ZimaCube 6+1-bay NAS offers 2.5GbE, PCIe slots, with either Intel Processor N100 or Core i5-1235U SoC (Crowdfunding)

IceWhale Technology, the company behind the line of ZimaBoard x86 SBCs, has now introduced the ZimaCube (Pro) 6+1-bay NAS equipped with either an Intel Processor N100 Alder Lake-N processor or a more powerful Intel Core i5-1235U Alder Lake-P CPU with additional 2.5GbE ports, PCIe expansion slots, and M.2 sockets.

Both models support up to six 2.5-inch or 3.5-inch SATA drives, support for M.2 NVMe SSDs, offer 2.5GbE networking, six USB ports, and one or more PCIe expansion with either PCIe Gen3 (Processor N100) or PCIe Gen4 (Core i5-1235U) enabling the addition of a graphics card, high-speed network cards, and more.

ZimaCube (Pro) specifications:

• SoC
  • ZimaCube – Intel Processor N100 quad-core Alder Lake-N processor @ up to 3.4 GHz (Turbo) with 6MB cache, 24EU Intel HD graphics @ up to 750 MHz; TDP: 6W
  • ZimaCube Pro – Intel Core i5-1235U 10-core/12-thread Alder Lake U-Series processor with 2x Performance cores @ 1.3/4.4GHz, 8x Efficient cores @ 0.9/3.3GHz, 12 MB Intel Smart Cache, 80EU Iris Xe Graphics @ 1.2 GHz; PBP: 15W
• System Memory
  • ZimaCube – 8GB DDR4 via 2x SO-DIMM sockets, upgradeable up to 32GB
  • ZimaCube Pro – 16GB DDR5 via 2x SO-DIMM sockets, upgradeable up to 64GB
• Storage
  • 256GB SSD for OS
  • 2x M.2 socket for NVMe SSDs onboard
  • ZimaCube Pro only – Support for 4x additional NVMe SSDs
  • 6+1 drive bays with supports for
    • Up to 6x 2.5-inch SATA HDD or SSD or 3.5-inch SATA HDD
    • Up to 4x M.2 2280 NVMe SSDs via the extra bay
    • Support for RAID 0/1/5, or JBOD
• Networking
  • ZimaCube – 2x 2.5GbE RJ45 ports
    
  • ZimaCube Pro – 4x 2.5GbE RJ45 ports
    
• USB
  • ZimaCube – 4x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports, 2x USB 2.0 ports, 1x USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-C port
    
  • ZimaCube Pro – 6x USB 3.2 Gen 1 ports. 2x Thunderbolt 4/USB4 ports
  • Internal USB system disk slot
• Expansion
  • ZimaCube – PCIe Gen3 x4 slot
    
  • ZimaCube Pro – PCIe Gen4 x16 slot, PCIe Gen4 x4 slot
• Misc – 2x 80mm system fans
• Power Supply – 220W ; input: 100V to 240V AC @ 50/60Hz
• Dimensions – 240 x 221 x 220mm
• Weight – 5.4 kg

The NAS supports the company’s ZimaOS V1.1 software as well as TrueNAS and UnRAID and is compatible with devices running a wide range of operating systems including Windows, macOS, Linux, iOS, and Android. The ZimaCube (Pro) ships with an accessory pack, an AC power cord, and a user manual.

The company shares all information (even text) through images and still didn’t manage to share a simple image with the ports on the back of the device, and all we have is a low-resolution image of the motherboard used for the Core i5-1235U NAS where we can indeed see SO-DIMM sockets, PCIe slots, and guess some of the other ports.

IceWhale Technology just launched the ZimCube (Pro) over the weekend on Kickstarter with a ~$10,000 funding target, but they’ve already raised over $650,000 US from close to 700 backers. Rewards start at $500 for the ZimaCube and $900 for the ZimaCube Pro without storage while the MSRP is expected to be $699 and $1,199 respectively. Some rewards with an NVIDIA Quadro RTX A2000 12GB GPU are also offered for video creators as well as bundles with multiple NAS.  You would also need to add about $38-$39 for shipping and deliveries are expected to start in March 2024.

Jean-Luc Aufranc (CNXSoft)

Jean-Luc started CNX Software in 2010 as a part-time endeavor, before quitting his job as a software engineering manager, and starting to write daily news, and reviews full time later in 2011.

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