CONCLUSION

   It's been just over a year since we last had such a ultra-high-end NAS server from ASUSTOR in the lab (since the AS-608T) so i had very high expectations from the AS7004T and as I’m certain you can all see we weren't disappointed one bit. Of course when you're about to start testing an NAS server that features an Intel Core i3-4330k CPU and 2GB of SO-DIMM DDR3 RAM you don't expect anything less but still we were all somewhat surprised to see that the AS7004T was able to go head to head with the equivalent model by QNAP (TurboNAS TS-470 Pro) and even managed to come on top in many tests. Now we did record higher power consumption from the AS7004T during our tests (yet lower noise levels) but i guess we just can't have superior performance at any cost. However ASUSTOR offers a sleep feature with their ADM software so aside allowing your hard drives to hibernate after a period of inactivity the entire system can also go to S3 "sleep" (suspend to ram mode) soon after that to reduce power consumption (it can also wake up in roughly 1.5s). And then we have the impressively smooth playback of media content via XBMC which is not something we see a lot and the AS7004T could be at the top of our list at least in that specific area. The ability to support full 4k (2160p) media playback is also very impressive although we don't have real (not converted) 4k content in our disposal (although we do have a 4k screen for such tests) and so we couldn't test that specific feature out. ASUSTOR also improved (performance-wise) and redesigned their ADM OS quite a bit since the last time we had something of theirs here and also added new features including support for TFTP Server, Proxy Server, Email Server, Windows ACL (access to the NAS via Windows) and SMB 2.0 (improved data transfer performance).

   NAS Servers aimed towards business and enterprise use never come cheap and obviously neither does the AS7004T by ASUSTOR since as we speak it retails for USD1132.27 inside the USA (Amazon.com) and at around 1000Euros inside the EU. Still this price tag is less compared to what QNAP asks for the less powerful TurboNAS TS-470 Pro so that alone should be enough for potential buyers. Of course we do expect QNAP to do a comeback either with the introduction of a new model or with a price cut but at least for now it is what it is. Overall we all liked the AS7004T and if it was a rackmount chances are that it would replace the one we're using currently in the lab for our surveillance cameras and file sharing needs (TS-469U-RP). However there's one thing that i hope ASUSTOR will change sooner rather than later and that's the amount of RAM pre-installed in their new 5xxx/7xxx line. 2GB of DDR3 RAM is not bad but i think they should follow the footsteps of QNAP and sell their models with more RAM for consumers who wish for more (8GB would do wonders for this unit for example). True i don't think it's hard for most people to open the chassis and install another SO-DIMM but i think that we all know that there are too many people out there who wouldn't do it and i really do think ASUSTOR would do well to cater to their needs as well. That being said the AS7004T is an amazing NAS Server and that's why it gets our Platinum Award.

PROS

- Excellent Build Quality
- Intel Core i3-4330 (3.5GHz)
- Excellent Performance
- Features
- 2GB SO-DIMM DDR3 RAM (Expandable To 16GB)
- 2 Gigabit Ethernet Ports
- 5 USB Ports (3xUSB 3.0 / 2xUSB 2.0)
- 2 eSATA Ports
- HDMI v1.4a Output
- 4k (2160p) Video Output
- Optical S/PDIF Audio Output
- RAID 0/1/5/6/10
- SATA III (6Gb/s)

CONS

- Price (For Some)