Nintendo Revolution Controller Revealed


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it looks like... nope im not even going to say it.. ill just laugh when you get shot and it starts the rumble effect in your hand. or when the very close minded parents/congresspeople start advocating against it based on what it looks like :x

O.K. after watching the keynote. Things are starting to be put together.

Iwata claims that hardware and software sales are going down overall. With down sale's equals a threat to the gaming industry. The answer to fixing it is to try and get people who don't game anymore to game again. and try getting new gamers.

How to do this? ask them. same goes for normal people who never played before.

Iwata claimed that because it looks like a remote, it doesn't look 'scary' to pick up. Its very easy going, and simple to play. Iwata also made one statement that stuck out. He said that if you don't like the direction Nintendo is going, Go with the direction you choose. aka, don't like the controller? don't play it. - I am sure that what he meant by that is. Play what controller/system you want. Iwata's goal is to get new blood into the gaming industry. If he looses customer's he's still happy because you found your gaming system of choice and you are still supporting the gaming industry.

With interesting facts about Nintendog's and such, the puzzle peaces are starting to be put together. Oh yea, the gameboy micro was made for those people who don't play games but have cell phone's. Its the size of a cell phone, and has simple but fun games to play. If this works. This will be interesting in the end. I am very impressed with the Revolution controller. I can't express my feelings toward it because it took me by surprise.

-------------------------------

My opinion? - well. Personally. The controller is amazing, Will I buy the revolution on launch? Of coarse not. but when it gets good games, of coarse i'll pick up a revolution. I was sold by the controller bigtime. - now they got to finally make the duck hunt sequel :p

HEEEELLLL Yes this could be so damn cool. Just imagine how much more 'into' the game you would be with this thing :) You'd be like swing a controller yourself and whatnot. Who knows what the possibilities are.

One thing and least Nintendo didn't fricken copy and paste their system with better specs. :yes:

that being said i'm still refreshing IGN like mad to see the full keynote. and I'm interested in the xbox 360 keynote as well,. Anybody know when the PS3 keynote is?

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I believe only Nintendo and Microsoft are holding one(they just had theirs). Sony isn't going to have one :(.

Seriously dude, every time you post here it's condescending in some way, you are a real nintendo fanboy I can see.. I know I'm more of an athlete than you'll ever dream to be, so don't even get on the subject of using your muscles. :rolleyes:

Seriously dude, every time you post here it's condescending in some way, you are a real nintendo fanboy I can see.. I know I'm more of an athlete than you'll ever dream to be, so don't even get on the subject of using your muscles. :rolleyes:

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That's because you make post that make no sense at all. I'm a Nintendo fan yes, not a fanboy. I have an degree in training management so I know about muscles so don't you worry...

I don't see how it would be any different holding these controllers like those we have now. I'de like you too explain that please.

How can you not understand me? Have you even watched them use the thing yet. In a fighting game swinging your arms around for hours and hours would get tiring no matter how trained you are. Playing an FPS and moving your wrists around constantly as with your arms would get them stiff and tired.

NOBODY should post in this topic before watching that video and reading the game idea articles (ie, the 'examples' article in the first post). Period.

I'm thinking that Nintendo if they play it right may be able to pull it off. But FPS, etc, I don't see how they'll be good with this new controller:||

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"How it might work: Using Nintendo's controller to navigate first-person shooters is going to be an amazingly empowering, freeing experience. We know this because Nintendo demoed a modified version of Metroid Prime 2 Echoes using the new peripheral, and the potential is undeniably jaw-dropping. In the demo, players could move Samus through the environments with the attached analog trigger. The need to lock-on to enemies, however, was been eliminated, thanks to a new level of precision aiming made possible with the pointer. In a level of accuracy rivaled only by a PC mouse configuration, gamers could simply use the device to point and shoot.

Nintendo fans got a taste of this play mechanic in the demo of Metroid Prime Hunters for DS, but Revolution's pointer is comparatively far more robust, enabling quick and dead-on targeting and the ability to turn on a dime. Developer Retro Studios apparently created the Prime 2 demo in order to test the waters, so to speak, for its upcoming Metroid Prime 3. The studio has a lot of control options at its disposal. Imagine a setup as follows. The attached nunchuck analog stick moves Samus Aran through the game world and the pointer is utilized for precise gunplay. Gamers jump with the oversized A button located beneath the pointer's D-Pad and they shoot with the device's underbelly trigger. Players press up, down, left and right on the conveniently placed D-Pad to switch between visors. Meanwhile, switching weapons will be just as easy. Holding down one of the trigger buttons on the analog stick will transform the D-Pad into a primary weapon select, at which point up, down, left and right on the D-Pad enable different guns. Press down the other button on the analog stick and secondary weapons become available to the D-Pad. Sounds great, right? But how the hell does Samus change into her classic morphball shape and further, how might that be controlled? There are all sorts of possibilities. Gamers could simply make a single downward stabbing motion with the pointer in order to trigger Aran's ball form and then stab upward again to regain her natural composure. When in morphball, Samus could be directed with the pointer with perfect precision. Wow! Bring it.">

um um i dont know what to say. i dont like the way it look at all i aint getting it at all but some might thing its cool(people at japan:whistle:: ) i just cant see how it will work with one of my fav type of games sport games(madden) with only A,a,b buttons are their triggers or something?

