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October 29, 2025October 28, 2025 by Debashis Das - 6 Comments

TerraMaster launches Intel N150 NAS systems with 5GbE networking, AI photo recognition

TerraMaster F4 425 Plus and F2 425 Plus Intel N150 Hybrid NAS

TerraMaster F4-425 Plus (4-bay) and F2-425 Plus (2-bay) hybrid AI NAS systems are upgrades to the earlier Intel N95-based F4-424 and F2-424 NAS systems with an Intel N150 processor, dual 5GbE ports (up from 2.5GbE), and up to three M.2 SSD slots for up to 144TB of hybrid storage. Both models feature DDR5 memory (up to 16GB), 4K/8K video transcoding, and support TerraMaster’s TRAID technology for improved performance and data redundancy. They also offer USB expansion options and quiet cooling, making them NAS solutions suitable for home and business use. TerraMaster F4-425 Plus and F2-425 Plus specifications: SoC – Intel Processor N150 CPU – Quad-core “Twin Lake” processor @ up to 3.6 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache GPU – 24EU Intel UHD graphics @ 1000 MHz Hardware transcoding F4-425 Plus – H.264, H.265, MPEG-4, VC-1 up to 8K@60fps F4-425 Plus – H.264, H.265, MPEG-4, VC-1 up to 4K@60fps TDP – 6W to […]

October 25, 2025October 25, 2025 by Debashis Das - 17 Comments

$35 Orange Pi 4 Pro – An Allwinner A733 Edge AI SBC with up to 16GB LPDDR5, WiFi 6

Orange Pi 4 Pro – Allwinner A733 Edge AI SBC

Just last week, we wrote about the Orange Pi 6 Plus, a powerful CIX P1 SBC that features up to 64GB LPDDR5 memory. Now, the company has introduced the Orange Pi 4 Pro, an Allwinner A733-based low-cost, low-power SBC, which is very similar to the Radxa Cubie A7A in terms of architecture, AI capabilities, and use cases. It supports up to 16 GB of LPDDR5 RAM, eMMC modules (16–128 GB), NVMe SSD via an M.2 M-key PCIe 3.0 slot, and microSD storage. Connectivity options include Gigabit Ethernet with PoE, WiFi 6, and Bluetooth 5.4. It also features HDMI 2.0, dual MIPI CSI/DSI interfaces, USB 3.0/2.0 ports, and audio I/O. Target applications include robotics control, industrial automation, smart gateways, NAS, and more. Orange Pi 4 Pro specifications: SoC – Allwinner A733 CPU Dual-core Arm Cortex-A76 @ up to 2.00 GHz Hexa-core Arm Cortex-A55 @ up to 1.79 GHz Single-core RISC-V E902 real-time […]

August 23, 2025August 23, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 16 Comments

TrueNAS is now (unofficially) available for 64-bit Arm platforms with UEFI support

TrueNAS Scale NAS platform was designed to work on x86-64 computers only, but there’s now an unofficial port for 64-bit Arm (Aarch64) targets running a UEFI bootloader, including the Raspberry Pi 4/5 SBCs and other higher-end Arm boards. Previously known as FreeNAS, the community edition, FreeBSD-based TrueNAS Core was phased out in 2022 and replaced with the Linux-based TrueNAS Scale. iXsystems also provides TrueNAS Enterprise, a paid version with more advanced features, but all versions only work on 64-bit x86 machines. TrueNAS forum user Joel0 decided to change that and patched TrueNAS Scale to run on ARM (aarch64). The main requirements are having a 64-bit Arm target, at least 8GB RAM, 16GB boot storage, and a working UEFI bootloader. The image has been tested with a QEMU virtual machine, and it should also work on a Raspberry Pi 4 or 5 with UEFI, but it has not been tested. One […]

July 14, 2025July 14, 2025 by Debashis Das - 2 Comments

Waveshare SATA HAT+ adds two SATA 3.0 ports to Raspberry Pi 5

Waveshare PCIe TO 2-CH SATA HAT+ is a dual-channel PCIe FFC to SATA 3.0 HAT+ board for the Raspberry Pi 5, which offers a low-cost alternative to the Radxa Penta SATA HAT with support for up to five SATA drives. The HAT+ is compliant with the SATA Gen3 and PCIe Gen2 standards and features onboard dual LED indicators for monitoring drive activity. Additionally, it includes an EEPROM for storing HAT+ ID and product information. It can be used for simpler DIY NAS setups or Pi-based media servers. Waveshare PCIe TO 2-CH SATA HAT+ specification: Compatibility – Designed for Raspberry Pi 5 Storage – Onboard EEPROM for HAT+ ID and product info SATA Ports – 2x SATA 3.0 (6Gbps) channels via JMB582 PCIe Gen3 x1 to 2x SATA controller Host Interface – PCIe Gen3 x1 via 16-pin PCIe FFC connector Misc 40-pin header with exposed RPi GPIOs (not used directly by the HAT, […]

