Xyber Hydra N150 NAS Review – Better than the GMKtec G9?

Xyber Hydra NAS Review

Note – there is going to be ALOT of comparisons with the GMKtec G9 Nucbox NAS in this review. This is because the Hydra is clearly either built in partnership with GMKtec, or at least using branded components from the same factory (see example below). Likewise given this system’s similarity to the G9 and attempts to improve upon the heat criticisms of that device, it is inevitable that comparisons need to be made. If you want to learn more on it, find out more HERE and HERE .

The Xyber Hydra N150 NAS is a compact, four-bay, flash-focused network storage appliance designed for home users, small-scale media servers, and lightweight virtualization or container workloads. It is powered by the Intel Twin Lake N150 processor, a quad-core, low-power x86 CPU with a 6W TDP, making it energy-efficient while still capable of handling NAS-centric tasks like 4K media playback and multi-client file sharing. The Hydra comes equipped with 16GB of fixed LPDDR5 memory, which is soldered directly to the mainboard, offering slightly more headroom than comparable systems like the GMKtec G9, which ships with 12GB. Out of the box, it includes a 64GB eMMC module with Ubuntu OS pre-installed and ready to boot, enabling first-time users to deploy it with minimal setup. At an introductory price of $218.99, it is one of the more affordable quad-core NAS units in its category, and it even arrives with a 512GB M.2 SSD pre-installed in one of its four PCIe Gen 3×2 slots, saving buyers the immediate cost of adding their own storage.

Although visually and structurally similar to the GMKtec G9, with identical port layouts, vent positions, and internal fans — even down to the GMK-branded fans noted during inspection — the Hydra differentiates itself with a more robust passive cooling solution, a thicker, heat-dissipating metal baseplate, and wireless connectivity that supports UnRAID out of the box. These small but meaningful changes target some of the criticisms of its predecessor while maintaining the same compact form factor and low power consumption, which are critical in a shared home or office environment.

Xyber Hydra NAS Review – Quick Conclusion

The Xyber Hydra N150 NAS positions itself as a compact, affordable, and feature-complete flash-based NAS for home and small office users who prioritize a balance of cost, usability, and functionality. Compared to similarly specced models like the GMKtec G9, the Hydra delivers several notable improvements, including a thicker metal base plate that provides superior passive cooling for the M.2 SSDs and overall system stability under load. The inclusion of 16GB of fixed LPDDR5 memory — higher than many competitors in this category — combined with a preinstalled 64GB eMMC module running Ubuntu and an additional 512GB NVMe SSD in Bay 1 means the device is immediately operational out of the box, requiring no initial storage or OS setup for those who prefer simplicity. The four M.2 NVMe bays each operate at PCIe Gen3 x2, and the system’s dual 2.5GbE ports with link aggregation, HDMI outputs, and Wi-Fi 6 support add flexibility for wired and wireless deployments. During testing, the device handled sustained read and write loads respectably, although full bandwidth potential is naturally limited by the Intel N150 CPU and the available PCIe lanes, which is expected at this price point. The soldered memory and non-upgradable RAM limit future scalability, and the cooling fans require manual adjustment in the BIOS to achieve optimal thermal dissipation during intensive workloads, but neither of these compromises is unusual in this segment. Overall, at its introductory price of $218.99, the Xyber Hydra provides a solid combination of improved thermals, ready-to-use OS and storage, and efficient flash performance in a small, quiet, and energy-efficient chassis — making it a practical choice for users who want a capable NAS solution without the complexities and cost of larger, enterprise-class systems.

BUILD QUALITY - 7/10
HARDWARE - 7/10
PERFORMANCE - 8/10
PRICE - 9/10
VALUE - 9/10


8.0
PROS
👍🏻Improved thermal design with a thicker metal base plate for better heat dissipation compared to similar models.
👍🏻Includes 64GB eMMC storage preloaded with Ubuntu OS for out-of-the-box usability.
👍🏻Ships with a 512GB M.2 NVMe SSD in Bay 1, providing immediate usable storage.
👍🏻Fixed 16GB LPDDR5 memory — higher than comparable devices — supports more concurrent tasks.
👍🏻Wi-Fi 6 module with dual antennas, compatible with UnRAID, enabling flexible wireless deployment.
👍🏻Four M.2 NVMe bays, each supporting PCIe Gen3 x2, allowing up to 4 SSDs for flash storage arrays.
👍🏻Dual 2.5GbE ports with link aggregation support for improved network throughput.
👍🏻Compact, quiet, and energy-efficient form factor suitable for home and small office environments.
CONS
👎🏻Memory is soldered and non-upgradable, limiting future scalability.
👎🏻PCIe Gen3 x2 and CPU bandwidth constraints limit maximum aggregate performance under full load.
👎🏻Fans require BIOS adjustments for optimal thermal control during heavy sustained workloads.

Where to Buy? How Much?


Xyber Hydra NAS Review – Design and Storage

The Xyber Hydra N150 follows a minimalistic and highly compact design philosophy, measuring roughly 100mm square and slightly taller than most mini-PC NAS chassis to accommodate the four vertically-mounted M.2 SSD bays. It shares its external dimensions and general visual design with the GMKtec G9, including the placement of dual fans on the underside and venting around the periphery. However, unlike the G9, which uses a plastic bottom panel that does little to aid thermal dissipation, the Hydra replaces this with a solid, vented metal plate that doubles as a passive heat sink for the M.2 drives.

Internally, each M.2 bay is aligned with a pre-applied thermal pad that contacts directly with the thicker metal plate, promoting more even heat spread and helping to avoid the localized hot spots that were reported in earlier reviews of the G9.

The result is a chassis that retains the same small footprint and quiet operation while making better use of its passive cooling surfaces, critical in a flash-based NAS where SSD thermal throttling can become a bottleneck. The overall construction remains lightweight yet rigid, with the entire enclosure built around a metal alloy frame finished with a matte black exterior that resists fingerprints and blends well into modern home or office environments.

On the storage side, the Hydra offers four M.2 2280 NVMe slots, each rated for PCIe Gen 3×2 speeds — a slight but notable advantage over many competitors still using Gen 3×1 lanes per slot.

This configuration allows for theoretical single-drive bandwidths approaching 2GB/s, with practical performance in the range of 1.4–1.5GB/s reads and 1.1GB/s writes as observed in testing.

The system arrives preconfigured with a single 512GB NVMe SSD installed in Bay 1, providing an immediate usable pool of storage alongside the 64GB eMMC that hosts Ubuntu.

Importantly, the eMMC storage is mounted separately, leaving all four M.2 slots fully available for user expansion.

The choice of M.2 storage allows for dense, silent operation with lower power draw than traditional 3.5” or 2.5” drives, but it does limit hot-swapping and requires opening the chassis for upgrades or replacements — a trade-off typical of devices at this size and price point.

Additionally, the Hydra supports popular NAS operating systems beyond the preloaded Ubuntu, such as UnRAID and TrueNAS, which take full advantage of the NVMe-based array and facilitate different RAID configurations. One critical area of focus in the Hydra’s design is the improved thermal management compared to the G9. Temperature testing revealed clear improvements under both idle and sustained load conditions.

AS A REMINDER – THE TEMPS BELOW ARE FROM THE GMKTEC G9:

At idle, with the fans in automatic mode, the surrounding chassis temperature stabilized around 52–54°C, and the baseplate measured approximately 50–52°C after a 24-hour period of light access — respectable figures given the compact enclosure. Under heavier workloads, where all four SSDs were simultaneously subjected to repeated write tests, the baseplate peaked at 62°C with the CPU hitting full utilization. While this level of heat is not unusual for a fully-loaded NVMe NAS, the system took a long time — nearly five hours — to dissipate that heat and return to sub-50°C base temperatures when the fans remained in automatic mode. Switching to manual fan control in the BIOS and setting both fans to maximum brought the temperature down much more quickly, keeping the chassis in the mid-40°C range even under sustained load, albeit at the cost of increased noise and marginally higher power draw.

AND HERE ARE THE TEMPS OF THE XYBER HYDRA NAS FOR COMPARISON:

The improved thermal contact via the thicker metal plate and better thermal pads clearly mitigates some of the thermal throttling concerns seen in earlier systems with less effective heat spreaders.

AND HERE ARE THE TEMPS OF THE XYBER HYDRA NAS FOR COMPARISON:

Power consumption and noise measurements during testing demonstrated the efficiency of the Twin Lake platform. In an idle state with the system fully populated with four NVMe drives and minimal CPU activity (4–6% utilization), power draw stayed at a modest 15.6–15.7 watts. During full-load scenarios, including simultaneous writes to all four SSDs and 100% CPU utilization with fans at maximum, peak power consumption rose to around 26–27 watts.

These figures are reasonable for a small-form-factor NAS and illustrate the platform’s balance of performance and efficiency. Acoustic levels were similarly modest: at idle with fans on automatic, noise levels measured between 30–32 dBA, increasing to 37–38 dBA when the fans were manually set to maximum in the BIOS. This makes the system viable for use in environments where low noise is desirable, without sacrificing much in the way of cooling when needed.

Another noteworthy design element is the inclusion of a Wi-Fi 6 module with two antennas, offering wireless connectivity that is now supported by UnRAID. The wireless module sits beneath the eMMC module and is connected internally without consuming any of the four NVMe slots. This makes it possible to deploy the Hydra wirelessly, adding flexibility in environments where cabling is limited, though for maximum bandwidth the dual 2.5GbE ports remain preferable. The antennas are discreetly mounted to the rear of the chassis, maintaining the device’s clean lines and compact appearance.

The Hydra’s design prioritizes compactness, quiet operation, and efficient use of its internal volume. The choice of an all-NVMe storage configuration, preloaded OS on eMMC, and improved passive cooling all contribute to making it a more capable and thermally balanced alternative to similar NAS devices. The metal baseplate, though seemingly a small change, represents a meaningful improvement in reliability for users planning heavier sustained workloads on a budget-friendly flash NAS.

