Is THIS your next NAS? (Zima Blade Review)

[@RickMunday]

Don't apoligize for the intro! I thought it was funny as hell! But then again, I guffaw at lame Dad jokes! 🤣

[@HardwareHaven]

Haha glad you liked it

[@haxwithaxe]

Agreed. Good intro.

[@marklewus5468]

Good luck figuring out what charger you need. Like everything USB, the PD spec is a mess. First it used fixed PDOs, (Power Delivery Objects) at 5, 9, 12, 15 and 20v. Then 12 V was deprecated (removed). Then came “Augmented” APDOs where the charger and device can negotiate any specific voltage and current. Just to make it more confusing there are two sets of these, one (SPR) covers 3.3-21V and the other (EPR) covers 15-48 V. This was (mostly) done so your phone could say “I want to fast charge at 15v/3A” while your computer says “I want 28V at 5A, or 48V at 3A.” Great idea, but now there are multiple “PD” chargers in the wild with different capabilities, and very little way for consumers to tell the difference between them.

[@420247paul]

look for the number after pd make sure its a 3 and your good to go

[@mjc0961]

I fail to see what the USB PD spec has to do with this when the product didn't even attempt to follow it. They should have used a barrel jack, not a USB C port.

[@davidg5898]

Great review. Thanks for covering more of the oddities/weaknesses than other reviewers have done. I was very excited when this thing was announced. I really like the form factor, the nifty little window case, and especially the drive cage. But my excitement waned quickly due to 3 things: 1/ Noncompliant USB-C power is a deal killer for me. I do *NOT* want a 12V-only USB-C power supply anywhere in my house. As you said, it's only a matter of time before you accidentally plug it into something else and fry your device. 2/ I would've preferred Gemini Lake (late 2017) to Apollo Lake (early 2016). Similar price but significantly better without running hotter. 3/ DDR3? No thanks. I don't have spares laying around anymore, and don't want to spend money on DDR3 in 2023 even if it is cheap.

[@JourneymanGeek]

I've another device that does that - I've been experimenting with using a USB PD trigger with a 12v barrel jack, to a barrel jack to USB C adaptor, which is very cursed. Also, labelling all the power adaptors for what they are for ._.

[@virtual812]

This alone make this a no go. It''s out of spec and the chances of destroying other hardware with it in the future is too high. Zima need to address this immediately.

[@djvincon]

My biggest problem with different CPU's without knowing which one you get is for clustering. You should always prefer the same hardware for those type of cases.

[@otter-pro]

This was an excellent review... with details that most other reviewers missed (like heat issues, pci-e slot location,...). I'm intrigued and I'd like to try this and compare it with raspberry pi5.

[@HardwareHaven]

Much appreciated! This was honestly what I would consider my first REAL review, and I felt like I tried pretty hard. I figure I missed some stuff, but I seriously appreciate the kind words. 😊

[@daveogfans413]

@@HardwareHaven The correspondence made me genuinely laugh. I sometimes just Deepl/G.Translate and copy it in a second language below the email. Why run the risk of miscommunication when we have all these great tools at our disposal?

[@tarheels100]

I agree, you did a great job on the review. Your focus on the usability issues and application ideas is key and is not just "nit picking". Many people would just talk through the specs, do a token benchmark, and move on, which isn't very helpful and doesn't reflect actual user experience.

[@fatchobok0]

I always figured that they would hopefully eventually make an enclosure akin to the Intel NUC Extreme line, essentially like a U shaped riser so the whole unit can be slim, upright, and can be swapped with newer boards down the line. I'm sure designing a PCB for something like this should be relatively simple.

[@JMassengill]

Rule of thumb. If you unplug something wait 10 to 15 seconds before you plug it back in for the reasons you state. Great review.

[@Skrillfreak]

The 12v issue is informative and unfortunate

[@HardwareHaven]

Haha appreciate the Rossman reference

[@Elkarlo77]

Especially as this port is advertised as Power + Data + Display on the Zima Webside.

[@pretol1]

It's mostly "MISINFORMATIVE", because USB-C in the PD can negotiate any voltage. And it depends on your charger. So saying that 12V is non-standard is both stupid and UNTRUE. There are many laptops that come with USB-C chargers, and those chargers can negotiate any voltage up to 20V... This is industry standard and the norm. Most phone USB-C chargers go up to 9V, and that usually qualifies them for "fast charging" moniker. Again, THIS IS ALL USB-C spec for power delivery, so I'm not sure why this youtuber thinks that this is "unusual" or "non-standard".

