Argon 40 EON First Look! A Raspberry Pi 4 Powered 4 Bay NAS

[@JeffGeerling]

I would really like to see a similar NAS build... but with a Compute Module 4 and direct SATA. I'm guessing this project was in the works prior to the CM4 being widely available (well, I guess it _still_ isn't...), but it seems like a logical next step to get 10-20% more performance. I'm okay with the 2.5/3.5" drive split, but it would be nice to either go full 2.5 or full 3.5, and drop the triangular form factor.

[@MrSB910]

Exactly, Jeff. Form over function for an appliance like this doesn't usually net great sales.

[@AnalogByte]

​@@MrSB910 That sadly wasn't my experience when working at a big box store. People put a great deal of value in aesthetics quite often.

[@jonathanhaney9235]

I'm working on it.....

[@SWnAZ]

I think I'd rather have the penta with a RockPi4c. Sure its only 2.5" drives but it's at least PCIe and asthetically pleasing. If I'm going to be accessing files off of it I'd much rather have the PCI speed than USB

[@retroattic4647]

Agreed. The HW cost of a system like this is in the Hard drives.... So spend a few more bucks and do it better.

[@alanmay7929]

They should have made a more square ish form factor to accept 4x 3.5 HDDs

[@JosephFrietze]

agreed. wasted potential.

[@draxianhyserski1654]

...& hot swap... NAS without hot swap is a bummer.

[@burprobrox9134]

Yeah really dumb. Form should follow function and this is the opposite.

[@jayrowe6473]

That was my initial thought, but I could have sworn I saw a video with a top view where it looked like the back was a right angle, which would make it fit in a corner. As I look at this video, it looks like an equilateral triangle to me.

[@salocin911]

BUT DUDE! It's a TRIANGLE!

[@MrNside]

"But why wouldn't we make a NAS that can hold 4 full-sized hard drives?" "Because, dude, it looks so cool as a triangle." I understand form over function in a lot of cases, but a NAS? Who the hell is setting a NAS up as a conversation piece? 4x 3.5" drives or you're just better off buying a cheap 2 drive Qnap or something.

[@AndrewAHayes]

I agree, my router and optical cables come into a small cupboard under the stairs and cat6 ethernet to each room, my NAS is located in there also and is in a 3D printed case, I prefer it hidden away but some will want it on display in pride of place under the TV, you know what comes next, RGB NAS!

[@LordDemonos]

Yep, lost interest in under 2 minutes of the video because of this.

[@southpole76]

when you're running it in your living room and trying to convince your family of the importance of backup

[@AG-bp3ll]

This was a deal killer for me too.

[@BruceFerrell]

The deal killer for me is this: "A USB based NAS?!". come on!

[@RobertLeaverton]

If the SSD's could be configured as cache for the conventional drive RAID, that would be awesome.

[@darkmasterch1ef346]

Will buy an Pi4 8GB, 500GB SSD an three 2TB 2,5" HDDs. Is an SSD as a Cache possible? 🤔

[@jondonnelly3]

@@darkmasterch1ef346 pi4 is too slow to make any difference with ssd.

[@michaelmcpeters8098]

Why would you limit yourself to only 2 full-sized drives? I'd rather have 4 full-sized drives in the thing for more storage.

[@Fleshlight_Reviewer]

Hard miss by argon

[@hiRyan329329]

Another half an inch to a full inch in width would have likely allowed for 4 full sized drives

[@hiRyan329329]

Idk if the Pi can handle it but I guess you could do 2 large drives (16tb drives work btw just aren't officially supported) and then have one or two SSDs for fast ingest/cache. I feel the pi wouldn't make good use of the speed though. If that thing used the Pi CM4 it would be able to utilize a pcie bus for far greater speeds (or even an NVME drive)

[@hiRyan329329]

@Tim v H I normally see a 2.5in hdd die before the full size one. Ofc a SSD will last longer unless written to constantly (they have hard write limits)

[@hiRyan329329]

@Tim v H well for SSDs to put it kinda simple every time it is written to the silicon is weakened and eventually sector by sector it can no longer hold data. Now the difference for a 3.5in hard drive and 2.5in is likely just the larger one being more spaced out with bulkier hardware and ability to stay cooler whereas a 2.5in drive is quite cramped

[@NewAgeDIY]

Ok you definitely got my attention! This case has some real adventuress. The design makes it easy for anyone to install drives without going through I’ll major tear down. I think it will be a best seller. I just hope the pricing will be reasonable.