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"How it might work: Sports fanatics are largely fanatical about their control. Even this year, as EA made updates in its 2006 Madden offering, one of the largest innovations was new passing controls. So this could be one genre that Nintendo has the most challenges in finding a way for publishers such as EA to bring familiar sports titles to the highly unique Revolution controller.

But then again, is it really so tough? Imagine booting up Madden NFL 2007 for Nintendo Revolution and watching your team walk up to the line of scrimmage. You hike the ball with a quick snap of the B trigger, and then you drop your QB into the pocket with the left analog stick. Waving the pointer left and right gives you a quick scan of the downfield receivers on each side of the field. Suddenly you see your man 20-yards down and ready to make his cut to drag across the center of the field. But before you can snap a pass, a linebacker comes crashing through your O line. No problem - hold one of the buttons on your left analog stick to enter scramble mode and break left. Let go and hold the other left button to bring up a passing reticule on-screen. In the blink of an eye, you're able to finely lead your receiver two yards deeper than his route and put the ball just out reach of the cornerback. But rather than hitting a button to pass, simply rear back your pointer and jab it forward at whatever speed you deem necessary to float the pass right into the sweet spot.

Next play -- snap the ball with the B trigger and then watch as your QB hands off to your meaty fullback. While the analog stick could easily function much as previous football sims, now your shucks and jives can be much more intuitive with quick flicks of the pointer. Turbo on the left analog stick buttons, with spins and stiff-arms flowing from A and B. But imagining your quick-steps, jukes, and hurdles coming from quick movements of the pointer seems almost intuitive the more you imagine it. And there's plenty of room for innovation on EA's part here to think outside the box on how a football game has been controlled in the past and how control might become more seamless in the future.">

Thank you IGN. Thank you.

How can you not understand me? Have you even watched them use the thing yet. In a fighting game swinging your arms around for hours and hours would get tiring no matter how trained you are. Playing an FPS and moving your wrists around constantly as with your arms would get them stiff and tired.

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You don't have to wave around like seen in the demo. As IGN wrote they learned to relax after a while and soon it felt like playing a regular controller. It's just about training. It will probably be more of a struggle at first like any other controller, but you'll get used to it.

I understand your concern, but don't really see it as a problem.

I might even buy one when the time comes... we'll see. The only console I don't see myself getting is the PS3. I just hate the whole Sony team, they are so cocky. Constantly knocking Nintendo (about their DS etc) and MS just makes me not want to buy their products. I actually like the big N the best, but I just don't know about this new move. I hope it works, it could take the gaming industry in a great new direction. Anyways, I'm most excited about the 360, but each console has their perks right now.

Must admit the pad looks wierd but hey so did the snes and xbox pads when i first saw them. I'm loooking forward to trying them out and kuods for Nintendo for trying something different. On the point of consoles must say i'm after the 360 more than anything, but i'm sure i'll get a revolution when it comes out. PS3 will be bought if and when they release the update for ff7 :)

Hopefully we'll see more experimentation with the next generation of consoles.

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3143782

"The entire industry has been clamoring for a taste of Nintendo's so-called next-generation 'revolution.' So have we. Every time Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has opened his mouth, he underscored time and time again Nintendo would not be following the traditional path of a new console. Rumors have persisted for weeks about touch screens, gyroscope functions, virtual headsets, and everything else under the sun.

Nintendo always emphasized they weren't following Sony and Microsoft, and boy, they weren't kidding. Nintendo decided Tokyo Game Show (an event the company typically forgoes in favor of Space World) was the right time to sit down with select members of the press and unveil their vision of gaming's future. And guess what? We were there.

We've seen the Revolution, touched and played with its radically different take on the game controller, talked with visionary designer Shigeru Miyamoto about the reasoning behind Nintendo's new approach and we're back with our lengthy, hands-on impressions.

Has Nintendo struck gold again? Read on and find out.

The Revolution Controller Basics: What The Hell Is It?

The controller for Nintendo's upcoming Revolution home console system is a cordless remote-control-like device designed to be used with only one hand. Two small sensors placed near the TV and a chip inside the controller track its position and orientation, allowing the player to manipulate the action on screen by physically moving the controller itself. For example, you could slash an in-game sword by actually swinging the controller from side to side, turn a race car just by twisting your wrist, or aim your gun in a shooter by pointing the controller where you want to fire.