June 26, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 13 Comments

Topton N18 NAS mini-ITX motherboard ships with Intel N150 or Core i3-N305 SoC, offers 6x SATA, 10GbE, 2x 2.5GbE

Topton N18 is a mini-ITX motherboard powered by either an Intel Processor N150 Twin Lake CPU or a Core i3-N305 Alder Lake-N SoC, and suitable for NAS and networking applications with six SATA ports, a 10GbE RJ45 port, and two 2.5GbE jacks. The motherboard also features a DDR5 SO-DIMM socket for up to 64GB memory, two M.2 PCIe sockets for NVMe SSD storage, HDMI and DisplayPort video output, and up to eight USB ports via ports and internal headers. Topton N18 specifications: SoC (one or the other) Intel Processor N150 quad-core Twin Lake processor @ up to 3.6 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel UHD graphics @ 1.0 GHz; TDP: 6W Intel Core i3-N305 octa-core Alder Lake-N processor @ up to 3.8 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 32EU Intel UHD Graphics @ 1.25 GHz; TDP: 15W System Memory – Single-channel DDR5 SO-DIMM slot fitted with up to 32GB RAM; upgradeable to 64GB […]

June 8, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 1 Comment

ZimaBoard 2 Review – Part 2: An Intel N150 micro server and mini PC tested with ZimaOS, Ubuntu 24.04

We’ve already checked out the hardware of the ZimaBoard 2 micro server in the first part of the review with an unboxing and a teardown of the Intel N150 mini PC, followed by a first boot to ZimaOS and a walk-through of the web dashboard to see what features it had to offer. I’ve now connected two SATA drives to the ZimaBoard 2 and done further testing with ZimaOS, notably checking system information and testing storage and networking performance. I also installed Ubuntu 24.04 on the ZimaBoard 2 for further testing for people preferring to use the system as a mini PC with SATA storage. ZimaOS v1.4.1 update When I connected to the web dashboard again, there was a new update for ZimaOS v1.4.1. Before and after the update is completed, I was shown the change log with new features like a scheduled shutdown function and a list of bug […]

May 15, 2025June 8, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 5 Comments

ZimaBoard 2 micro server review – Part 1: Unboxing, teardown, and ZimaOS interface

We’ve just received a review sample of the ZimaBoard 2 micro server and mini PC powered by an Intel Processor N150 “Twin Lake” CPU. The system features two 2.5 Gbps Ethernet ports, two SATA III ports, two USB 3.1 ports, and a miniDP video port supporting 4K resolution. IceWhale Technology provided us with the ZimaBoard 2 model 832 prototype with 8GB RAM and 32GB eMMC flash preloaded with the ZimaOS operating system for review. In this article, we will unbox the device and its accessories, perform a teardown, and boot the micro server with the pre-installed ZimaOS and check the web dashboard. In the second part of the review, we will test ZimaOS in more detail, run some benchmarks since it’s our first Twin Lake mini PC, install an Ubuntu virtual machine, test the SATA ports and PCIe 3.0 x4 slot, and more. ZimaBoard 2 unboxing We received a package […]

May 10, 2025 by Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft) - 19 Comments

Beelink ME Mini is a compact 6-slot SSD NAS and mini PC powered by an Intel N150 Twin Lake SoC

Beelink was one of the first companies to launch an Intel Processor N150 mini PC with the EQ14 model, and they’ve now launched the ME Mini 6-slot SSD NAS based on the Twin Lake processor, coupled with 12 GB RAM, 64GB eMMC flash, and a 2TB NVMe SSD. The compact NAS/computer also features two 2.5GbE ports, a WiFi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2 wireless module, HDMI 2.0 video output, and a few USB ports. Like the Beelink EQ14, it comes with an integrated 100/240V power supply instead of an external power brick. Beelink ME Mini specifications: SoC – Intel Processor N150 quad-core Twin Lake processor @ up to 3.6 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel UHD graphics @ 1.0 GHz; TDP: 6W System Memory – 12GB LPDDR5 4800 MHz; note: a 16GB LPDDR5 model will also be available Storage 5x M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 x1 sockets 1x M.2 2280 PCIe 3.0 […]