[@ShadowFandub]

100usd i think

[@BradClarke]

It's on Kickstarter at the moment. Approximately $160 Canadian.

[@TheD3vilHimself]

But will it eventually be available outside of Kickstarter? Seems to be all sold out now.

[@flabbergasterisk]

@@TheD3vilHimself I think only the early bird discount is sold out. It kinda looks like they are using the Kickstarter to determine how many to actually make, since the goal was only $3500 and they're planning delivery in December. Caveat emptor, of course.

[@PatsFanGermany]

The retail price after the Kickstarter campaign is over will be around 140-150 US$ (without drives and Pi 4).

[@lasbrujazz]

I'm really hoping Argon would adopt CM4 module instead of using standard shape RP4. They could utilize those USB lanes and directly adopt it for SATA interface.

[@ColinDavidChen]

I think the lack of availability is a good reason to go with a B+ for now.

[@TheRogueBro]

Look up the Wiretrustee SATA

[@Will-sc3hw]

Better yet use the Pcie lanes

[@lasbrujazz]

@@TheRogueBro that's exactly where I drew the inspiration of my comment, seeing Argon always makes nice case for Pi, adopting PCIe directly into SATA while giving their good-looking case on it would be great.

[@devamshah8]

Thumbnail was awesome 👌 just as the product itself wanted more cases like this please

[@MrJaz8088]

Argon40 seems to like to keep the three letters ONE/NEO/EON, only leave's the ENO or NOE Case next

[@leonoliveira8652]

NOE is going to be a friggin boat or something waterproof, I'm betting on it.

[@uniquebassin7206]

Always find my way bacl to your vids.

[@xalderin3838]

This is something I've been waiting for! Thanks for this. Can't wait to get my hands on this.

[@dy7296]

that's a nice upgradable portable nas

[@earthlydescent]

Sweet! This looks incredibly promising.

[@slapmeisterrecords8226]

For what?

[@argon40gadgetshop61]

Thank you for the feedback guys! The Argon EON will accept up to four 2.5" HDD or SSDs or max of two 3.5" HDDs and two 2.5" Drives

[@flabbergasterisk]

gl with your Kickstarter! If you do a future one that can accept four+ 3.5" drives and the CM4 I think a lot of folks including myself would be interested. There's a big price gap right now between the consumer-grade NAS's that can at best do RAID1 and SOHO devices that can accept enough drives to do RAID5/6/10.

[@chrtrv4245]

The next update could be side panels that can house 4 hdd 3.5.

[@Tweak42]

How about optional/addon popout RGB side panels that add ventilation and room to fit four 3.5" drives?

[@Kazuma42]

I really like this. I see everyone's complaints about not having 4 3.5in, and that all that data seems to be bottle necked via 1 USB I am new to needing a NAS and I like that ETA Prime mentioned a raid option. All I need a NAS for just storage of our family pictures and shared music collection. We have 2 laptops and they only have 500gb drives, and I'm at 99% capacity on mine already. So I don't think the "short comings" mentioned will be a deterrent for me. I just need to know if you are making more after this Kickstarter, and how much will they cost? With or without the Pi4 please.

[@brunob.7792]

Thanks! South American and African people loved this video. Im sure.

[@wasitacatisaw83]

If you leave the sides off the case, can you fit 4x 3.5" drives?

[@Romeroland]

That is a good question, it looks like you could

[@roynielsen1911]

Also, if they do fit like that, does it have enough power to operate all 4 drives.

[@LeviGilbertson]

Spacing is not the same on all the SATA ports it doesn't look like they would fit unless you used an extension cable.

[@l0g1cseer47]

@@ZiggleFingers what about the transfer speeds on usb?

[@OptimusMonk01]

@@roynielsen1911 no

[@jdjr3640]

I'm bummed I missed the Kickstarter. I REALLY want one of those cases. I just have everything hooked up from external enclosures due to the lack of power through the pi. It's small but there are a lot of cables and I just hide it behind my monitors. This is the ultimate solution and is so well designed.

[@amnesie6615]

THIS is revolutionary! COOL

[@markshaz8691]

This is a really nice bit of kit.