Below is a summary table of the Xyber Hydra’s tested performance metrics:

Test Scenario Result / Observation
Single SSD Read (Bay 1) 1.4–1.5 GB/s
Single SSD Write (Bay 1) ~1.1 GB/s
Dual SSD Transfer 720–730 MB/s
Quad SSD Sustained Write 900 MB/s–1 GB/s per drive (CPU-limited)
Idle Power Draw 15.6–15.7 W
Full Load Power Draw 26–27 W
Idle Noise 30–32 dBA
Full Fan Noise 37–38 dBA

Xyber Hydra NAS Review – Internal Hardware

At the heart of the Xyber Hydra N150 NAS is the Intel Twin Lake N150 processor, a 4-core, 4-thread CPU with a base TDP of 6W and burst frequency up to 3.6GHz. This is the same CPU found in the GMKtec G9, offering modest but sufficient processing power for lightweight NAS duties, such as file serving, 4K media playback, and hosting a handful of Docker containers or virtual machines. The Hydra’s choice to stick with the N150 over more power-hungry options like the N355 reflects a deliberate balance between thermals, noise, and power efficiency in such a confined chassis.

The CPU is passively cooled through the same baseplate and active fans that handle SSD thermals, and testing showed it remained below 60°C even during full-load stress tests when fans were set to automatic. When set to maximum in BIOS, the CPU temperature remained even lower, consistently in the mid-40°C range, indicating that the thermal headroom of this setup is acceptable for the N150’s intended use cases. While the CPU is not equipped with QuickSync hardware transcoding found in Intel’s higher-end processors, it did demonstrate capable software transcoding during single-stream 4K Plex playback without pushing the CPU beyond 80% utilization.

One area where the Hydra stands apart slightly from its competitors is its memory configuration. Instead of the 12GB soldered LPDDR5 memory seen in the G9, the Hydra comes pre-equipped with 16GB LPDDR5 memory, also soldered directly to the board and therefore not user-upgradable. This extra 4GB provides additional breathing room for multi-tasking, running memory-intensive services, or hosting larger numbers of containers without encountering swap usage under typical loads. The memory is clocked at 4800MHz and, as expected at this price point, is non-ECC. Given the system’s target market and workload scenarios, this is a reasonable trade-off — ECC memory would nearly double the cost of the system for relatively little gain in this context. The fixed nature of the memory remains a limitation for power users but ensures predictable thermal and power behavior that a socketed SO-DIMM might not allow in such a tightly-engineered package.

Component Specification
Processor (SoC) Intel Twin Lake N150, 4 cores / 4 threads, 3.6GHz burst, 6W TDP
Memory 16GB LPDDR5 (4800MHz, soldered, non-upgradable)
eMMC Storage 64GB onboard, preloaded with Ubuntu OS
NVMe Slots 4x M.2 2280 NVMe (PCIe 3.0 x2 per slot)
Cooling Passive aluminum baseplate with thermal pads + dual active fans
Thermals (CPU) ~45–60°C under load depending on fan settings
Hydra’s internal hardware is clearly aimed at delivering solid performance for home and small-office NAS duties while maintaining a low noise profile and power envelope. While it is not designed for demanding enterprise workloads or highly parallelized tasks, it offers a balanced set of capabilities appropriate to its price and physical footprint.

Xyber Hydra NAS Review – Ports and Connections

The Xyber Hydra N150 NAS offers a fairly comprehensive array of ports and connectivity options, matching its closest competitor, the GMKtec G9, almost identically. On the rear panel, the system is equipped with two Intel i226-V 2.5GbE RJ45 ports, which support link aggregation and failover. These provide a theoretical combined throughput of up to 550–580 MB/s when paired with appropriately configured switches.

While some users may be disappointed by the absence of 10GbE, this is an understandable compromise given the limitations of the N150 CPU’s PCIe lane budget and the heat constraints of such a compact design. As noted during testing, users can reclaim one of the M.2 slots to install a PCIe-to-10GbE adapter, though this does come at the cost of one storage bay.

Where to Buy?

The networking implementation also includes support for wake-on-LAN (WoL) and PXE boot functionality, adding flexibility for remote management and deployment scenarios. The system also integrates an M.2 Wi-Fi 6 module with dual antenna outputs. This enables wireless network support, now even compatible with UnRAID as of recent updates, and can serve as either a primary or fallback network connection in environments where cabling is not practical.

In terms of USB connectivity, the Hydra provides a total of four ports: three USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type-A ports located on the rear panel, and one USB-C port that is also used for power delivery. The three USB-A ports deliver up to 10Gbps each, which is sufficient for attaching external backup drives, additional storage enclosures, or other peripherals such as a UPS monitoring interface. The USB-C power connector is fed by an external wall-mounted 48W integrated external power brick, which means users cannot simply swap in any generic USB-C charger — it is a dedicated high-wattage supply.

This design choice ensures sufficient and stable power delivery to all internal components even under peak load, but it does limit flexibility somewhat compared to true USB-PD-compatible implementations. Users looking to attach keyboards, mice, or other USB peripherals directly to the system will find that the port count is adequate, though not expansive.

For video output, the Hydra offers two HDMI 2.0 ports, supporting up to 4K resolution at 60Hz. These are useful for initial OS installation or configuration, as well as for users who intend to repurpose the NAS as a hybrid media player or thin client. During testing, the HDMI output worked without issue on both the preinstalled Ubuntu OS and when booting into alternative operating systems. While video output is rarely essential for a headless NAS, its inclusion enhances usability, especially for less experienced users or those deploying the system in multi-role environments. Combined with the USB ports and network interfaces, the Hydra provides a balanced set of I/O suitable for its intended use cases, with enough bandwidth to fully utilize its internal storage under typical workloads.

Below is a summary table of the ports and connections on the Xyber Hydra:

Port / Interface Specification
Ethernet 2x 2.5GbE RJ45 (Intel i226-V, link aggregation)
Wi-Fi Wi-Fi 6 (via M.2 module, dual antennas included)
USB-A Ports 3x USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10Gbps)
USB-C Power Input 1x USB-C (requires bundled 65W power adapter)
HDMI Outputs 2x HDMI 2.0 (4K @ 60Hz)
Wake-on-LAN Supported
PXE Boot Supported
These connectivity options place the Hydra firmly within the expectations of modern small form-factor NAS systems, providing a well-rounded mix of wired, wireless, and peripheral interfaces without overcommitting resources or space.

Xyber Hydra NAS Review – Conclusion and Verdict

The Xyber Hydra N150 NAS represents a deliberate and measured evolution of the budget-friendly compact NAS formula, clearly designed to resolve key weaknesses of similar products like the GMKTec G9 without altering the fundamental architecture. Its use of a thicker, thermally conductive metal base plate provides demonstrable improvement in heat dissipation compared to the plastic underside of the G9, a difference borne out in extended load testing where temperatures stabilized more quickly and stayed lower when fan profiles were adjusted. The pre-installed 64GB eMMC module running Ubuntu out of the box eliminates the initial configuration barrier often faced by novice users, while still allowing more experienced users to easily replace it with their OS of choice, such as ZimaOS or TrueNAS. The inclusion of a 512GB NVMe SSD in the primary M.2 bay adds immediate storage capacity without requiring an upfront investment in additional drives, an uncommon but practical feature at this price point.

Internally, the decision to provide 16GB of fixed LPDDR5 memory — 4GB more than its nearest comparable competitor — gives the Hydra slightly more headroom for memory-intensive tasks, such as running lightweight container workloads or maintaining a larger metadata cache for media streaming applications. While the memory remains non-upgradable, the choice of capacity is a reasonable compromise given the constraints of the Intel N150 platform and the system’s focus on cost efficiency. The integrated Wi-Fi 6 module, with dual antennas and full UnRAID compatibility, is another meaningful addition, enabling wireless deployments where cabling is impractical and expanding the deployment scenarios for home and small office users. These subtle but important upgrades make the Hydra feel more complete out of the box, catering to a broader range of use cases with fewer compromises.

That said, the Hydra still shares many of the inherent trade-offs of its class. The N150 processor is adequate for modest workloads, but becomes saturated under sustained high parallel usage, especially when all four M.2 slots are simultaneously active and the CPU nears 100% utilization. The PCIe lane limitations of the platform, with each M.2 slot limited to Gen3 x2 speeds, restrict the aggregate performance potential of RAID arrays or concurrent high-bandwidth operations. Similarly, the continued reliance on dual 2.5GbE ports limits maximum external throughput despite the internal SSD bandwidth being capable of more, and although M.2-to-10GbE adapters remain an option, they come at the cost of sacrificing one storage slot. BIOS-level adjustments are also required to extract the best thermal and fan performance under heavy use, something that more advanced users will appreciate but could frustrate beginners.

Overall, at its introductory price of $218.99, the Xyber Hydra N150 achieves a strong balance of value, practicality, and refinement in the entry-level NAS segment. The thoughtful inclusion of extras — the 64GB bootable eMMC, 512GB SSD, improved cooling, and additional memory — make it feel more turnkey than competing models, while still leaving room for advanced customization. It’s a sensible option for users seeking a compact and efficient NAS for personal cloud storage, light virtualization, or as a dedicated media server, provided expectations around CPU and networking throughput are kept realistic. For its target audience, the Hydra is a compelling and notably improved choice that addresses many of the criticisms of earlier designs without abandoning the affordability that defines this class of devices.

Where to Buy? How Much?
PROs of the Xyber Hydra NAS CONs of the Xyber Hydra NAS
  • Improved thermal design with a thicker metal base plate for better heat dissipation compared to similar models.

  • Includes 64GB eMMC storage preloaded with Ubuntu OS for out-of-the-box usability.

