QNAP launches Ryzen-powered TS-x77 NAS family

Network attached storage specialist QNAP has announced the launch of a Ryzen-powered range, the TS-x77 series, in partnership with chip maker AMD.

Designed for business users, the desktop QNAP TS-x77 family comes in a range of models beginning with a six-bay unit featuring an AMD Ryzen 5 1600 processor with 8GB of RAM and topping out at a beefy 12-bay with an AMD Ryzen 7 1700 with a whopping 64GB of RAM - though it must be noted that in all models the bays are split between four to eight 3.5"/2.5" dual-use bays and two to four 2.5"-only bays. All models include two M.2 SATA slots for high-speed solid-state storage, to be used as cache or additional storage, along with USB 3.1 Gen 2 Type-A and Type-C ports, three PCI Express slots, and four gigabit Ethernet ports - along with audio support via, for some reason, a pair of built-in speakers.

'We are very excited about our partnership with AMD to launch the world's first "Ryzen NAS." Harnessing the tremendous multi-core and multi-threading performance of Ryzen processors underscores QNAP's dedication for evolving the NAS industry and allows the TS-x77 series to fuel processor-demanding business applications,' crowed Y.T. Lee, vice president of QNAP, at the unveiling. 'The TS-x77 also provides high flexibility in expansion for network bandwidth, GPU-accelerated features and storage capacity, making it an excellent fit for businesses and professionals.'

'We are pleased to continue our relationship with QNAP in providing high-performance NAS solutions for rigid business IT environments,' added Dan Bounds, senior director of enterprise products at AMD. 'With its exceptional speed, performance, and low power consumption, the AMD Ryzen processors featuring "Zen" core architecture presents the most-advanced AMD embedded processors to date and has the potential to be a game-changer in the high-performance SMB NAS market segment.'

The full range is as follows: TS-677-1600-8G six-bay with Ryzen 5 1600, 8GB of RAM, and a 250W power supply; TS-877-1600-8G, an eight-bay version which upgrades the power supply to 450W; the TS-877-1700-16GB, which switches to a Ryzen 7 1700 and 16GB of RAM; the TS-1277-1600-8GB, a 12-bay model with Ryzen 5 1600, 8GB of RAM, and a 550W power supply; the TS-1277-1700-16GB, which upgrades to the Ryzen 7 1700 and 16GB of RAM; and the range-topping TS-1277-1700-64G, a 12-bay model with Ryzen 7 1700, 64GB of RAM, and 550W power supply.

UK pricing has yet to be confirmed, with the machines having been delayed from an originally-planned summer launch.