[@darkmasterch1ef346]

This would be my Next Project. Love that Design

[@sinisterpisces]

From the product FAQ on the Kickstarter page: What are the transfer speeds of the Argon EON? Over LAN, the EON is able to maximize the Gigabit LAN of the Raspberry Pi at around 125 MBps. Internal transfer speeds based on our testing with Western Digital Blue Series, the HDD (7200rpm) we get an average 150MBps and SSD we average at 280MBps. We also tested the Samsung EVO and we maxed at 320MBps. The ASMedia chip we are using is rated at 500MBps. Transfer speeds are limited only by the current capacity of the Raspberry Pi and not by the Argon EON itself.

[@theruq7171]

Great Video, thank you. I'm looking to probably get one of these so I can setup a home NAS for my family.

[@l0g1cseer47]

Using cat 8 ethernet cable should be good. Nice one!

[@AdHdEntertainmentLLC]

I need that case ASAP!!!!!

[@ronniejaye1]

Impressive. I really dig the design.

[@IRWPD]

This is awesome. Have thought about getting a NAS for years. This might be the one to get.

[@Pewsplosions]

Pretty cool. If I didn't already have the penta sata rock pi setup, I'd probably get it.

[@nunyabiznez8120]

For testing purposes, just leave the case off and put in the 4 6 TB drives. Or is it a power limitation?

[@ChrisM243]

I'd also like to see if that works as well.

[@MrNside]

It looks like at least one of the SATA ports is too close to the frame and other port to hold a 3.5" drive. The shape of this thing is dumb, just make it a rectangle that can hold 4 drives a reasonable person would want in a NAS. Whoever designed this thinks people put their NAS on their coffee table or something.

[@PyroCatus]

The shape of the box mean it can only hold 2 3.5 inches drive and 2 2.5 inches drive.

[@ChrisM243]

@@MrNside perhaps there is a SATA-riser somewhere out there. I wish the Helio64 project was still alive.

[@setecastronomy_hc]

@@lukewatson059 It comes with 6A supply which should be enough for 4 3.5in drives, not sure if there would be any problems at spinup though. Most drives only need around 0.5A.

[@kevinricherson2806]

You could always print you some different sides for the case allowing space for the extra width of the outside drives. It may be ugly, but it's better than what I'd do and that's just leave the sides off.

[@Ollital]

I definitly need one of these as soon as it is available here.

[@JustinEmlay]

That's really slick. Sure beats all the 3D printed stuff out there.

[@scottwilson419]

That's pretty awesome, 2 big drives and an SSD for cache and that would be a nice setup

[@cary4867]

Im just getten i to this pi stuff, for a retro console for the kids. And love the look of this case. 😍 i must have it i must hehehe

[@Manu-kb6uc]

Does the drives go into sleep mode when not in use ?

[@tdata545]

I bought the last one you suggested, but holy crap was that hard, I was able to score 4 of them. This looks bulkier, but better.

[@salocin911]

@eta prime... Do you think there would fimware upgrades to support ???

[@Lukes-Tech]

Amazing video! Looks truly incredible! You got one pretty early! 😅

[@Crim222]

I'm actually really surprised this doesn't use the CM4 module instead of a Pi 4 board.

[@leekail4199]

Can you also use the usb 3.0 for external hard drives to add to the network

[@kurbii5216]

THIS LOOKS SICK

[@JGoodwin]

If you leave the sides off, will it work with 4x 3.5" drives?

[@TheRogueBro]

Reminds me of the Wiretrustee SATA, which is powered by a CM4.

[@artmaster4645]

yes set one of those up please,,,,,,,,,,,

[@followthetrawler]

That case is form over function - if you are going to have 4 SATA slots make space for full size drives

[@I_SuperHiro_I]

But dude....triangle. Who would want a useful product when you can have a TRIANGLE?

[@BlueyWolf]

Its so beautiful

[@Thomas72B]

When can you buy the Argon 40 EON? And where ?

[@parha123]

Why did not you connect through rhe USB 3.0 port ? Isn't 1GbE Port slower than USB 3.0 ? Am I missing some

[@seanfarrell4749]

I would like to see your process used to create RAID on raspberry pi with drives larger than 2tb. Just received my kickstarter unit and can't seem to get it to work.

[@reallifelima7951]

I'm gonna need one of these to supply tunes to the Argon NanoSound

[@alexdownunder8757]

does it have enough juice to transcode videos?