  • Ships with a 512GB M.2 NVMe SSD in Bay 1, providing immediate usable storage.

  • Fixed 16GB LPDDR5 memory — higher than comparable devices — supports more concurrent tasks.

  • Wi-Fi 6 module with dual antennas, compatible with UnRAID, enabling flexible wireless deployment.

  • Four M.2 NVMe bays, each supporting PCIe Gen3 x2, allowing up to 4 SSDs for flash storage arrays.

  • Dual 2.5GbE ports with link aggregation support for improved network throughput.

  • Compact, quiet, and energy-efficient form factor suitable for home and small office environments.

  • Memory is soldered and non-upgradable, limiting future scalability.

  • PCIe Gen3 x2 and CPU bandwidth constraints limit maximum aggregate performance under full load.

  • Fans require BIOS adjustments for optimal thermal control during heavy sustained workloads.

 

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      374 thoughts on “Xyber Hydra N150 NAS Review – Better than the GMKtec G9?

      1. I went DIY simply because it was cheaper. But It seems like I made the right decision with some of the other locked down things. But now that I have my own, I kinda want the other option as a backup of my backup. Some of those have easier sync options. I wont ever leave the DIY option cause I like the freedom.
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      2. I bought a CWWK AMD 8845HS motherboard, slapped on a Noctua tower cooler, 32GB RAM, 2x 512GB NVME for a cache pool and just recently dropped in a 20TB Toshiba N300 drive. On this system I run unRAID, within that OS I have multiple VMs and Containers, including a Sophos Firewall VM and a Unifi Network Controller. Basically I have a full home lab all contained within a Fractal Node 304 case. Power draw is a reasonable (80W including my Virgin Media router, a POE switch and a Unifi AP), sound level is low enough that it doesn’t upset the wife, and more importantly it has more than enough processing power to run my full home lab without breaking a sweat. Plex transcoding is handled by the AMD integrated GPU, but I don’t need any transcoding since this is a Direct Play household!

        Overall I am grateful to Synology for no longer supporting 3rd party brands because that was the reason I chose not to go for a Synology NAS, and I was only looking at Synology because of SHR. Once that was no longer an option DIY was my only option.
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      3. Power efficiency is always my thing. I did pick up and old PC with a 6700 but its too heavy on thr wattage, assuming i do leave it on 24 7. I do own a mini PC which is great and pulls max maybe 10ish watts at the wall, usually 7w as it’s idle. I’d definitely go prebuilt, but I’d have to buy something that’s power efficient.
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      4. Camp BYO:
        Being a Windows/Unix/Linux server admin for the last 30 years, I built my own which is smaller and more powerful than the commercial offerings. First with FreeNAS/TrueNAS, then later with Proxmox and a DIY Linux LXC for NAS duties plus a whole bunch of other LXCs and VMs.
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      5. My NAS is jast a headless Debian server, because I like pain I guess 😀

        Actually it’s because I just liked the idea of learning to manage a “proper” server. I started with Ubuntu Server and made a bit of a mess because I didn’t really know what I was doing, but second time around with Debian it really was a breeze. Now it’s a pretty clean setup with lvm, ZFS, a bunch of smb stuff as well as Plex and Jellyfin (testing before I’m confident enough to drop Plex), both with hardware acceleration for transcoding and tone mapping. Sometimes I even run some game servers.

        All in all, very educational, but certainly has quite some learning curve. It also puts you in the danger zone for getting into homelab, now I’m playing around with Proxmox and OPNSense…
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      6. the only reason i may go for prebuild nas , is the ability to use it from outside my network over the internet , i will use dropbox , since the diy route is to complicate i have try next cloud , don t manage to make it work even truenas dose not support it , don t see any other benifits compar to a simple compute use as nas .
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      7. I’ve just built a Nas, which involved rebuilding my old PC back into its old case, and the fun of designing and printing my own harddrive rack with side loading bays. So for the cost of harddrives only (and a bit of 3d printing) I got a Nas that allows me to figure out what I need and how I’m going to use it, and to completey change my mind all I need to do is print something else. Truenas has been easy to set up and use, almost too boring really, I thought it was going to be more of a hobby but I don’t have to do anything ????
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      8. This is exactly what I did. Ditched Synology, bought an Intel NUC with Thunderbolt 3 external drive enclosure. Installed Linux with ZFS, NFS, Samba, JellyFin, etc. So much better than fighting with the restrictive options of Synology.
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      9. Easy options for someone like myself…… internal network use only… I would (now) choose the DIY route. Internal and external use the now traditional NAS solution would be best. I only use my NAS for internal network streaming, I wish I knew this b4 buying a QNAP solution..DOH ????‍????
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      10. I really don’t understand “nas OS” as Linux or even windows make good nas and have far more apps.

        Truenas is nice way to ease into ZFS, but btrfs keeps getting really good.
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      11. ditched prebuilt a few years ago now.. I’m never going back.. I was planning to move to synology but that idea died when they moved to amd cpu’s without video codecs in them…and I’m glad I escaped before the whole HD lock-in mess
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      12. Long time fan, first time commenter!

        I’m making the move from my DS923+ (it’s been an absolute kubernetes nfs pvc permissions nightmare) to DIY. I know this isn’t discussed much on the channel, but any suggestions on a DIY setup that works well within a homelab/kubernetes setup? I’m moving my cluster to Talos this weekend and want to plan out the storage swap in the near future. Thanks for an suggestions!
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      13. I’m still enjoying my 1618+ but i feel that after this unit is unsupported, and in light of Synology’s recent ‘business practices’, I will investigate ‘roll your own’ options, as it were. ????
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      14. Thanks. I am concerned about reliability. My Lincplus N2 had issues losing some ssds, my Minisforum MS-01 is dead for seemingly no reason. All the while my 2 Synologies are chugging along, one of them for 10 years.
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      15. I used to think Synology for turnkey… but they don’t care about home/small users anymore, removing apps, codecs etc. (and of course their rip off for memory and the mess with disk compatibility). More and more I’m setting up open source, immich, nextcloud etc in docker as I’m in de-syno mode nowadays. When I get my next nas it sure won’t be Synology. Sorry but I’m not paying a premium for your stuff anymore. And my final, they don’t care, when the f are you going to support dark mode (yes I can use a browser extensions, but its not the point). A proper theme management so I can properly see the current line in file manager etc, uck.
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      16. It is unfortunate that HP stopped making MicroServers. I have a couple from the G7 era that work great as NAS devices, one running Xpenology and the other OMV. Both have Mellanox Connect-X3 10G add-in cards and run cool and quietly. Somewhat larger than a 4-bay NAS but much smaller than a tower.

        For services other than network storage, I run Proxmox on a cluster of 3 1L fanless PCs.
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      17. Went from turn-key NAS products to DIY and will never go back. I run Plex on my NAS which leverages the GPU to handle transcoding since all my rips are 1:1 and sometimes need conversion. I remember running my huge video library through OCR software to extract subtitles because the low end CPUs in turn-key NAS boxes couldn’t even burn the subs into the video stream without the CPU being overwhelmed. With a DIY NAS you can add a GPU/iGPU to do all the heavy lifting.

        I just run ZFS on top of Ubuntu server. If you are not familiar with Linux there isn’t much involved with getting ZFS running on it. The precooked NAS solutions like OMV or TrueNAS are great for new NAS users, especially if you want to run stuff in containers. I didn’t bother with those since I wanted something simple that I’m in complete control of.
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      18. I went diy 6 months ago. Unraid, 12600k, 32GB, 80TB usable sata storage, 3 nvme zfs cache drives, windows gaming VM, plex server. Blisteringly fast and around 60w standby power consumption. Never going back 🙂
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      19. I’ve dreamt of doing it, but:
        1) It’s not hard to bypass the HDD “lock” on turn-key systems.
        2) Yes more OS options, but it’s a steep learning curve, and DIY won’t support those machines if there was a build error.
        3) Hardware is getting better for DIY, but they always seem to be a larger case for HDD, and takes more PSU power which is a problem 24/7/365
        4) Cost is more than just software! Sure DIY “can” be cheaper, but I’m not sure how much I’d have to save to go DIY. When the DIY doesn’t have a warranty or a customer service chat or phone number to call.
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      20. I’ve been thinking for quite a while about building my own NAS, especially after Synology basically said ‘screw you’ to their customers. However, energy efficiency and the cost of electricity should, in my opinion, be taken into consideration when calculating the total cost. Whats your take on this and how to calcuate this?
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      21. Making the plunge into homelab myself and hosting my own apps and files on an NAS due to the availability of nice ITX cases and motherboards that make it very do-able without getting locked-in to a subscription or a Synology-type hardware requirement. I ended up building an 8-bay NAS a few days ago with a Jonsbo N3 case and CWWK Q670 board after various build reviews (including yours).

        Some BIOS configuration snafus aside, which I was able to resolve, I have it running Linux Mint for testing purposes to verify all the hardware works. So far so good. Planning on installing TrueNAS Scale and adding 4 28TB Seagate Exos CMR drives when I have everything else configured.

        Specs:
        Jonsbo N3 case
        2x Noctua NF-A9 case fans to replace the original case fans.
        CWWK Q670 8-bay Motherboard (revised white version)
        Intel Core i3 14100T (may or may not upgrade later)
        Noctua NH-L12Sx77 L-Type Low Profile CPU cooler
        128GB (2x 64GB) Crucial Pro DDR5 5600 UDIMM Memory
        Lenovo Intel X710-DA2 Dual Port 10Gb PCIe Network Adapter Half Height (01DA902) (plus a full height bracket to swap out)
        1 x Samsung 990 PRO 1 TB SSD NVMe M.2 (future boot drive – overkill but I got it on sale – I had an ancient 128gb NVMe I was going to press into service but it was not compatible)
        2 x Sabrent Rocket 2TB SSD NVMe M2 (for apps pool – pulled from my workstation PC during an upgrade)

        For testing purpose I threw in a couple of old SATA drives I had pulled from old systems and they were detected. One has Linux Mint installed as the boot. These will be retired eventually once I get TrueNAS Scale set up.

