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TerraMaster is a serious NAS producer that predominantly focuses on the finances section, however lately the model has began making mid-range and high-end servers. The F4-423 is an attention-grabbing 4-bay NAS that’s powered by the confirmed Intel Celeron platform, and it continues to be a stable alternative two years after its debut.
What’s attention-grabbing is that the F4-423 has twin 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet ports; increasingly more manufacturers are actually providing multi-Gigabit connectivity as normal, so this offers you a lot better headroom with regards to knowledge transfers. The remainder of the {hardware} is respectable too — you get 4GB of RAM, twin M.2 slots, and the NAS can maintain a complete of 80TB of information.
The largest limitation of earlier TerraMaster NAS servers was the software program, however the producer rolled out a brand new model initially of the 12 months, dubbed TOS 6, with a cleaner UI and polished options. The F4-423 debuted at $459, nevertheless it has been round for some time, and you’ll get it at $389 on Amazon, making it a terrific worth if you happen to want a strong 4-bay server.
TerraMaster would not change the design of its NAS servers, and the F4-423 appears to be like similar to the F2-221 and the 10GbE F5-422 that I reviewed beforehand. The NAS has a metallic enclosure and is decked out in white, and the colour scheme tends to face out a bit from the black-clad fashions offered by most different distributors. That mentioned, the design is elegant, and there are completely no points with the construct high quality.
The entrance has the drive bays, and you’ll set up 3.5-inch HDDs with out using any instruments. There’s additionally a provision to make use of 2.5-inch HDDs or SSDs, and also you get two M.2 2280 slots as effectively. The F4-423 comprises a single 4GB DRAM module, however there are two SO-DIMM slots, and you’ll simply add an extra reminiscence module must you want it — the NAS accommodates as much as 32GB throughout each slots (16GB in every). Putting in a brand new reminiscence module or M.2 slot requires dismantling the NAS, and TerraMaster ought to actually begin providing a neater means to do that.
There are particular person standing LEDs for every HDD, and also you get one for LAN connectivity and energy. Each of the USB 3.1 ports are positioned on the again, and like most different TerraMaster servers, you get an HDMI port, making it extremely handy to attach the F4-423 to a TV.
The largest speaking level on this space is the twin 2.5GbE Ethernet ports; even when you do not have a multi-Gigabit community arrange proper now, you possibly can benefit from the connectivity must you make the change down the road. In an analogous vein, the Intel Celeron N5095 continues to be a standout alternative on this class, and it has {hardware} transcoding, so if you happen to’re taking a look at a Plex media server that may deal with transcodes, the F4-423 is a good alternative.
The F4-423 would not get loud in every day use, and even below load, the noise from the twin 80mm followers on the again is not noticeably excessive. I slotted in 6TB IronWolf drives within the NAS, and in over a 12 months of use, I did not see any points in anyway with regards to day-to-day efficiency; the F4-423 has been very dependable on this regard.
Whereas the {hardware} is among the many finest on this section, the one shortcoming with the NAS is the software program. TerraMaster is making progress on this space with TOS, and to the model’s credit score, TOS 5 amends quite a lot of the problems from earlier years. TOS 6 is popping out to be an enormous improve, and it overhauls quite a lot of the privateness and safety features and introduces a cleaner and trendy UI.
It is nonetheless in public beta as of writing, and I would not advocate putting in it in your NAS, however what I’ve seen of it to this point is thrilling. And if you happen to do not just like the look of TOS, you possibly can at all times set up your individual, like TrueNAS Scale. It is comparatively straightforward to do, and the extensibility makes the F4-423 an honest choice if you wish to tinker with the software program.
Two years after its launch, the F4-423 continues to be a terrific general NAS, and whereas the the F4-424 Professional is now accessible and has higher {hardware}, it additionally prices $699. If you happen to want a 4-bay house NAS server with one of the best {hardware} on this section and want to maximize worth, the F4-423 has lots to supply.
TerraMaster F4-423 4-Bay NAS
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