[@MAD450r2]

Is it possible to leave side pannels off and run all 3.5 inch? Looks like there is clearence

[@rpasco9352]

"But why wouldn't we make a NAS that can hold 4 full-sized hard drives?" Good question, since the only slots that will accept 3.5" drives are on the outside, meaning 2 more 3.5" drive would certainly fit on the 2 inside slots (if the slots are spaced correctly.) I think there is not enough airflow cooling available for 4x 3.5" drives rather than there be not enough power available from the supply. Maybe they will make a little bigger model in the future with greater airflow (and a more capable power brick). A rectangle shaped case would be much more reasonable, but it wouldn't look "so cool as a triangle" !

[@Crushonius]

its because of the triangle shape nothing more its form over function

[@andromydous]

I would love this. I have a small NAS setup at home. I say small because it's a Lenovo thin office PC that only has room for one drive. GOG, Steam, and Epic installs games on it beautifully and I have no problems playing games from the NAS. If cost is reasonable, then the Argon would allow me to have more storage, use less power, and would take up less room.

[@JohnWindberg]

Where does the Argon Configuration Tool come from? I'm googling for basic setup instructions, but I'm just finding blogs.

[@EfeArda1991]

I backed this on kickstarter! Very nice to see it in action here. I'm guessing the purpose of the design is to have 2 2.5 inch SSDs and 2 3.5 inch HDDs to set up RAID10, getting maximum performance from the disk I/O speeds. I'm wondering if it would be possible to use the remaining USB3.0 port for a 5GBPS ethernet adapter for maximum NAS performance.

[@EfeArda1991]

@@ZiggleFingers there goes my upgrade dreams... Thanks for saving me the money by stating this nevertheless!

[@kirkd1502]

How did you install OMV on top of Raspberry pi OS desktop? The instructions you referenced says to use the lite version but your video shows you using desktop version. What did I miss?

[@Uniblab8]

Very cool

[@nathanielmoore87]

I guess you could modify it and use SATA extension cables to a 3D printed drive enclosure to use it to its full potential, but it really sucks that they didn't make it a bit larger to fit four 3.5" drives.

[@ndc5544p]

I would be curious how it performs on RAID 5. Over USB with a 4 port powered usb-hub, it was atrociously bad. Would love to know how it performs in such a task.

[@glsracer]

I also wish they would allow 4 3.5 inch drives. I have a dual drive QNAP that has been great but I'm looking to upgrade my NAS and this would be nice if not for the drive limitations. I'll likely go with an x64 ITX or STX solution.

[@s01itarygaming]

I already have a Franken-NAS, but I backed this to have something to test out stuff on before deploying it on my main. Argon makes exceptional products and I'm really looking forward to receiving mine! (Hopefully end of december)

[@MatthewN8OHU]

Hmm.. It has potential for sure. One thing I'd like to see them do with a case is add support for an integrated Pi UPS like the ones from GeekPi.

[@RRChessie]

Could you please test it with a drive larger than 10tb. Argon had some kind of vague comment that 10tb max is just their recommendation but it could take higher capacity drives.

[@sean3278]

Would this be able to run Plex? Or for the price would I be better off getting something else?

[@MrHasie]

So, will it accept 4x2.5?

[@stephenbruce8320]

That's a nice little setup. I would not mind playing with it but I would be concerned with the air flow through the case. If the fan control is wonky like in the ArgonOne M.2 where your mileage varies depending on why you actually install because some Pi Setups control the fan well where others do not especially if you want to run emulators. Honestly I prefer to run the fan at all times because I am always concerned with heat and if keeping things cool requires a bit of noise its a trade off you need to accept but you can always change the fan and balance the need for cooling and noise but heat is the primary concern for me not so much noise and you can always place that in an area where noise is not an issue.

[@NIVO1972]

could you potentially use it to serve our arcades for roms? or would latency be too bad?

[@bingo475]

Can you use the built in wifi on the pi to connect to the NAS so you only need one cable connected for power? I know its probably going to be a very slow transfer, but I'm just curious if it can be done.

[@evilbananaprod]

Could this board power four 3.5" drives if I removed it from the case and used cables? The problem with RADXA's board is it could only power 2.5" drives and needed an external power supply when connecting 3.5" drives.

[@manuelsen3180]

Thanks for sharing !