        Planned apps:
        Truenas Scale (OS)
        Nextcloud
        Jellyfin
        Possibly Handbrake
        Calibre-web
        Immich
        Possibly Navidrome

        As far as Synology goes, I am not keen on any ecosystem (however well-designed) that requires proprietary software. The recent decision to require Synology-certified drives just hardened my stance against them. Nope. They just got added to my sh*t list alongside MIcrosoft, Adobe, Google, and Apple.
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      22. I would build my own if I had time to tinker with it. I love to do that. But for my current needs I just need something I can plug in, add drives and it works. That’s why I have my Synology. I plugged it in 5 years ago and it’s never been shutdown other than for cleaning or updates. Whether I’m at home or in another state it’s there when I need it. Replaces any need for Google or other cloud services.
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      23. personally for a nas, ill stick with a pre built like my ds1522+ is just the ease of use and simplicity.

        with my data that a value i have zero interest with tinkering, i want stability and zero risk (its why i dont use linux as a desktop os and only use Windows or macOS, and only linux in a server environment) its why i separate the my hosted services onto a 2 node proxmox cluster on a separate system, in case something goes wrong i dont lose my data in general.

        i like the low power and efficiency as well
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      24. Really fair and valid points raised. It boils down to use case and keeping to what your needs are. I have had some big switches and an old blade but they were loud and power hungry. Now I have two pc, 4790k 32gb ram and 7700k 16gb ram, with an array of nvme , sata SSD and HDD. its perfect for me, its quieter, uses less power, smaller foot print, flexible, easy to get parts and upgrade over time. that is what I wanted. Turn Key and going bigger DIY had to big an outlay cost for me, I don’t think negatively of the turnkey stuff due to nice simple layouts and all in one construction. I just love tinkering. I have been really having fun with CasaOS, proxmox etc.
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      25. What about families in the Apple ecosystem? Do you recommend using a Mac mini? It’s energy efficient, and even has a new native containerization framework. For docker like functions.
        You won’t have the build your own joy but it could be a nice way to go?
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      26. The only thing stopping me from moving (apart from the money already invested in Synology 4 bay + 5 bay expansion box!) is Active Backup for Business – if I could find an alternative solution (that was as easy to use, solid and natively supported Windows & Linux) I would likely move. Really don’t like the way Synology have gone with ever increasing lock in …. 🙁
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      27. When I was younger I built my own pc for gaming and had a lot of fun tinkering. For a NAS I would rather buy something purpose built whilst accepting that it wouldn’t be as full featured / powerful as DIY.
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      28. Thank you for doing this but you only focus on hardware. What about software? Features? Could you do that? All the backup apps, mail server, file server, Drive Sync, document link sharing, etc … I’m on Synology. Pretty happy with it. Curious on what’s on the other side.
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      29. My friend, I agree. Zima OS Nas software it’s amazing!, and I have three of them brands Qnap, Synology and Asustor.????
        But thanks to Nas Compare???????? I have installed Zima OS 1.44.1
        I have it installed on the Beelink Me, and on a PowerEdge r440, they both run flawless.
        And the remote access function is awesome???? on the R440, which I have in production. Which I have lockdown for my UniFi network.
        Thank you again, Nas Compare????
        This video is Top Notch????????????????????????????????
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      30. open-media-vault is the most underated NAS OS BAR non. Unraid is great, TrueNAS/FreeNAS are good but you need to know SMB commands to make it easy to use. OMV is just the perfect sweetspot and even better if you have a cheap Adaptec RAID card to manage your drives.
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      31. @NASCOMPARES – What does this mean for ECC NAS RAM ?

        Gigabyte’s AI Top CXL R5X4 quietly expands RAM capacity for demanding workstation workloads
        The card supports four DDR5 RDIMM ECC modules totaling 512GB of memory
        PCIe 5.0 x16 connection ensures direct CPU access for improved performance
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      32. I built a DIY NAS on a Pi using OMV and a USB drive to solve a short term network file sharing problem one time. Built in short order from bits lying about on the desk, it saved a bunch of passing the shared drive around the various devices on the network. FrankenNAS performance was pretty good actually but not any sort of long term production solution. Hand made is good option for folks who want to mess about and build the thing that matches their vision.

        Off the shelf though, generally smaller form factor than hand made, low noise, low power consumption, built for the job, no messing about. Could be pros or cons depending on personal perspective.
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      33. The problem with turn key solution is once you buy it kind of stuck with it. It may last 5-10 years, but after a while you will have to buy another one. At this point you outgrowing your current setup. With DIY, you can start with modest hardware . Reuse older components and concentrate on acquiring hard drives at your own pace. Eventually, after couple years, the same hard drives can be transferred to a new hardware. I think Synology is preventing it currently on their new hardware.
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      34. As someeone somewhere between a pro-sumer and homelab-er, I’m willing to take a bit of perf hit for polish and stability… but Synology sure has been testing me on the compromises.
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      35. I’ve purchased 2 QNAP 8 bay desktop NAS systems. The hardware (CPU/memory) is underpowered from the start and they have very limited RAM capacity/expandability. But what has really annoyed me is that the major OS version updates have not been supported on my systems. I would have liked to build my own, but I am not satisfied with the variety of desktop 8 or 10 bay 3.5″ cases. I backed the Orico Cyberdata kickstarter and plan to test various software platforms.
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      36. Turnkey are appealing, but I wonder how much fine tuning you can do with the apps when you want the NAS to be your all purpose server (Web server, IMAP server, Home Assistant with Zigbee dongle, File server) ? Apps may also be available in containers, are they fat and does they slow down the system ?
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      37. I got a problem on my “DIY side”: can´t decide between Xpenology and Truenas. I´m using Synology Hardware for a long time and I´ll use my DS1621+ as long as it is supported. But for sure I won´t buy any new Synology hardware unless they drop their restrictions.

        For fun and additional roles I´m also using some Xpenology Systems for a long time, which are running pretty well I must admit. But now I tried a Truenas build and I´m amazed how well Truenas runs. Especially setting up Jellyfin and Immich is way more easy than on Synology. I´ll guess I have to run both and maybe get additional hardware. ????
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      38. For roommate approval factor (5G internet with best signal in the living room), the Ugreen DXP2800 was a pretty compelling solution. Discreet enough to stick next to the AP without drawing attention.
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      39. You always post the most interesting topics in your channel, keep up the good work. I’ll stick with DIY, more power, more slots, less money spent, and above all, better power consumption.
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      40. Going DIY right now. Looked long and hard at Synology, Qnap, Asustor. Even bought one, but returned it. It takes a while to collect all the parts but you get much bang for your buck if you shop around and compare going DIY. I get Xeon, hundreds of gigs of ECC memory all for a fraction of what a turnkey solution cost.
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      41. Support in turn key NAS is not always the best. For example I tied to do 1:1 copy from old DS1819+ to DS1525+ with no success at all. After 10 days of writing to support and reading how they blamed everything else but not Synology I gave up. I would rather invest time to learn something new with DIY NAS than wait for the crazy answers in support ticket. Restoring task speed 10MB/s on 2000 EUR NAS is no way neither the CPU V1500B with end of life 2028. I wanted to call Synology support but that one engineer who is responsible for 15 mil Czech and Slovak just did not have a time.
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      42. What options do you have with a turnkey system when the manufacturer decides it is EOL and there will be no more security updates for it? Will you be able to install another OS on it or not? I still have a Netgear RN316 that had some Debian flavor on it and the support stopped with Debian 8.11. Also they made it very hard (no documentation on it at all) to install another OS on it. The system still works fine, but the software is really old. For any turnkey system I would recommend only those that give you an option to install another OS after they go EOL, which they inevitably will at some time.
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      43. I’ve never owned a turn-key home NAS. About 10 years ago I picked up a Supermicro X9 montherboard, an HBA, an 8-bay hot-swap case, and installed FreeNAS. I started with 3 TB SATA drives but now I’m using 22 TB SAS drives. I have had one motherboard die, but other than that I’ve had no issues with this system. I see no reason to pay a premium to use a turnkey NAS.
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      44. I tried a QNAP 4 bay nas a few years ago – compact, easy to setup, nice selection of utilities etc but not that cheap. It started playing up at about 2 years old. 2 bays stopped working, fan was on max and temp readings were all wrong. Believed to be an issue with the intel cpu they used that fail over time. Of course everything was attached to the board so no means of replacing components. 🙁

        So went for a mATX intel based board and a 4 core 8 series intel cpu, nothing fancy but has 6 sata connections. Setup in a small cube case with 6 drives and using freenas/truenas and has been working fine for years. Got a couple of external drives I do backups too, just in case. Using WD Red NAS drives, which I’ve had one fail (or at least starting giving smart errors). May look to change to bigger drives or SSDs when prices are a bit better.
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      45. Been waiting for a 12+ bay case (hot swappable) that is descent price. Not in love with Jonsbo N5 honestly but might end up going with that if there is not one available soon. I’m coming off of a Synology system because i have lost faith in synology.
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      46. For Apple fans, there’s also the hybrid option between DIY and turnkey: use an old Mac mini (eg M1 refurb or 2nd hand) with an external drive enclosure (JBOD or RAID for example). MacOS works fine as a server OS for backups, media libraries etc.
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      47. NAS-devices were correctly priced at the start of -00’s. Then they abandoned EU customers and priced themselves for Americans, Middle-East gulf oil countries and new rich chinese. So fuck’em i say. Never a NAS, never a new PC 2025->.
        There are other hobbies one can have that are free.
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      48. I keep thinking, if only Truenas would get fleshed out more to compete with turnkey OS’s. The solid ZFS basics are there but… Also I’m not a CLI-warrior. Kudos to those that are, but don’t expect it if every user to be one.
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      49. Hello, I really like your videos and the infromation you provide.
        Will you one day make a build of a complete DIY or something like ? OR at least not only show the motherboards, but all other hardware required ? (alimentation, cases ? etc )
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      50. Turnkey is convenient, but has an ongoing cost of having to replace the unit when either the software and/or hardware inevitably goes EOL (assuming you want the latest bug fixes and security patches). DIY can largely eliminate this, but has an ongoing cost of your time and skills. After experiencing my first NAS (WD MyCloud EX2) going EOL, I’m firmly in camp DIY going forward.
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      51. LOL – I gave up on my DIY disasters and bought a UNAS Pro on Sunday. Of the 8 incidents I’ve had 1 has been actual hardware failure, the other 7 have been some unrecoverable OS management oddity. DONE.
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      52. I’m just building my Jonsbo N2 NAC. That is NAC as Network Attached Computer. Figured out I also need some extra processing cores at the same time when I need larger storage, so R9 5950x with ecc and running Win 11 with a software Stable Bit. Anyone tried this software?
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      53. I use mdadm and Samba with smb.conf edited using vi, running over Debian.

