Main trade-off
ASUSTOR Nimbustor 2 Gen2
Two SATA bays restrict the internal hard-drive array.
Head-to-head
ASUSTOR AS5402T vs AS5404T: Four NVMe slots fit both, only 5404T holds four hard drives
The short answer
Choose AS5402T if two hard drives cover your storage plan and you want the narrower case. Choose AS5404T for a larger hard-drive array or two-drive fault tolerance with RAID 6. Both already have four NVMe slots, the same processor family and dual 2.5GbE, so those features do not require the larger chassis.
Before you choose
The reasoning and the trade-offs
Four hard drives can triple one-drive-protected capacity
With compatible equal 12 TB drives, two-drive RAID 1 offers 12 TB before overhead. Four-drive RAID 5 offers 36 TB before overhead. AS5404T therefore gives three times the illustrative usable capacity while tolerating one drive failure, at the cost of buying two more drives.
What this is based on
RAID 1: 2 × 12 TB mirrored = 12 TB. RAID 5: (4 - 1) × 12 TB = 36 TB. 36 / 12 = 3. Separate backup remains necessary.
Main trade-off
ASUSTOR Nimbustor 4 Gen2
The chassis is 60 mm wider.
ASUSTOR Nimbustor 2 Gen2
- Choose it for
- Keep a two-hard-drive setup in a narrower case
- Build an NVMe project without buying extra SATA bays
- Main trade-off
- Two SATA bays restrict the internal hard-drive array.
ASUSTOR Nimbustor 4 Gen2
- Choose it for
- Use three or four hard drives in a larger protected array
- Configure four hard drives with RAID 6 protection
- Main trade-off
- The chassis is 60 mm wider.
About this comparison
ASUSTOR AS5402T vs AS5404T for family storage, Plex and SSD projects. See how two extra hard-drive bays change usable capacity without adding faster networking.
Choose AS5402T if two hard drives cover your storage plan and you want the narrower case. Choose AS5404T for a larger hard-drive array or two-drive fault tolerance with RAID 6. Both already have four NVMe slots, the same processor family and dual 2.5GbE, so those features do not require the larger chassis.
Winner by situation
Start with what you need it to do
Two mirrored hard drives cover my capacity needs
AS5402T covers that layout with a narrower enclosure.
- ASUSTOR Nimbustor 2 Gen2
- Better fit
- ASUSTOR Nimbustor 4 Gen2
- Good
I want four hard drives with RAID 6
AS5404T has the four SATA bays required for that internal hard-drive array.
- ASUSTOR Nimbustor 2 Gen2
- Not suitable
- ASUSTOR Nimbustor 4 Gen2
- Better fit
I want four NVMe drives
Both have four M.2 positions. Check compatible drives and the intended storage configuration.
- ASUSTOR Nimbustor 2 Gen2
- Good
- ASUSTOR Nimbustor 4 Gen2
- Good
I want a faster individual Ethernet port
Both supply 2.5GbE ports. The larger chassis does not upgrade their link rate.
- ASUSTOR Nimbustor 2 Gen2
- Similar
- ASUSTOR Nimbustor 4 Gen2
- Similar
What matters in practice
The differences that matter
Four hard drives can triple one-drive-protected capacity
With compatible equal 12 TB drives, two-drive RAID 1 offers 12 TB before overhead. Four-drive RAID 5 offers 36 TB before overhead. AS5404T therefore gives three times the illustrative usable capacity while tolerating one drive failure, at the cost of buying two more drives.
How we reached this conclusion
RAID 1: 2 × 12 TB mirrored = 12 TB. RAID 5: (4 - 1) × 12 TB = 36 TB. 36 / 12 = 3. Separate backup remains necessary.
Two-drive protection changes the hard-drive plan
Four 12 TB hard drives in RAID 6 provide 24 TB before overhead and tolerate two drive failures. AS5402T cannot build that four-hard-drive array internally. Its four NVMe slots are a separate storage option, not extra hard-drive bays.
How we reached this conclusion
RAID 6 usable capacity is (4 - 2) × 12 TB = 24 TB. The SATA bay counts are 2 and 4.
An all-NVMe plan gets no extra slots from the bigger model
If your project uses only NVMe drives, both models provide four positions. The four-bay version adds 60 mm of case width without increasing that slot count. The smaller chassis can therefore meet the same four-NVMe layout.