An expansion port on the bottom of the unit allows for add-on hardware to compliment this "remote controller" (our word for it, not Nintendo's), like a second controller piece Nintendo demonstrated that comes equipped with an analog stick and two trigger buttons (currently labeled Z1 and Z2, for those of you keeping track). When the two controller pieces are attached, the so-called 'Nunchaku' configuration (the two bits are connected by a short cord) can work similarly to current controllers, just with the second analog stick replaced by actual movement of the Revolution controller. Nintendo also mentioned that the controller stick could be slipped inside other, more conventional controller shells, dance mats, bongos, or other peripherals.

A large "A" button sits in the prime spot under your thumb on the face of the controller, with a "B" trigger on the back of the unit for your index finger. Otherwise the button configuration is an interesting mix of old and new: standard D-pad up top, near the power button (to turn the Revolution console on and off), Start and Select in the middle, on either side of the intriguing "Home" button (Nintendo wouldn't go into detail, but sounds like it has to do with navigating system menus, which will be important given the Revolution's promised WiFi connectivity), and two more buttons near the bottom labeled "a" and "b." These last two may seem uncomfortably low for your thumb until you turn the controller 90 degrees and it becomes just like an old 8-bit NES joypad, with the D-pad under your left thumb and "a" and "b" under your right. (Don't forget-Nintendo has promised downloadable versions of their classic games for the Revolution's "Virtual Console.") Nintendo mentioned the button names and their exact sizes could still change slightly before production, but what you see here is close to the final design.

Elsewhere on the controller, the four lights at the very bottom represent which player it belongs to, and that hatch on the back is the battery compartment. (The prototype Revolution controllers we saw used regular batteries just like the GameCube's WaveBird wireless controller-and last a similar amount of time, according to Nintendo-but reps wouldn't say for certain if the final unit would use batteries or some rechargeable option.) The effective maximum range for the wireless controller is expected to be somewhere between 10 and 15 feet. A variety of different colored controllers were on display, including red, lime green, white, gray, black, and silver. Finally, rumble functionality is built in to the controller.

The Revolution Controller Demos: How It Works.

Alright, so enough about sticks and buttons and lights-how does this crazy new controller actually work with games? To answer that question, Nintendo's legendary game creator Shigeru Miyamoto (creator of Mario, Zelda, Donkey Kong, Pikmin, you name it) walked specially selected members of the press through a series of hands-on technology demos. These were not real Revolution games (all the names for the demos are ours)-they were super-simple, graphically crude offerings designed solely to show off different aspects of how the controller can work. Here's a rundown of what we saw, along with our thoughts on each:

DEMO: BLOCK BUSTER

A firing-range-like contest where two players compete to see who can shoot randomly appearing squares first. Aiming is done by pointing the controller itself at different points on screen, pulling the B trigger to fire.

IMPRESSIONS: A great demonstration of how intuitive the controller can be-pointing it to aim felt perfectly natural, right from the very first second, just like with a light gun. It always shot exactly where it felt like I was aiming, and was incredibly responsive to even slight wrist movements-I barely had to move my hand at all.

DEMO: GONE FISHIN'

Grab a pole and lower it into a 3D pond full of fish. Keep the line steady and when you feel a nibble from the rumble of the controller, pull it up quick!

IMPRESSIONS: An interesting showcase of the controller's 3D movement detection-you position the fishing pole above the pond by moving the controller forward or back, left or right in actual space, then lowered the hook by lowering the controller. It was a bit difficult to keep it steady in the water, but flipping the controller up when you got a bite, mimicking the motion of pulling up a fish in reel life, was a little thrill that just felt right.

DEMO: IRRITATING STICKS

Two players guide rotating sticks through a side-scrolling maze of tunnels and moving obstacles, gathering coins and avoiding touching the walls. (A lot like the PS1 game Irritating Stick, and exactly like the import-only GBA game Kuru Kuru Kururin.)

IMPRESSIONS: Another demo that needed no explanation, you just "got" it immediately-move the controller in whatever direction you want the stick to go. As a 2D game that requires exact movement (the caves get really narrow in parts), this one reinforced how precise and steady the controller's movement detection can be. Another interesting tidbit-if your controller fell outside the detection "box," the demo had an arrow pointing off the edge of the screen in that direction so you could get it back in the correct space.

DEMO: AIR HOCKEY

Exactly what it sounds like: Two players each control a flat stick on either side of a rink by moving around their controller, pushing a puck back and forth, trying to keep it out of the goal on their side.

