NAS PC built by little-known Chinese vendor reminds me of the uber popular HP Proliant Microserver N54L — but it is capable of so much more

The HP Proliant Microserver N54L came out over a decade ago, and was a compact and affordable server designed for small businesses and home users, featuring a 2.2 GHz AMD Turion II processor, support for up to 8GB of RAM, and multiple drive bays for flexible storage options. While the Aoostar WTR Pro, from Chinese mini PC maker Aoostar, isn’t the same, it does remind me of a modern take on that classic.

Aimed at the NAS PC and home server market, the WTR Pro comes in two versions: one powered by the Intel N100 processor and another with an as-yet unspecified AMD Ryzen 7000 CPU (it was initially expected to be a Ryzen 7 5800U, but that appears to have changed).

The Intel model, available now, supports up to 32GB of DDR RAM and comes with four 3.5-inch SATA bays and one M.2 2280 NVMe slot for up to 2TB of storage. According to MiniMachines, the AMD build will offer six 3.5-inch SATA bays and six NVMe PCIe M.2 2280 slots, but there are few available details beyond that right now.

Large cooling fan

As you can see from the image above, connectivity options for the N100 model include two 2.5G Ethernet ports, USB-C (with Power Delivery), an HDMI port, a DisplayPort, two USB 3.0 ports, two USB 2.0 Type-A ports, a microSD card slot, and a headphone jack. It’s capable of driving three 4K screens at 60Hz and supports Wi-Fi 6 and Bluetooth 5.2.

The device is compact at 22.8cm x 15cm x 18.5cm and there’s a slider over the power button to prevent accidental shutdowns. The rear cooling system, driven by a large 12cm fan, ensures that the 3.5-inch bays remain cool without excessive noise. Underneath, there’s access to the upgradable RAM and storage slots.

Aoostar’s mini PCs tend to be quite affordable, and although there’s no word on the pricing for the AMD version, the N100 model is available to order now and will set you pack from $289. The cost rises to $429 if you want it with 32GB of RAM and a 1TB SSD pre-added.

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