Thecus Technology Announces the N3200PRO NAS

[btarunr]

The N3200 from Thecus has been finding its way into living rooms and home offices around the world thanks to a ton of friendly features, large capacity, and RAID 5 security. Today, Thecus is pleased to announce a successor to this groundbreaking product: the N3200PRO. Featuring the power of an AMD Geode CPU, the N3200PRO takes everything you love about the N3200 and improves its performance even further.



Under its svelte 160 x 170 x 215 mm exterior, the N3200PRO is powered by an AMD Geode CPU for superb performance while maintaining low power usage. With its three SATA drive bays, the N3200PRO accommodates up to 3TB of storage, and gives users the option of RAID 5. With RAID 5, home users can enjoy the speed of a striped array with the security of complete data redundancy. The N3200PRO retains its completely tool-less design, which makes installing and removing disks is a snap and a handy LCD display informs users of system status, and enables easy system management in dimly-lit environments. Thecus' web-based management system makes a return to the N3200PRO, allowing users to configure and manage the unit through any browser connected to the network, and with USB wireless dongle compatibility, users can even connect to the N3200PRO without being tangled up with wires.

As a NAS for the home, the N3200PRO also comes with a selection of friendly features that enable the digital lifestyle. A built-in iTunes Server makes it easy to stream an entire music library over the network, while a Photo Web Server enables users to share and enjoy photos with friends and relatives. A DLNA-compatible Media Server is also included, making the N3200PRO an ideal device to stream digital content to DLNA-compatible devices. The N3200PRO can also keep an eye on things at home with its Web Surveillance Server. Just plug in a compatible USB webcam and the N3200PRO can take scheduled snapshots - all without having a PC turned on! Powerful features and performance makes the N3200PRO the ideal NAS server for the home.

"The N3200 brought RAID 5 to the realm of home NAS units, and the N3200PRO is our follow up to this groundbreaking device," says Thecus General Manager Florence Shih. "With an AMD Geode processor at its core, users are really going to love the improved performance and system response of the N3200PRO."

View at TechPowerUp Main Site

 

[Mussels]

RAID 5 sounds like a perfect idea for a home NAS. browser support, USB wireless support!.. hell even an itunes server.

If i didnt already have a large drive cage, i'd be looking at this for sure.

 

[Deleted member 3]

RAID 5 sounds like a perfect idea for a home NAS. browser support, USB wireless support!.. hell even an itunes server.

If i didnt already have a large drive cage, i'd be looking at this for sure.

Nothing really new. The 4100Pro goes for under €400, so this should be a bit cheaper as well. Performance is lower than the 5200 from what Thecus told me. Should know first hand soon enough though. Should have a 4100 here soon, about the same hardware specs.

 

[btarunr]

"With an AMD Geode processor at its core, users are really going to love the improved performance and system response of the N3200PRO.”

They way they've been brandishing the Geode...

For users, a component such as NAS CPU could be kept abstract. They intend to sell this to the SOHO/Home users, why burden them with more specs to remember? Thecus may have gotten hold of a nice cheap NOS (new old stock) deal of AMD Geode embedded boards (the way server motherboard makers still use decade old ATI chips...which basically are NOS), and now with reduced mfg costs, they're brandishing Geode. I'm not sure if it's any increment, though I guess we'll see how it performs soon.

Other NAS units use Intel processors that are NOS too, but my point is Geode must have been a cheap cost-cutting deal for Thecus.

 

[Deleted member 3]

"With an AMD Geode processor at its core, users are really going to love the improved performance and system response of the N3200PRO.”

They way they've been brandishing the Geode...

For users, a component such as NAS CPU could be kept abstract. They intend to sell this to the SOHO/Home users, why burden them with more specs to remember? Thecus may have gotten hold of a nice cheap NOS (new old stock) deal of AMD Geode embedded boards (the way server motherboard makers still use decade old ATI chips...which basically are NOS), and now with reduced mfg costs, they're brandishing Geode. I'm not sure if it's any increment, though I guess we'll see how it performs soon.

Other NAS units use Intel processors that are NOS too, but my point is Geode must have been a cheap cost-cutting deal for Thecus.

CPU is the main bottleneck in these devices, so I don't think it's a burden to know.


As for server boards, that's a different story, they stopped use Rage chips for a while now, they all use those ES1000 chips or Volari's. Those are low power no-good chips. They have no 3D acceleration of any kind, they just have simple, reliable drivers. Perfect for servers, where display is completely irrelevant. You don't even need display drivers on a server, basic VGA driver is fine.

 

[btarunr]

CPU is the main bottleneck in these devices, so I don't think it's a burden to know.

You're right, but I think they're brandishing Geode, saying it offers "improvements" mainly because they wouldn't want "uses the cheaper CPU" tag, I guess we'll have to wait and see how much Geode helps with the bottleneck.

It's funny how on the product page of the N3200, they chose not to mention the CPU at all, while the page for N3200Pro is screaming AMD Geode.

 

[Deleted member 3]

You're right, but I think they're brandishing Geode, saying it offers "improvements" mainly because they wouldn't want "uses the cheaper CPU" tag, I guess we'll have to wait and see how much Geode helps with the bottleneck.

It's funny how on the product page of the N3200, they chose not to mention the CPU at all, while the page for N3200Pro is screaming AMD Geode.

It is actually better than the ARM's most previous models used.

 

[soldier242]

i'd really like to know how much power this thing uses, since i want a lowpower NAS ... btw the price is 339€ here in germany, which is more than i want to/would pay

 

[Deleted member 3]

i'd really like to know how much power this thing uses, since i want a lowpower NAS ... btw the price is 339€ here in germany, which is more than i want to/would pay

<70W I'd guess. Probably a fair bit below that.

 

[soldier242]

damn, that is tooo much ... i could use a really old pc then as well