| Article Index |
|---|
| Intel SS4200-E NAS Review |
| Internals and Functionality |
| USB and eSATA Peripherals |
| Performance |
| Is the SS4200 For Me?} |
| Conclusion and Thoughts |
| All Pages |
Today I take a detailed look at Intel's most affordable NAS device, the SS4200-E. Intel's Product Page for the SS4200-E reports that this is a storage device aimed at the SOHO and Small Business markets, a market that we might ordinarily categorise as being from 1 computer up to about 15 or 20 computers.
These types of networks often do not have significant demands for truly fast storage - unlike larger network environments where the device is doing many things at the same time and responding quickly is the only way to ensure the device is not overloaded, small business environments often have only 1 computer accessing the device at the same time.
As a result, it seems that many small and cheap NAS devices are built to be "OK" for a single user, and struggle to be classed merely as "atrocious" when 2 or 3 people try to do things at the same time.
Let's take a look at the specifications on our lab device.
| Intel SS4200-E Specifications | |
| Processor | Intel® Celeron® processor 420 running at 1.6 GHz |
| Memory | DDR2 512MB |
| Flash | DOM Socket provided on board |
| HDD | Supports up to four 3.5" SATA (3.0 Gbps) Hard Disk |
| Network | One Intel® Gigabit LAN port |
| USB | 4x USB 2.0 connectors |
| eSATA | Two eSATA Ports |
| EMI Safety | CE/FCC Class B |
| System Power | 250W PSU |
| Operating Temperature | From 10°C to 35°C (50°F to 95°F) |
| Non Operating Temperature | From -40°C to 70°C (-40°F to 158°F) |
| Non Operating Humidity | Up to 90% non-condensing humidity at 35°C (95°F) |
The two specs that really jump out at me are the CPU and the RAM. It may not sound like much to the gamer with the water cooled overclocked quad core monster PC, but a 1.6GHz Celeron is so much more capable than a lot of the cheap consumer NAS devices out there. As recently as 2 years ago I was handed a 4 disk NAS with a 200MHz custom processor that could manage only 5MB per second, yet was touted as being state of the art. 512MB of RAM is also decidedly beefy for a consumer NAS, and the combination of these two items promises performance that might, just maybe, exceed a single hard disk from ten years ago.
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|118.90.90.xxx |2009-05-03 09:39:38 Andrew Watson - Thanks for the heads up on the firmwareI have been using one at home for about 5 months and find it excellent (I mainly use it for media and downloads). Thanks for the informative review (I wouldn't have known about the new firrmware otherwise). I do wish it had a squeezebox compatible music server. Apart from that it has been faultless and fast enough to not notice as an external disk.
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|71.252.47.xxx |2010-01-09 14:52:57 F32 - Killer with WHSThese sell for as low as $170 on newegg and $140 on ebay and are absolutely KILLER with WHS. If you get one one ebay and add $100 WHS it is $210 and every one of your shortcomings is addressed and it makes the HP WHS line, even discounted models, look terrible.
Google the ss4200 and WHS, installing it is easy you don't need a video card you just image a $5 2gb usb memory stick. You can even then use the ide port for a fifth ide drive!