IMPRESSIONS: A bit sloppy and more sluggish than the other demos, this one was supposed to show how you could put "english" on the puck by twisting the controller but in practice it didn't work as well as in other demos (and I'm not saying that just 'cause I kept scoring on my own goal...wait...OK, actually it is partially because of that.).

DEMO: BASKETBOWL

Two players drag or push a ball to their opponent's basket by making the ground under their controller-maneuvered cursor dip (by holding "B") or rise (by pressing "A").

IMPRESSIONS: This was oddly fun-you could try to move the ball by either making a hill next to it and pushing it along, or making an indentation for it to fall into, then using it to drag it across the court. When you got close to the basket, turning an indentation under the ball into a hill suddenly would fling it up into the air.

DEMO: WHERE'S WALDOASAUR

A simple demonstration of depth perception-the player searches for a particular pokemon on a giant map filled with the creatures (ala Where's Waldo), zooming in by pushing the controller towards the screen and zooming out by pulling away from it.

IMPRESSIONS: Nothing much to say here except that, as a Nintendo rep commented, you can see how this might be put to use for aiming a sniper rifle in a first-person shooter.

DEMO: PILOT WANGS

Manipulate a biplane through the air, trying to fly through rings scattered around the Isle Delfino hub world of Super Mario Sunshine.

IMPRESSIONS: This was about all the different ways the Revolution can detect tilting the controller. It was as if the controller was the airplane itself - as long as your movements weren't too sudden, the on-screen action would mimic your movements with very little lag time. After about a minute I was pulling dramatic dives and loop-de-loops, bullseye-ing plenty of rings.

DEMO: METROID PRIME-TIME

Nintendo saved the best for last. This was the first section of the GameCube game Metroid Prime 2: Echoes, retrofitted to be compatible with the Revolution controller and its analog add-on piece (the "Nunchaku" set-up mentioned earlier). As on the Cube the analog stick controls movement, but instead of holding down a button to look around, you simply point the other controller in the direction you want to aim.

IMPRESSIONS: At first, I was standing up and swinging my hand all around to aim - and my arms got really tired really quick. But once I sat down and relaxed, resting my hands on my legs as I would with a normal controller, everything clicked. It wasn't perfect yet - the Revolution controller functionality had just been added recently and wasn't bug tested or polished, so every so often the view would "spaz out" for a couple seconds - but it was enough to get me excited. As odd as it may look holding the two separate controller pieces, one in each hand, looking around felt incredibly natural, even more than my preferred PC-style keyboard-and-mouse setup. I have to wonder about precision and speed in multiplayer games, but for a more deliberate single-player game like Metroid Prime - and the series is already confirmed for an appearance on the Revolution - this setup already has huge potential.

The Revolution Controller Design Philosophy

So why has Nintendo decided to brazenly break with tradition and the conventions of every other modern console in creating the Revolution controller? According to Mr. Miyamoto, it was part of a conscious decision to make something simple and straightforward enough to reach out to a new audience. "We want a system that takes advantage of new technology for something that anyone, regardless of age or gender, can pick up and play. [something with a] gameplay style that people who have never played games can pick up and not be intimidated by. We wanted a controller that somebody's mother will look at and not be afraid of."

Of course, Nintendo has no intention of leaving their traditional audience behind, and Mr. Miyamoto is quick to add that the controller is already well suited for a number of popular genres. "[We aimed for something] that is simple enough for everyone," he says, "but also something that people who've been playing games for years will be satisfied with."

Med Res Images :

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Edited by Rob.Baker

haha, looks like we posted almost at the identical time

https://www.neowin.net/forum/index.php?show...#entry586533679

i really dont believe nintendo is trying to do something like this. as a nintendo fan, i'm really starting to lose interest

Yup, read all there is to read and also saw the video

This will be a huge leap in terms of consol gaming and will most definately change gaming as a whole from point of release.

It will be interesting to see what Sony copy this time round as they've done the "wait and copy" thing since the early days of console gaming.

This is absolutely awesome, not only does it look cool but it has functuality and I expect Nintendo will bring out in house games like the next mario and Zelda to showcase this tech alot better when the thing is released.

Can you imagine Fishing in Zelda using this? Relling in that big badass bass? or whipping Epona into shape? Twisted Evil

Awesome doesn't quite describe this!

