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AOOSTAR WTR PRO 4 Bay NAS (Ryzen 7 5825U, 3x NVMe, 2x 2.5G LAN, HDMI/DP/USB-C) US$354.09 (~A$564.38) Del @ Aoostar AliExpress

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AOOSTAR WTR PRO 4 Bay NAS (Ryzen 7 5825U, 3x NVMe, 2x 2.5G LAN, HDMI/DP/USB-C) US$354.09 (~A$564.38) Del @ Aoostar AliExpressAffiliate
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BargainsGrabber on 17/03/2025 - 20:20 aliexpress.com (2702 clicks)
Last edited 26/03/2025 - 23:04 by 1 other user
OZAU70AUAS70CLEAR40
This post contains affiliate links. OzBargain might earn commissions when you click through and make purchases. Please see this page for more information.

Popular deal back again but at cheaper price due to AliExpress anniversary sale

Use one of these codes: OZAU70 or AUAS70 or CLEAR40

Stack with 25% cashback from TopCashback ($30 cap/transaction) to sweeten the deal :)

Shamelessly copied from Clear’s deal

The WTR Pro is a more powerful than the usual NAS drives in that it has an AMD Ryzen 7 5825U 8 core, 16 thread CPU paired with AMD Radeon graphics. For video output there's a HDMI 2.1 port, DisplayPort and a full feature USB-C port with 4K video out and PD100W input.

Featuring 4 2.5/3.5" SATA bays (not hot-swappable), 2x M.2 NVMe Gen3 x4 slots and an M.2 WiFi slot that can be turned into an additional SSD slot. For RAM there's two DDR4-3200 SODIMM RAM slots with support for up to 64GB and for connectivity there's two 2.5G LAN ports.

In terms of I/O they've opted to add the ports to the side with 2x 2.5G LAN, 2x USB 3.2, 2x USB 2.0, DP, HDMI, USB-C, MicroSD card slot, 3.5mm audio jack and the DC port. On the rear there is a large 120mm fan to keep the system cool.

While barebones it still comes with Windows 11 Pro and you can install any other OS like TrueNAS, XPEnology and more.

Tips and tricks:

The WiFi slot can be used as an M.2 NVMe x1 SSD slot and Aoostar may bundle a 2230/2242 sized SSD adapter to convert this. If they don't you can pick up adapters like this cheap or with a bit of effort fit a normal sized 2880 SSD.

Fan settings can be found in the fairly unrestricted BIOS under "/advanced/hardware monitor/system fan". Since it uses a 4pin connector you can swap it out for another. Fan modes:

  • Fan off (0x70) = 30
  • Fan start (0x71) = 35
  • Full speed (0x72) = 80

Original Coupon Deal

Computing Computer Mini PC NAS

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Comments

  • bdl on 17/03/2025 - 20:38

    Now to find some RAM :)

  • c64 on 17/03/2025 - 20:44
    -1

    power rating is 120W. i hope it doesn't use anywhere near that much

    • Clear on 17/03/2025 - 20:46
      +5

      The power brick is 120W. It can idle at 7W.

      • skittlebrau on 18/03/2025 - 15:21

        That’s just the maximum load you can place on it. It’ll idle much much lower.

        • Clear on 18/03/2025 - 15:24

          Correct

    • [Deactivated] on 17/03/2025 - 20:47

      Brutal if it does. Cheaper to get a Netflix subscription lol

      • McMaferMur on 17/03/2025 - 20:50
        +1

        Then what happen when you want to watch hulu, disney, paramount?

        • [Deactivated] on 17/03/2025 - 20:50
          -8

          Month to month pick one and watch content from that one

        • krisspy on 17/03/2025 - 22:07
          +4

          Obligatory "stremio" comment passing by.

          • McMaferMur on 17/03/2025 - 22:33

            @krisspy: Is that equal to plex and torrent in one? completely free?

            • krisspy on 18/03/2025 - 00:34
              +1

              @McMaferMur: Pretty much. Streams through torrent instead or local/servers

              • McMaferMur on 18/03/2025 - 01:48

                @krisspy: Wow maybe time to learn this.
                I hope my old synology able to (it is too weak to run dockers)

              • McMaferMur on 18/03/2025 - 12:43

                @krisspy: Ah i just remember my nbn fttn is 50/20 so probably not good for streaming lol

                • The Fat Cat on 19/03/2025 - 09:45

                  @McMaferMur: That's good enough for 1080p and some 4k rips but not 4k blueray remix (need about 80-90mbps)

                • krisspy on 19/03/2025 - 14:06
                  +1

                  @McMaferMur: I'm on nbn 50 aswell, when you pick something to watch you can see pick different versions of what people are seeding Eg. Some are remuxes and some lower bit rate 4k etc

                  As long as you pick something less than 10gigs or so with alot of seeds, then no buffering.