[@DavideRuffino]

Hey man a question. Do you have attached the PI directly via LAN to your notebook or do you have use a modem/router? For undestand the transfert speed... THX

[@OptimusMonk01]

What are the dimensions of the thing? I have 4 x 3.5" drives in a proliant microserver that just does plex. Have been looking for something to migrate that over to that's quieter and more modern. Shame this is not 4 x 3.5"

[@TheGraeme61]

Really enjoyed your video and your other videos. As i have backed Argon40 on Kickstarter for a Argon EON NAS ,i was wondering what type of SSD will i require ???

[@daviddunne59]

Does this only work with a pi 4 ?

[@PrinceAlberts]

Does the case include vibration absorbent or isolating mounts for the HDDs?

[@cobrin6437]

Yeah I like it, i have a 3B+ with DVB-T TV HAT, I've been super keen to do a NAS as well and this might get a shoe in over some old PC hardware I'd have otherwise used. Power savings physical size are winning here. Thanks ETAPrime I do like your SBC interests too. Keep it up.

[@zeekatayde0619]

I'm a bit confused what is this for exactly? Is it a server pets by a pi?

[@MallocFree90]

Hi, is it possible to use an SSD as cache for HDDs?

[@DiyintheGhetto]

Now the question is are they using USB 2.0 or 3.0 to connect to the drives? Because it's a raspberry pi and the PCIE 1x is not broken out like on the compute cm4 what are they using for the hard drive?

[@chrisa6120]

Honestly you could install, and use four 3.5" drives. You just won't be able to install the side panels. So I'd say if they can make some side panels that can accommodate the edges/ corners of the drives. If you can imagine it, you have to admit ìt looks good with the protruding triangular/ pyramid points on the sides.

[@MasterChief.117]

Is it any good as a wet and which one is better now? Argon 40 EON vs Radxa quad SATA kit?

[@TheMadRocker]

OMV doesn't always play well with the GUI version of PI OS. Do it in the Lite version.

[@SlytherinReviews]

just wondering if this would be good for say game emulation that way you can have multiple Drives with enough games to run from while not using the system as a NAS system

[@christopherellis6167]

Is it Hot swappable??

[@BrianBoniMakes]

Wished they used a pi compute module.

[@reto.]

What's the transfer protocol, USB? I wouldn't use that for anything remotely critical but could be neat for tinkering.

[@Zyrothy]

is it possible to do something like this but using a raspberry 3 and an usb external HD?

[@mattphillips2266]

Still using the tuf dash 15 huh?

[@ormviana]

ETA PRIME can I ignore "OpenMediaVault" installation and go directly to PLEX installation (from your video "Turn A Raspberry Pi 4 Into A PLEX Media Server")? I´m just interested to buy "Argon 40 EON" + "Raspberry Pi 4 Model B 8GB" to build a portable PLEX Media server with 2x 3.5 inch 8TB HDD Thank you and keep the good work

[@TheDeelunatic]

Any word on when this will be released?

[@BradClarke]

It's on Kickstarter now, with a December ship date for supporters.

[@tangkane252]

Nice case, Argon almost did the best of the best nas case for pi (this one still one of the best), if it use CM4 module. I will want for CM4 module version or RPI5 version .

[@garethsutcliffe5680]

Is there any software available to use 2x 3.5 drives in RAID and a 2.5 drive as a cache. Obviously I'm thinking Uraid. That would be a good usecase for me.

[@sandrorocha790]

Does the Raspberry Pi do hardware transcoding with Emby or Plex in Open Media Vault?

[@networx2002]

Would you be able to run plex on this?

[@slimmcslim]

I’d love to see raspberry pi clusters! Maybe how that’s make some cool emulation or server or what ever

[@2112earl]

Looks great 👍

[@gumbyx84]

Is PiOS installed on the HDD? Normally you would install the OS on a separate drive. I'd like to know how is handles transcoding.

[@hashnannurezaman]

Can i use 4x 3.5" HDD with sata extension cable?

[@MysticWhiteDragon.]

Just curious, is the RAID hardware RAID or software RAID?

[@thatoneasiankid0147]

Bro plss make a video on the all new realme pad which offers pretty decent specs for the price less than 250$

[@ETAPRIME]

Is it out?

[@thatoneasiankid0147]

Sure they said they launched it on 9th September the above mentioned date is for china and I am not sure thet when they will launch in Western countries like in my country they are launching it on 16th september