Specifications

The unit is equipped with a pretty strong dual-core Intel CPU and 4 GB of ECC DDR 3 RAM you can be upgrade. You will find the official memory compatibility list here. These components are considered high-end for a NAS server and are clearly indicative of the N7710-G's strictly business-orientated nature, which its 10GbE Ethernet card substantiates. The latter is pretty expensive, which affects this product's final price significantly, but use the right equipment and it will boost network transfer speeds by a bunch.

The N7710-G can take up to seven HDDs that are installed into high-quality trays. The trays feature locks, which is essential in an office environment because NAS servers in such environments typically contain sensitive information. Another interesting feature is that this NAS supports all normal Raid levels and Raid 50, an array of RAID 5 sets in a RAID 0 configuration (stripping). The NAS supports the latest 6 TB HDDs, so you can buy seven of those for a total of 42 TB in JBOD.

While the unit has a 10GbE port, it also comes with two Gigabit ports you can team up for higher speeds. However, if you want to fully exploit the provided hardware, you should combine the 10GbE port with an appropriate switch. The problem is that 10GbE-compatible equipment is very expensive, but cost isn't necessarily the first priority in a business environment as speed and reliability are considerably more important factors in most cases.

The NAS comes with eight USB ports, two with support for the faster USB 3.0 protocol, and HDMI and VGA outputs. This is an amazing number of I/O ports; however, we have some complaints since neither of the two USB ports in the front are USB 3.0 compatible, and there isn't even a single eSATA port. We find it pretty strange that Thecus didn't include eSATA connectivity, an inexpensive option to add.

The unit is large and heavy. It weighs in at 10.5 kilos without HDDs installed. You would be hard pressed to move it around once all its trays are filled. Thecus doesn't clue us in on its power consumption, but we will provide detailed power consumption measurements for different conditions and configurations in this review. The N7710-G's PSU is very strong, so we are pretty sure it will easily handle the needs of the NAS.

This NAS is very costly, but you should take into account that the cost of the 10GbE card alone significantly raises the price as similar cards for NAS servers usually go for over $200. We also expected such an expensive product to come with a longer warranty, but Thecus unfortunately provides no more than two years, which is in line with the warranty most of the competition provides. We think three years should be the minimum for a business-centric NAS server.