Thecus N4100PRO NAS Server Review

Final Thoughts and Conclusion

The Thecus N4100PRO is not my first NAS, as my daily driver is a Buffalo Terastation that I use at work. I’ve been using the Terastation for over two years now, so comparing the performance between the two would not have been fair. After using the Thecus N4100PRO NAS for the last couple of weeks I notice myself getting annoyed at the interface of my Terastation. Thecus has done a great job with the software and setup, and use of the server is far easier than any that I have used in the past.

Setting up the N4100PRO was a breeze; the web interface is very intuitive. There are many features the N4100PRO has that I didnt even go into such as media sever, remote client backup, ISO mounting, user access controls, folder quotas and more. To find out just what the N4100PRO can do take a look at the manual.

Even though the Western Digital WD1500 SATA Raptor hard drives I used in the testing were not on Thecuss approved HDD compatibility list I wasnt worried about them not working as they worked on the Thecus N5200BR that Nate tested a while back. Just by looking on the list, about any of the Seagate Barracuda SATA drives have been approved by Thecus for use in the N4100PRO. Outside of those you might want to buy a pair just to test and make sure the system likes the drives. Over the past couple of weeks of use I hardly noticed the box sitting on my desk behind me. Only during heavy file transfers did I notice the drives getting loud, and that is with the 10,000RPM Raptors.

Through our shopping link the Thecus N4100PRO can be found for around $420 plus shipping. This, along with the cost of the drives, could easily put the final cost anywhere from $800-$1000 depending on the hard drives you choose. Now, most are thinking, “I can build a PC cheaper than that.” Yes, you could, but I doubt it would be this small or efficient and be cheaper. Those lucky few that want the most storage no matter the price should look no further than the just announced Western Digital 2TB hard drives. The WD Caviar Green 2 TB hard drives (model WD20EADS) run $278 shipped over at buy.com, in case you are curious about them.

Legit Bottom Line: All in all, the Thecus N4100PRO NAS is a nice little box that is feature rich, looks nice, is quiet, and is easy to use.