[@robert0joe]

@@pretol1 This device and its power supply use plain 12V, no PD negotiation whatsoever hence it is non-standard. If you plug this power brick into your phone, your phone will likely be fried. If you plug any PD charger that can do 12V, it won't work, as there is no PD negotiation happening. This is the same bad practice found on other cheap mini-PCs.

[@pretol1]

@@robert0joe Yes, you're remaking the claim... I wish the reviewer actually demonstrates the claim, rather than just state and restate the claim.

[@catalystguitarguy]

I recall reading that the Zima blade type C power is just a 12v DC power in type C form factor. It’ll blow up other devices. No power negotiation at all. Edit: I see you addressed the type c being a barrel jack in the video.

[@bhasselgren]

Yeah, shouldn’t be allowed (at least not CE/FCC approved).

[@catalystguitarguy]

Maybe they’ll change the power connection for the release version, but as it is if I mixed up the power supply I’d be kicking myself.

[@catalystguitarguy]

I could probably swap the type C to a barrel jack just desoldering the connector and mapping out the contacts with a multimeter.

[@marklewus5468]

J3455 is used in the Synology DS918+ NAS. I had one that saturated both 1GBe ports with SMB, did multiple transcodes with Plex, and ran HA in docker. But the N100 would be a vastly better choice for a new board. Same power and 3x the speed, with far more capable built-in graphics for transcodes and such.

[@BrianThomas]

I fully agree that the N100 would be a better choice for a new board, but as Ice Whale is claiming. Finding a good source of ships is hard to come by. Beelink seems to be having a grand time acquiring chips.

[@TheCyberSpidey]

What's the idle power draw on N100?

[@Pabula]

I really wish Synology would refresh their DS224+ / DS423+ into N100, would be my dream small nas setup atm.

[@marcogenovesi8570]

it's all down to price point, yeah it would be better but most mini pcs that use the N100 cost three-four times as much afaik so is it really that bad?

[@jamescollins6085]

​​@@TheCyberSpideyI believe it's 4-10 watts depending on the load, With Intel claiming a 6W TDP. So idle would be on the lower end of that scale.

[@DBTechYT]

I really like your riser cable solution!

[@HardwareHaven]

Thanks man! No idea why they don’t just hire me 🤷🏻‍♂️ lol

[@nagi603]

That 12V-masquerading-as-type-c is a giant red flag that completely breaks it unfortunately.

[@pretol1]

USB-C negotiates 5,9,12,15,20V... Most phonechargers are 5V only... Most PD (power delivery) USB-C chargers are able to negotiate any voltage required by the device... This has been standardized and is the norm. That's how laptops come with USB-C charge ports, but you can't charge them with your phone charger (even a fast one, that can usually negotiate a voltage up to 9V)... This is plain irresponsible misinformation on the part of this youtuber about "non-standard" 12V.

[@dustojnikhummer]

@@pretol1Except that is NOT a USB-PD port. You can't put a 20V phone or laptop charger. This is just a regular 12V barrel jack in a USB-C trench coat. Ie it will require a proprietary power supply

[@robert0joe]

​@@pretol1 This device and its power supply use plain 12V, no PD negotiation whatsoever hence it is non-standard. If you plug this power brick into your phone, your phone will likely be fried. If you plug any PD charger that can do 12V, it won't work, as there is no PD negotiation happening. This is the same bad practice found on other cheap mini-PCs.

[@jeremya822]

@@robert0joe I was part of the crowdfunding and got mine recently. Can confirm it does do PD negotiation. I have used 2 PD chargers that are capable of 12v 3A and they work fine. I even have a usb tester that I put between the charger and the ZimaBlade and it confirms PD negotiation is occurring. It is very possible this was not the case for the review units sent out as this video was still during prototype phase, but to say straight out these are plain 12v DC is not true of the production units. Also the reason they went with 12v is because hard drives require 12v.

[@robert0joe]

@@jeremya822I stand corrected. Can you confirm if the power supply is 12v only with your USB tester? Or does it do 5v first before negotiation? Don't plug it in except for the tester just to be safe.

[@MisterEmoto]

I think you're being too nice. This is a poorly executed but well-intentioned product.

[@HardwareHaven]

I think I was being fair. There are certain things about it that really suck, but there are plenty of things about it that don’t. If someone’s looking to buy something that does the things that don’t suck, then me just going off on it and calling it a terrible product isn’t helpful.