        Can this be considered a NAS software or is this enough to qualify me as a dinosaure? ????
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      54. It all comes down to one thing for me! Unraid allows you to use different sized and mismatched drives in your Arrays (Pools). Hard drives are the most expensive part of any NAS so it only makes sense to go the route that gives you the most flexibility when it comes to your hard drives. So for me it has to be either a DIY Nas or some kind of a pre-built that will allow you to use Unraid!
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      55. NAS is a bit of a misnomer these days. What you are buying is a small server. The only real difference between rolling your own and a turnkey solution is the amount of hand holding that you get and the fact that in a turnkey solution the hardware/software/config has been validated to be reliable.
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      56. This is exactly what I did about six months ago. Dumped the contentss of my Synolgoy NAS to a 2TB drive. Then turned it off and put it away. I did pull the disks but used new ones first to set up my new NAS which is a Proxmox box running on a x570 mobo. It runs TrueNAS Scale just fine. Once I loaded the data back I then created a 2nd VDEV of the same size and disks as the first. I also run a bunch of other stuff from this Proxmox server and it runs well. I didn’t like the direction Synology was heading. I have had no problems with them over the years of having two NAS systems from them. They even replaced the mobo on my first as it somehow died. But I like the control I have now and would not go back.
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      57. Terra-Master is anything but locked in, IMHO. It’s not the highest quality casing, but it’s a standard PC and they run Unraid just fine, even within warranty. With Unraid you get a working real-time RAID system built on top of standard file systems and, if you stay away from their own Docker implementation and run Portainer as your Docker manager you’ve got compact, decent hardware and freedom in terms of your containers and your data.

        I’m not arguing against BYO, just saying it’s hard to get something as compact, as power-lean and as “acceptable by your partner” as a small Terra-Master box.
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      58. Whereas I can image that turnkey is appealing, if you really want control over how and where you store your data, BYO is the way to go. And honestly, if you can install Windows, you can install TrueNAS. It’s not really rocketscience.

        Putting the hardware together can be a challenge but there are plenty of tutorials online. If you are not afraid to dive in, I bet you are done with the hardware part within an hour and move on to the software part.

        Also, a lot of those turnkey appliances are chonically underpowered in terms of CPU performance. With BYO YOU can decide what you put in. Do you want to run containers? Aim a bit higher with your hardware. And regarding apps, look at the apps section from TrueNAS. It will get you quite far.

        So, I come to a different conclusion; unless you really do not want to spend time on the hardware part and just want the ‘service’ as quick as possible, go with the of-the-shelf brands. But if you value where you invest your money and you are not afraid to get your hands a little dirty, build-your-own is the way to go nowadays.
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      59. Having the option for turnkey or DIY nowadays is just neat in general as you didn’t have much options a decade ago

        Also I kept hearing turkey solution so I got hungry ????
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      60. The issue would be you can’t get free m365/gws backup anywhere else. I still think if Synology enters the space they will beat Synology if they include those licenses and they already beat them on hardware and entry level sufficiency
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      61. In the past I’ve built like really big storage systems as my job, based on Nexenta Solaris ZFS running on Dell hardware.
        Yet, at home is it different, one of the main reasons I’m using Synology (DS1621+, DS916+ and dedicated NVA 1622) is that power usage is so much lower compared to DIY.
        Maybe one day I might just be building me a nice Truenas system.
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      62. If you are not familiar with DIY, or don’t want to dive into the rabbit hole, it’s OK to buy a pre-build NAS and install the OS your want.

        If you want to DIY NAS, just one suggestion, don’t think too much on how to build my NAS, just think it like DIY a basic PC, then consider what you you need, like how many disk, how powerful it would be, you don’t have to use a special case or ITX mobo.
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      63. For me I prefer to build because I get exactly what I want from a performance perspective. But for friends I’ve been recommending Terramaster and then I help them setup unRAID on it. That means all the difficult parts are done and I can even help them remotely using screen sharing for the software configuration.

        And my friends (I’ve helped 2 now do the terramaster thing) like two things about these systems, they have a lot of slots (both bought 12-bay units), they’re affordable when it comes to the price per slot and they get an Intel chip to do Plex transcoding. I don’t have any attachment to Terramaster as a brand I just think right now they have good options. If some of these other NAS brands decided to let you boot whatever OS you want and added more slots at a reasonable price I’d recommend them too.
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      64. I’m in the pre-built NAS camp. I’m currently running a six and a half year old QNAP TS-1277 with six 10TB NAS drives in it along with four 500GB 2.5″ SSD’s that I use for my Plex and Channels DVR systems, and for sharing data and backing up the desktops and laptops on my home network.

        Prior to getting the TS-1277, I tried the DIY route, but kept coming up with hardware compatibility issues with the OS, and the lack of a user friendly OS that didn’t require a lot of babysitting, caused ne to look at QNAP. What I like about QNAP is I go into the OS once or twice a month to check on updates, and the system notifies me of problems.

        That leads me to today. In the past few months, I’ve had two of the six 10TB drives start to fail so I decided to do an upgrade to my NAS. I looked at DYI again, but decided to bite the bullet and stay with QNAP. For this system, I wanted to go all solid state in an effort to reduce some of the heat and noise the TS-1277 produces. When the TS-h1277afx, with all of the new SSD’s installed in it is fired up, you can barely hear it.

        I recently purchased the QNAP TS-h1277 which can handle twelve 2.5″ SSD’s. Because I have almost 20TB of data on the current NAS, I’ve installed twelve 4TB 2.5″ SSD’s in the unit. When is ordered the drives, I ordered three drives at a time and different times in hopes of getting drives from different manufacturing batches. Also ordered a 10GB network adapter to install in the old TS-1277 so I can connect it to a 10G switch that that is on my network. Both NAS devices will connect to the 10G switch and will help speed up the transfer of the data and settings from the old NAS to the new NAS using QNAP’s HBS 3 app.

        Currently prepping both NAS devices so once I receive the new network adapter (UPS is taking it on a tour of the US), I’ll start the transfer process.
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      65. The challenge of DIY NAS please help with is motherboards have a variety of pcie channels with different but similar connectors? The advantage is huge that I can start at any size and add in any way, using everything from m.2 to ssd to large capacity hard drives. Can use a small case I already have and just get a bigger one or jbod for big drives or mini m.2 setup. But channels??? A 25 years old atx case with dust still fits atx boards off ebay or new and holds tons of drives. Turnkey obsolescence – Ifw have 5 hot swap hard drives and want to replace with SSDs =junk.
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      66. I have been utilizing an Asustor at my company for years. As our data volume increased, the EZ Sync just ended up not being able to operate properly, some computers would sync, some would not, remote sync became sporadic. I recently built a self-NAS solution using an Intel NUC we had laying around, with a Sabrent 5 bay docking station. Using ZFS Raid and 5 2TB Barracudas, loaded the NUC with Proxmox, installed Nextcloud, and setup a clouflare tunnel to the unit. We couldnt be happier. Once we have 3 months under our belt without any issues, I am going to basically convert our Asustor unit to this setup as well and utilize it as a remote backup to our new setup. We didnt really use any apps on the Asustor, but if we ever want to, we can just install an instance of TrueNAS or something similar. The whole Proxmox approach is incredible for our application, and find myself researching new ideas i have for other environments to add to the proxmox setup.
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      67. My concern is getting a case that doesn’t suck (e.g. Too cramped, poor airflow, flex PSUS) and that doesn’t take too much space.
        Then there is the psychological perception of a small cube being a NAS vs a mini tower being a server… ????
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      68. I love to see a pcpartpicker style comparison between a DIY NAS and turnkey. I wonder if, beyond 4 bays, the % difference in savings makes DIY less appealing. For instance, an 8 bay system with a i3 or i5 with 20 or 24 TB HDDs. The savings in terms of money might only be like .. 2 to 5%
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      69. Never bought a NAS, always to expensive and pretty slow internals.
        I run OMV on a DIY JBOD NAS, just setting up a backup server with an external USB, on bare debian, but not everyone has the knowledge.

