Overall and Final Verdict
Well the TerraMaster F2-422 was full of surprises. This was my first look at a TerraMaster NAS and going in I was concerned that being a lesser-known company the software side of things might be lacking. Their TOS is very close to most other modern NAS in feel and it does get you a lot of the standard options when it comes to apps/programs that you can run. Especially with Plex support and with Docker if you know what you are doing you can add just about anything you might want. It doesn’t have some of the personal cloud-like options that Qnap for example has but not everyone is looking for that functionality. The one big thing missing on the software side though is some sort of software for IP cameras, which is a very popular use for in home NAS. The setup was quick and easy but I did run into a few small bugs like having to set up my time zone more than once or if you wipe a RAID you need to set up and turn on SMB for windows file sharing again.
The hardware itself isn’t today's fastest, you end up with a quad-core Intel CPU that was popular in budget NAS a few years ago which may age the F2-422 faster. But I didn’t run into any performance issues with the F2-422 or with the last Intel Celeron J3455 NAS that I had (which I still use). It comes with 4GB of memory which as it turns out is soldered on to the motherboard but they do at least include a single SODIMM that you can expand the memory out to 8GB in total but having to make sure it is compatible with the soldered on ram could be a headache or expensive if you have to buy the TerraMaster specific memory. I also found it interesting that there is a hidden HDMI port on the motherboard, I didn’t see any apps that would take advantage right now but I have to wonder if someone who has the time to mess with it might be able to put it to use.
Of course, the big feature for the F2-422 is that it includes a 10GbE network connection on top of the TWO standard 1GbE NICs as well. This is the F2-422’s main feature and it performed well. But with this specific model being a 2 drive NAS it does bring up some questions on if it is needed. I was only really able to put its performance at all with two SSDs. If you are using two hard drives a cheaper option may have been to pair it up with a 2.5GbE NIC for the 2 bay NAS and then 10GbE for the 4 bay and higher models. But if someone wanted a fast network option for their small home 10GbE network, you could toss two larger SSDs in it and keep costs down. Speaking of pricing, the F2-422 pricing is interesting. Because if you are comparing it to other 2 bay options without the 10GbE NIC it is expensive. Even TerraMaster themselves sell a few options at $249 and $149. But when it comes to a NAS with 10GbE this is the cheapest option you can find. So I have the price here as a pro, but ONLY if you need/want the 10GbE. I think most people won’t be able to take advantage of it unless they go up to the 4 or higher drive capacity. But I do think TerraMaster could do well with a similar option with a 2.5GbE NIC.
Live Pricing: HERE