[@bokami3445]

Great review, especially pointing out the little niggle's you've got with the USB-C power and the USB 2.0 headers not being accessible with the case on. i suppose since the top half of the case is plastic, you could cut out an access hole to the USB 2.0 headers but as you pointed out, you'd think Zima would have done that already.

[@BrianThomas]

I was thinking. I could place this board into a larger NAS enclosure with 6 drive bays. The NAS comes with power for the drives. The only thing that would be an issue is powering on the Zima blade at the same time as the drives.

[@sinisterpisces]

Great review. :D I've gone one on pre-order, but I might cancel after seeing this. The proprietary USB-C power-in is just asking for something to end up exploding, as you note. And the lack of clarity on which CPU you'll get is something I missed entirely, and means that when you buy this you're buying a product without knowing its specs. Either of these alone would be a deal-killer, but both together are just ... an aggravating no, especially for something I figured I could just just carry around in a pocket or bag and whip out when I needed a tiny computer for tiny computer emergencies. Really glad i pre-ordered a Pi 5. :)

[@EvanBoldt]

10:18 Yes. Barrel jack would have been better. Safer for compatibility and cheaper since there's so many 12VDC power supplies with that connector already.

[@Naturesyouth]

And usb-c port that doesn't support PD should be a major red flag. The chips are there and easy to use. Should be standard, don't accept non standard.

[@elmestguzman3038]

I thing is a good concept but the non-standard USB C power brick makes it dangerous.

[@pretol1]

USB-C negotiates 5,9,12,15,20V (or something close to those values)... Most phonechargers are 5V only... Most PD (power delivery) USB-C chargers are able to negotiate any voltage required by the device... This has been standardized and is the norm. That's how laptops come with USB-C charge ports, but you can't charge them with your phone charger (even a fast one, that can usually negotiate a voltage up to 9V)... This is plain irresponsible misinformation on the part of this youtuber about "non-standard" 12V.

[@elmestguzman3038]

I don't think he miss inform... The power adapter that comes with the zima blade has a USB C type port but it only delivers 12v it doesn't do any negotiation that is expected by an adapter with PD.

[@pretol1]

@@elmestguzman3038 maybe, it seems he was scared to test the power supply on other items, so that's a lot of fearmongering and no actual data. Without actual confirmation, any claim becomes in the realm of possibilities.

[@elmestguzman3038]

@@pretol1 I seen reviews from other creators and they all say the same. the power brick is 12V only.

[@jeremya822]

@@elmestguzman3038 I was part of the crowdfunding and got mine recently. Can confirm it does do PD negotiation. I have used 2 PD chargers that are capable of 12v 3A and they work fine. I even have a usb tester that I put between the charger and the ZimaBlade and it confirms PD negotiation is occurring. It is very possible this was not the case for the review units sent out as this video was still during prototype phase, but to say straight out these are plain 12v DC is not true of the production units. Also the reason they went with 12v is because hard drives require 12v.

[@thecoffeez]

Good review, looks interesting, and not a terrible rant :) I will probably order one, see how welll it pairs with my Ham radio set up for CAT control/packet, amoung other things! :)

[@HardwareHaven]

Thanks! Let me know how that all goes

[@crisman72]

Thanks for this great review, btw can you check if the dual drive cage also fits on the Zimaboard?

[@sonsti8014]

I really understand your hype for the case/bracket. I'm looking at it for a small backup server at another place.

[@Yuriel1981]

You could probably 3d print a holder for the nic on the side. Could even create a slot in it to fit the riser cable. No superglue required. May have to use a more heat resistant filament depending on thermal conductivity of the metal. But you are absolutely right about it being a maker/tinkerer's dream. It versatility is very much its strength.

[@HardwareHaven]

The benefit of super glue is that it’s about 1% the cost of a 3D printer 😂

[@Yuriel1981]

@@HardwareHaven yep just bought some with your affiliate link to glue some of my 3d prints together...... lol.

[@ArifKamaruzaman]

@@HardwareHaven Ahahahaha

[@andreas.grundler]

@@HardwareHaven Don't worry. Your channel has something to do with technology, you have over 140000 subscribers. Sooner or later, a 3D printer manufacturer will offer to send you a printer for free. Probably Anker or Bambu Lab. They give away their printers as if they were candy.

[@LeoLijo]

I love the hdd cage rack thing and i love how it includes 2 sata ports

[@BrianThomas]

13:10 Right before you pulled out the glue I was thinking that adding a riser card would make this a much better build.