Video - http://www.dagbladet.no/kultur/2005/09/16/443527.html

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The lesser variant has the slightly weaker N305 CPU and iGP, and 8 GB less RAM, although it also costs $100 less than the top variant we are testing today. In addition, these new F4-425 Pros are shipped with the as-yet-unreleased TOS 7 beta. So what is TOS 7 exactly? During the device initialization, you are warned not to use it in a production environment, which we'll get into later. My contact told me that TOS 7 exits beta today, June 23. The clear difference with the F4-425 Plus is that it contains the more powerful N350 Intel CPU released in the first quarter of 2025, with support for DisplayPort 1.4, HDMI 2.1, LPDDR5 (4800), DDR5 and DDR4, and a max TDP of just 7W. It also supports AV1 decoding, as well as H.264, VP8, VP9, H.265 (8 bit), and H.265 (10 bit). The different capabilities in the Alder Lake-N (and Twin Lake) series are listed below. Processor E-cores L3-cache Turbo clock GPU GPU-clock TDP Intel N355 8 6 MB 3.9 GHz 32 EUs 1.35 GHz 9 W Intel Core 3 N350 3.9 GHz 1.35 GHz 7 W Intel Core i3-N305 3.8 GHz 1.25 GHz 9 W Intel Core i3-N300 3.8 GHz 1.25 GHz Intel N250 4 3.8 GHz 1.25 GHz 6 W Intel Processor N200 3.7 GHz 0.75 GHz Intel N150 3.6 GHz 24 EUs 1 GHz Intel N97 1.2 GHz 12 W Intel Processor N100 3.4 GHz 0.75 GHz 6 W The CPU is part of the Alder Lake-N series that sits just below the top N355 offering, albeit with an impressive TDP (less than the N355 and N305) for the features it offers. It is designed for low- powered systems and entry-level laptops. As before, we are seeing another NAS with an acceptable, if not great, amount of RAM. It should be noted that the F4-425 Pro only has one SODIMM slot, so if you are planning to upgrade the already 16GB included in this NAS, it will have to be on one module of Single Rank DDR5. As a reminder, up until a couple of years ago, it was commonplace to only get 2 or 4GB max on a flagship Synology or QNAP home NAS. Ever since the likes of TerraMaster and more have entered the market with ample RAM sizes included in their NAS offerings, it has gone a long way in forcing the hands of the traditional makers to up their game a bit. Before we dive in, you can view the different SKUs released so far since the 2025 series launched for Home and SMB users, with the most important specifications listed along with the MSRP listed below: SKU CPU Cores Memory Link Price F2-425 Intel N5095 4 4 GB DDR4 2.5 GbE x1 $249.99 F4-425 Intel N5095 4 4 GB DDR4 2.5 GbE x1 $369.99 F2-425 Plus Intel Core N150 4 8 GB DDR5 5 GbE x 2 $399.99 F4-425 Plus Intel Core N150 4 16 GB DDR5 5 GbE x 2 $569.99 F4-425 Pro Intel Core N305 8 8 GB DDR5 5 GbE x 2 $699.99 F4-425 Pro Intel Core N350 8 16 GB DDR5 5 GbE x 2 $799.99 The F2 in the product name means two 3.5-inch HDD bays, where F4 is four 2.5-inch bays. First impressions Like with the F8 SSD Plus packaging, the F4-425 Pro is using the upgraded box materials, which certainly look better than a plain cream colored box with TERRAMASTER stamped on the sides. The box gives off a premium feel and certainly adds a positive vibe to first impressions. In the box F4-425 Pro TNAS device Power adapter LAN cable (CAT 6) Quick guide [full online guide] Limited warranty notice Screws (for HDD bays) Stickers 2x rubber feet (spares) Design As has become kind of common with TerraMaster, certainly in the last three years, the 2025 F2- and F4-series have received a makeover that really adds to the premium feel of the NAS. Gone are the plastic shells, now replaced with an aluminum outer shell, with the front and back retaining the textured black plastic we saw on the 2024 models. Some key differences from the 2024 series include placing the power button back on the front, along with the addition of a Type A USB port. It's not much bigger or heavier either; in fact, it weighs 500 grams less than the F4-424 Pro. It's slightly shorter in height and depth (length), but only by a few millimeters. The front and back do retain a similar style to the 2024 series. On the front, you just have your four bays along with LED indicators for the HDDs and power. The welcomed change is having a USB port on the front for quick access, should you need to back up a USB drive, for example. Around the back, from top to bottom, you have a reset pin hole, an HDMI port, two 5 GbE Ethernet ports, two USB 3.2 Gen 2 (10 Gbps) Type A ports with a Type-C port below them, and a connector for the barrel port power source. Again, there's no Kensington Security Slot present, which is a bit of a shame considering it's a data storage device. Left side Right side On the left and right of the F4-425 Plus, it is completely smooth aluminum with a TERRAMASTER logo printed on both sides. On the bottom, there are some holes to assist ventilation. Unlike with the F4-425 Plus, the rubber feet did come unstuck during the teardown, which was also an issue on the 2023 series. It seems like other customers have lodged complaints about them, as TerraMaster now includes two spare rubber feet in the box, in case any of the preinstalled ones are lost; however, this seems more like a papering over the cracks solution rather than actually fixing the issue with better quality rubber stand-offs. There are also four screws that must be removed in order to access the internals. Teardown Upon removing the four screws, you can slide the