          • mith on 18/03/2025 - 10:09

            @krisspy: Is this still a viable option after all the legal issues in France where they were based?

            • krisspy on 19/03/2025 - 14:02

              @mith: Still working for me as we speak.

        • boretentsu on 18/03/2025 - 00:49
          +1

          Use that time to install a new Linux distro instead

      • MetalPhreak on 17/03/2025 - 22:44

        cheaper to have a friend with Plex and good internet (unfortunately I am that friend).

    • bdl on 17/03/2025 - 21:09

      You can upgrade to 200w, just need a laptop PSU with 5.5*2.5mm plug

  • hishaken on 17/03/2025 - 20:44
    -1

    Intel?

    • McMaferMur on 17/03/2025 - 20:50
      +3

      Amd

    • Clear on 17/03/2025 - 20:52
      +1

      You can the Intel N150 variant here for US$304.03 (~A$484.59) with coupons CLEAR40 or OZAU70 or AUAS70 - note that it has a single DDR4 SODIMM slot and single M.2 NVMe SSD slot. I believe you can still swap the M.2 WiFi slot out as described in OP.

      • hishaken on 17/03/2025 - 20:56

        Thanks Clear. This one process Plex 4k/8k no issue right?

        • Clear on 17/03/2025 - 21:01
          +1

          4K yes. 8K needs more consulting with Dr Google.

      • bdl on 17/03/2025 - 21:11
        +1

        Intel also has ASMedia ASM1064 controller for drives, which TrueNAS sometimes seems go funky with. See: https://www.reddit.com/r/homelab/comments/1fdkmph/comment/m9…

        • Clear on 17/03/2025 - 21:14
          +1

          That's good to know thanks. I don't bother with Plex so the AMD version is perfect. I'm already running an AMD 5700U mini PC and this will go even better.

  • bboT on 17/03/2025 - 21:11
    +1

    Isn't reason why I can't (or shouldn't) put a M.2 NVME -> Oculink adapter into this?

    I have a spare DEG1 dock, an unused GTX980Ti, and a few leftover HDDs - maybe could kill a few a few birds with one stone?

    • Clear on 17/03/2025 - 21:17
      +1

      You can do it. Just be aware of the bandwidth limitation running at PCIe 3.0 x4 instead of say x16.

  • Phoebus on 17/03/2025 - 21:12
    +2

    So do people install Proxomox on these? You could start with proxmox then install Opnsense to use it as a router plus whatever NAS or Cloud software you want. Has plenty of juice for running many VM and containters.
    Pretty tempting,
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ct4yewC7mKA

    • mith on 18/03/2025 - 10:12

      How complicated would this be for someone who is tech inclined/likes tinkering but has no formal networking / programming background?
      Wondering if I convert my current Plex server (Windows!!) to an N100/150 with Proxmox running Opnsense/home assistant/Plex / sonarr/radarr etc

      • Phoebus on 18/03/2025 - 11:48

        not too complicated. You install proxmox. Install a VM for Opnsense, Install a VM for Ubuntu, install all your servers/containers onto the Ubuntu VM.

        • McMaferMur on 18/03/2025 - 12:13

          Would it be easier to get truenas and then install plex direct without vm or docker?

          • Phoebus on 18/03/2025 - 14:32

            @McMaferMur: if you don't need to include a router like opnsense then I assume you could install an Linux distro of your choice and just install truenas, plex and whatever other servers you want either as a service or in a container. Probably best to just install Ubuntu and containerize all your services.

            • McMaferMur on 18/03/2025 - 16:17
              +1

              @Phoebus: Wow.. i guess synology really spoiled me i have mine for 13 years and not even know how to install linux, vm or dockers.. i feel missing alot…

  • mduncan2 on 17/03/2025 - 21:14
    +1

    Great price. Mine came with a m2-wifi to nvme adapter to allow me put an extra nvme ssd stick in next to the ram chips, so i didn't need to buy one.

  • Osiris on 17/03/2025 - 21:42

    Seems tempting wouldn't mind upgrading the trusty NL40 but 600ish not that much cheaper than a synology?