[@dominick253]

Idk in my mind either go with a pi or a mini PC. That's just me. Pi just for the community and a mini PC for price and upgradability.

[@marcogenovesi8570]

PC has a bigger community than Pi (and in most cases they are one and the same, i.e. most software you install can run fine on both)

[@whetshu2641]

I don't understand why the sound of old hardware starting up to to some lofi is so amazingly calming, but I absolutely love it.

[@GuardianEngraving]

damn thank you, I almost got me one. But no one has actually mentioned any of the problems. Thank you for the great work. I take it many vlogger are now just about the hype rather then facts and testing. It shows on all the pi5 reviews, its a terrible board but everyone is drooling over it. Just cant trust reviewers anymore. Again thank you for the hard work.

[@dynaram]

Thank you for the video and for adding the amazon part for the riser cable.

[@firenado4295]

yeah their market is "this is the swiss army knife computer that has loads of uses" but I feel this has more compromises than the original. I feel like if they upped their R&D budget they could really make a good zimaboard 2.0 so lets hope that goes well.

[@marcogenovesi8570]

The RAM slot is a big thing for a lot of users, losing a network port isn't a big deal. Shame for the "proprietary usb-C" power plug

[@firenado4295]

@@marcogenovesi8570 True, but the problem is the original board was well designed and had a reason to exist, it has basically all the IO of a pc but at raspberry pi size. This has so many compromises you would have better value for money if you just went and bought a cheep mini pc or raspberry pi 4/5. That is the real issue, it has no place and its not an upgrade from the original.

[@marcogenovesi8570]

@@firenado4295 It was never meant to be an upgrade from the original. It's called Zima Blade not Zima Board 2. This is a more "mini PC" form factor for the same hardware and would still blow Raspi out of the water. Also the Zima Board is NOT anywhere close Raspi size, it's more like 2.5 times a raspberry.

[@firenado4295]

@@marcogenovesi8570 regardless of if its suposed to be an upgrade or not if it has no advantaged over the other model people will buy that instead of this, that was my point. also I know its more powerful than a pi but not everyone wants power, so in some cases pis might be more practical in some people mind and compromise on having less power. Also, I didn't just give raspberry pi as the only alternative. Mini pcs are more practical in formfactor have about the same IO and come in many variations that are more and less powerful than this at similar prices meaning that this product has to contend with that too.

[@CaseyFriday]

I'm getting really sick of manufacturers putting out devices with USB-c ports that are not USB-c in the least. Like my Miyoo Mini Plus - that has a USB-c port, but I plugged it into a regular power supply, and it made a horrible high-pitched noise that sounded like it was gonna blow. Turns out it only supports power @ 5V, so why didn't they just use a micro-USB?? This whole "universal revolution" with "1 cable for everything" is not the utopia it once seemed it would be.

[@enderst81]

Thanks for this, considering cancelling my cluster order now but I still need hardware for virtualization home lab.

[@darthkielbasa]

Thankfully, a bunch of the kids are reviewing the Zima blade honestly. I’m glad I have not yet purchased the device. If I did not already have the Zima board, I may feel differently.

[@SvRider512]

I think alot of weaknesses came from the case in general. 3d printing could solve that for sure. Could even add a power button and hide the add on card or nas drives better.

[@Arcadium1177]

i much prefer this form factor but there’s just too many compromises. the power supply concerns are also very real :/

[@padraicley3265]

I like the blade form factor better because it is squarer than the predecessor. It fits better for stacking. I want to see the PCI expansion on top instead of at the side to keep the footprint tiny. The price is excellent for a maker.

[@anonuser2640]

If the power adapter that they send supports PD don’t worry everything it’s okay because supposedly two devices have to talk to each other for how much power it’s needed

[@Suzuki_Hiakura]

3:00 my first real laptop had that kind of processor... though it could only go up to like 1.6Ghz. and had integrated graphics, so it performed horribly on most modern applications. Even changing from Windows 10 Home Edition to Windows 10 Education (basically removed a ton of bloat and was somewhat better at managing resources) showed considerable performance improvements... like booting in about 80 seconds being reduced to 50 seconds... and then the SSD upgrade oml... 20-30 seconds. Very fond memories of that laptop.

