Joined on 12/06/08
Great for storing videos, pictures, backups, Media Center, etc
Pros: Super easy setup Inexpensive Runs pretty quiet but with 4 7200 drives spinning it's not going to be silent. Been going strong for 4 months
Cons: None yet.
Overall Review: Installed 4 x 4TB drives. They included two sizes of screws so no problems like others have reported when trying to screw in the drives. Downloaded & installed the raid configuration tool from their website. Setup as RAID 5. Plugged into my computer using the USB 3.0 cord and did a complete format which took over a day for all 16 TB which I expected. I plugged it into my Netgear router and access it from all my devices in the house using DLNA. I even have KODI hooked into it. Other thoughts: If you have a modern router you don't really need an expensive NAS drive because the router will allow you to access the content from your phones, TVs, computers, tablets, etc while you are in your house. Good routers will also allow you access to the drive from outside the house as well but they will not have all the bells and whistles of an expensive NAS drive. ***** UPDATE May 15, 2017 ******** Me being extra cautious about losing data. I bought a spare 4TB drive and tested replacing one of the drives to see if it would rebuild correctly. I learned that you must first format the drive with the same file size & cluster size before you put it in otherwise it will not work so I recommend that you write that info on a note and tape it to your Terra Master. You also have to do the drive replacement while the unit is plugged in and attached to a computer that is on. I simply yanked out one of the drives and slipped in the formatted replacement. It took about 10 hours for the rebuild to complete. Tip: If you are not using all your slots in this unit like me (1 have one empty) , you can slip your replacement drive into the empty slot and perform the format that way as you computer should see it once you slip it in. Alternately, you can power down the TerraMaster, pull all the drives out and slip your replacement drive in, format it, power down again , take it back out and put the old drives back in and power it back up. Me being paranoid, I purchased another one of the units to have as a backup because if somewhere down the road this unit dies, I don't want to have to scramble to find a raid system that can read my drives. It's worth the piece of mind. I tested pulling the drives out the current unit and placing them into the new one and it worked just fine (I powered the units down when moving the drives). I purchased HGST drives based on reliability studies from Backblaze, you can look it up on the web. The Ultrastar series is the way to go if you can afford it, otherwise the Deskstar NAS series is the next best choice which is what I went with.
Decent router, lacking good support
Pros: Worked out of the box Easy to configure if you have worked with other Netgear routers Netgear Genie phone app lets me cut my kids off the Internet from the comfort of my easy chair. It's the quickest way to get them to come out of their kid caves and eat dinner. lol.
Cons: You get 90 days support, but the value is dubious. No matter what problem you are having they will tell you install or reinstall the latest firmware, then factory reset the router because that is the only way for the new firmware to completely install and then you have to manually type in all the settings again. I had to do this twice while trying to solve problems and it took hours to re-enter all my settings. If you can't reload your saved settings when installing a new firmware why bother having the feature. Note: I'm not convinced that a factory reset is really necessary as I've had other Netgear routers and didn't bother doing it when I upgraded the firmware. Then again I never had any issues with my previous Netgear routers. If you buy this router, be aware if you have a USB drive plugged into the router and use Windows OS to access it, you will not be able to rename a folder on that drive unless you unplug it from the router and plug it into your computer. It's not a deal killer but it sure is annoying. I opened a support ticket on it and they didn't fix it. Many users have posted this problem on the Netgear community forum and still no fix.
Overall Review: I am also experiencing some sort of input lag when playing Overwatch and other online games. The problems go away for a while after rebooting the router. I think the chance of me getting Netgear to investigate this problem is slim to none even if I paid for extended support. This is because Netgear is more interested in cranking out new routers than in making sure their existing customers are taken care of which is sad since i've been one of their loyal customers for 15+ years.
Nice Mini Computer
Pros: Tiny + Has enough USB ports Runs all my Media Center software like a champ No problems installing Ubuntu or Windows 10 I plugged in 2 x 4GB DDR memory and 256GB Samsung 960 EVO SSD.
Cons: I have a weird problem with windows 10 not powering off the unit when I issue the shutdown from windows. On Ubuntu it works just fine.
Overall Review: Updated 9/6/2017. I found out that the Windows 10 shutdown problem was with the Crucial memory module I installed. I swapped out with a different brand and now it shuts down just fine. So avoid buying Crucial DDR4 CT4G4SFS8213 4GB memory modules.
Solid Drive, no pun intended
Pros: Almost a year old and no issues. Windows boots in no time flat. Games load fast.
Cons: None yet.
Solid Performer for 1080 gaming
Pros: Been running great for the past 8 months. 3 Display Ports
Cons: None yet.
Overall Review: I have a 3 monitor setup (1080) and it drives the all like a champ. No regrets with this purchase.
Great for surfing web and watching YouTube on our TV
Pros: Tiny, cheap, comes with Windows 10 installed, has plug-in Ethernet port
Cons: No really a con but when trying to stream a FULL HD move at over 6 Mbs using the wireless on it, it starts to stutter and the just halts. I plugged in a Netgear wireless receiver that I then plugged into the Ethernet port on the device and I can stream a movie at 15 Mbs. Maybe someone else can do more testing to see if the wireless on this device might bit a underpowered for watching high bitrate HD content, but at least it has an ethernet port as an option.
Overall Review: This device is a great way to get your TV hooked to the internet because I'm sick of dealing with the terrible apps that come with smart TVs these days. You need to by a separate keypad/mouse. I recommend the logitech K400. I have KODI installed this bad boy and stream to my hearts content.