QNAP TS-464 and TS-664 2.5GbE NAS Units Powered by Intel Celeron Launched

Later today, we will have a ton of coverage for NVIDIA GTC 2022 Fall. Still, we saw a release come out that we wanted to cover, namely one from QNAP. The QNAP TS-464 is the 4-bay while the QNAP TS-664 is the 6-bay unit. On the positive side, we get a newer 10nm generation Jasper Lake Atom. On the stranger side, the specs say we get one of two models.

QNAP TS-664 and TS-464 2.5GbE NAS Units Powered by Intel Celeron Launched

Both units have 4GB of memory with two SODIMM slots internally for expansion. They also have 2.5GbE. We have seen QNAP get ahead of the 2.5GbE curve even with units like the QNAP GM-1002 3U dual ZFS NAS we reviewed.

Both systems also have two M.2 2280 slots internally with PCIe Gen3 x1, a limitation of the I/O of the CPUs. There is even a PCIe Gen3 x2 slot for additional expansion. We really like that QNAP does this in the small units for those that want to take advantage of the NAS and use them as something more.

Perhaps the strangest spec is the CPU. These are listed as the Intel Celeron N5095/N5105.

At first, we thought this was a split where the 4-bay TS-464 would have the N5095, and the 6-bay TS-664 would have the N5105. Perhaps instead, there were different models like an 8GB model. When we looked at the spec sheet, the actual spec is for either of the two processors.

The specs on the two Intel Celeron offerings are similar, with a 2GHz clock and a 2.9GHz turbo. We were a bit surprised that we saw the N5105 slightly ahead. The two CPUs have the same clock speeds and architecture. While the below may seem like a large victory, when we scale to other CPUs it is more muted.

Here is a chart from our Two Fanless Intel Celeron N5105 4x 2.5GbE Options Reviewed piece that shows the two CPUs are largely even.

Perhaps the biggest differences are that the N5095 has a 5W higher TDP and the N5105 has 24 Intel UHD EUs versus 16 on the N5095. Given the choice, we prefer the N5105 to the point that when we did the N5095 fanless 2.5GbE firewall review, it did not even get a video. Despite these being different CPUs, we do not have a firm spec on which is found in the two new QNAP NAS units.

Final Words

It is very strange that we did not just get a confirmed CPU spec for these units. We understand that for most NAS users, the parts are interchangeable. Still, it should be noted which is being used because the GPUs are different, and there is a HDMI port on the back of both of them.

With all of that, the great thing is that we get a more modern (2021-era) Atom/ E-core in this segment. We also get 2.5GbE and limited M.2/PCIe expansion. Too many NAS units these days are built on 5+ year old CPUs and 1GbE that just feel like they are outdated. QNAP has been doing a good job on the hardware front recently.