[@DaemonForce]

This hardware is in a REALLY good spot with a few odds and ends to sort out. The most glaring issue is the 12V USB-C. That's fundamentally flawed to the point of idiocy but I supposed if this is going to be a product with specific power delivery, USB was the cheapest approach during test production. It should definitely be a barrel jack. Button access from the board pinouts for power cycle, reset and clear would be handy. Additional power access near the PCI-E port needs to be changed if it's going to be useful. 90° PCI-E x4 riser accessory would be ideal. Most of the heavy lifting is already done. 💯

[@LonestarWargaming]

Hey great video and review! What’s the NAS software you’re using?? I don’t recognize it

[@christian_oz]

Thanks for making the video. I agree it has a lot of potential, but it needs a lot more thought on the physical aspects of the arrangement. It feels like they finished the hardware design of the card and they are trying to rush it out of the door.

[@jonathanswaby]

I used an Anker 315 and an Anker 332 USB-C hub. It worked perfectly.

[@0xKruzr]

well, I would have voted for 10GbE, but that's because I'm a weirdo who likes building parallel filesystems :P great review, man.

[@HardwareHaven]

Hahaha fair enough. Thanks!

[@hanyuchuang]

That USB-C 12V is explosion, dead dock, dead type-c monitor, dead portable drive waiting to happen. Especially couple years from now, one takes out some type-c looking adapter and connect to something, boom 12 volt.

[@hi-tech-guy-1823]

btw 5v 12v ~ 48v is PART OF THE USB-C QC (Quick charge) 3 4 5 & PD (Power delivery) 3 4 5 (Upto 240W - 5 Amps) Spec You still Have 5V 2 Amps For Older USB Hardware - you only get 9V 12V ~ 20V ~ 48V With PD QC Enabled Devices that can request A Higher Voltage

[@DiyintheGhetto]

The problem with most motherboards that have PCI-E is that it requires 12v. Now they should have went with a higher voltages because of the usb-c can go up between 20v and 22v. That means more parts would have been added to it. Now they can just a second usb-c with data then again they would of need to add more parts and added a like a barrel connector for power. There are a lot of trade offs.

[@gardnerjp1]

Well, it's cheaper than QNAP and substantially more powerful. That right there is a winner. You could tack on fibre, multiple nics, raid controller, etc.

[@jothain]

Really bizarre layout still on this one. I don't get the layout at all. Ports everywhere. I'd understand if they would have like one or more suitable case(s), meaning like modular expandeable case where you could actually mount pci devices. Also that USB-C port is just downright stupid choice for powering. Why not like barrel jack or something more fitting? I like they made memory user changeable, but then why not nvme? Oh and that NAS chassis doesn't cut it for me. It should hide wiring fully. Thanks for the honest review btw. There's so many _very_ biased reviews about this thing. Not surprisingly got for free...

[@marcogenovesi8570]

it's not that bizarre. All "ports" come from the center of the board where the main chip is (CPU GPU controllers and things). The cheapest way is to fan out in all directions. If you want to put all on one side you need to get more layers in the board and more layers is more expensive and more development time to avoid signal interference. Besides, this has the same layout of a mini PC with ports in the "front" and in the "back" plus a large PCie x4 slot on the side (that can't be fitted anywhere else honestly.

[@jothain]

@@marcogenovesi8570 then make board tiny bit bigger. Imo layout is still insanely bizarre for something that's called and cased like it is. It looks foolish anyway when most pci cards are longer. Plus like mentioned in video, no brackets etc. Just lazy design.

[@opetyr]

If they are using USB-C that way then I will not ever purchase one of those. The danger of destroying something else because they are using something that should be a standard into a non-standard means they are incompetent and I cannot support stupidity. The price versus using such old processors in a raffle is not fun. I would want to pick which one I wanted.

[@gustje0493]

? They are using USB C PD. This a well established standard and you can buy a power supply everywhere. Or will you don't bus Notebooks from the last three years because they have no standard USB C power delivery?

[@PrezVeto]

​@@gustje0493did you watch the video?

[@SauerkrautNCheese]

What the hell are you talking about? Nothing about this is nonstandard.

[@CaptainW_rCrimes]

Did you buy a switch? The switch uses a 15v charger

[@kozekistudio]

cough cough nintendo switch cough cough

[@jellyjenn12291]

thanks for this review, for a complete beginner that is looking into getting (or DIYing) their first NAS to use to back up personal Photos and Videos and also a JellyFin type Media server, would you recommend this? or do you have some better suggestions?

[@leadfarmer5563]

The detractor for me is the price of thier zimaboards. I think $50 cheaper would make them more appealing for what you’re actually getting.

[@Beerpowered]

If you're only going for 2 drives you may as well just use Raid-1 with the onboard raid controller on your motherboard. Zimablade should be saved for a 5+ Disk NAS.

