Page 2 – A Closer Look – Hardware (Internal)
If you have read the QNAP TS-470 review, you will realize Jonathan spent quite a bit of time taking his network attached storage system apart. While the shell was quite easy to take out, and the internals were in full view, the actual removal of the motherboard took quite a bit longer. On the other hand, the hardest part about opening up the Thecus N2560 was removing the plastic case. After approximately two hours of poking and prodding, I have come to the conclusion this was practically impossible. While you can spend more time and pry it open with pliers, short screwdrivers, and the lot, I was beginning to get more worried about breaking parts of the casing. Since the entire box is fully plastic, a lot of the parts holding the chassis together are brittle, and easy to just snap off. Of course, you can challenge me to fully open this device, and I will fully decline. I think putting Humpty Dumpty back together would be easier than putting the N2560 back in working order.
While I declined in the challenge, I was not alone in my quest to pry open the plastic shell, as my Editor-in-Chief, Jonathan Kwan, was just as curious, so back to work we went. Our first step involves removing the front swinging door and the back panel. Both of these were easy to take out for any user. Right away, we can see a pretty good view of the motherboard, but this was not good enough. Our next step involved unscrewing several internal parts, like the metal trays holding the hard drives in place. Then utilizing our nylon pry bars used for taking apart car interior trim pieces, we took the top smooth panel off, which was again fully held on with plastic tabs. Finally, the last step was to remove the two plastic pieces acting as a shell on each side; much like a clam on its side. With some patience and expertise, we were able to finish off the last step, and got down to inspecting the internals. I should still warn you should not take the Thecus N2560 apart, as there are many plastic tabs which are prone to breaking. Maybe this is why it does not come with a warranty seal, haha. Also, since we have already pried this open, you do not need to, as I will try to cover as much of the internal specifications as possible.
On an aside, the external power supply is a brick manufactured by Seasonic Electronics Co. The SSA-0601D-12 is rated to deliver 12V at a maximum of 5A current. Thus, it can deliver a maximum power of 60W. As for efficiency, this power supply is given a “Level IV” rating. In essence, this internationally set standard states that this power supply should be at least 85% efficient in the given conditions.
The only other thing holding the motherboard to the casing is a metal frame, attached to by four screws. After removing these, we can look directly at the motherboard. The first thing you would probably notice is the aluminum heatsink in the middle. This heatsink sits directly on top of the Intel Atom CE5335 system on a chip, and is similar to the brain of the ASUSTOR AS-202TE, and holds quite a few multimedia features. This SoC supports hardware AVS, DivX, H.264, MPEG2, MPEG4, VC1 voice decoding, and JPEG image decoding. In terms of security, the CE5335 supports 3DES, AES, C2/CSA, RSA, and SHA encryption algorithms. Onboard controllers include two SATA 3GB/s ports, three USB ports (1 USB 3.0 and 2 USB 2.0), PCI Express 2.0 interface, Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI 1.4a, and an S/PDIF audio output.
On the right hand side of the motherboard are four SK Hynix H5TQ4G63MFA 512 MB DDR3 ICs, totaling to 2GB of RAM in dual channel mode. The HDMI port is powered by a Texas Instruments PN521 controller. The USB 3.0 port is controlled by the Etrontech EJ168A chip. There is also a Samsung KLM4G1YE4C-B001 4GB NAND flash memory. This stores the basic parts of the firmware, and allows the N2560 to start up prior to loading the rest of the operating system onto the user’s hard drive. On the motherboard is a CR1220 battery, which can be replaced without voiding the warranty. Of course, to get to this motherboard to begin with is already hard enough, so good luck replacing the battery! The good news? You will probably never need to replace it in the lifetime of this product.
On the other side of the motherboard, we find even more integrated circuits embedded on the back. The main thing of importance is the Realtek RTL8211E Gigabit Ethernet network controller. We would prefer an Intel network controller, especially since they usually provide much better performance than Realtek units. Other than that, there are not too many other components to note.
Finally, we have the 80mm rear exhaust fan, as well as the SATA backplane. The ADDA AD0812DB-A76GL is an 80mm ball bearing fan specified at 0.09A and 12V for a maximum speed of 1600rpm. The rated airflow is 20.5CFM at 15.0 dB of noise. The SATA backplane provides two SATA 3Gb/s ports, which are supplied natively by the Evansport Intel Atom CE5335 SoC.
Page Index
1. Introduction and Specifications
2. A Closer Look - Hardware (External)
3. A Closer Look - Hardware (Internal)
4. Configuration and User Interface, Part I
5. Configuration and User Interface, Part II
6. Configuration and User Interface, Part III
7. Performance and Power Consumption
8. Final Thoughts and Conclusion
