IceWhale Technology ZimaCube Pro review: Fast 10GBe network storage with a local twist
Description
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Expert's Rating
Pros
- Six HDD bays plus four-slot NVMe adapter for high capacity
- Fast Intel Core 5 1235U CPU
- Good storage and web performance
- Runs Docker apps and virtual machines over HTML
Cons
- Sparse documentation
- Problematic NVMe RAID
- Thunderbolt connection uses an ethernet bridge
Our Verdict
We can’t think of a more versatile, large-capacity NAS box than the 10Gbe ZimaCube Pro. And it supports Thunderbolt ethernet for even faster performance. But it’s a tad pricey and we ran into some bugs with the NVMe in RAID.
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If you’re looking for a dainty wallflower of a storage box, skip this review. If you’re looking for a large-capacity network-attached storage (NAS) box to provide ton of storage space as well as run web apps, read on.
The ZimaCube is a cube-shaped (duh!), 6-bay server/storage enclosure that can function both over 10Gbe and Thunderbolt 4 port via an ethernet bridge. The handsome box measures approximately 8.75-inches deep, by 8.75 inches tall, by 9.5-inches wide–no, it’s not a perfect cube. Cubular? Cubist? All six SATA drive bays are 3.5-inch, housing six non-locking, easily-removal trays.
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</button><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The ZimaCube Pro’s drive bays and 4-slot M.2 adapter are revealed.</figcaption></figure>
Note that the 3.5-inch trays don’t use quick-change, pop-out rails, you must use the provided screws to install drives. Smaller, finer-threaded screws are also provided for SATA SSDs.
There is what appears to be a seventh bay to the right. Technically it is and is referred to in the ZimaCube documentations as the seventh bay. However, it uses a different connector that mates with the provided single 4-slot PCIe M.2/NVMe adapter card. Said adapter is held in place by a captive thumb screw for easy removal.
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</button><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The ZimaCube Pro’s 4-slot M.2 NVMe adapter tray populated with four different 2TB NVMe SSDs.</figcaption></figure>
The bays are covered by a magnetically attached face plate. Directly above it are two Type-A 3.0 USB ports (5Gbps), a 5Gbps Type-C port, 3.5 mm stereo headphone jack, and a quick copy button that immediately copies data from attached thumb drives and the like.
The back of the box is home to a single 10Gbps ethernet port, twin 2.5Gbps ethernet ports, two Type-A 2.0 USB ports, two Type-C Thunderbolt 4 ports (without the identifying logo), as well as both DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0 ports for attaching displays. To the left of the Thunderbolt 4 ports are the power jack and a pinhole reset button.
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