At the end of 2018, QNAP launched the TS-977XU series NAS. The TS-977XU is first 1U hybrid storage structure NAS that features the AMD Ryzen processor. It certainly looks to be packing a whole lot of horsepower in that compact chassis. In fact, the TS-977XU series is available with AMD Ryzen 3 1200 and Ryzen 5 2600 processors. That’s up to 6 cores/12 threads.
We took a closer look at the TS-977XU-1200-4G which is the single PSU 4GB model powered by the AMD Ryzen 3 1200.
Key specifications of the QNAP TS-977XU-1200-4G-AU include:
| CPU | AMD Ryzen™ 3 1200 4-core/4-thread 3.1 GHz processor, Turbo Core 3.4 GHz Architecture: 64-bit Graphics: Optional (with PCIe expansion card) Encryption Engine: AES-NI |
| System Memory | 4 GB UDIMM DDR4 (1 x 4GB) |
| Maximum Memory | 64 GB (4 x 16 GB) |
| Memory Slot | 4 x Long-DIMM slots (For dual- or quad-DIMM configurations, you must use a pair of identical DDR4 modules.) |
| Drive Bay | 4 x 3.5-inch SATA 6 Gbps bays HDD 5 x 2.5-inch SATA 6 Gbps bays SSD |
| Drive Compatibility | 3.5-inch bays: - 3.5-inch SATA hard disk drives - 2.5-inch SATA hard disk drives - 2.5-inch SATA solid state drives 2.5-inch drive bay: - 2.5-inch SATA solid state drives |
| 10 Gigabit Ethernet Port | 2 x 10GbE SFP+ SmartNIC ports |
| Gigabit Ethernet Port | 4 x USB 3.0 Type-A |
| USB Port | 1 x 3.1 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type-A 4 x USB 3.0 Type-A |
| PCIe Slot | Slot 1: Gen3 x16 |
| HDMI Output | Optional: With PCIe expansion card |
| Form Factor | 1U Rackmount |
| Dimensions (H x W x D) | 43.3 x 482.6 x 484.15 mm |
| Weight | Net weight: 7.44 kg (16.4 lbs) |
| Power Supply Unit | 250W, 100-240V AC, 50/60Hz |
| Power Consumption (W) | In operation: 64.22 W |
| Fan | 3 x 4.0cm fan (12V DC) |
| Sound Level | 39.2 dB(A) |
| Operating Temperature & Relative Humidity | 0 ~ 40˚C ( 32˚F ~ 104˚F ), 5 ~ 95% RH non-condensing, wet bulb: 27˚C (80.6˚F) |
Solid metal drive caddy 
Rear ports on the TS-977XU 
Memory expansion 
PCIex Slot 
Large heatsink to keep the Ryzen cool under load
The TS-977XU was a breeze to install and configure. In our initial tests we tried to run a number of windows VMs and a NAS to NAS sync over 10GbE. This was doomed to fail from the start as we were testing with the base model TS-977XU which came with only 4GB of RAM.
After a quick upgrade to 64GB, this NAS hummed along nicely. Large data transfers over the 10GbE interface, 3 Windows 10 virtual machines and 2 CentOS 7 VMs under the Virtualisation Station ran as well as expected. I would note that the processor utilisation did have some peaks during this. For extended use, you would be better off looking at the TS-977XU model with the Ryzen 5 2600 processor.
If there is a specific test you would like us to do, drop us a note via the contact us form and we will update this article with the test results.
Overall, the QNAP TS-977XU performed as well as to be expected of a NAS in this class. QNAP do an outstanding job with building networked storage devices for the small to medium enterprise market. If you are running a small business, no matter whether you have a mixed environment (Linux, Mac OS or Windows), the TS-977XU rackmount solution is certainly one to explore. And if you need something even more powerful, QNAP have