[@dereklun5758]

Odd choice for using 12V USB-C as a power source. Engineering problem aside, would using USB-C as a glorify barrel plug increase the manufacturing cost/bill of material?

[@peterhollitzer4786]

I became more and more friend of your videos, cause of two reasons. First: The view of a user, and when u criticied something... i would do the same as customer too. Faact: you help me, to save a lot of money And Nr. 2 U focus on the topic; other channels lose meanwhile this "view" , and u are talking the customers expetacion langua. Thx. for ur vis, keep going on !!!

[@bubaks2]

Lol. The intro wasn’t too bad man. Cheers.

[@metalwolfy82]

The power thing is very unfortunate.... I think what makes it worse is the base options don't come with a power adapter at all, so what are you meant to do? Was seriously considering buying this, but I think its a pass from me - thanks for the review!

[@murdokojoyoamanu1379]

What we complaining about I think is about price issue, if we put what we think better will rise the board price I think With the price very low and very compact I think this is good value for money for basic x64, I think this good for only basic purpose server, let say for nas, or router with pfsense BTW very good review...

[@elijahpetrill2011]

Get on them. There is so little x86 sbcs. Id love to see them do more and go further. They just need to listen to the consumer and not get greedy. Everyone is livid at pi for their over pricing and limited supply. If zima could change this, they might have those home nas enthusiast doing backflips for years. Lets not forget the pcie too. Driver support and cards could take this into the next level with emulation gaming.

[@geerliglecluse5297]

The way the questions about the CPU versions get answered sounds familiar to me. I have 10 years experience importing handbags and apparel (yes, not electronics) from China, and have seen this phenomenon many times. In my view it's highly unlikely that this is a language problem, it's simply their indirect way of saying that they prefer to do it this way without saying "no" or mentioning that this is more beneficial for them. You either put up with this (and use the opportunity to renegotiate a more favourable price, in a B2B situation) or find yourself another supplier who doesn't exhibit this behaviour.

[@dibbesnl]

Have you tried DSM on it?

[@Rod_Knee]

Bizarre that the USB C power isn't standard - USB C can support up to 20v under a raft of standards, so using a non-standard, 12v only power supply is just weird.

[@DarkDragonEWA]

Honestly if you're somebody like me that doesn't really care much about power efficiency a cheapo sff pc off ebay seems like a better proposition. It'd still be older hardware but it'd probably be more powerful, you'd have way more flexibility, and it'd be dirt simple to swap stuff out if parts die. The Zima line of products just kinda seems like they're trying too hard to be different and kinda sucking at it.

[@Hornet135]

And if power really does matter to you, is 10 more watts a dealbreaker?

[@bnasty267]

Absolutely. The market is flooded with Dell Optiplexs with the i5-6500. Even Amazon has them for $100, and those come with 16GB of DDR4 (not trash DDR3) RAM and a SATA SSD included. They have dual HDMI, a real PCIx16 (as well as an x4 like this), 4x SATA ports, a NVMe 3 slot, and of course, that processor will smoke the Zima's 'quad core Celeron' chip. And, you get active cooling so the board doesn't burn itself up in a few months. In my testing, they tend to low idle around 5-8W.

[@danagoyette7932]

If they're truly having trouble sourcing specific CPU models, and they absolutely cannot control which one you're sent, perhaps they could do something like sending the buyer a rebate for the price difference between the max and whatever you actually get.

[@IraQNid]

With the plastic cover it looks more like an old fashioned Walkman. An expansion cable between the PCIe slot and the expansion cards you want to use solves many of your gripes. Is the case easy to take off? Does it run without it on?

[@cameronfrye5514]

Love your presentation style, but it did look like you were really trying... Hard... not to simply throw the thing under the bus. I really like the idea of an x86 version of the pi... something reasonably inexpensive to experiment with. My issue with these (relax, no N100 comment) is that there are two newer generations of low power cpus they could have designed around, but they went with something almost out of production. As a tinkerer that is somewhat acceptable, but if you are considering one of these for engineering or prototyping you would want something you can expect to be able to source for the foreseeable future.

[@HardwareHaven]

As far as I can tell based off their FAQ, the CPU selection was made in large part so that they could source them easily, and keep prices down.

