- The Minisforum N5 Pro is unlike anything I’ve seen before: a powerful mini PC and expansive NAS
- It has a 10GB + 5GB LAN, much like the MS01 I covered a while back.
- Add an OCuLink port and a PCIe x16 slot and you have a pretty capable workstation PC.
One of my favorite mini PC makers, Minisforum, best known for its compact workstation systems like the MS-01 and MS-A1, is expanding into the NAS market with the introduction of the N5 Pro, a 5-bay desktop NAS built for performance. and scalability.
NASComparewhich tested Minisforum’s new device at CES 2025, says the N5 Pro is the first of three NAS devices planned to launch this year.
The N5 Pro is powered by an AMD Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 370 (Strix Point) processor, equipped with 12 cores and 24 threads, running at a base clock of 3.5 GHz and capable of boosting up to 5.2 GHz. Built on AMD’s Zen 5 architecture, the processor features an integrated AI engine offering 50 INT8 TOPS for enhanced data processing. The NAS supports up to 96 GB of DDR5 ECC memory in two slots, providing the type of reliable error correction commonly found in enterprise solutions.
Modular motherboard
As you’d expect, the storage options are extensive, with five hot-swappable SATA bays supporting up to 22TB each, suitable for SATA HDDs and SSDs. The device also has three M.2 NVMe slots – one PCIe 4.0 x2 and two PCIe 4.0 x1 – as well as U.2 SSD support for expanded capacity and faster performance. RAID configurations are software driven and are compatible with platforms such as TrueNAS and Unraid.
A particularly welcome touch is the N5 Pro’s modular motherboard, which can be removed with the press of a button. This approach, which follows Minisforum’s design for the MS-01 workstation, simplifies upgrades and maintenance, making it easier to access and replace memory modules, storage, and PCIe expansion cards for users.
The N5 Pro offers a solid range of connectivity options, including one 10Gbps Ethernet port and one 5Gbps Ethernet port for two high-speed wired connections. Additional ports include three USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A ports, one internal USB 3.2 Gen2 Type-A port, one USB 2.0 port, and two USB4 Type-C ports with transfer speeds of 40 Gbps. The system also supports an HDMI 2.0 output, two USB-C ports with DisplayPort 2.0 Alt Mode, and a 3.5mm audio jack.
Expansion options are further bolstered with a PCIe 4.0 x16 slot (operating at x4 bandwidth) and an OCuLink 4i port, allowing support for an external GPU or additional storage.
With its powerful hardware, flexible storage options and Minisforum’s usual smart, user-friendly design, the Minisforum N5 Pro is undoubtedly a versatile NAS choice for home and business environments. Pricing and availability have not yet been revealed, but they should be available soon.
