TerraMaster F5-422 10Gbe NAS Review

Up Close

TerraMaster can be forgiven for providing the F5-422 in a plain cardboard box. After all, this is hardly the type of product to be found in your local hardware store catering to the casual user, even if it’s easy enough to use that you don’t require a diploma in data management.

  

It’s certainly compact, and in an understated silver colour scheme that will blend in with most of our modern monochrome homes. If it doesn’t – you live in a 17th century cottage for example – then it’s small enough to be tucked away somewhere out of view.

  

Cool drives are fast drives, or at least drives that haven’t become thermally limited, and with two 80mm fans there is plenty of cool air to keep even a fully populated F5-422 running at peak efficiency.

  

Installing drives is easy enough, or changing them out should one cough up its guts, with a simple plastic caddy keeping everything firmly in place whilst also dampening any vibration.

  
  

The TerraMaster supports 2.5 HDD or SSD as well as 3.5 HDD so you have plenty of options, whilst the lights on the front allow you to keep a close eye on it without being so gaudy they are obtrusive.

  

Connectivity is in the form of two USB 3.0 ports, an HDMI and three LAN ports – two 1Gb options and the full-fat 10Gb one if your home networking is up to snuff.

  

In the box you have the power supply, a CAT6 LAN cable, as well as some screws and labels to ensure you know what is on what drive, something that anyone who uses many drives will appreciate. It’s very easy to get confused amongst 5 identical drives.