How we reached this conclusion
4 NVMe slots on each model. 174 - 114 = 60 mm additional case width on AS5404T.
Choice A
ASUSTOR, AS5402T
ASUSTOR Nimbustor 2 Gen2
The chassis has 2-bay storage. Its fastest documented network path is 2.5 Gbps.
- Best matched use
- Keep a two-hard-drive setup in a narrower case
Checked facts
- Internal SATA bays: 2
- NVMe slots: 4
- Processor: Intel Celeron N5105
- Installed / maximum RAM: 4 GB / 16 GB
Choice B
ASUSTOR, AS5404T
ASUSTOR Nimbustor 4 Gen2
The chassis has 4-bay storage. Its fastest documented network path is 2.5 Gbps.
- Best matched use
- Use three or four hard drives in a larger protected array
Checked facts
- Internal SATA bays: 4
- NVMe slots: 4
- Processor: Intel Celeron N5105
- Installed / maximum RAM: 4 GB / 16 GB
Meaningful differences
What changes the fit
| What changes | ASUSTOR Nimbustor 2 Gen2 | ASUSTOR Nimbustor 4 Gen2 | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|---|
| Internal SATA bays | 2 | 4 | The larger model can use more hard drives in one internal array. |
| NVMe slots | 4 | 4 | Moving up does not add NVMe positions. |
| Processor | Intel Celeron N5105 | Intel Celeron N5105 | The CPU specification is shared. A higher model number does not establish more transcoding capacity. |
| Installed / maximum RAM | 4 GB / 16 GB | 4 GB / 16 GB | Both have the same official memory ceiling. |
| Built-in Ethernet | Two 2.5GbE ports | Two 2.5GbE ports | The upgrade does not raise the speed of an individual network port. |
| Case width | 114 mm | 174 mm | The four-bay chassis needs 60 mm more width. Height and depth are the same in the datasheets. |
What you give up
Every choice has a cost
If you choose ASUSTOR Nimbustor 2 Gen2
- A larger hard-drive pool may require replacing the enclosure later.
If you choose ASUSTOR Nimbustor 4 Gen2
- It adds no NVMe slots, RAM ceiling or faster built-in Ethernet.
Recommendation switch
The decision flips if...
I need four internal hard drives
Choose ASUSTOR Nimbustor 4 Gen2. Only AS5404T provides four SATA bays.
I need four NVMe slots and no more than two SATA drives
Choose ASUSTOR Nimbustor 2 Gen2. AS5402T covers that slot layout in a narrower case.
I need native 10GbE
Choose neither. Both have built-in 2.5GbE rather than 10GbE.
What matters in practice
How to make the call
Choose the protected capacity before the enclosure
Start with the files you need to retain, expected growth and a separate backup copy. Two large mirrored hard drives may be enough for a household. A growing video archive can make four bays more economical to expand, but the purchase includes more drives and a wider case.
Keep hard-drive and NVMe plans separate
The AS5402T name can make it sound limited to two storage devices. It also has four NVMe positions. Those slots are useful for compatible SSD storage or caching, but they cannot accept large SATA hard drives. Decide which medium the workload needs before using total slot count as a shortcut.
Do not buy more bays to fix a slow network
Both models have dual 2.5GbE. A computer still connected through a 1GbE switch remains constrained by that path. More drives may help a storage workload, but they cannot make the slow network segment disappear. Check the client, switch and cabling before paying for a larger chassis to solve a transfer-speed problem.
What this comparison cannot tell you
- Storage calculations use equal-capacity compatible drives and decimal TB before formatting, system space and metadata. RAID protects against specified drive failures but does not replace a separate backup.
- Network figures are link rates rather than measured file-transfer speeds. Software support, memory revision, drive compatibility and the rest of the network must be checked for the exact purchase.
What the facts say
What the comparison shows
Useful conclusions from the current NAS devices comparison, followed by the checked facts used to reach them.
See the checked facts and calculation notes
| Product | Needs matched | Checked facts | Source records |
|---|---|---|---|
| ASUSTOR Nimbustor 2 Gen2 |
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| ASUSTOR Nimbustor 4 Gen2 |
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Ready to choose?
Check the price. Read the owner reviews.
Open either model on Amazon to check the current price, customer reviews and delivery options.
ASUSTOR Nimbustor 2 Gen2
Keep a two-hard-drive setup in a narrower case
See price & reviews on AmazonASUSTOR Nimbustor 4 Gen2
Use three or four hard drives in a larger protected array
See price & reviews on AmazonLinks open in a new tab.