[@shanent5793]

​@@HardwareHavenif they're so easy to source, then why don't they know what's going into the final product? It sounds like they're just using whatever factory sweepings are cheapest that week at the Shenzhen market

[@HardwareHaven]

When designing a SBC, I don’t think buying what’s “cheapest that week” makes any sense. I don’t like that they are possibly using three different SKUs, but I imagine using three different models of CPU from the same architecture is a lot easier to source for cheap. A big part of the decision seems to be to keep the cost down while maintaining an “acceptable” level of performance.

[@shanent5793]

@@HardwareHaven of course it doesn't make sense, that's why it's a problem. The N3450 is discontinued, so they won't be getting any from Intel. The other two options are only three months newer so they'll be done in a couple months. Nobody should waste their time on these unless they plan on buying all the spares they could possibly need on day one

[@KingKevin108]

I will probably never buy this or something like it and yet I still enjoy watching all of your videos. Cheers

[@Sherry-x7e]

The swirled lollipop had issues with the pop rock candy.

[@shanent5793]

They should keep the PCIe connector where it is so the connectors line up, and cut a slot in the housing for the bracket tab

[@AirGaboon]

Now I'm craving an old school Zima malt beverage 😂

[@superangrybrit]

Shame we don't have any alternative to this product. I can't seem to find the NAS Kit on their website. 😔

[@codeman99-dev]

Seems like a cool machine. I really like the appearance. However, if I bought one, it would likely just replace my Raspberry Pi 4. Then maybe setup that NAS bay. That's cool. Outside of that? I can't really think of many uses to be honest. I'm not much into home automation (namely because I rent...). I don't actually host much of my own stuff and I wouldn't mind using a cloud service if I wanted that.

[@dehsaW]

one of the best intros i've ever watched ++

[@Swindy]

8:10 You say that the 12V is hardwired into the boards power, but the website contains a video that seems to imply that the power is USB-C PD3.1. Does anyone have any further information to say that the issue isn't just a pre-prod bug? I'd really like to get this board but I'm not going to risk having a USB-C charger around the house that could fry my families devices :/

[@HardwareHaven]

I just checked and the adapter I used was USB PD 3.1 (UGreen Nexode 300W)

[@Swindy]

@@HardwareHaven how curious. Its certainly an interesting decision to use a non-standard usb c adapter and then not include that adapter in any of their base tier purchase options. I've sent them an email asking for clarification and will reply when I hear back 🫡

[@Swindy]

@HardwareHaven Okie dokie, just to update this, I finally got a reply back from IceWhale tech marketing and they say its fully USB-C PD compatible so a 22.5W power supply should work. Full quote below, but it makes me even more confused given that yours didn't work with a UGREEN brick _It is compatible with the standard USB PD protocol. Therefore, conventional C-port power supply and 22.5w mobile power supply can power it._ ~ IceWhale Tech marketing

[@erbartlett]

@@Swindythanks, had this specific question! any idea if that will be enough power for the 2 x 3.5 inch drives? thinking of using this to test building a nas with omv / truenas/ etc and just learn how to set things up

[@jeremya822]

I was part of the crowdfunding and got mine recently. Can confirm it does do PD negotiation. I have used 2 PD chargers that are capable of 12v 3A and they work fine. I even have a usb tester that I put between the charger and the ZimaBlade and it confirms PD negotiation is occurring. It is very possible this was not the case for the review units sent out as this video was still during prototype phase, but to say straight out these are plain 12v DC is not true of the production units. Also the reason they went with 12v is because hard drives require 12v.

[@kristof9497]

nice glue technical tool.

[@techmaster170]

This thing would def use less power than my current NAS.. Got a Lenovo P700 that was being tossed out with dual xeon CPUs and it has a 1000 watt PSU in it. Thought about buying one of those devices to tell you power draw from the wall to see. I think this is pretty cool even though it's older hardware.

[@nightmisterio]

12:17 a NAS is always cool

[@ndupontnet]

I love it. It really looks like my first walkman. We're talking 1987. A cheap-ass Audiosonic whose link to the picture found on the interwebs got my previous comment deleted.

[@hotsecksi]

Given a like just for the cheesey intro :D keep up the good work.

[@middle_pickup]

The hard drive chassis is cool, but they really missed an opportunity in its design. They could have sold a ton of them if they had designed them to be be stackable with screws connecting them together. Two hard drives isn't enough for me.

[@BrianThomas]

19:11 I'm not sure if this is for people who just want to try a ton of things out. Although this would make a a perfect unit for things like that. I look at this as a one stop server unit or a small NAS.

[@SkywardKing]

It seems like with all the features available, but not easily accessible with the original case, that maybe they hope the community will take advantage of them in custom cases and setups, like people have done with the Raspberry Pi.