    • bdl on 17/03/2025 - 21:45
      +5

      With this you're buying hardware

      With syno you're buying into the ecosystem

      You can run xpenology on this using https://auxxxilium.tech/

      (I also run it on my NL40s :))

      • Osiris on 17/03/2025 - 22:01
        +1

        NL40 brother!

        Thanks for the link, this could be a good project then

      • WaKkO1 on 18/03/2025 - 06:59

        How much work is it to maintain xpenology on a device such as this AOOSTAR? Setup once and forget? Or a hassle each time when new DSM updates are released to keep up to date?

        I need to replace my 10y old Synology I use for Plex and I’m not keen on buying DS423+ given its old CPU and nothing announced yet that’s better

        • bdl on 18/03/2025 - 10:20
          +1

          Easy with Auxxxilium - the boot menu has an upgrade option

        • McMaferMur on 18/03/2025 - 12:14

          Same as me, wakko1.
          My syno is 14yo.

      • buffalo bill on 18/03/2025 - 15:13
        -1

        Yeah $500 for a $100 topton china motherboard in a box with a cheap fan and a few drive trays. BYO ram and drives.

        I get that it's the going price but damn these nas systems are a rip purely because if you were to build yourself you would pay for individual components.

        • McMaferMur on 18/03/2025 - 16:19

          Im sure if we self build this as similar as possible it will cost probably $30 less (but you get to assemble all which could be fun)

        • Tater on 19/03/2025 - 10:06

          Where are you getting a Topton board for $100? Be keen to jump on that

          • buffalo bill on 19/03/2025 - 12:12

            @Tater: Buy wholesale. This was a whole N150 system with ram and storage shipped for under $150, so unless they were losing money the boards are no more than $100, likely less.

            https://www.ozbargain.com.au/node/891657

            Likely that they come from the same factory and are a derivative of some topton/soyo board. Going off reddit, failure rate and support are commensurate with the price.

            My point is not that you can make one this cheap, my point is that they are made cheap.

    • impoze on 17/03/2025 - 21:46
      +2

      a synology would be running way older hardware

      • Cheap Rich Guy on 17/03/2025 - 22:04

        Are Synology still using 1Gb/s connections?

        • Bedgrub on 18/03/2025 - 10:32

          I just use 2.5gbe USB adaptors and they’re great

    • krisspy on 17/03/2025 - 22:08

      If you don't need synology software then don't bother with them, they have sh*tty hardware for the price

      • Bedgrub on 18/03/2025 - 10:34

        The hardware is fine for what they’re designed for.

        • krisspy on 19/03/2025 - 21:27

          The lower end models can barely act as a single server once it's starts doing another task like indexing or backing up, sh*t gets crippled so hard. I guess that's by design?

          • McMaferMur on 19/03/2025 - 23:56

            @krisspy: probably the lower end models are not designed for multitask.
            yeah i dont like syno strategy with putting cheap hardware

  • Phoebus on 17/03/2025 - 21:47
    -1

    if you don't need the SATA storage bays the GMKtec K8 Plus is about the same price.
    Use a cheap 4TB nvme drive for storage and a 2.5" USB drive for backup.

    • BlueSkyAPI on 17/03/2025 - 22:00

      don't think comparing 2.5" USB drive against SATA 3.5" makes much sense at all. different target audience.

      though personally an attached external 3.5" USB drive on a mini-PC was more than enough for serving media around the house. NAS is more for ppl who have a higher requirement for data resiliency and/or throughput for use cases like video editing.

      • Phoebus on 17/03/2025 - 22:37

        yeah. Though a real NAS has its benefits most home users don't need a real NAS with multiple SATA disks. Network storage with a USB backup is often enough.

        • McMaferMur on 17/03/2025 - 22:43

          you said 4tb nvme for storage? 4tb is so small we will endup spending thousand dollars if we need 40TB for example

  • McMaferMur on 17/03/2025 - 21:48

    How bad is this for running plex (compare with intel variant)? I collect 1080p x265 10bits movies only.

    • snuffy on 17/03/2025 - 21:55

      cant speak for plex, but jellyfin has had zero issues with any 1080p x265 10bit content

      • FrugalFranky on 18/03/2025 - 14:18

        I’m guessing it wouldn’t be powerful enough for my 4K Dolby movies (I don’t know the quality, but files are like 60gb)

        • McMaferMur on 18/03/2025 - 16:20

          Wow… i hate downloading 3gb movies and here you collect 60gb lol

          • Dollar Dreamer on 18/03/2025 - 18:13

            @McMaferMur: watch once delete.

