QNAP TS-977XU-RP-1200-4G-AU 1U 9-Bay 10GbE NAS Reviewed

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)

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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 an extensive enterprise-grade NAS devices available as well.