The SZBOX Celeron N5105 Industrial NAS Motherboard combines enterprise-grade networking, storage scalability, and energy efficiency in a compact design. With 4 Intel i225 2.5GbE ports, 6 SATA III slots, and an M.2 NVMe interface, it supports high-speed data transfers and massive storage arrays while consuming only 10W under typical workloads. Its industrial-grade components ensure 24/7 reliability for NAS and edge computing applications.
Ryzen 7 vs i5 Gaming Performance
How Does the Intel Celeron N5105 Processor Enhance NAS Performance?
The quad-core N5105 CPU delivers 2.9GHz burst frequency with Intel UHD Graphics, enabling hardware-accelerated 4K video transcoding. Its 10nm SuperFin architecture provides 68% better multi-threaded performance than previous Gemini Lake models while maintaining 10W TDP. This balances computational power for ZFS RAID calculations, Docker containers, and media server tasks without thermal throttling in fanless chassis.
Why Do the 4×2.5GbE Intel i225 Network Interfaces Matter?
Intel’s i225-V controllers support 2.5GBase-T Ethernet with RDMA (Remote Direct Memory Access), reducing CPU overhead by 30% compared to standard NICs. Four ports enable link aggregation up to 10Gbps equivalent bandwidth or isolated networks for multi-application environments. Jumbo frame support (9014 bytes) optimizes large file transfers, while TSN (Time-Sensitive Networking) capabilities make it suitable for industrial IoT deployments.
What Storage Configurations Does the M.2 and SATA Combo Enable?
The motherboard supports 6 SATA III ports (6Gbps) with port multipliers for up to 30 drives, plus an M.2 2280 slot for NVMe SSDs (PCIe 3.0 x2). This allows hybrid caching configurations where NVMe acts as read/write buffer for HDD arrays. Users can implement tiered storage with ZFS, Btrfs, or UnRAID, achieving sequential read speeds up to 560MB/s from HDDs and 3,500MB/s from NVMe.
For advanced setups, the M.2 slot supports PCIe bifurcation, enabling dual NVMe drives via an adapter. This is particularly useful for creating redundant ZFS SLOG (ZIL) devices or hosting virtual machines. The board’s 6 SATA ports can be configured in RAID 0/1/5/10 through hardware or software solutions, with ZFS offering advanced features like snapshots and data deduplication. When paired with 18TB HDDs and a 2TB NVMe cache, users can achieve over 400MB/s sustained write speeds across a 100TB pool while maintaining quick access to frequently used files.
| Storage Type | Max Speed | Typical Use Case |
|---|---|---|
| SATA HDD | 250MB/s | Cold storage archive |
| SATA SSD | 560MB/s | Frequent access data |
| NVMe SSD | 3,500MB/s | Metadata/caching layer |
Can the Board Handle 24/7 Industrial Environments?
With -20°C to 70°C operation range and 12V-19V DC input (ATX optional), this industrial motherboard withstands harsh conditions. Solid-state capacitors rated for 10,000+ hours at 105°C ensure longevity. The PCB features 2oz copper layers and surge protection circuits on all I/O ports, achieving 8KV ESD protection and 4KV surge immunity per IEC61000-4-5 standards.
What Security Features Protect Network-Attached Storage?
Hardware security includes TPM 2.0 header for secure boot and disk encryption. The Intel Ethernet controllers support MACSec (IEEE 802.1AE) for link-layer encryption without performance loss. Combined with software RAID’s bitrot protection and ECC RAM support (up to 32GB DDR4-2933), it creates enterprise-level data integrity across storage pools.
How Does Power Efficiency Impact Total Ownership Costs?
At 10W idle power (without drives), the board reduces energy costs by 40% compared to Xeon-based solutions. Dynamic frequency scaling (C-states from C0 to C10) adjusts power usage based on load. When paired with helium HDDs and 80+ Platinum PSUs, a 60TB array can operate under 50W – saving $150+ annually in electricity compared to 100W systems.
The board’s power management extends beyond hardware to software integration. Most supported NAS OS platforms feature automatic drive spin-down and adaptive CPU throttling. For a 24-drive array operating at 30% capacity, this can reduce annual energy consumption by 1,200kWh compared to traditional servers. Over a 5-year lifecycle, the combined savings from reduced power and cooling requirements often exceed the initial hardware investment.
| Component | Power Consumption | Annual Cost (24/7) |
|---|---|---|
| N5105 Board | 10-25W | $22-$55 |
| Xeon D-1521 | 45-80W | $99-$176 |
| Ryzen Embedded V1605B | 15-35W | $33-$77 |
Which Operating Systems Are Fully Compatible?
Certified OS options include TrueNAS Core/Scale, UnRAID 6.12+, Proxmox VE 7.4, and Ubuntu Server 22.04 LTS. All drivers are mainlined in Linux Kernel 5.15+, with OpenZFS 2.1.12 supporting full hardware acceleration. Windows 11 IoT Enterprise compatibility enables Azure Stack Edge deployments, while BSD variants benefit from native Intel NIC support.
Expert Views
“The N5105’s combination of 4×2.5GbE and PCIe 3.0 lanes fills a crucial gap in mid-tier NAS solutions,” notes a storage architect from Synology’s ODM partner. “We’re seeing 30% faster RAID rebuild times compared to J4125 platforms, while the 12V DC input simplifies integration with UPS systems. This board could redefine expectations for sub-$500 NAS builds.”
Conclusion
The SZBOX N5105 motherboard bridges consumer and enterprise NAS needs through cutting-edge networking, industrial reliability, and storage scalability. Its balanced performance-per-watt ratio makes it ideal for small businesses, media studios, and edge computing nodes requiring high availability without complex cooling solutions.
FAQs
- Can I use this motherboard for a 100TB+ NAS?
- Yes, with 6 SATA ports supporting 18TB drives (108TB raw) plus 8TB NVMe cache, total addressable storage exceeds 116TB. Using SAS expanders via the M.2 slot (PCIe bifurcation), capacities can scale beyond 200TB.
- Does it support 10Gb Ethernet upgrades?
- The PCIe 3.0 x1 slot (from PCH) can accommodate Aquantia AQC113C 10G NICs, though bandwidth is limited to 8Gbps. For full 10GbE, use USB 3.2 Gen2-to-10GbE adapters like QNAP QNA-UC5G1T.
- Is ECC memory supported?
- While the N5105 doesn’t officially support ECC, some BIOS versions allow using ECC UDIMMs in non-ECC mode. For true error correction, pair with ASR1803-based HBA cards that include onboard ECC protection.