            • FrugalFranky on 19/03/2025 - 08:58

              @Dollar Dreamer: Nah, building a collection for my theatre room.
              4k dolby vision with 7.1 surround.
              All through plex, I want to get away from streaming services, once I build a reliable plex system, then I can convince the wife to stop watching trash reality shows .

  • snuffy on 17/03/2025 - 21:53
    +6

    i have this Aoooooooooostar WTR PRO (correct pronunciation) running proxmox, truenas scale, pihole, openwrt (used as vpn with killswitch for other lxc's), qbittorrent, sazbnzbd, sonarr, radarr, readarr, bazarr, docker (portainer, immich, home assistant, calibreweb-auto), jellyseerr, jellyfin, nginx and tdarr

    its a beast, very happy with this little server

    FYI - for those planning to run jellyfin, the max iGPU decoding it seems to be able to handle is 1 stream of 4k 10bit at around 52000 kb/s
    any more then this and you will get buffering in my experience, however if this becomes a problem you can just turn off the iGPU and do it with CPU of which it has tons available

    • heineken016 on 17/03/2025 - 23:05
      +1

      Been a while since I've had a decent plex setup, so wondering - what's the use case for needing to transcode such big files. Is it when you want to play them back on a device that can't handle such big files natively, so dropping the res or bitrate or lower quality codec?

      And if so is this something that happens often, because wouldn't your main TV have a decent enough streamer attached to be able to enjoy the 4k 10bit if you're going to the trouble of getting them

      Feel like I'm missing something!

      • Jai on 18/03/2025 - 03:58
        +1

        Usually the reason for transcoding is the recipient device being unable to play some aspect of the video file. E.g. Dolby Vision, HDR, 10bit colour depth, not being 4K, etc.

        If you've got a modern TV and it's on the LAN you will likely not trigger transcoding at all, no.

    • timmypete on 20/03/2025 - 22:10

      Is your Jellyfin running in an LXC or VM? I've got this unit with Proxmox running well. I have TrueNAS Scale running virtually (with the SATA controller passed through) and a few other VMs.

      But I'm yet to get GPU passthrough to the Debian VM running Jellyfin properly, meaning video is a bit choppy when transcoded. Haven't really had the time to dig deeper, but if you have any tips I'd be most appreciative.

  • BlueSkyAPI on 17/03/2025 - 22:02
    +1

    LXC saves a lot of RAM over VMs - highly recommended alternative if running Proxmox

  • McMaferMur on 17/03/2025 - 22:50

    just watching a youtube of this nas and the idea of all port on one side is not so smart, what if that side has wall….

  • meong on 17/03/2025 - 22:50
    +1

    I'm a bit confused, its barebones but it comes with Win11 Pro. Does it come as a key? Or does it come with a built-in OS drive with Win11 Pro pre-installed?

    • McMaferMur on 17/03/2025 - 22:52

      and maybe i add, would it be possible to dual boot this, for example truenas and win 11?

    • Clear on 17/03/2025 - 23:46

      Digital licenses are tied to the motherboard.

      • meong on 18/03/2025 - 00:41

        Basically OEM Win11 Pro licenses?

  • lyl-Lychee on 17/03/2025 - 23:04

    NAS-illiterate here, but keen.
    I'm so tempted to buy this, but what's holding me back … these are Chinese mini-PCs, right?
    So don't these carry a risk of BIOS level malware?

    • Jai on 18/03/2025 - 03:47

      Yes possible, but unlikely. Malware like that is very difficult to create and deploying it across many consumer devices would likely get it detected and the brand reputation destroyed very quickly. More likely that basic spyware would be pre-installed on the operating system.

      • lyl-Lychee on 18/03/2025 - 12:30

        Many thanks for your reply. I've made the same comment overr different Chinese mini-PC deals and don't get much response regarding it.

        I had a bit of look over your comment history (if you don't mind me doing so) - you seem well informed re NAS systems. May I ask are you in the industry?
        And for a paranoid like myself, would you say my best alternative is just DIY building my own?

        • Jai on 18/03/2025 - 13:14
          +2

          My education is computer science, specifically cyber security. Building your own is a fine idea, my personal NAS is a whitebox as well. The price will be much higher though (I built in the Jonsbo N3 and it cost ~$1,300) but you get much more flexibility and upgradability in return. I also personally purchased this deal and will use it on my network as a secondary backup which I'm mentioning as I think you're being a little too suspicious of these devices.