device out of its shell to reveal the three NVMe M.2 slots (PCIe 3.0 X1) and single SODIMM slot connector, which is populated with a single 16GB DDR5 4800MT/s module. I added a couple of MP44Q M.2 PCIe 4.0 SSDs (2 x 4TB) that can be availed on Amazon for $492.99 that TEAMGROUP supplied us with, along with a 250GB 970 Evo Plus that my colleague Chris White sent me by accident and let me keep a few years ago. As I have said in previous reviews, TerraMaster support staff actually encourage installing whatever you want on their devices, and happily, the USB port for the bootloader is now easily accessible should you want to use it for your own flavor of NAS OS, such as TrueNAS, Unraid, or maybe Xpenology. Yes, because TerraMaster has now switched to a 256 GB NAND Flash card (3rd photo above) for the TOS bootloader. This is also replaceable, but you can also simply add a USB bootloader, access the BIOS, and tell the F4-425 Pro to boot from that instead of the Flash card. Unlike earlier iterations of TerraMaster NAS, you don't have to tear this down any further than the four screws on the outer shell in order to be able to access and manage the memory, NVMe slots, and USB bootloader. However, if you need to access the NAND Flash card or CMOS battery, then eight more screws (four on each side) need to be removed in order to take off the rear panel with the 120mm fan, and then the motherboard can be lifted off and removed from the SATA connector PCB. There's also no risk of threading the screw holes, because the four that hold the shell in place are metal on metal, while the screws that hold the rear panel on do screw into plastic. Either way, like last time when I reviewed the F4-425 plus, I was just happier to see larger screws being used. Overall, it follows some great improvements in build quality from the 2024 series and earlier. Setup BIOS The F4-425 Pro includes an Aptio BIOS from American Megatrends [1, 2], and you can setup pretty much everything here including the boot order, which is locked to the UEFI OS, however above that choice you can enable or disable booting to the USB bootloader so this would still allow you to switch to a USB stick with an alternative bootloader and boot from it, or disable it to instead always start from the first disk with an OS installed on it. Initial Setup Setup is roughly the same as the F4-425 Plus, along with the new TOS 7 setup dialogs, so there will be no surprises here. Upon connecting to the LAN and booting up, the F4-425 Pro can be reached by navigating to http://tnas.local. If that doesn't work, you can use the local address assigned via DHCP, which you can find using the TNAS PC desktop application, which is essentially a TerraMaster NAS finder. The setup process is pretty straightforward, through a wizard, and in full below: TOS 7 Initialization As you can see, TOS 7 received a new coat of paint, and the initialization requires fewer interactions. Happily, TOS no longer decides to throw all disks into the same Storage Pool; 2.5-inch HDDs are allocated into Storage Pool 1. This is because two of the HDDs are allocated to hold system files. Previously (with TOS 5 and 6), if you pre-installed HDDs and SSDs, they were all placed into Storage Pool 1, even if you did not select the SSDs for inclusion during the onboarding. TOS 7 Setup On first boot, there is a tutorial and some steps to take to harden the TNAS (or not), which includes an immediate update from TOS 7.0.0616 to 7.0.0706, of which the changelog screenshot is also included in the above gallery. It must be noted that the Security Advisor still contains (in my opinion) a pretty major bug in that if you enable SPC and then do the required rebooting, the Security Advisor still says that SPC is disabled. TerraMaster provided the following statement about it: It is disappointing that TOS 7 has been in beta since December, and this OOBE issue is still there. Shutdown option has moved Instead of a Taskbar option to manage the NAS, all of these options have been moved to the Control Panel, initially I did not see it and my contact had to show me how to power off the F4-425 Pro. To logout, reboot or power off you can find those controls at the top right of the Control Panel. It is also possible to power off through the TNAS mobile app beta. Storage setup Above, you can see the steps I took to create the Storage Pools and Volumes. I made a second Storage Pool using TRAID on two 4TB MP44Q SSDs (which, in this instance, is similar to RAID 5), and finally, I added the 250GB 970 Evo Plus drive as Hyper Cache on Storage Pool 1 in Balanced mode. Registering If you decide not to lock down the F4-425 Pro in Security Isolation Mode (blocking all external connections), then you could set up a TNAS device ID through the Remote Access setting in the Control Panel (which must be unique). This works in combination with an online TerraMaster account. TOS 7 TNAS Online Creating a TerraMaster account and linking the device online activates the warranty when you provide proof of purchase and the serial number, but it also gives you access through the TNAS mobile app, which allows you to complete certain operationsб including powering off and restarting the NAS remotely. A TNAS mobile update is required to gain access through TOS 7, and this is provided on the TerraMaster website, as it is not yet on Google Play. The app is evolving all the time and has made leaps and