Visiting a NAS Production Facility in Shenzhen, China – The CWWK Factory and Office Tour As part of a broader effort to explore the landscape of Chinese tech manufacturers, I recently visited the facilities of CWWK (ChangWang) in Shenzhen, China. CWWK is best known in enthusiast circles for producing NAS motherboards and compact computing solutions, […]
The Best Travel Routers, SIM/LTE Routers and Gateway Devices I Have Ever Used I think it would be fair to say that in 2025, unless you are travelling within your own country, chances are that you are definitely going to need some kind of internet connection in order to get around when travelling around the […]
How to Upgrade Your Synology to 10GbE Cheaper with the Xikestor SKN-A113-Mini The XikeStor SKN-A113-Mini is a third-party 10GbE network adapter designed as a budget-friendly alternative to the official Synology E10G22-T1-MINI adapter for select NAS models, including the DS923+, DS723+, DS1522+, and RS422+. While both adapters provide similar networking capabilities, the XikeStor comes at a […]
Synology DS401+ Review: A Big Leap in Data Portability Synology has once again redefined innovation with the launch of its latest device, the DS401+, a radical departure from traditional NAS design. Unlike anything in their existing lineup, the DS401+ is a compact, ultra-portable single-bay system that arrives with 8GB of pre-installed storage. While its modest […]
Updates on the Minisforum N5 and N5 Pro NAS Minisforum is no stranger to shaking up established markets. Known primarily for its innovative and compact mini PCs, the brand has now turned its attention to network-attached storage (NAS) solutions. Earlier this year at CES 2025, Minisforum unveiled the N5 Pro NAS — a five-bay, AI-optimized […]
UGREEN NASync NAS: One Year Later – The Good, The Bad, and What’s Still Missing? One year ago, UGREEN made waves in the NAS industry by launching its NASync series through a hugely successful Kickstarter campaign, raising $6.6 million from over 13,000 backers. This new line of NAS devices aimed to offer a cost-effective alternative […]
UniFi Cloud Gateway Fiber Review – Overkill? UniFi has absolutely been slamming hardware releases in the first quarter of 2025. Last year, they launched a new NAS solution, and in the last few months, we’ve seen them hammer out a wide range of new surveillance accessories. However, February 2025 has seen a huge rejuvenation of […]
CWWK N355 DIY NAS Motherboard Review The CWWK N355 DIY NAS motherboard is a Mini-ITX board designed for users looking to build a compact yet powerful NAS system with high storage capacity and expansion potential. Featuring the Intel Twin Lake N355 processor, dual 2.5GbE networking, six SATA ports, and two NVMe slots, it balances performance […]
Is the Samsung 9100 Pro SSD Your DREAM Gen5 SSD? Samsung has officially entered the PCIe 5.0 market with the release of the 9100 PRO Series SSD, its first high-performance consumer Gen 5 NVMe SSD. Unlike previous Samsung SSD releases that focused on mainstream users, this drive is built for professionals, power users, and AI-driven […]
How to Install TrueNAS Scale/Core on a Terramaster NAS If you’re new to private server storage, you’ve probably heard the phrase “everything runs on Linux.” While that’s not entirely true (many other platforms exist with their own foundations), Linux remains the dominant base for much of the software we use daily—including Network Attached Storage (NAS). […]
New Synology NAS for First Half of 2025 Revealed – DS925+, DS1825XS+, DS625Slim, DS1525+ and More UPDATE 7th May 2025: The Synology DS1825+ and DS1525+ NAS have been released in the Eastern Regions (likely globally in the coming weeks), as well as the Synology DS925+ NAS Now being available globally. Below are news and review […]
UniFi Launch a MASSIVE range of 10GbE PoE APs and Switches – The New XG/XGS Series The UniFi U7 Pro XG and U7 Pro XGS is ANOTHER expansion of Ubiquiti’s WiFi 7 access point lineup (I swear, it’s like the 3rd/4th this year or something), bringing 10GbE Power over Ethernet (PoE) support to the series […]
UniFi Express 7 Review – The Affordable UniFi Gateway? UniFi has seriously hammered the subject of Wi-Fi 7 into their existing portfolio at an alarming speed, but it’s easy to forget that just half a year ago, there wasn’t a single Wi-Fi 7 solution in their lineup. Fast forward to February 2025, and they’ve now […]
Minisforum AI X1 Pro Review The Minisforum AI X1 Pro is a compact high-performance mini PC designed for users who require a balance of processing power, AI capabilities, and expandability. Featuring the AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX 370 processor, it integrates 12 cores, 24 threads, and an AI NPU capable of up to 80 TOPS, […]
Gl.iNet Slate 7 Router Review The GL.iNet Slate 7 is the latest entry in the company’s expanding lineup of travel routers, bringing Wi-Fi 7 support, dual 2.5GbE ports, and a compact, portable design aimed at users who need reliable internet access on the go. Designed with remote workers, frequent travelers, and security-conscious users in mind, […]
UniFi U7 Lite and U7 In-Wall WiFi7 Mesh APs Review UniFi continues to flesh out its Wi-Fi 7 portfolio at the start of 2025, and, hot on the heels of the launch of their latest router and gateway devices, we see this brand start to roll out new Wi-Fi 7 access points intended to challenge […]
Samsung Unveils 9100 PRO PCIe 5.0 SSD with Up to 14,800 MB/s Speeds and 8TB Capacity IMPORTANT – The Samsung 9100 Pro SSD is Now LIVE and my Review can be found HERE on YouTube or HERE on the Blog. (Original Article Below) Samsung has officially launched its 9100 PRO Series, marking its first full-fledged […]
UniFi Dream Router 7 Review When it comes to the hardware in your network environment, UniFi has always been one of those companies where you are either fully invested in practically every network appliance in its ecosystem or have nothing to do with it. A UniFi ecosystem is designed to allow you to easily and […]
Why NAS Drives are NOT for Everyone – 5 Reasons You Do Not Need a NAS Network Attached Storage (NAS) is often promoted as the ideal solution for data management, offering advantages like local control, redundancy, and flexible access. However, while NAS has many benefits, it is not the right choice for everyone. Depending on […]
‘Used Seagate EXOS HDDs Missold as ‘New – Other Drives Implicated Now would be a very good time to check any hard drives you’ve purchased in the last 12 to 24 months! Recent reports from popular German news outlet Heise have raised increased reports of refurbished and modified SMART-reported drives being sold as brand new, […]