- Szbox M1 Mini Plus is part of NAS, a soft routing part, part of the media, possibly doing too much at the same time
- With 4 removable nvmes and storage of 32 TB, this small box hits well above its size
- Four 2.5gbe ports sound very good, but can a NAS of $ 249 deliver the business level speed?
In the market expanding compact storage devices attacked in network (NAS), the SZbox M1 Mini Plus has emerged with an unusual combination of features that blur the line between a storage solution and a desktop PC.
The Szbox M1 Mini Plus is available in two configurations: one fed by the Intel N100 of energy efficiency and the other by the most powerful Intel Core I3-N305, which presents an eight-nuclei design and turbo speeds of up to 3.8 GHz.
This external unit admits up to four NVME NVME units through PCIE 3.0 bays oriented to the front, offering up to 20 TB of external storage, plus an additional internal NVME slot. The I3 model allows users to climb the storage even more, up to 32 TB using SSDs.
Displayport in a NAS: added value or overreach?
Equipped with four 2.5GBE LAN ports, the device indicates a wink to business grade networks. This configuration admits the functionality of the soft router through Linux distributions such as OpenWRT or IKUAI, indicating that Szbox is aimed at a technically intelligent user base.
It also includes USB 3.0 and 3.2 ports for external units and peripherals, an SD and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth card slot for wireless connectivity.
Even so, this network hardware level is generally found in larger and expensive systems. It remains to be seen if the M1 Mini Plus can deliver the performance to the pair with those systems, or simply fly.
Its media management ambitions also justify attention. In the rear panel there are HDMI 2.0 and Displayport 1.4 connectors, both capable of 4K to 60 fps with HDR support.
This configuration would make sense for a compact media center or a light desktop PC. However, in the context of a NAS device, the inclusion of a Faushport feels something out of place.
One might ask: Who is connecting a NAS directly to a monitor and for what purpose?
But Szbox seems to enjoy unconventional combinations; Your Szbox S9, for example, similarly blurred the line between the tablet and the mini PC.
In the front of the software, the Szbox M1 Mini Plus is sent with Windows 11, unless they are bought as a barebones unit. Linux distributions are also compatible, expanding their versatility.
As a result, the M1 Mini Plus can function as more than a NAS, it could also serve as a basic work station or a multimedia center, run Kodi, IPTV or even retro game emulators.
That said, this hybrid identity could confuse more than it clarifies, asking questions about what the device is really optimized.
The Szbox M1 Mini Plus is currently available for purchase in Aliexpress for $ 249.
Through AndroidPCTV