bounds since I first started reviewing TerraMaster devices almost three years ago. It is not quite there yet if you are comparing the likes of Synology, which, sadly, a lot of users online do all the time. OpenClaw setup One of the main selling points of the new F4-425 Pro is the inclusion of OpenClaw, with TerraMaster claiming that it is "powered by the world's first AI-native TOS 7 OS, supporting local-first smart workflows and independent data control." However, I immediately ran into problems trying to enable OpenClaw. After waiting 20 minutes at the "Enabling" message of the OpenClaw app following installation, I decided to do some searching online and discovered that it couldn't complete the installation process due to SPC being enabled, which is something TOS 7 immediately recommends to be enabled on first boot. SPC for NAS (TOS 7) is basically the same principle as UAC in Windows; it blocks executables from being launched by non-Super Users. After reaching out to my contact about these issues, I received the following response: Anyway, this only became clear when I closed the OpenClaw app screen and clicked on the OpenClaw icon in the taskbar; that is when I saw the message about disabling SPC. I think, due to the fact that this is a requirement, this should be a prompt during the installation process, not when closing the App Market and then trying to launch OpenClaw. There's also no 'Getting started' guide for people like me who have never used OpenClaw. I tried to add an LLM and discovered the tutorial led nowhere. That's when I started looking around the official TerraMaster forums, and I found a guide that helpfully explains that you won't get anywhere with OpenClaw unless you have a paid plan, which is disappointing because I imagined there would be an option to use a local LLM as I do in SubtitleEdit with Whisper-XXL. In addition, with the marketing imagery on the official site, it says that the OpenClaw feature is "all processed 100% locally for absolute privacy." which led me to believe that I could install a local LLM, not one that required paid tokens. In any case, TerraMaster does not provide guidance for this new feature, which was also a selling point of the F4-425 Pro! My contact also provided clarification about the above points I raised with TerraMaster Since it is not in the scope of the review to add paid services, I'll leave that to the people who are more qualified with OpenClaw. F4-425 Pro Surveillance App TOS also comes with a Surveillance app, which is not installed by default; it can be found in the App Market recommended section. In addition, after installing, it doesn't drop a shortcut on the Desktop or top taskbar, but you can "Send to Desktop" from the App Market listing for the app for a quick way to open it. Adding my Reolink POE doorbell camera was painless. TerraMaster doesn't appear to have a repository of preconfigured cameras; instead, the camera must be added using ONVIF or RTSP. No mobile Surveillance app TerraMaster still doesn't have a dedicated Surveillance app, although from searching online, Surveillance can be used and managed through the TNAS mobile app. I tried this with the updated TNAS mobile app beta in combination with TOS 7 and got a message that Surveillance was "Only accessible through web browser," so I reckon this must be limited to the stable versions of TOS 6 and the mobile app. More quirks In addition, whenever I minimized the Live View window in the browser Surveillance app, the feed appeared to switch to the Low-bandwidth stream, and there was no way to get the High-quality stream back. To get the High-quality stream back, I had to close Live View and then reopen it. Benchmarking A pretty cool feature of the TOS 7 is that it allows you to install directly to the NVMe M.2 SSD. In order to do that, you would have to leave out any HDDs during initialization, and even then, the system partitions are always written to two HDDs when they are eventually added. With three NVMe slots, this also gives an interesting scenario where you could build a TRAID storage Pool for installing all your apps and Docker on, and keep the third for SSD cache on the HDD pool. Limitless options! SATA PCIe 3.0 X1 A CrystalDiskMark test on a mapped network drive from within a Windows 11 25H2 PC (image above) connected over a 5 GbE hub was well within acceptable ranges. Although the read result on SATA was a little less than with the F4-425 Plus, for some reason, while writes were generally better. SATA PCIe 3.0 X1 I also ran the NAS Performance tester, which tests the link speed performance. As you can see, it pretty much maxes out the 5GbE connection. Of course, you can also opt to bond the two 5 GbE connections for a bit more umph, but I didn't do that. TOS 7, which, as of testing, is still in Beta, comes with an App Center that has a bunch of handy programs you can install right off the bat, such as Emby, Plex, Docker, as well as in-house Backup and Surveillance solutions. As you can imagine, any media streaming services you would want to host off the F4-425 Pro will work great, thanks to the Intel Core N350 CPU and its 16 GB of DDR5 memory. Accessing from mobile is only possible if Security Isolation Mode is disabled, which can put your NAS at risk from external sources, so there was no way to access it from the TNAS Mobile app. It's also quiet. I had this sat next to my computer on my work desk for