Asus TS Mini Windows Home Server (1TB) Review

1. Introduction2. The Asus TS Mini Windows Home Server (External)3. The Asus TS Mini Windows Home Server (Internal)4. The Software Interface5. Testing Methodology and Performance6. Closing Thoughts7. View All Pages

The Asus TS Mini Windows Home Server is built like a tank and has a steel chassis able to withstand some serious damage. This is a unit which is both well built and attractive to look at … if you don't mind spending some time with a polishing cloth every time you touch it.

The TS is clearly targeted at home users who are moving into the NAS marketplace but who don't want to be dealing with an unfamilar Linux based interface. People who want to make simple network backups and to share their files throughout the house. This is an extremely simple product to set up and maintain and as such earns bonus points for ease of use.

While the unit is one of the quietest we have reviewed the overall performance is lacking, especially when compared to the Synology DS710+ we reviewed several weeks ago. Perhaps most people won't be that bothered, but for around £380 inc vat, we would have liked to see around 20%-25% more performance, especially when writing files. Power users primarily focused on performance will really want to look elsewhere. At least Asus include a 1TB drive with the asking price so it makes the deal sweeter for those looking for a pre configured NAS ‘out of the box'.

The Asus has many strong points, we like the upgradability options and the user interface is exceptionally easy to work with. Asus have even tricked the product out with three software add ons which adds more value to the package.

This may prove a good unit for anyone on the hunt for an easy to use NAS system with the need for further upgrade potential, but we also feel that enthusiasts with high performance gigabit networks will want something much faster.When we compare this to the Buffalo Linkstation Duo which is half the price and offers the same storage, we find the Asus considerably overpriced.

KitGuru says: More competitive pricing or a faster controller would have helped this to score higher.

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