TERRAMASTER F4-423 4-Bay High Performance NAS for SMB
TERRAMASTER F4-423 4-Bay High Performance NAS for SMB with N5095 Quad-core CPU, 4GB DDR4 Memory, 2x 2.5GbE Ports,Network Storage Server (Diskless)
From the brand
TerraMaster’s focus has been on digital storage products. In line with the evolving technological landscape, TerraMaster has developed a distinctive product line, which includes both direct and network attached storage devices.
At present, TerraMaster sells its products in more than 40 countries, which are widely used in education, finance, government, supermarkets, clinics, scientific research, law firms, film production, home, and other fields.
| Weight: | 3.63 kg |
| Dimensions: | 30 x 28 x 18.9 cm; 3.63 Kilograms |
| Brand: | TERRAMASTER |
| Manufacture: | TERRAMASTER |
| Dimensions: | 30 x 28 x 18.9 cm; 3.63 Kilograms |
The unit looks good and has been very easy to add drives and set up. The operating system and support has been great, with no issues experienced so far. The unit connected to my local network first time swiftly. Using the Terramaster installation guide was straightforward and easy to follow. The app store is well integrated and provides loads of useful options.
Bought this a few months ago and it does everything I need it to.
Very much plug and play.
Able to set up local and remote access and stream content to all my devices.
TOS has a nice and easy UI to navigate and setting up RAID is very simple.
Great bit of kit and runs very quietly under my desk. 🙂
The F2-223 is a great little machine and I’ve had no hardware problems with it so far (purchased 2 months ago). Installing additional RAM does mean taking the body apart but this isn’t a problem and is very straightforward (just be careful with any thin plastic parts).
My only issue is the lack of readily available support (which comes from China so a completely different time zone to myself in UK). However, with enough digging on Google you will eventually find the answers you need. Don’t expect much from TerraMaster themselves.
Definitely recommend this product if you want to set up a media server on a budget like I did.
I’m new to NAS and been searching months to find something that would fit my needs (Personal storage, Plex Server etc) but something affordable and easy to use. I saw the Terramaster F4-223 on a deal (100 off) which fell within in my budget, but I did feel like I was taking a risk as I was keen on getting another branded NAS box which was well reviewed. After setting up plus extensive testing, I cant believe I didnt buy one sooner, i’m really chuffed with it especially the build quality, it minutes to install the hard drives and its streams to multiple devices without breaking a sweat (4K, transcoding etc). You get allot of bang for your buck and I like the fact that you can upgrade the hardware i.e. NVME SSD’s (for OS/caching), RAM and also add an expansion box via USB. If you are looking for a budget friendly NAS with great hardware for the price, then definitely give it a try! Double Thumbs up from me 🙂
Having wanted a NAS for a long time I finally pulled the trigger on Black Friday 2023. This review is written after nearly 4 weeks of use.
I only wanted the NAS for video streaming & backing-up in the immediate, with the possibility of getting into the Home Assistant ecosystem further in the future, so my priority was hardware over software. With this Terramaster F4-423 I am definitely getting my bang for the buck.
That isn’t to say that the software isn’t up to par. For my use-case scenario it is more than adequate. Account and software set up was simple enough, though I think the instruction could be a little clearer, but with purposefully slow and steady progression I was soon up and running.
The Plex video playback, which was the #1 priority, has been faultless so far. The TOS OS & interface is easy to navigate and has provided me with everything I’ve needed so far.
My one major gripe was the installing the NVMe drive. I did this before initial set up and as a result the drive was folded into my TRAID instead of being available for hyper-caching. I didn’t see anything in the set-up instruction on how to avoid or correct this, or that the NVMe should be added after set up. I intend to simply purchase another and utilize the second NVMe slot, but it does seem to be a waste.
The other point I would raise is that when disassembling the F4-423 to install the NVMe (or RAM) there are a few wires that are tricky to disconnect and re-connect, but it is not too far from the norm for any one used to PC building or other electronics.
OVERALL
Very pleased so far with my purchase and would recommend to friends. 4/5
I purchased this due to the high specs at a decent price point. Expandable memory, NVME support and more make this a perfect unit with all I required. Very impressed with the ease of setup and feature set is strong. So far this is working very well indeed and I am more than happy. I’ve wanted a NAS for sometime now to replace a 10yr old device no longer supported. Amazing to have a proper unit with so many features so I’m well happy. Defiantly would recommend this so get it purchased.
Unit itself is reasonable, very easy to add in HDD but M2 or RAM upgrade involves removal of the case – luckily this is fairly straightforward. Fan noise seems non-existent, hard drive noise obviously dependent on the quality of your drives but I’ve certainly no complaints.
TOS seems functional but I am a little nervous about the level of support available, official forum on Terramaster website doesn’t seem very active so I’m hoping I don’t hit any major issues. But so far, all seems to be going ok for my pretty basic needs.
I made sure I read the compatibility list, and then ordered 2 x NVMe M.2: 2 x 16Gb Memory Modules and 2 x WD 16Tb Drives. All arrived and was assembled and up and running in less than an hour.
It has been running constantly, with little noise for 48 Hours and I have transferred all my data (8Tb) over to the TERRAMASTER.
Exceptionally happy
Joh
This is a replacement for my tired WD MyCloud (hard drive started to click and performance is sub par with today’s demands – no surprise considering it only has a dual core 650Mhz CPU & 256MB RAM) and I am very happy with it, the difference is night and day. It is a great choice for home users who need a reliable and affordable way to store and share files.
The F2-423 is a 2-bay NAS that comes with a quad-core Celeron N5105 processor, 4GB of DDR4 RAM, and two 2.5GbE ports. It also has two M.2 NVMe SSD slots for caching, I’ve populated one with a 250GB SSD which has improved caching performance.
I installed two Toshiba N300 4TB hard drives and configured them in RAID 1 for redundancy. This means that my data is safe even if one of the hard drives fails. These Toshiba drives are not as quiet as I was led to believe, choose wisely!
The TerraMaster operating system is intuitive and user-friendly but could do with a bit more polish. I was able to set up the NAS and get it running in just a few minutes although this is not factoring in the time it took to synchronise the RAID 1 array, this took around 6 hours.
I’m very happy with the performance of the F2-423. It is fast and reliable. I would definitely recommend it to anyone looking for a NAS for the home.
Here are some of the things I like about the TerraMaster F2-423:
Aluminium housing (except the front and back panels).
Energy efficient design.
Powerful quad-core processor.
2.5GbE ports for fast file transfers.
Two M.2 NVMe SSD slots for caching.
Easy to use TerraMaster operating system.
What I don’t like:
Hibernation is a bit hit and miss.
More detailed logging is required.
Front and back panels are plastic (I thought they were aluminium).
I hope this helps!