the past week, and I did wonder if the noise I was accustomed to with NAS devices would annoy me, but all I could hear was a soft whirring of the rear fan (which was a little annoying) when the disks were not actively copying or reading data. Conclusion So what have I learned? Unfortunately, this release raises a few important questions and concerns that I feel haven't been adequately addressed. What I didn't like Our variant shipped with TOS 7 beta, and it's advised not to use it in a production environment. I feel that's a bit limiting on an $800 device. The mobile app is also still in beta and does not support some of the first-party apps, like Surveillance, and it still has quite a few bugs. I am a bit confused about the OpenClaw marketing along with the F4-425 Pro. I feel like that if it's going to be a main selling point, then offer official guidance on how to get started with it. TerraMaster recommends enabling SPC, but then markets the NAS for use with OpenClaw, which requires disabling SPC to be able to use it, opening up genuine security concerns for the NAS; and that's before you get into the security concerns of OpenClaw itself. Of course, the above issues won't be a problem if you decide to install something else on it, or even go back to the stable TOS 6. I wish TerraMaster had just given TOS 7 as opt-in rather than shipping with it. TOS 7 has been available as a preview since December 2025 (so well before my last TerraMaster review), and according to a thread on Reddit where a user shared a screenshot from the TerraMaster Facebook page, it is scheduled to launch today, June 23, but there's nothing about that in the TerraMaster news blog. My contact confirmed over email that TOS 7 exits beta today. The rubber feet also deserve a mention as they continue to be a problem, with them coming unstuck the moment you shift the F4-425 Pro anywhere on your desk. What I liked What it comes down to, though, aside from what I already mentioned, you are still getting a quality, affordable device here, so recommending it will depend on the individual's use case. If you're just looking for a relatively small NAS device to manage virtual machines on, backup your files, and take care of your home theater streaming, then it is a great device that will certainly futureproof you for some time. It provides good performance, takes up little space, and is, on the whole, very quiet. Four bays afford proper redundancy using TRAID or RAID 5, and you can even expand on storage capacity by adding the 2-bay D5, or 4-bay D8 Hybrid DAS over a USB 3.2 (10Gbps) link. Considering the 2024 releases were more about power, with the likes of an Intel Core i5-1235U high-end laptop CPU under the hood, I asked my contact last time if we could expect more of the same in higher-end models and was told: It makes a lot of sense to use Intel's N350 chip inside a NAS; it is more than capable of doing what the F4-425 Pro is intended for, media streaming and backup. The only downside is still the clear lack of community and even staff support on the official forums. In the past, I have had topics go unanswered for days, or there would be generic-type "we've noted this and passed it onto our developer team" type responses. Along with the other things I mentioned, it all ends up costing it a couple of points. If you are comfortable with the command line, Docker, and setting up TrueNAS or Unraid, you'll be fine. You can do great things with this hardware. In TOS, the apps are a bit lacking, and things don't always work as expected.\ AI NAS?! What has become clear to me this year is that we are going to start seeing all kinds of "AI NAS" come to market, and while that might be good for us consumers, be diligent and research these claims. Although the F4-425 Pro technically comes with AI, it is really using a cloud service that is externally sourced off-device through the third party OpenClaw app. My colleague did review a newcomer to the NAS space earlier this year, and it includes a local AI assistant inside the Zettlab D4 NAS, and they do not even use AI in the product name, check out Chris' review here. Where to buy and a discount coupon However, it does not change the fact that this is truly a great entry-level home media-class NAS that you can buy right now. TerraMaster is having a 20% off launch discount, plus you can also still apply our unique 10% off coupon on checkout, which only works on the official website. So here is a breakdown of the pricing that is only valid on the official TerraMaster website. TerraMaster F4-425 Pro (N350) + 20% discount + 10% coupon = $575.99 TerraMaster F4-425 Pro (N305) + 20% discount + 10% coupon = $503.99 TerraMaster F4-425 Pro (N350) + 20% discount + 10% coupon = £525.59 TerraMaster F4-425 Pro (N305) + 20% discount + 10% coupon = £460.79 Use NEOWIN coupon code during checkout for 10% discount Over on Amazon US and UK, the F4-425 Pro also gets a 20% launch discount, but here, the above 10% coupon cannot be applied. TerraMaster F4-425 Pro (N350) for $639.99 at Amazon US (was $799.99) TerraMaster F4-425 Pro (N305) for $559.99 at Amazon US (was $699.99) TerraMaster F4-425 Pro (N350) for £583.99 at Amazon UK (was £729.99) TerraMaster F4-425 Pro (N305) for £511.99 at Amazon UK (was £639.99) As an Amazon Associate, when you purchase through links on our site, we earn from qualifying purchases.
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