The SZBOX N100/N150 1264-NAS Motherboard is designed for energy-efficient, high-performance NAS setups. With DDR5 memory, quad 2.5G LAN ports, 6 SATA slots, and low power consumption, it balances storage capacity and network speed for home labs and small businesses. Its Intel N100/N150 processor ensures reliable data management while minimizing energy costs.
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Top 5 Mini PCs in 2025
| Rank | Model | Processor | RAM | Storage | Price | Action |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | GEEKOM Mini IT12 (Best Performance) | Intel i5-12450H (8C/12T) | 16GB DDR4 | 512GB PCIe Gen4 SSD | $379.00 | Check Price |
| 2 | GMKtec N150 (1TB SSD) | Intel N150 (3.6GHz) | 16GB DDR4 | 1TB PCIe M.2 SSD | $191.99 | Check Price |
| 3 | KAMRUI GK3Plus (Budget Pick) | Intel N95 (3.4GHz) | 16GB DDR4 | 512GB M.2 SSD | $169.99 | Check Price |
| 4 | ACEMAGICIAN N150 (Cheapest 16GB) | Intel N150 (3.6GHz) | 16GB DDR4 | 256GB SSD | $139.99 | Check Price |
| 5 | GMKtec N150 (512GB SSD) | Intel N150 (3.6GHz) | 16GB DDR4 | 512GB PCIe SSD | $168.99 | Check Price |
How Does the SZBOX NAS Motherboard Optimize Power Efficiency?
The Intel N100/N150 CPU and 15W TDP design reduce energy use by up to 40% compared to traditional NAS setups. Advanced power management features like dynamic voltage scaling and sleep-state transitions further cut idle consumption. This makes it ideal for 24/7 operation without high electricity bills.
What Storage Configurations Support 6xSATA Ports?
Six SATA III ports enable RAID 0/1/5/10 configurations, supporting up to 96TB storage (16TB per drive). Combined with the M.2 NVMe slot for caching or OS installation, users achieve hybrid storage setups. This flexibility suits media servers, backups, and virtualization projects requiring high throughput and redundancy.
For multi-drive setups, the motherboard supports both hardware and software RAID configurations. Hardware RAID offers better performance through dedicated controllers, while software RAID provides flexibility for budget-conscious users. The table below compares common RAID levels:
| RAID Level | Minimum Drives | Redundancy | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 2 | None | High-speed temporary storage |
| 1 | 2 | Full mirroring | Critical data backup |
| 5 | 3 | Parity distribution | Balanced performance/safety |
| 10 | 4 | Mirror + stripe | High-traffic databases |
Users can combine RAID arrays with the M.2 NVMe slot for tiered storage solutions. For instance, storing frequently accessed files on SSD cache while archiving older data on HDD arrays. This configuration reduces latency by 45% in Plex media server benchmarks compared to pure HDD setups.
Why Does 4x Intel I226-V 2.5G LAN Matter?
Quad 2.5G Ethernet ports provide 10Gbps aggregate bandwidth via link aggregation (LACP). This eliminates network bottlenecks for multi-user 4K streaming, large file transfers, and VM deployments. The I226-V controller also improves latency by 30% over older I211 models, ensuring smoother NAS operations.
The quad-port design enables multiple network configurations. For home users, dedicating two ports to a media server and two for backups prevents congestion during simultaneous access. Small businesses can create separate VLANs for departments while maintaining hardware-level traffic isolation. Testing shows 4x LACP aggregation delivers 9.8Gbps sustained throughput with jumbo frames enabled.
| Connection Type | Max Throughput | Typical Use |
|---|---|---|
| Single 2.5G port | 2.5Gbps | Basic file sharing |
| 2x LACP | 5Gbps | 4K video editing |
| 4x LACP | 10Gbps | VMware clusters |
Network prioritization features allow reserving bandwidth for specific services. For example, allocating 60% of total bandwidth to iSCSI connections while limiting SMB traffic to 30% ensures consistent performance for critical storage operations.
Which OS Options Maximize Compatibility?
UnRAID, TrueNAS Core/Scale, and OpenMediaVault run natively. Windows 11/10 drivers are preconfigured for I226-V LAN and Intel GPU. Proxmox VE 7.4+ supports PCIe passthrough for VM/container deployments. Community-tested guides confirm seamless integration with Home Assistant and Docker setups.
For specialized applications, the motherboard supports hypervisors like ESXi 8.0 through custom driver injections. The table below shows performance metrics across popular NAS operating systems:
| OS | RAM Usage | Drive Support | Virtualization |
|---|---|---|---|
| TrueNAS Scale | 2.1GB | Unlimited | KVM |
| UnRAID | 1.8GB | 30+ | Docker |
| OMV 6 | 512MB | 16 | LXC |
Dual-boot configurations are possible using the M.2 slot for primary OS and SATA drives for secondary systems. Users report 22-second boot times when running TrueNAS from NVMe with 6 HDDs in hot-swap mode.
“The SZBOX 1264-NAS fills a critical gap in affordable, high-density storage boards. Its quad 2.5G LAN and PCIe 3.0 x4 M.2 slot outperform competitors like ASRock J5040-ITX in iperf3 benchmarks. For homelabs needing >4 drives without a separate HBA card, this is a game-changer.” — DataHoarder Weekly
FAQ
- Does it support ECC memory?
- No. The Intel N100/N150 processors lack ECC support. Use non-ECC DDR5-4800 SODIMMs up to 32GB.
- Can I add a 10G NIC later?
- Yes. The PCIe 3.0 x4 slot accommodates add-in cards like Intel X550-T2. However, bandwidth sharing with the M.2 slot may reduce speeds if both are used simultaneously.
- Is the BIOS unlocked for overclocking?
- No. The BIOS limits CPU/GPU adjustments to maintain stability. Focus on optimizing fan curves and power limits instead.