[@kiserleti4d4s]

The love death and robots reference is cool :)

[@kamertonaudiophileplayer847]

It's a very useful video for me. I need a HTPC. So currently I stick with RK3588 based SBC. I am thinking to change it to Intel processors and Zima looked good for me. However lacking in a performance turned me back to rockchip.

[@peterhollitzer4786]

Ahja, and i forgot, the zima blade remembers me on the early (80ts) "Walkmen" from sony - i love the retro-style, but i agree with you, there are a lot of things to fix, before i invest money. For elder Software i agree with the J 34xx , as long as both are doing, what it should. Therefore teh price can be cheap, and u dont need a powermachine... remember wht ppl could do with their Commodore C64 /RS232 Port or other devices. I, just my opinion would prefer a upgrade to an J4125, still can run win8/10/11 or ist fine with linux, use less power (as i know) and it runs very stable, i use a lot of them here, and i think, the price isn t that much higher. I agreee with u, 3 Types (J/N/Atom) doesn t make sense at all, and it remember me more, that the get a box of proc. for free, where they grab into, and pic a random unit. I will be fine, if the boards will get a remacr like zima bla J oder zima blade N

[@ericfarrow5859]

KZbin Comments: But it's not a n100!?! HH: Yeah, that's the point!

[@HardwareHaven]

Exactly lol. To be clear, if they managed to have this with an n100 for a similar price, that would be amazing! Haha

[@Michele5623]

That would have been a deal breaker for me@@HardwareHaven

[@lifefromscratch2818]

9v, 12v 15v and 20v are all in USB PD standard.

[@soul_maestro]

08:34 12V is _in_ the USB-C standard, just like 5V and 9V, so it's not outside the USB-C standard as said

[@iblackfeathers]

there is a ribbon cable you can use with the pci e slot too. i’d be interested in a followup video with the cluster setup as they have that as an option as well. you’re the first reviewer i’ve seen on youtube mention there will be a 2.0 of the zimablade, as mentioned in the campaigner’s updates. 👍 that bullet point already preemptively answers other reviewers who mistakenly thought this was the 2.0 iteration model… and complaining about 1 ethernet port and making further comparisons and discussions that are irrelevant in their videos. if they wanted to build off the zimaboard, then that goes to a different upcoming model. it also confuses viewers who then make the same comparisons. and yes, you are “not a 3d printer” but a human.😂

[@HardwareHaven]

Thanks! And yeah, I chuckled at the 3D printer bit when editing

[@daveogfans413]

You: "Which CPU am I getting with the 7700 model?" Zimablade: "Yes." You: "No, I mean which of the three CPU variants will I be receiving?" Zimablade: "Exactly."

[@4littlenightmares212]

I do like the project, but for the money I can get newer more effecient diveces, like those aliexpress mini PCs

[@milunacodes]

Just found about this board and thought about the possibility of adding an additional 2 port satas using the pcie port and make a little 4 bay nas but that 12v issue is a big red flag and those design issues mean the product was not really well tested so its a no for me unfortunately

[@arturosann7016]

Wouldn’t mind trying it out as a first NAS :)

[@ronsafranic5177]

Do you have any old USB DAS Boxes! I would love to see one of those retrofitted into a 8 bay NAS with a HBA Card.

[@zushiba]

This is super cool but I'm struggling to say this is better than buying a cheap used ChromeBox with a slightly older i5/i7 for like $20. That said I'm SUPER tempted at $70-100. That's not a bad barrier to entry. I honestly think the 2 core variant would be fine for most people. I wouldn't use this to do anything crazy like media hosting or anything anyway.

[@theadventurousprogrammer6449]

USB C cables aren't all made the same, I'm assuming you got a specific one you knew would work for 12V? If not another thing to try :)

[@M4XD4B0ZZ]

Any nice alternatives for a cheap nas ? My budget is 150$ maximum 🙏

[@kingyachan]

It's kinda like the raspberry pi vs the raspberry pi computer module

[@spamspasm8183]

Pretty sure the design references for this product included a walkman/portable cassette player.

[@deadlinerhorus]

excellent review but i have to agree, as long as they dont specify the CPU clearly or before they get rid of the 12V USB-C, it will be a dust catcher nothing else, sadly. So much unused potential, it feels like, they are not interested in listening to the real requirements. Entire product seems unthoughtless released, figuring out who jumps on it...

[@Gloria-i3f3w]

It's not what happens to you, but how you react to it that matters.