Four-bay NAS devices typically come with x86 processors and price tags to match, but LincPlus is taking a different approach with the LincStation E1. Built around a Rockchip RK3568 quad-core Arm Cortex-A55 chip, the E1 squeezes two SATA hard drive bays and two M.2 2280 SSD slots into a chassis measuring just 21.9 x 8.8 x 14 cm (8.6 x 3.5 x 5.5 inches), supporting up to 76TB of total storage. The M.2 slots are limited to PCIe 3.0 x1 speeds, but for a device aimed squarely at home backup and media serving duties, that should be adequate for most workloads.
The E1 ships with 4GB of RAM, 64GB of eMMC for its operating system, and a single Gigabit Ethernet port. Connectivity rounds out with one USB 3.2 Gen 1 Type-A port at 5 Gbps, two USB 2.0 ports, HDMI 2.1 output, WiFi 5, and Bluetooth 5. A tool-free design lets users swap drives without reaching for a screwdriver, and active fan cooling keeps the ARM chip in check.
One thing worth noting for the self-hosting crowd: the E1 runs a custom OS called LincOS rather than something like Unraid or TrueNAS. LincOS covers the basics including file backup, media serving, and remote access, and it includes Docker support, meaning open-source self-hosted apps like Jellyfin can be deployed alongside the built-in services. The 4GB RAM ceiling does put a practical cap on how many containers can run concurrently, and the ARM architecture makes swapping in an alternative operating system considerably more involved than it would be on an x86-based NAS. The device is launching through a Kickstarter campaign with early bird pricing starting at $129 (€119), with retail pricing expected around $219 (€201).
