A Look Inside

It's time now to strip this NAS down to unearth what components it hides inside its casing.


Removing the one-piece top and side panel is very easy since you only have to remove three screws, which would make upgrading the RAM total a breeze without risk of voiding the warranty since Asustor meant users to be able to upgrade the amount of RAM on their own.


Like on all Asustor NAS units we have reviewed so far, the chassis is made out of metal, and it is rock solid.


The USB 3.0 port in the front communicates with the mainboard through this connector.


The LCD screen utilizes a Weltrend WT69P3 IC.


The mainboard is small and the CPU and chipset are cooled by a massive passive heatsink; it plays a key role in keeping noise output at a minimum.


This empty RAM slot is on the solder side of the mainboard; it'll be used should you want to upgrade your RAM total. However, you will have to void the warranty for an upgrade to 8 GB or more since you will have to completely remove the mainboard in order to access the slots on the component side.


A 2 GB 1600 MHz DDR3 memory module with Samsung chips has been installed into one of two available RAM slots.


The mainboard uses Phoenix's BIOS.


CapXon polymer caps are used on the mainboard. These are not our favorite cap choice, but they will last for a long time because they are polymers.


The monitoring IC is the same as in Asustor's AS-60xT series, an ITE IT8728F.


On the mainboard are a pair of ASMedia ASM1466 Serial ATA repeaters that can provide a bandwidth of up to 6 Gbps; these also handle the two eSATA ports. We found two more on the PCIe SATA expansion card.


The two Gigabit Ethernet ports are controlled by two Broadcom BCM57781 ICs.


The audio codec IC by Realtek is an ALC887. It supports 7.1 channel HD audio with up to two independent SPDIF outputs; however, the AS7004T only has one.


An Anpec APL1084 adjustable regulator is used on the mainboard. This IC can deliver up to 5 A of current.



The PCIe SATA expansion card hosts the two ASM1466 SATA repeaters we already mentioned and an NXP PCA9505DGG IC; it takes care of a 40-bit parallel I/O expansion port.


The PSU inside this NAS is by Delta Electronics, the largest and probably best PSU OEM today. Its model number is DPS-250AB, and it can provide up to 240 W of power on its main rails (+12V, 5V and 3.3V), which is a lot for this NAS. The 80 PLUS organization says this PSU to meet 80 PLUS requirements, so it will also save you some money on your electricity bills, although the standard 80 PLUS certification isn't much to go by nowadays. The DPS-250AB exploits a small 40 mm fan that is very quiet under normal conditions. The PSU also only has to deliver a fraction of its maximum power with heavy data throughput, so its cooling needs are low.


The cooling fan is provided by Y.S Tech, and its model number is FD121225SB (120 mm, 12 V, 2.3 A, 5200 RPM, 208.4 CFM, 59.5 dBA). It utilizes ball bearings for more longevity. This is a very strong fan; however, it operates at very low RPM since the NAS features a rather cold operation. We have to wonder why Asustor chose to use such a strong fan, though, but the company was probably worried about the i3 CPU with a full load, which had them take the safe route by including a strong cooling unit.