The WTR Pro NAS Mini PC with AMD Ryzen 7 5825U is a high-performance, compact desktop NAS system designed for DIY enthusiasts. It supports dual M.2 NVMe drives, 2.5/3.5″ HDDs, and DDR4 3200MHz RAM, offering scalable storage and robust multitasking. Its energy-efficient design and versatile connectivity make it ideal for home labs, media servers, and small-business data management.
How Does the Cooling System Optimize Reliability?
A hybrid cooling solution combines a 70mm PWM fan with copper heat pipes and vented aluminum chassis. The firmware-controlled thermal profile adjusts fan curves based on drive temps, maintaining HDDs below 45°C and CPU under 75°C during 24/7 operation. Acoustic dampening reduces noise to 22dB, making it suitable for living spaces.
The cooling system employs dynamic load balancing to prioritize airflow to the most active drives. Unlike traditional NAS units that use fixed-speed fans, the WTR Pro’s PWM design ramps up cooling only when drives exceed 40°C, extending fan lifespan by 30%. The copper heat pipes directly contact the CPU and chipset, dissipating 65W of thermal load efficiently. For users in warmer climates, optional 92mm fan mounts can be added to the chassis sides without voiding the warranty. This thermal management approach ensures consistent performance during sustained workloads like video rendering or database operations while preventing the “NAS whine” common in cheaper enclosures.
2025 Best 5 Mini PCs Under $500
Best Mini PCs Under $500 | Description | Amazon URL |
---|---|---|
Beelink S12 Pro Mini PC ![]() |
Intel 12th Gen Alder Lake-N100, 16GB RAM, 500GB SSD, supports 4K dual display. | View on Amazon |
ACEMAGICIAN Mini Gaming PC ![]() |
AMD Ryzen 7 5800U, 16GB RAM, 512GB SSD, supports 4K triple display. | View on Amazon |
GMKtec Mini PC M5 Plus ![]() |
AMD Ryzen 7 5825U, 32GB RAM, 1TB SSD, features WiFi 6E and dual LAN. | View on Amazon |
Maxtang ALN50 Mini PC ![]() |
Intel Core i3-N305, up to 32GB RAM, compact design with multiple connectivity options. | View on Amazon |
MINISFORUM Venus UM773 Lite ![]() |
Ryzen 7 7735HS, up to 32GB RAM, supports dual displays and has solid performance. | View on Amazon |
What Storage Configurations Does This NAS Mini PC Support?
The system accommodates four 3.5″ HDDs (up to 64TB), two M.2 2280 NVMe SSDs (PCIe 3.0 x4), and dual 2.5″ SATA SSDs. Users can configure hybrid storage pools with ZFS or RAID 5/10 for redundancy. Hot-swap bays and tool-free drive trays simplify upgrades, while hardware-accelerated encryption secures sensitive data.
Drive Type | Max Capacity | Interface |
---|---|---|
3.5″ HDD | 16TB each | SATA III |
M.2 NVMe | 4TB each | PCIe 3.0 x4 |
2.5″ SSD | 8TB each | SATA III |
What Networking Features Support High-Speed Data Transfer?
Dual 2.5GbE ports with Link Aggregation (LACP) provide 5Gbps throughput for multi-user 4K editing. Wi-Fi 6 (AX200) and Bluetooth 5.2 enable wireless NAS access. The PCIe x16 slot supports 10GbE or Fibre Channel cards for enterprise-grade connectivity. VLAN tagging and QoS prioritize critical traffic like surveillance feeds.
The networking architecture supports jumbo frames up to 9000 MTU, reducing overhead for large file transfers by 15%. When using dual 2.5GbE ports with LACP, throughput scales linearly to handle 30+ concurrent 4K video streams. The Wi-Fi 6 module delivers 1.2Gbps wireless speeds at <5ms latency within 50ft range - ideal for mobile editing teams. For enterprise users, installing a Mellanox ConnectX-4 25GbE card in the PCIe slot enables RDMA (Remote Direct Memory Access), cutting CPU utilization during network transfers by 40%. This makes the system compatible with high-performance computing clusters requiring low-latency NAS access.
“The WTR Pro’s Ryzen 7 5825U redefines compact NAS capabilities. Unlike Atom/Celeron-based systems, it handles 10+ simultaneous 4K streams while drawing under 30W. The dual M.2 slots enable tiered caching—pair a 4TB QLC SSD for cold storage with a 1TB TLC cache drive. For SMEs, it’s a cost-effective alternative to $3k+ Synology racks.”
— DataCenter Solutions Architect, TechInfra Group
FAQs
- Can I Use This NAS for Video Editing Workflows?
- Yes—configure dual 10GbE cards for 20Gbps throughput, enabling real-time 8K RAW editing from shared storage. The Ryzen 7’s integrated Vega GPU accelerates ProRes proxies in DaVinci Resolve.
- Does It Support RAID 6 or ZFS RAID-Z2?
- With 4+ drives, RAID 6/Z2 is achievable. The CPU’s AES-NI instructions accelerate ZFS encryption without performance hits. Allocate 16GB+ RAM for optimal ARC caching.
- How Loud Is the System Under Full Load?
- At 100% CPU/disk usage, noise peaks at 34dB—quieter than most gaming PCs. Night mode throttles drives to 5400RPM and caps fan speed at 800RPM, reducing sound to 19dB.