        Now there are so many opensource and free os’s, for the home user DIY is the way to go.
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      70. So Terramaster gave absolutely NO response to security incidents aside from “we’ll look into it”, and that was months ago. Yes, it’s time to build your own NAS, or at least, get one you can install your own OS on instead of their stuff.
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      71. I’d love to build my own NAS in the interest of re-using old equipment to reduce e-waste (and because I loathe overpriced proprietary systems), but sadly, there is a dearth of good case options, especially for m-atx.
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      72. I get the attraction of DIY but nowadays I just don’t want to spend the time needed to investigate the right hardware and software, collecting it, setting it up and maintaining it. It is always going to take more time and I no longer want to spend that time if I don’t have to.
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      73. Synology Drive client and Synology Active Backup for Business are the only reasons I’m sticking to Synology in my home solution. Otherwise I would have moved to home brew already.
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      74. Most of the turnkey NAS es are underpowered and overpriced to begin with. You are paying mostly for the support and software which with few exceptions(Qnap and Synology which granted had a long time to polish it)) still feels like a beta version. on pretty much all the new players (Terramaster, UGreen etc) For most people are ok but still overpriced and like you said you are very limited in terms of upgrade and expansions. The options for DYI are now now far more than they were years back. If you add to that the OSes that keep on popping up I don’t see any reason why a person with decent PC building skills wouldn’t build a NAS.Or just ask your more savvy friend to build and install the OS. But also like you said the learning curve deters people to go this way but on the long run the skills acquired in the process will be very useful. But to each his own, some look at this and think it’s some sort of sorcery for which they do not have the patience nor the knowledge to tackle and prefer to buy a prebuilt solution, some are more technically inclined and would love to tinker with the hardware and the software. Now we have a lot of options for sure ????
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      75. I am ditching my synology platform because of the locked in hard drive. I have a U3, 3d printed case with hot swapping hard drive bays. I have 10gig and 1 gig internet ports. I am currently making a clone of my system to place at another location so I can have a safe backup.
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      76. Hahaha, got you… Kraftwerk we are the robots.
        Awesome video, thanks. Our office has an older computer that will be turned into a NAS after the new one arrives. Your video his helpful for us to choose its system.
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      77. Though I think it might be fun to build a DIY NAS, it seems like most of the cases are huge when compared to Synology, Ugreen, and others in the turnkey category. I like the idea of buying from Ugreen or Minisforum because you get the ability to install the OS of your choice, but still get a hardware platform that doesn’t make you feel like you’re using a full-blown PC as your NAS.
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      78. The general advice I have is: are you suggesting a build to a family member or a business? Then go turnkey every time. Remember, if you build it and they break it, guess what, you’re on the hook for fixing it. It’s much better for your own sanity and reputation if you can hand over a problem to a vendor who knows their product stack really well.
        If it’s for yourself, consider if you like spending your weekend away somewhere or troubleshooting an issue. If it’s the latter, then DIY is for you. In the world of DIY, there’s probably very few who have the exact same configuration as you for the motherboard, cpu, memory, SSD/HDD, OS, containers, app versions, or who followed the same guide online to set up your services.
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      79. These proprietary systems are so expensive and lack the flexibility, so I bought a secondhand Hp elitedesk, stuck a Nvme and 2 hard drives in it and added ZimaOS and Jellyfin, never done it before, a couple of hiccups but ZimaOS was so simple and Jellyfin gives me a basic system to load up my dvd discs. Happy days.
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      80. Trolling so hard you found a 05 tray on a 4-bay NAS. I think HexOS is mostly selling itself on future promises, mostly buddy backups. I think the only reason anyone pays $200 now is cause they don’t want to pay $300 when it’s actually ready.
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      81. I started cheap building my first NAS myself while learning to homelab… then I outgrew this and wanted a second NAS for backing up the first one, but needed something efficient, so I got a Ugreen 4800 plus during their kickstart. Can’t be happier (after I installed TrueNAS, ofc)
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      82. I got my ugreen dxp 8800 plus it’s my first nas and I got to thank you for this. Your video gave me alot of confidence sinking this much money and I love it every single bit. Overkill yea but having the performaces is so nice to have
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      83. Ditching Synology would only be fair, as they themselves ditched everyone who doesn’t either have the most basic or a high-end use case.
        Unfortunately, Synology is not able/willing to openly communicate (or admit) that they apparently don’t care about enthusiasts/homelab’ers/prosumers and even small businesses anymore
        Not only in the NAS space, the Wi-Fi router line is pretty much abandoned as well.
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      84. Bought a few Hard Drive RAID Enclosures 2bay and 4 bay, use an old PC/Laptop, all you need. NAS devices are starting to price themselves out of the regular home users price ranges.
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      85. How many mm from the top of WIFI card to the FAN connector ?
        Would an m.2 E key to m.2 B key fit there ? length wise (I know there’s not mounting hole) ? (how much room is there height wise) ?
        Thank you!
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      86. I’ve been holding off on the minibee because of reports of problems when all 6 bays are full.
        I think I’m going to jump on this device, it looks perfect.

        Unfortunately your affiliate link looks broken.
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      87. It’s quite stunnning that on the first “version” they did not include at least a radioator or fan… 5 minutes of testing and it showed close to dangerous temperature
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      88. Hi en aluminium ce serais mieux et avoir 16go ram au lieux de 12 car on peut pas la up, et une mémoire mmc a 128go pour 200 a 250euro sans SSD cela aurais était cool ainsi on aurais de meilleur performance car plus de ram et les 128 go eMMC on aurais pu installer windows 11 et avoir les 4 SSD libre pour du raid 1 2x2to ou plus 4x4to cela nous fait 4 a 8to sécurisé.
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      89. Thanks a lot for this great review @nascompares
        At the end, I decided to buy one, as a testbed for ZimaOS. Waiting for your video to better understand how to install it and optimise it maybe.
        A quick question, as I don’t remember if you mentionned it : can we use NVME M.2 with thermal dissipator, into the Xyber Hydra Nas ? Is there enough space for that ?
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      90. They can rename the brand as often as the want, but the name “GMKtec” (G9) is burned…
        Sorry, but after the failure of G9 i tryed the cwwk p5, and later on the BeeLink Me mini.
        Okay, Gen 3.1 for the storage… for me it´s fine; and with USB-Stick as Boot drive , or the emmc. It´s fine to; Even my modificated p5 works fine
        As basic build, i had both in my sleeping room, without “fear”, that i get fried over night, and even under work, they stayed cool (Summertime/30 degrease in the sleeping room)
        U still get the Me mini for 209 nickers (basic), and the cwwk is a little bit higher (There are same “builds/other name” on amazon; a bit cheaper)

        Spoiler: After some troubles (Front USB/temp. went up to 80 degrease, than i throttled) on the BeeLink in combination with the use of the front USB 2 Port; and the help of the support team, i made a bios update; now it work fine again.
        For them who fear to make a bios update (it s easy)… after restarting the Me Mini, and removeing the front USB-Stick, all temps where okay again
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      91. Get the coolest SSD you can find. Don’t focus on performance. The system is limited by the NICs speed, even if you gang them together. Go with PCIe 3.
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      92. Please use your influence as a creator to get an answer out of GMKtec as to whether they will address the defective product that is the G9 and supply these upgraded parts to people who purchased one.
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      93. Just looked up the cost of this on their site & it $70 cdn to ship to canada on a $307 mini nas, No Thank you
        I have a what looks to be a update Gmktec unit coming from Amazon to my $302, will see what actually arrives
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      94. 8:00 Definitely stick on 4 elevated rubber feet to improve passive air flow under the case. Of course, you could set the box on top an external USB fan for further active cooling.
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      95. In general, people who claim that “you don’t need ECC!” should try first of all to understand how a capacitor in the order of single-digit femtofarads (yes, femto) works.
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      96. Please, please compare the gmktec or its knock-off to the Maiyunda M1S – I’d be really interested to see the difference. Also kudos on testing ZimaOS – nice to see the variety. Great video – thank you!
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      97. IMO the temps aren’t bad tbf. I’d be using it once or twice a day. Shame it doesn’t cool down as fast as we would like. Also with the fans set to max, it’s not too bad but will definitely be in the office ????
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      98. The only thing that will work with those being under instead of the top will be a fan there. That’s the problem I had with my firewall mini PC. Everything was fine until I added a fan. My memory got cooked there before that fan was installed. It’s just not a good design putting components like that underneath.
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      99. Instead of two ethernet ports I’d rather have one 1G ethernet and one Mini GBIC for 10G or even 25G. Just about every decent switch has two 10G Mini GBIC ports. Keep the copper 10G heat out of the tiny box. Form factor should be square with a single standard 120mm (or 92) case fan in the bottom blowing up.
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      100. One thing about ECC, these chips can’t run “conventional” ECC that need additional memory modules to store checksum, but they support in-band ECC which instead reserves space to store the checksum. It provides the same function as normal ECC while using normal memory, but comes with quite a bit of performance and some capacity penalty. It needs to be activated by the vendor though. So far I have only seen the latte panda mu and the odroid H4 line using it
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      101. This looks like a nice little device, I’m a fan of these 4-nvme devices showing up on the market. (my use case would be small low-power proxmox hosts with distributed storage), they look like two of them could fit together in a 1U Rack, though the cooling might be a bad idea at the moment 🙂
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      102. First off, I’m glad to see ZimaOS getting some coverage and use in these tests. Yeah, it doesn’t have all the bells and whistles of Truenas but I really like the simplicity and ease of use. If my Beelink Me Mini ever arrives, ZimaOS is getting installed on it.

        Glad to see the G9 get a redesign for the cooling issues. As someone else mentioned, it would have been nice if the new part was backwards compatible and available for everyone who bought the G9. It would have generated a lot of good will for GMKtec to make that part available for the original G9.
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      103. I like that the Hydra has more RAM (16 GB) and better thermals than G9. I would consider getting it with the standard 512 SSD for $219. That’s a fair price, but then there’s the barebones ME for $209!
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      104. I always have to chuckle when people complain that these kinds of devices “only” have 2.5Gbit Ethernet. Most of my network is still 1 Gbit Ethernet and I have a 100/40 Mbit/s DSL connection to the Internet. 10 Gbit would be complete overkill for my use case.
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      105. Thank you! I’d say you might be missing one use case for these devices ????
        I got the G9 to be a portable media device and a backup for my phones while traveling. With Jellyfin and a power bank to power it on the go. there aren’t many devices like this that can run off USB-C power.
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      106. Thank you for the video. Question, would this be a descent device to support a Proxmox cluster vm’s either through NFS or ISCSI trget? Any drawbacks?
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      107. I wonder if these would work if mounted additionally on a Quad oder Dual NVME M.2 riser card?

