ZimaCube 2 Makes For A Nice Personal Cloud/NAS With Power Of Linux + Intel CPU
With being based on the Intel 12th Gen Alder Lake platform, Linux distribution support is very mature at this point for loading up the Linux distribution you want if not wanting to use ZimaOS. Booting Ubuntu 26.04 LTS and even the older Ubuntu 24.04 LTS was an uneventful experience. Much easier switching Linux distributions on x86_64-powered boxes than with DT-based ARM NAS hardware.
The review unit provided by IceWhale was equipped with the Intel Core i3 1215U 6-core / 8-thread CPU with integrated graphics, 1 x 8GB DDR5-4800 Samsung memory, and using the Kingston OM8PGP4256Q-A0 as the base OS SSD.
In use the ZimaCube 2 was quiet. There are two 80mm fans that are dynamically controlled for cooling but even when engaged was a quiet NAS. The minimal noise didn't concern me though in an ideal world if it would be interesting if they could manage to passively cool the entire unit to reduce dust inside the system, similar to what we've seen with CompuLab systems in the past for rugged passive cooling.
Managing the NAS from ZimaOS and swapping drives is an easy process. One item we would have liked to seen though was a lock for the HDD/SDD bays to optionally better secure the storage devices against theft, especially if you leave your drives unencrypted. Hopefully a future version will incorporate better physical security.
For those wanting to get an idea for the performance and system vitals, while running with Ubuntu 24.04.4 LTS on the unit I had run a range of mix-workload benchmarks for stressing the hardware and its thermal capabilities.
The Intel CPU temperature never exceeded 78 degrees, which is much better than some Intel mini PCs routinely pushing into the 90s, during the demanding workloads carried out. The average CPU temperature under load was a comfortable 61 degrees. The drive temperature and other vitals were in fine shape with no thermal concerns raised during these tests or the more typical NAS usage with all four NVMe SSDs in a Btrfs RAID array.
For those wanting to use the ZimaCube 2 for more than just NAS/storage purposes, going for the Intel Core i5 model is a better bet along with a larger memory capacity to also enjoy dual channel memory. In any event those curious for some rough performance numbers can see this benchmark result page.
Overall the ZimaCube 2 is an interesting Intel-powered NAS storage device with Thunderbolt 4, six HDD/SSD bays, four NVMe slots in addition to the OS SSD, dual 2.6 GbE Ethernet, and on the higher-tier model also 10 GbE networking. There are also the PCI Express slots for further expansion but keep in mind they are at PCIe 4.0/3.0 speeds, similar to the slower PCIe NVMe SSD support too if that is of concern for your needs. The unit was quiet and well built with one of the main caveats to be aware of is the lack of a lock for the storage bays if that is needed for your environment. ZimaOS continues working out well or if you prefer your own alternative OS it can just as easily be loaded up on the Intel Alder Lake platform as well.
ZimaCube 2 pricing starts out at $799 USD. Those wanting to learn more can do so via Zimaspace.com. If you are planning on buying a ZimaBoard 2, IceWhale has also provided a coupon code of "phoronix_50" for $50 USD off your purchase. Thanks to IceWhale for sending over the review sample for testing out the ZimaCube 2 Intel/Linux-powered personal cloud.
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