Early Verdict
The hardware specification of this NAS makes some of the competitor products look rather pitiful.
Those reaching for the company credit card now need to calm down.
Currently, this hardware is only available through Kickstarter, and then only in the USA and Germany.
Thats one issue, though the Kickstarter doesnt have long to run.
Its not finished yet, and it lacks some features that higher-end NASs already have.
It will be interesting to see if, when the Kickstarter ends, it maintains that MSRP.
QNAP makes a cheaper 8-bay, the QNAP TS-832PX-4G, which can be found for $879.
However, thats anARM-powered NAS and only comes with 4GB of memory.
All these enclosures are highly finished and gorgeously constructed.
This chassis is constructed from thick aluminium and styled to look decidedly business-like.
On the front, next is the power button, and the drive activity LEDs are on the left.
There are no side features, so everything else is on the back or underneath.
We recommend this before filling the SATA bays with drives, as we stupidly did.
But the point here is that this offers maximum flexibility.
And, rarely being at full throttle, the system runs cool and quiet.
I didnt mention the USB 2.0 or the SDCard slot, since these are minor bandwidth players.
But given everything else on offer, this is a minor point.
And, compared to other 8-bay NASs, this hardware’s PCIe lane scenario is significantly better than most.
Another additional use for these lanes is the half-height PCIe slot.
But today, if we’re brutally honest, its not fully prepared for the retail NAS space.
That means you cant easily mix and match drive sizes as you could on other hardware.
However, recently, Docker has been added, and with that app, a library of 2,500 containers.
We experimented with using Plex and Drupal through Docker containers, and it worked well.
The obvious conclusion is that the second slot is only PCIe Gen 3 and two lanes, not four.
Using the power of the fast slot in combination with SATA storage was always going to be overkill.
Once the web connection protocols are resolved, it’s only going to get faster.
If you might sense a little delight in this reviewer’s tone, thats a realistic interpretation.
And, given the current status of UGOS, surely that wont change?
This terrific hardware shows what can be achieved by repurposing mobile silicon for NAS.
Its a shame that with its Kickstarter strategy, more people wont experience this equipment earlier.
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