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The MINISFORUM N5 Pro is a network-attached storage device with support for up to five hard drives and three SSDs. It’s also one of the first NAS systems I’m aware of to feature an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 370 12-core, 24-thread Strix Point processor with a 50 TOPS NPU, 16-core graphics, and support for up to 96GB of DDR5-5600 ECC memory.
MINISFORUM first introduced the N5 Pro during CES in January, and now the company says the MINISFORUM N5 Pro is expected to launch in June, with pricing to be announced closer to availability. The news comes via a 2.5 hour livestream the company held to showcase the NAS and answer questions. There’s also now a page on the MINISFORUM website where you can find more details… and sign up for a 30 percent launch discount off the eventual price for the N5 Pro.
There’s honestly not a lot of new information on the website – the company had already released detailed specifications in January. But it’s nice to see them all in one place, along with some new pictures and details about the software that will powered the MINISFORUM N5 Pro.
While I had originally expected this to be a system that shipped with Windows, or without an OS, it looks like MINISFORUM is developing a Linux-based, NAS-specific operating system called MiniSCloud OS that includes features like “ZFS Snapshots, LZA Compression, Local Permissions, Privacy Tiering, Private Media, AI Photo Albums, and Docker Apps.”
Users can also install their own OS though. The company says the system should supports Windows, Unraid, TrueNAS, Proxmox, and other Linux or FreeBSD-based operating systems.
In terms of hardware, the system has five bays for 3.5 inch hard drives and support for up to three M.2 SSDs or one M.2 SSD and two U.2 drives if you use adapters. MINISFORUM says all told the N5 Pro can handle up to a theoretical maximum of 144TB of storage.
There’s also a PCIe 4.0 x16 slot that can be used for a graphics or networking card, or for other applications, along with an OCuLink connector for external PCIe connections. The computer is actively cooled with two rear fans and dedicated CPU fan.
The system also has a pretty nifty modular design that lets you slide out the a drawer housing the motherboard for easy access to the M.2 and SODIMM slots.
Ports include:
- 1 x 10 Gigabit LAN
- 1 x 5 Gigabit LAN
- 1 x OCuLink (64 Gbps external PCIe connector)
- 2 x USB4 (40 Gbps w/DisplayPort Alt Mode)
- 3 x USB 3.2 Gen 2 Type- A (10 Gbps)
- 1 x USB 2.0 Type-A (480 Mbps)
- 1 x HDMI 2.1
- 1 x 3.5mm audio
- 1 x DC power input (19V/12.63A)
While this will be the first NAS from MINISFORUM, the company has been selling mini PCs for years, and the N5 Pro will come with a 2-year warranty.
Still, I’d probably still recommend that folks who are less tech savvy or more risk-averse probably stick with more established brands for their NAS needs… but folks willing to spend a little time testing and tinkering can now find plenty of options that offer pretty impressive bang for the buck from smaller Chinese companies like MINISFORUM, AOOSTAR, UGREEN, and GMKtec that have entered the NAS space in recent years.
via @Hi_MINISFORUM