        I have a system with seemingly plenty of resources here: Server/WW board with some x16 gen3 slots.
        Yet, I don’t want to waste entire x16 slots for a single x4 card like a USB 3.2 2×2 oder 10G Network Adapter.
        I don’t find the diverse riser card and bifucation cards (x16 to x4x4x4x4 and the like) I find on the net that much convincing.
        So if I could add ar least such an 10G LAN Adapter to one of my NVME x4x4x4x4 cards, it would spare me a lot of room and also having to care for additional wiring.
        I could also use a small x8 to 2x m.2 riser card to add one ore two of these 10G LAN Adapters.
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      108. One thing to consider is changing to Linux that as per several tests is much more efficient and can give just that little bit of performance gain to transcode 8K to a manageable result with less buffering.
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      109. Dude, this is the exact setup I was thinking of building for my home. Could you help me with a couple of questions? First, if i go with the full 16tb storage setup, which SSD drive would you recommend? I plan on adding a lot of movies, home videos, and pictures over time. Secondly, I’ve seen a video from that Jeff Geerling guy. He seemed to have some overheating issues. I don’t plan on using this as a powerhouse, but just mainly as a windows-based media/plex server. Did you notice any hardware issues with overheating?
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      110. Very interesting stuff. I have a G9 sitting on my desk that I purchased as a replacement for my 15 year old NAS, nice to see it’s a fairly capable little machine!
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      111. So, I’m thinking of buying a device mainly to experiment with, but I also want it to serve as a productive solution for my small home network. I plan to install pfsense, proxmox, pihole, and generally play around with different setups. I’m looking for something compact and with low power consumption. I’m considering something from AliExpress with an N100 or N150 processor. Does anyone have experience with Topton? Is there a better alternative?

        I guess I’ll need at least 2 ports – one for WAN and one for LAN. If I don’t go for a device with enough ports to cover my needs(6 or 8), I’ll probably need an extra switch (managed?).

        And the most important question: since my WiFi network will be going through the device running pfsense, will I definitely need a separate access point?
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      112. Bought one to use as an opnsense device because of the 2x 2.5G Intel NIC’s. Thermals over time is a big problem. opnsense with average throughput of about 10mbps running all the security features (unbound with block list, suricata, zenarmor, and a few wireguard connections) puts the CPUs at about 30% constant load. This causes the whole device to get quite hot to touch and fried the nvme that came pre-loaded from the OEM within about 45 days. Might have just been a one-off bad device so let’s see how the RMA goes, but if this was under constant load much higher I can’t really imagine how it would go. Very poor thermal design.
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      113. I wish they would have made ram replaceable and upgradeable. It has an amazing i/o for a mini pc, it does need some cooling fixes but overall good. Have you tried removing the wifi adapter and adapting that port for additional storage?
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      114. This probably the perfect NAS for my setup. I run 1Gbps on my LAN which I plan to upgrade to 2.5Gbps by swapping out the main switch. I have no need for 10 Gbps, so this looks great. Just got to remember to make sure I have heat sinks for the drives to keep the temp down. I’d be curious to see if there is a way to adjust the case to improve airflow. BTW, I’ve seen a lot people install OpenMediaVault on the eMMC just fine to build their RAID arrays.
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      115. I’m not convinced by your transcoding tests, would like to see the results if the device you’re playing it on doesn’t support the original media’s codec. I don’t see how just reducing the size is going to add as much work to the server as if the end player didn’t support the codec altogether.
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      116. I just got one last night, and I can confirm that the thermal management is a problem, but I did what any old-school overclocker would do in this situation: add a fan. I have this installed in my 10″ DeskPi rack with perforated shelves, so all I did was put a 120mm slim fan on the shelf beneath the G9 blowing air up towards it and the temps dropped 10 deg across the board.
        I had no problems installing TrueNAS Fangtooth over the Ubuntu installation on the EMMC.
        Since not all NVMEs are the same, I would advise that you check the temps of your drives. I had a Teamgroup MP33 in the mix that was idling 64deg (w/heatsink) and 74deg when writing, which I suspect was dumping way too much heat into the NVME compartment. I simply swapped it out for a different drive, which immediately brought the temps of the other drives down. I used the Scrutiny docker app in TrueNAS to monitor the drive temps.
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      117. I decided to get this one after looking at the cm3588 and ds224+.

        ds224+ is $300 and only has 2 sata drives and 2GB of RAM…

        cm3588 costs similar to this unit but doesn’t include an enclosure nor fans! Also the setup would have been complicated since it’s so barebones.

        I’m very pleased this NUC/NAS is a thing as it’s plug and play out the box with an OS, has an enclosure with fans, and 1TB out the box. I got it for $230USD which I’m very happy about.
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      118. I got mine about a week ago, this is my first Linux NAS so I’m still figuring out TrueNAS Scale, I had to install version 23 because 24 wouldn’t install. I want it as an SMB server but I don’t know what I’m doing.???? so I’m fooling around with this after work and family.????????
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      119. just waiting for the G9 Plus for them to realize they need to change the bottom plastic plate to aluminum
        then you can place it on top of a usb router fan for active cooling or another aluminum surface like an enclosure for passive cooling
        nvme are stupidly hot, especially when you have 4 next to one another
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      120. I’m new to all these NAS stuff, i was wondering if i can use this with my Mac Air. I have been using NVMe SSD’s and enclosures for my external storage but was looking to branch into using a NAS.
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      121. Can i use this to dl and play hvec 256 files ? And use this as a mini home pc ? I currently use a chromebook with 4gb ram and its lagging too much. I want dwcent power but super low wattage as im off grid. Thanks guys
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      122. The frustrating thing I find with EVERY single NAS review video I have found. NO ONE SAYS, “If you just want a personal media server this is more than enough”. Like that would be a cool metric. To tell people that this unit would be a good personal media server for you and ya mum, or your family of 3
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      123. He mentioned that you wouldn’t want to rewrite the 64 gb Emmc with trunas….. Why would you not install it on the 64gb?????? Am I missing something?
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      124. Just got one of this and the heat problem is somehow worse than mentioned in the vidoe (maybe because of higher ambient) the drive sit idle at 70C which is obviously too hot. I only had several NVME heatsink so tried it and the temp drop by 10C (for the one applied) Some comment mention just leave the ssd cover open or get a custom heat sink to combat the issue I might try those
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      125. I have one of these setup, running TrueNAS. Seems to run hot – CPU cores are just under 60 degrees c. NVME SSDs are running at 48 degrees c with no heat sinks. Couldn’t install TrueNAS on EMMC so that was a bit of a waste, at least for now. I may have to go back and delete partitions off of EMMC somehow and reclaim the NVME SSD that has the OS on it. I also modified the fan curve via BIOS so the fans should be on more.
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      126. Looking on Aliexpress ive saw this “Xikestor PCIE to Dual 10GbE + Dual M.2” Looks to have 2 10GbE and 2 nvme slots which looks good for a compact nas build… I wonder if its any good and what chipset it uses for the network ports!
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      127. Just remove the drive bay door and set the NAS on top of a USB powered fan or laptop cooling pad (similar to the Targus Chill Mat) to keep the drives cool.
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      128. My G9 arrived yesterday. Installed Open Media Vault onto the 64Gb internal storage with no problems. Checked 4 m.2 nvme drives in and it performs great. Unit and drives do get toasty! I’ve just installed heat sinks to the drives to see if that helps – 3mm fits fine with loads of space, could probably get 5mm maybe 6mm heat sinks in there.
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      129. Quick question, so is there 4 m2 lots with 1 used for the OS and then 3 for storage or is there an internal m2 ssd slot on the main board for OS and then 4 in the bay? Still waiting on mine to be delivered. Guess customs is wondering if they should hit it with tariffs or let it go. lol
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      130. Mine arrived and juse done a 30 minutes test
        Both exhaust for cpu fan and nvme fan are bunch of small holes on the thick plastic casing , which trapped all heat there

        Conside give it a mod to cut it wide open or replace with a better mesh ????

        Bottom Plastic cover for ssd maybe go get a copper plate and replace it

        Overall is kinda good for me except design bug above …
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      131. This is REALLY interesting for me for a travel NAS.
        TrueNAS docs say they need minimum 16GB, but recommend 32GB for a boot disk. It seems like the 64GB EMMC would work for this just fine but I haven’t actually tried it. You recommend against it but didn’t elaborate on why. Why wouldn’t the on-board 64GB drive be sufficient to run TrueNAS (or why wouldn’t it be a good idea)?
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      132. I got one, so far it’s okay for light tasks (internet browsing and watching movies)’ ; i thought it was going to be very slow with 4K but so far it did not disappoint me.
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      133. My plex journey started with the N105 last spring finding that it struggled to transcode more than 2 streams remotely then to the n305 it was slightly better but the cpu was almost always at 80% or more utilization when using plex while deluge and the arrs where running. In October I upgraded to a i5 1235U and am super happy with it and regret wasting so much time and money on the lower tiered options to begin with.
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      134. Could be an interesting DIY project: trow the plastic tray away, place a massive passive cooler (and maybe a PVM fan on the cooler) that covers all four SSDs. Then you can also remove the two laptop fans, making it possibly even quiter.

