Short Answer: The Topton 6-Bay NAS Motherboard (Intel i3-N305/N150) is designed for high-speed, scalable storage solutions with dual 2.5G LAN ports, 6 SATA3.0 bays, DDR5 memory, and dual M.2 NVMe slots. It supports enterprise-grade RAID configurations, firewall capabilities, and compact ITX designs, making it ideal for home labs, small businesses, and data-intensive applications requiring reliable network storage.
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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 |
Which Storage Configurations Does the Topton NAS Motherboard Support?
The motherboard supports RAID 0, 1, 5, and 10 via hardware or software configurations. Its 6 SATA3.0 bays allow for up to 96TB of storage (16TB/drive), while dual M.2 NVMe slots (PCIe 3.0 x4) enable caching or tiered storage setups. Users can combine SSDs and HDDs for hybrid arrays, optimizing speed and capacity for NAS or server workloads.
For businesses requiring fault tolerance, RAID 5 offers a balance of performance and redundancy by striping data across drives with parity information. Home users might prefer RAID 1 for mirroring critical data between two drives. The dual M.2 slots can be configured as a dedicated ZFS log device or bcache acceleration layer, reducing latency for frequently accessed files. When using Unraid or TrueNAS Scale, the motherboard’s PCIe lanes allow creating storage pools that mix SATA HDDs and NVMe SSDs seamlessly. A typical setup might include 4x 12TB HDDs in RAID 10 for 24TB of redundant storage, paired with 2x 2TB NVMe drives as metadata cache.
| RAID Level | Minimum Drives | Usable Capacity | Use Case |
|---|---|---|---|
| 0 | 2 | 100% | Raw performance |
| 1 | 2 | 50% | Data mirroring |
| 5 | 3 | N-1 | Balanced redundancy |
How to Optimize Cooling for the Topton NAS Motherboard?
Use a low-profile CPU cooler (25W TDP support) and ensure 120mm case fans for airflow. The M.2 slots benefit from heatsinks to prevent throttling during sustained transfers. For silent operation, pair with PWM fans and a fanless PSU. Avoid blocking the PCIe x4 slot if using expansion cards, and monitor temps via IPMI or third-party tools like HWMonitor.
In rack-mounted setups, orient the chassis to leverage front-to-back airflow patterns. Noctua NH-L9i coolers work well for the N305 CPU under sustained loads, keeping temperatures below 70°C even during RAID rebuilds. For M.2 NVMe drives, thermal pads paired with aluminum heatsinks reduce peak temperatures by 15-20°C. In multi-drive configurations, stagger HDD spin-up times in BIOS to minimize simultaneous power draw and heat generation. Passive cooling becomes viable in ambient temperatures below 25°C when using 5400RPM drives and limiting CPU utilization to 70%.
What Are the Upgrade Options for This Motherboard?
Expand storage via the PCIe x4 slot (add 4x SATA cards or 10G NICs) or M.2 slots (WiFi 6E/Bluetooth adapters). Upgrade DDR5 RAM to 32GB for ZFS caching. Swap the CPU for compatible 12th-gen Intel Alder Lake-N chips (up to N300, 3.7GHz). For advanced users, BIOS mods enable undervolting and custom fan curves to enhance efficiency.
The PCIe x4 slot supports bifurcation, allowing installation of dual M.2 expansion cards for additional NVMe storage. Users running Plex can add a low-profile GPU like the NVIDIA T400 for hardware transcoding. For network upgrades, the Intel X550-T2 10G NIC provides SFP+ connectivity while maintaining compatibility with most NAS operating systems. When upgrading RAM, prioritize low-latency DDR5-4800 modules for optimal performance in virtualization scenarios.
| Component | Recommended Upgrade | Max Supported |
|---|---|---|
| RAM | Kingston Fury 32GB DDR5-4800 | 32GB |
| Network | QNAP QXG-10G2T 10G NIC | 10Gbps |
| Storage | Sabrent Rocket 4TB NVMe | 8TB (2x4TB) |
“The Topton 6-Bay NAS board bridges consumer and enterprise needs. Its 2.5G LAN and DDR5 are forward-looking, while the ITX design suits compact builds. For homelabs, it’s a steal—imagine running Proxmox with NAS VMs and a pfSense router on one box. Just ensure adequate cooling for 24/7 workloads.” — Data Center Engineer, TechInfra Solutions
FAQs
- Does this motherboard support Windows 11?
- Yes, it’s compatible with Windows 11, Linux distributions (Ubuntu, TrueNAS), and BSD-based firewall OSes. Ensure Secure Boot is enabled in BIOS for Windows 11 installation.
- What’s the maximum storage capacity?
- With 6x 16TB HDDs and 2x 4TB NVMe SSDs, total raw storage reaches 104TB. RAID configurations reduce usable space but enhance redundancy.
- Can I use this for a gaming server?
- Yes. The 2.5G LAN and DDR5 handle multiplayer game servers (e.g., Minecraft, ARK) efficiently. Pair with a mid-tier GPU via the PCIe slot for streaming.