Network attached storage can offer all sorts of advantages over regular external hard drives. For starters, you have the ability to easily access its stored data on any computer that is connected to your home network. Thanks to configurations that allow for multiple hard drives, you can also added capacity, as well as data redundancy in case something should go awry.
If you are having a hard time deciding whether you want a NAS with smaller 2.5-inch drives or you would prefer one that takes full-size 3.5-inch hard drives, you’re in luck. The Thecus N0503 ComboNAS swings both ways… so to speak.
Features at a Glance
Easily one of the biggest selling features of the Thecus N0503 is that it can be configured to accept up to five 2.5″ drives or up to three 3.5″ drives. This is quite a bit of added versatility.
Running through the spec sheet, we also learn that it is powered by an Intel Atom processor (just like your favorite netbooks) and can support RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, and JBOD for added data security. Other highlights include an AJAX web-based interface, uPnP AV streaming, a built-in photo album, and a download manager that can handle HTTP, FTP, BT, or eMule.
What’s in the Box?
Opening up the retail box of the Thecus N0503 ComboNAS, you obviously won’t find any included hard drives. You’ll have to supply those on your own.
What you will find is the NAS itself, a pre-installed cage for the 2.5-inch drives, a series of sliders for 3.5-inch drives, an Ethernet cable, power supply, installation CD, and supporting documentation.
Built-In Cage for Five 2.5″ Drives
As mentioned, there is a cage that comes pre-installed in the Thecus N0503 and this is designed to accommodate up to five 2.5-inch hard drives. In this cage, you get five separate trays, each of which can lock into place after you’ve screwed in the hard drive.
The build quality appears to be more than reasonable, giving you a lightweight aluminum structure on which to mount your spinning platters of wonderful data. The body of the NAS itself also appears to be made from aluminum, making for a look that borders somewhere between retro and industrial.
Giving you an almost server-like experience, the hard drive area is aptly protected by a swinging door on the front. Below this, you’ll see the small LCD panel, as well as a series of indicator lights and basic buttons for navigating through the rudimentary menu.
Using a Trio of 3.5″ Drives Instead
The assumption is that we will be able to achieve a higher level of performance using desktop-sized 3.5″ drives rather than the laptop-sized 2.5″ drives. As such, for the purposes of this review, we elicited the services of three Seagate Barracuda 7200.8 250GB hard drives.
The Synology DS409slim was certainly smaller than this Thecus, but the former did not provide the possibility of using larger, faster drives. The Thecus N0503 does.
In order to accommodate the 3.5-inch platters, I had to remove the pre-installed cage for the 2.5-inch drives. That was simple enough. Then, for each of the 3.5-inch drives, I had to snap in a pair of rails. It’s convenient that no screws were necessary for this installation, since there are little tabs in the rails that fit in the screw holes of the drive.
From there, each drive slides into place in the now-empty Thecus N0503, getting secured in place by the black thumb screw on each installed rail. Easy-breezy.
On the Software Side of Things
To get everything set up for the Thecus N0503 ComboNAS, you’ll need to install the setup wizard either from the CD provided or by downloading the application from the Thecus website.
The setup wizard is reasonably straightforward, giving you the opportunity to log into the system, define the gateway and IP addresses, change the administrator’s password, and so on. However, the real “setup” doesn’t happen until you access the NAS through a web browser.
Unfortunately, the setup wizard isn’t quite as automatic as I had hoped. It does not automatically detect the gateway that you need, nor does it ensure that the default IP address for the NAS (192.168.1.100) is compatible with your current network settings.
Issues Experienced During Setup
This lack of automatic configuration led to a few headaches on my part. It’s been a while since I have had to manually establish anything on my network, so I did not even realize that the default gateway was incorrect and the default IP address would not work with my D-Link router. I had to manually enter this information and manually change the IP to something that would work. This can easily be beyond the expertise of the average computer user.
Even when I did enter appropriate settings, the connection to the web-based interface was intermittent. I was able to log into the system initially, but I would lose the connection to the NAS in a few short seconds. This problem persisted for a day and then, miraculously, this network issue disappeared the next day. Go figure.
When I did finally get into the web-based interface, I saw that it was completely different from the interfaces of previous Thecus NAS products. That’s not to say that it was really any more user-friendly. Configuring the RAID5 wasn’t too much trouble to understand, but it did take about four hours with a trio of 500GB drives.
Unlike the basic setup of a RAID configuration, intermediate users might scratch their heads when it comes to more advanced features like the iTunes server. There is a PDF manual online, but considering that this is supposed to a consumer-level product, you would think that the process would be a lot easier to understand.
Power Consumption and Performance Benchmarks
In terms of power consumption, I used a simple external power meter and found the Thecus N0503 to take about 33 watts with intermittent access. By comparison, the Synology DS409slim had a peak consumption of 23 watts. The difference may be because of the smaller 2.5-inch drives used by the Synology. From a temperature standpoint, the internal temperature sensor on the Thecus wavered between 40 and 50 degrees Celsius, depending on the current load. It’s clear that the fan inside is definitely needed.
For a real world performance test, I tried pushing a folder with 100MB of MP3 audio files over my 802.11g Wi-Fi network to the NAS and this took 179 seconds, representing a transfer rate of 0.55MB/s. The reverse transfer took 290 seconds (0.34MB/s). When my laptop was hardwired to the network, performance improved considerably, completing the same two tasks in 13 seconds (7.69MB/s) and 10 seconds (10.00MB/s), respectively.
Copying a single 288MB video file to the NAS over Wi-Fi took 423 seconds (0.68MB/s). The reverse transfer took 1068 seconds (0.27MB/s). Again, a hardwired connection was much better, taking 36 seconds (8.00MB/s) and 29 seconds (9.93MB/s), respectively.
For a more scientific approach, we once again utilized the Intel NAS Performance Toolkit. The test for copying directories to and from the NAS resulted in average transfer speeds of 4.903MB/s and 6.414MB/s, respectively. The test for copying a large file to and from the NAS yielded average throughputs of 8.456MB/s and 8.610MB/s, respectively.
Interestingly, the real world test seemed to provide better performance numbers for directories, but the Intel benchmark provided better figures for a larger, single file.
Final Thoughts
I had high hopes for the Thecus N0503 ComboNAS, given its purported versatility. It seemed very promising, since you could easily switch between using 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch drives as you saw fit. The range of RAID options (I used RAID5) was a plus too, as were the integrated services for managing downloads and serving media.
I was also quite pleased with the overall design and build quality, giving you a sense that this product meant serious business with its slick aluminum body and silver finish. The server-like door in the front was good, as was the small but useful display. The web-based interface is also a major plus, letting you access many of the features in a few clicks. It’s still rather cumbersome, but it is a vast improvement over previous Thecus outings.
However, actual usage of the NAS left much to be desired. The setup process was not nearly as easy as it could have been, since it was not able to “repair” its own IP address or detect the correct gateway. Even though it used supposedly faster 3.5-inch drives, the Thecus only barely matched the performance of a Synology NAS using 2.5-inch drives.
Selling for about $450 online, the Thecus N0503 isn’t exactly the cheapest option on the block either. At that price point, I expected a bit more polished package.
Pros
- Versatile design for either 2.5″ or 3.5″ drives
- Good physical build quality
- Easy to install and access drives
Cons
- Frustrating setup process
- Slower than expected performance
- Access to extra services not intuitive
- Expensive for overall package received
Overall Rating: 6.5 / 10.0
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Thecus N0503 ComboNAS Enclosure Photo Gallery