        Could be an interesting/ fun project
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      135. Just build a proper PLEX server with Nvidia GPU, network connect to my local storage server. I run it on Ubuntu over the hypervisor with passthrough. You can play anything, encode anything, transcode anything. I always transcode 4k source to 720p so I can watch it on the move, just like any streaming services. I even stream my PLEX server either through WireGuard or reverse proxy, to several family members and extended families without a hic. These mini pc just do not cut it. Want a good PLEX server, just get a Nvidia GPU with a paid (lifetime) PLEX acct.
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      136. It is so frustrating that they seldom list the actual hardware codec support. Having a GPU is just part of the multimedia story. Seems it has support for AV1, VP8, VP9, H.264, and H.265 but Ic ant seem to find any other detail e.g is that both encode and decode, what bit rate, HDR etc. Seems like it can natively decode AV1, but sadly, not encode.
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      137. The synology nas I’m using is struggling with a normal hvec 1MB/h file transcoding to chromecast-format with Dolby digital sound. They need more power in their system.
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      138. Mine is still ‘awaiting shipment’. It makes sense to me to save the money for some SSDs rather than stick with HDDs. Plus if it doesn’t work reliably as a NAS then it will still be useful as a media streaming box.
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      139. I have a number of old blu-ray HD movies that use the VC-1 format, which traditionally has been hard to transcode since transcoding was single threaded. How does the N150 handle VC-1?

        Also , how does the N150 handle forced subtitles?
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      140. A few questions: I’m assuming the Linux is preloaded on the EMMC or is the Win 11? Can I replace the Linux with Xpenology and still dual boot with Win 11?
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      141. Hiding interesting content behind ‘members only’ is not going to work well for the popularity of this channel. Release all content and build membership first to half a million before putting any paywall. It’s a niche storage channel, not a major tech review channel.
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      142. @0:09, 1:08, … “N5105”, old habits don’t die, hehe… 😀
        But yeah, otherwise am planning to run a small DIY NAS with this chip, seems perfect for my needs.
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      143. Plastic does seem a bad idea, a big metal heatspreader would be preferable. However, with so few gen3 lanes available for NVMe, you wouldn’t expect the drives to get all that hot under load. Dual 2.5G is great for this money. DDR5 makes a big difference with N150, so that’s nice to see. It seems odd to have so many USB ports etc, surely this is wasting PCI lanes??
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      144. Great review with info. Was looking for a mini PC with multiple NVMe slots so I could easily test drives but wanted something low power and basically silent. Glad I came across this since it seems to be a recent release, and super cheap.
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      145. It cannot have PCIe3x2 for per NVMe. N150 CPU have max 9 PCIe lanes. Considering iy has bunch of USB3 and NIC it only have total PCIe3x2 for NVMe. And with chip ASMedia thay made 4 PCIe3x0.5 lane for NVM storages.
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      146. The only reason i am not buying this right now is all the negative comments i see about gmktec.

        This is exactly what i need. My big nas is at my parents where electricity is much cheaper and there is gigabit symmetrical internet. I would put 4 tb in this to keep in my apartment as a lightweight nas that syncs regularly to the big nas.
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      147. Would’ve been useful to test temperatures with the cover off as well to prove or disprove your point. But still, it being metal does nothing. You’d need thermal pads between the drives and the metal plate, which means you’d have to deal with those pads every time you opened the system. Surely someone like you could find thermal pads and a metal plate around that size and fasten it up to see if it makes a big difference. Or put heatsinks on the drives to actually see what difference it makes. Sorry but I am so tired of people stating things as fact without testing them.
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      148. Confused about max storage.. The GMKtec website says: “NAS expansion up to 32TB storage (4x 8TB)”, further down the page it says “Max capacity 16TB, 4TB each slot”… Which is it!
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      149. How do these mini PCs actually hold up as NAS servers with external USB drive enclosures for multiple HDDs (like the RaidSonic Icy Box IB-3805-C31) running TrueNAS or Unraid? And more importantly, how’s the power consumption on setups like this, and do these external HDD enclosures properly handle different HDD power states (idle/sleeping)?
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      150. I would be tempted to use omv. I do not have experience with unraid I would be prepared to try it. I think it would be overkill, but why couldn’t I load truenas into the emmc? 64gB would seem enough.
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      151. This compact NAS reminded me that I’d like to see some NAS manufacturers make units for the new 10″ mini rack system. Preferably with some 3.5″ drive capabilities. Have you seen movement in that area recently?
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      152. You’re a Brit. Why are you pricing everything in dollars?
        We’ve got brains…we can work it out for ourselves. I regularly watch reviews from Aus, Philipines etc…they say prices in their _own_ currencies (as YOU should too!) Poor show.
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      153. I’ll tell ya what… as a poor, this is an ideal piece of equipment. I have some extra fans I could use to cool the nvme bay. Drill some hoes in some plastic, add the fans call it a day.
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      154. My $99 OpenWrt One has a sold aluminum case so there’s no need of a fan. I wonder how hard it would be to 3D print an aluminum or magnesium door for this NucBox G9. Wouldn’t need to be thick.
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      155. Interesting! Thank you for this review. The potential overheating is my concern, a show stopper for me. This model looks like a good basis on which to develop a cooler model. Until a cooler model is available this model though is a hard pass for me. ????
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      156. morer and cheaperer ssds and a cpu that can handle pcie bandwidths better….and usb4 to make it daisy chaineable…..ryzen 7320 with a massive passive would be a good option, and 16TB ssds with a pricetag of 30 eur per TB
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      157. But with max nvme 3.0 and 2,5Gb Ethernet, is heat a big concern if you just choose 4 nvme 3.0 drives at the level of ssd performance the system allow ? I fully agree that if they had thought it a bit more over and provided a metal bottom the problem would probably be completely gone. I would guess no one would choose high performance nvme 5,0 drives for this kind of product as they would never reach their full performance potential.
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      158. The size is amazing, and the price seems so too.

        The thermals and the limited capacity of the EMMC storage (that you said is not capable of having TrueNas), however, is quite disappointing
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      159. What a shame as for a few quid extra many of the downsides such as heat dissipation could’ve ben fixed. Given the cost of NVMEs a few quid extra would hardly dissuade anyone from buying.
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      160. I do like the fact they put in 4 NVMe slots! 10 Gig networking would’ve matched the SSDs performance perfectly, but good enough I guess… For the average user switching from a 2 bay HDD NAS, this will be a huge improvement! I’m thinking about getting one as a secondary on-site backup.
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      161. Great little device. The N1xx CPU is the gift that keeps on giving, even if it’s so PCI-limited.

        I use Ubuntu as NAS OS. Cockpit + 45 drives plugins + zfs plus a few bits of cron automation for replication.

        But anyhow, if Ubuntu runs, TrueNAS or Unraid will also run no problemo.
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      162. I just ordered one of those yesterday. They weren’t offering any drives at the time but fired it would be fun to play with. A little bummed on the emmc memory but for the cost what the heck
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      163. The x99 motherboard I use for my homelab setup doesnt have a PCIE slot aligned with the top most expansion bay on my case (nor do many ATX motherboards it seems), so with a 4xM.2 to X16 card in the top slot I can install 2 SSDs, a 10GB SFP+ NIC that is routed to the slot above, and have an extra slot available for future use without touching the rest of the PCIE slots below.
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      164. I agree with the comments about the ribbon cable, it is terrible. Looks like some basic generic cheap cable. No wonder why someone in comments mentioned lower data rates when installed in miniITX compared to test laying flat on table. Interference is a bi*ch.
        On the bright side though, they do sell version of this NIC with micro coax cable which is far better solution for this application. It would be interesting to see comparison between these two outside and inside miniITX case. I bet we would see better numbers.
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      165. Ali express has the M.2 to SFP+ Intel X520, for around $30. Would really like to see the performance on those. This one a little too expensive for the use case, when using it for something like a mini pc.
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      166. I got an M.2 to PCIE 3.0 x4 adapter and connected with an Intel X540-T2, using the extra PCIE 3.0×4 M.2 slot on my motherboard. the reason I don’t get a direct M.2 to 10GbE adapter is most of these cards use the Qualcomm AQC chip, which is not good. get a full-width M.2 PCIE adapter and you can put any card you want on it, even Mellanox.

        FYI: I did an ITX build and the only PCIE slot is occupied by GPU. I’m using PVE 8.2.4, no extra driver is required, just plug and go. iperf3 shows a full 10Gbps speed, which I remember is around 9.6~9.7 Gbps with 9000 MTU.
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      167. Why not go for an awesome Sonnet PCI-E card that has 10Gbit Ethernet, two M.2 slots and two USB-C 3.2 Gen 2. Sure it costs, but I’d like to get that one and their other overkill PCI-E card that houses eight M.2 slots. They’ve got some really awesome and obscure tech.

        It’s called “Sonnet Technologies McFiver PCIe Card G10E-USBC-M2-E”
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      168. Felling a bit shame I was an early EGPL-T101-C1 (aqc113c) adopter. Now, there’s cheaper options like iocrest, but still, I can get full 10 GbE on iperf3 test with PCEI 3.0 x2.
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      169. Currently in my ITX SFF Desktop I am using a m.2 to pcie x4 riser adaptor (Search for R42SL) with a Mellanox ConnectX 3. Would recommend that over this. I get full 10G performance. In all about $40. Would be a bit more if you need Intel for FreeBSD based system without updating drivers.
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      170. I bought one and saw 600-800Mbytes/s, but it’s going in a ITX chassis and it’s leagues better than 2.5G. Did see the data rates seesawing a fair bit though.
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      171. If you didn’t mention the seagulls, I would literally never even notice them in your videos. It’s _only_ you mentioning them that brings any attention to the seagulls.
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      172. even if you put this in a custom build itx system, im lery of that cable. Wish it was a more robust cable that could be replaced easily if necessary (if it was damage or you needed a longer/shorter one)
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      173. With off-the-shelf NAS there is only one guarantee – that you will be milked as long as they want. Every budget-friendly model will be based on a CPU without GPU and locked from you adding any extention
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      174. PLEASE run this test: A PCIE gen 4 x 1 slot on a motherboard to a M.2 adapter with this card plugged in. This might be the solution a lot of us have been looking for.
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