Thecus N3200PRO NAS Server Review

Testing:

To test the N3200PRO I will use SiSoft Sandra 2009 using the File System benchmarks. I will also use the Intel NAS Performance Toolkit (ver. 1.7) to gauge performance under several realistic usage scenarios. The tests will be conducted on all supported hard drive configurations with and without jumbo frames enabled. The N3200PRO will be connected directly to the Marvell PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet controller using a Category 6 Ethernet cable to eliminate any variations due to network components or traffic.

• Processor: Intel Core 2 Quad Q9550 2.83 GHz
• Motherboard: Asus P5Q Deluxe
• LAN Controller: Marvell Yukon 88E8056 PCI-E Gigabit Ethernet Controller
• Ethernet Cable: 6' Category 6
• Memory: Patriot Extreme Performance 2GB PC2-9600 DDR2-1200MHz
• Video Card: PowerColor HD3450
• Power Supply: Antec TruePower 550
• NAS Device: Thecus N3200PRO
• Hard Drive: Seagate Barracuda ES.2 SATA 3.0-Gb/s 500-GB (ST3500320NS) x 3
• Optical Drive: Lite-On LTR523275
• OS: Windows XP SP3

Comparison Units:

• D-Link DNS-323
• Cavalry Storage CAND3001T0
• Synology Disk Station DS408
• QNAP TS-509 Pro Turbo

Benchmarks:

• SiSoft Sandra 2009
• Intel NAS Performance Toolkit 1.7