1 - Introduction and technical data 2 - Look and feel 3 - Teardown 4 - Benchmarks: CPU and graphics 5 - ZimaOS - Part One 6 - ZimaOS - Part Two 7 - Summary and conlusion

Summary and conclusion

But back to the hardware, how did the Aoostar R7 perform? Quite well actually, but I would like to say a few words about a few peculiarities. For example, I don’t quite understand why Windows comes pre-installed. Sure, you can theoretically use it as a desktop computer, but who would buy this model for that?

It’s much better suited as a NAS or perhaps a router, otherwise why have all this equipment? Tool-free installation of 3.5″ hard disks is a welcome plus, but for 2.5″ SSDs you will have to use a screwdriver and remove one of the rubber parts. With network technology from Intel, you should be able to fall back on the drivers supplied with the vast majority of operating systems, whereas with Realtek you often have problems. However, there were still problems, but with the power consumption. I actually measured a very good 27.1 watts in the 2.5 gigabit speed test with two SATA SSDs installed in RAID1, but it wasn’t much less in idle mode. With SSDs it was still 24.6 watts, without still 20.3 watts.

However, I suspect the reason for this is rather ZimaOS, which always displayed a CPU load of around 10 to 15% even without any active tasks. When I asked the manufacturer, they independently confirmed my empirical values of 7 to 9 watts and could not explain my values. I put it down to the beta status of the operating system. What is not so easy to overlook, however, is the rather conspicuous background noise. Unfortunately, the built-in fan in the base is clearly audible at 1530 RPM, as it is 2-pin and therefore not controllable. While the CPU fan appears in the BIOS and can be adjusted via PWM, this is not possible for the other fan for some unknown reason. I measured 37.6 dB(A) at a distance of 40 cm, but the vibrations in the case raise the whole thing to an annoying noise spectrum even at low volumes. A senseless cost-saving measure by the manufacturer, as there are free 4-pin headers on the mainboard.

– Manufacturer store (International)
– Amazon (Germany)
– Amazon (US)

The R7 NAS/router combination is also commendably offered as a barebone without RAM and SSD. Even optionally with shipping from Germany for the equivalent of around 256 euros at the time of publication. A great offer if you compare it with the “real” NAS offers from Synology or QNAP in the same price segment. If you want to provide yourself with a NAS quickly and without tinkering, but at the same time don’t want to give up the freedom to choose the operating system, you’ll find what you’re looking for here. Just maybe budget a few euros more for a decent fan.

Addendum

With Windows 11 and the latest drivers, the idle power consumption is fine again, I measured 7.3 watts. If you want to replace the fan, you need a frame width of 92 mm and apparently a PWM splitter. According to user reports, there are problems with the PWM control of the second fan header in the BIOS.

The test sample was provided by Aoostar without obligation. There was and is no influence on the tests and results. There was also no compensation for expenses and no obligation to publish.