Unifydrive UT2: Compact, Feature-Packed NAS

I just found a potential Xmas present for myself: the Unifydrive UT2 on Kickstarter. It’s a portable NAS (Network-attached storage), roughly the size of a power bank, and it caught my attention after some research, so I decided to pledge and get one.

True NAS Enthusiast

I haven’t posted my reviews in the Tech section yet, but I actually own three NAS devices: the QNAP TS-364, Synology DS423+, and an old ARM-based Synology DS416slim. I’ve used them for various projects, including testing network gadgets like Deeper Connect Air. I’m quite experienced with NAS setups and have reviewed several in the past.

While each of my current NAS devices has its own pros and cons, they all share one downside: they’re HDD-based, meaning they’re noisy and bulky. They also need good ventilation, so they sit on a special shelf close to the router.

Urge to Change the Current Setup

For a while now, I’ve been looking for an M.2 chassis, but they’ve either been missing crucial features or were just too expensive. Then, out of nowhere, the Unifydrive UT2 ad popped up. Here are a few things that stood out to me:

1. Compact Size – At 173.5mm x 90mm x 28mm, it’s about the size of a 20,000mAh power bank – very portable.
2. M.2 Drives – No clicky HDDs here. Sadly It supports only two M.2 drives, but I might test a workaround to add more.
3. Powerful CPU – It has an ARM-based octa-core RK3588C, with NPU offering up to 6 TOPs (Tera Operations Per Second) for AI tasks.
4. Media Processing Power – The ARM Mali-G610 MC4 GPU, combined with the CPU, makes it capable of media processing, including 8K and HDR.
5. Docker Support – With build-in 8GB RAM, it can handle virtualization well.
6. Connectivity – It has good connectivity options – 2.5Gb LAN, Wi-Fi 6, Bluetooth 5.0, Type-C with DisplayPort, card readers, and HDMI 2.1.
7. Built-in Battery – Useful for safely running M.2 drives during power outages, keeping data secure.
8. AI Features – Built-in AI for duplicate management and natural language photo search helps manage my large photo collection.
9. Reasonable Price – Currently $399 on Kickstarter, which seems great for the features offered.

There are also some other interesting features – remote control for media, AR/VR support, and more. After checking some trusted reviewers like NASCompares, I feel cautiously confident about this product.

My Early Concerns and Findings

This device does not support x4 PCIe lanes for drives exclusively. According to my research, it uses x1 PCIe lanes, but separately for each drive. This means you’re capped at 984.6MB/s per drive if you run RAID1 mode, which is much more than 2.5Gbit network cap (312.5MB/s). The good news is that there’s no need to buy pricey NVMe drives with higher speeds. Although you can often find top-tier NVMe drives at significant discounts. Like when I managed to snag a Samsung 990 PRO 4TB for 250 EUR on Amazon, I bought it not for the speed but for its impressive TBW (Total Bytes Written).

Another concern was temperature. However, several early reviewers mentioned that the temperature even under load remains below 50°C, which sounds reasonable given the SSDs are on a single lane and the power-efficient RK3588C chip. I will verify this during my own tests.

I was also concerned about Docker compatibility on ARM architecture, but after checking popular applications like Portainer, AdGuard Home, Pi-hole, and even a Minecraft server, I found they all support this architecture.

Software-wise, they offer their own proprietary OS called UDOS. It looks clean and modern, and after watching the videos, I saw all the major networking and backup settings. I’m not too worried here, as a company representative on Reddit mentioned that you can sideload another OS, which would void the software warranty but not the hardware warranty.

Users are free to install their own software packages on the system, but doing so will void official technical support for the software (hardware support and warranty will remain intact).

Lastly, I was slightly worried about the CPU, which, on paper, could be less powerful than my current Celerons N5095 and J4125, especially for tasks like Plex transcoding. However, the Unifydrive UT2 is equipped with a powerful GPU, HDMI 2.1, and Wi-Fi 6, which means it should have enough power to process and deliver data for direct play.

Note: Don’t be confused by the campaign page—this is a diskless device. It can support up to 16TB of storage (8TB + 8TB), but in reality, you’ll get 8TB in Btrfs mode (similar to RAID 1) for redundancy.

How I’m Going to Use It

I plan to attach it behind my TV using Velcro (since it weighs roughly 300g), as it has both Wi-Fi 6 and HDMI 2.1. and get rid of my ‘networking shelf’ altogether. I might even buy a second one for trips and press tours.

Disclaimer

This isn’t a promotional post – I’m buying this device with my own money because I believe it could be a good solution for my needs. And if you’re still unsure, stay tuned for my full review of the Unifydrive UT2 once I get my hands on it!