Up To 12 M.2 Slots & 10GbE Connectivity

Asustor, one of the most popular NAS manufacturers, has announced its new Flashtor series. The Flashtor lineup, currently consisting of the Flashtor 6 (FS6706T) and Flashtor 12 Pro (FS6712X), offers a rich feature set, including capacity to accommodate up to 12 PCIe 3.0 M.2 slots, for content creators and Intended for enthusiasts. NVMe SSD, high-speed 10GbE connectivity, and HDMI 2.0b port supporting 4K display at 60 Hz. This is the first time the brand has launched his NAS with all M.2 NVMe SSD storage.

The Flashtor series comes in a console-like black look. Aesthetics may be a refreshing departure from the typical NAS look, with the Flashtor 6 and Flashtor 12 Pro having the same dimensions. Both are 12.1 x 7.6 x 1.9 inches (308.26 x 193 x 48.3 mm). Weight is slightly different. The Flashtor 6 weighs 2.98 pounds (1.35 kilograms), while the Flashtor 12 Pro weighs 3 pounds (1.37 kilograms).

The Flashtor 6 and Flashtor 12 Pro utilize Intel’s Celeron N5105 (Jasper Lake) processor. The 10nm chip will feature four non-hyperthreading Tremont cores running at a base clock of 2 GHz and a boost clock of 2.9 GHz. 10W processors are a popular choice among NAS vendors as they do not have stringent cooling requirements. Asustor pairs a Celeron N5105 with a 4 GB SO-DIMM DDR4-2933 memory module. Regardless of the model, the Flashtor device comes with two SO-DIMM DDR4 memory slots, allowing up to 16 GB (2 x 8 GB), the maximum capacity supported by the Celeron N5105. Asustor’s NAS also has 8 GB of onboard eMMC storage.

Flashtor 6 and Flashtor 12 Pro differ in storage capacity and connectivity options. The former has 6 PCIe 3.0 M.2 slots for M.2 2280 drives, while the latter has 12. The NAS supports RAID 0, 1, 4, 6, and 10 arrays. In addition, Asustor designed a specific air duct and a small 80mm cooling fan to keep the drive cool. The included M.2 heatsink helps dissipate heat. The Flashtor series is based on his NVMe storage, but consumers can take advantage of hard drives even when they need large amounts of raw storage. However, consumers should take advantage of his AS6004U. The AS6004U is Asustor’s 4-bay NAS storage capacity expander with a retail price of $329. AS6004U connects to Flashtor devices via a standard USB 3 port.

Asustor equipped the Flashtor 6 with two 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet ports, delivering read and write speeds of up to 590 MB/s and 583 MB/s respectively in an SMB multi-channel (RAID 5) environment. By contrast, the Flashtor 12 Pro only has a 10 Gigabit Ethernet port, but boasts read and write speeds of up to 1,181 MB/s and 1,027 MB/s respectively in Windows with a RAID 5 array. It’s important to emphasize that Asustor achieved these performance numbers in their labs using avant-garde systems and optimized network settings. Consumer mileage varies.

Flashtor 12 Pro only supports the former, so only Flashtor 6 supports Wake on LAN (WoL) and Wake on WAN (WoW). Additionally, the Flashtor series offers consumers two USB 3.2 Gen 2×1 ports and two USB 2.0 ports for connecting external devices. As for multimedia, the NAS device provides one HDMI 2.0b port for video and one S/PDIF output for lossless audio.

Asustor bundles a 65 W power adapter with the Flashtor 6 and a 90 W unit with the Flashtor 12 Pro. According to the brand, the Flashtor 6 consumes around 18.2W while running, while the Flashtor 12 Pro consumes around 26W. The noise level is also not outrageous. Asustor rates his Flashtor series at a noise level of 18.7 dB.

The Flashtor 6 and Flashtor 12 Pro retail for $449 and $799 respectively. Asustor backs the Flashtor series with his 3-year warranty.