          To put your mind at ease, once I receive the device I will sniff its traffic to see if its connecting to any foreign servers without being told to but I'm confident it won't be.

          • lyl-Lychee on 18/03/2025 - 19:41

            @Jai: Huge thanks for your pro insight. Going off that I'll start researching a DIY build.
            While I'm much more confident about this device after reading your thoughts, I realized there's no warranty either so I might as well get local parts for further peace of mind.
            And will PM you in a month re the traffic.

        • Clear on 18/03/2025 - 15:29

          Because usually it's scaremongering by people who see "Chinese" and immediately say it's bad and then go recommending TP Link and Lenovo when they're both Chinese.

          It wouldn't make sense for brands like these to intentionally put malware in when they're trying to get return customers.

          • lyl-Lychee on 18/03/2025 - 21:20

            @Clear: Well you could count me scaremongered then. But no, I don't buy Lenovo/tp-link anymore nor do I have TikTok on my phone.

            And my logic re these smaller companies - perhaps they worry more about meeting their CCP inflicted spyware "compliance" regulations than they worry over litigation risk from overseas customers. They could probably phoenix themselves if exposed.

            • Nom on 18/03/2025 - 22:44

              @lyl-Lychee: @lyl-Lychee You realise that network traffic is a thing your router can see ?

              If there were any such thing as "CCP inflicted spyware "compliance"" then it would be widely reported on - anyone with a decent network would immediately see the weird encrypted traffic heading off to CCP.cn

              There are literally millions of nerds watching their traffic at any given moment in time.

              You're just worrying about a thing that does not exist - if it did exist, we would all see it immediately.

              • McMaferMur on 19/03/2025 - 00:01

                @Nom: Yeah probably later he/she worry the jacket will send private information to beijing

    • buffalo bill on 18/03/2025 - 15:03

      More likely the only issue with BIOS is there is not a correctly licenced Windows key embedded, which has occured on some Chinese mini PC's.

      Usually to obtain your data with bad firmware, there would have to be some cooperation with the host operating system. Your best bet is as always: to run a good linux OS.

      Regrettably for Gigabyte, they were exposed in firmware backdooring a couple of years ago.
      https://www.wired.com/story/gigabyte-motherboard-firmware-ba…

      It appears you are potentially not immune whether you have a $100 topton motherboard inside (like this) or you have a $1000 high end job.

      • lyl-Lychee on 18/03/2025 - 20:05

        Appreciate the insight, and am happy to read it's more difficult to do than I'm making it out to be. Do you have a recommended Linux? Especially for turning the NAS into a media-center hub for the family?

        And damn I thought I'd be safe if I sourced a Taiwan-brand mobo.

  • aj-007 on 18/03/2025 - 01:16

    Any suggestions on setup to complete this: RAM, Hard Drives, SSD, NVME, etc.

    • Jai on 18/03/2025 - 03:54

      All of those options will vary depending on what you intend to do with the NAS.

      • aj-007 on 18/03/2025 - 12:36

        Mainly as a homelab and NAS.

        • McMaferMur on 18/03/2025 - 12:40

          The ozb suggestion usually chrck ozb every 10mins to find bargains on those.

        • Jai on 18/03/2025 - 13:21
          +2

          32GB Crucial SODIMM, 4x8TB Seagate Ironwolf in mirrored pairs, any SSD using lower than QLC (ideally <TLC) flash, Samsung 990 Pro OR Kingston Fury Renegade NVMe.

  • OnTheMark on 18/03/2025 - 05:48
    +2

    Just ordered, thanks OP.

    I added an extra $11 worth of stuff so I could use the US$60 coupon and got it all for about US$347 including GST.

  • Dropbear on 18/03/2025 - 08:15
    -2

    Oh yes the famous and well known Aoostar

  • motion2082 on 18/03/2025 - 08:50

    Tempting, running Proxmox on a HP Mini PC with 2x m.2, 64GB RAM and an ext hdd for backups.

    If I needed a homelab this would be a strong contender

  • Johal321 on 18/03/2025 - 09:50
    -1

    Does it support sata ssd.

  • andrew1879 on 18/03/2025 - 10:59
    +1

    Does anybody know if these have proper ECC RAM support?

    • buffalo bill on 18/03/2025 - 14:43

      I believe N150 doesn't, not sure about the Ryzen

    • anbbvv on 18/03/2025 - 16:22

      the new WTR MAX will support ECC with AMD 8845HS

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