVS-h874T not only maintains the longevity and high-end status of the TVS-h874 but also brings to the table enhanced direct data access through Thunderbolt 4 integration. This advancement, supporting IP over Thunderbolt protocol, significantly boosts connectivity and speed, making the system an ideal choice for demanding tasks such as 8K video editing and high-performance computing needs in business environments. However, the question of whether Thunderbolt NAS is the right fit for all users remains. For those requiring high-speed, multi-user access and scalability, the TVS-h874T is a strong contender. Its support for the latest PCIe 4 standards ensures compatibility with high-performance upgrades, reinforcing its position as a future-proof investment. The software, featuring QTS and QuTS, might require some acclimatization, particularly for those familiar with simpler systems like Synology’s DSM. Yet, the benefits, especially for ZFS enthusiasts, are undeniable, offering advanced RAID management and a plethora of applications and services.

The TVS-h874T’s stance on open hardware and software compatibility is a significant plus in an industry increasingly leaning towards proprietary systems. It accommodates a range of third-party hardware and software, adding to its versatility. In the face of growing concerns over NAS security, the system is well-equipped with comprehensive tools and settings for enhanced security and data protection, addressing the pressing issue of ransomware attacks. In conclusion, the QNAP TVS-h874T stands out as an exceptional choice for businesses and power users who require a robust, scalable, and secure NAS solution. It offers an excellent balance of price, performance, and features, making it a worthy investment for those seeking top-tier server-side capabilities. However, for users with simpler storage needs or those not requiring the advanced features of Thunderbolt NAS, traditional Thunderbolt DAS devices might be a more suitable and cost-effective option. The TVS-h874T, with its advanced capabilities, is undoubtedly a powerhouse in NAS technology, but its full benefits will be best realized by those whose requirements align closely with what this advanced system has to offer.

PROs of the QNAP TVS-h874T NAS

CONs of the QNAP TVS-h874T NAS

Only brand rolling out i9 Turnkey NAS Only NAS Rolling out Thunderbolt4 NAS (for now!) Upto 20 Cores, 24 Threads and High End Integrated Graphics PCIe Gen 4 x16 Upgrade Slot for 10/25/100GbE Cards and 2x PCIe Gen 4 x4 M.2 NVMe Slots for 7GB SSDs No Obstinant 3rd Party Hardware Limitations on Support or Compatibility Much larger support of 3rd Party Software Services than most other NAS Brands 10Gb/s USB Connectivity, in Type A and Type C Upto 64GB of Memory ZFS or EXT 4 File System Choice M.2 NVMe SSD Bays can be used for Storage or Caching Volume Encryption, SED SSD Support and WORM Enhanced AI Surveillance Services, with opt to upgrade with $30 Google TPU AI Photo Management Tool (QuMagie) Includes Thing Recognition and works offline ALL the ZFS Benefits, whilst also the GUI and App benefits of a Linux Software Platform in one

No Smaller 4-Bay Version QVR Elite (not QVR Pro) only has 2 Cam Licences Lack of ECC Memory will annoy some users 10Gbe is Missing (so no TB-TO-10GbE Pass-through) Too Many licenses on Enterprise Tools (Drive Analyzer, Face Tiger, etc) with too few free licenses