Minisforum N5 AI NAS Barebone (Cert Refurb): Ryzen 7 255, 128GB Storage, 3x22110 PCIe SSD, 5x 2.5/3.5" SATA 3 Bay, USB4, OCuLink, 10G+5G Lan, MinisClound OS @ $439 + F/S

vd853

Feb 27, 2026 04:15 PM

1,474 Posts

Joined Feb 2008

vd853Feb 27, 2026 04:15 PM

1,474 Posts

Quote from SlickCrayon1512

:

Minisforum sold me a refurbished 795s7 32gb 2tb, it stopped working last month, they said I can get a replacement by shipping the defect one back to them on my cost. They took my unit for a month, told me it's non repairable, and told me that I can get a 5 year old $300 junk pc (11900hk, no ssd or memory) as a replacement because "they are comparable value". I refused, and they said there is nothing they can do and also won't return my original defective unit back.

I have written to my senator for a request of ban on minisforum. I hope you all do the same. Raise not only the long term shady practice, but also the national security concerns.

I have been building PCs and laptops from 1990s, and have never ever seen company being like this in China before I moved to Texas. This is a freaking world class joke. I have purchased hundreds if not thousands of PCs from all brands, and even GMKtec is doing better.

fark minisforum.

This is why I save myself the trouble and just build a truenas from older pc.

jmandawg

Feb 27, 2026 04:16 PM

1,714 Posts

Joined Jan 2006

jmandawgFeb 27, 2026 04:16 PM

1,714 Posts

Quote from SlickCrayon1512

:

Minisforum sold me a refurbished 795s7 32gb 2tb, it stopped working last month, they said I can get a replacement by shipping the defect one back to them on my cost. They took my unit for a month, told me it's non repairable, and told me that I can get a 5 year old $300 junk pc (11900hk, no ssd or memory) as a replacement because "they are comparable value". I refused, and they said there is nothing they can do and also won't return my original defective unit back.

I have written to my senator for a request of ban on minisforum. I hope you all do the same. Raise not only the long term shady practice, but also the national security concerns.

I have been building PCs and laptops from 1990s, and have never ever seen company being like this in China before I moved to Texas. This is a freaking world class joke. I have purchased hundreds if not thousands of PCs from all brands, and even GMKtec is doing better.

fark minisforum.

comeon guys, when you buy these cheap chinese mini PCs shipped from china, you know what your getting yourself into. If not then you should not be buying them. no bios updates, no. replacement parts, no support, no warranty..... everyone gets fooled by the likes of ETAPrime and other youtubers reviews.

2

edgarwong

Feb 27, 2026 05:14 PM

1,147 Posts

Joined Jun 2012

edgarwongFeb 27, 2026 05:14 PM

1,147 Posts

Our community has rated this post as helpful. If you agree, why not thank edgarwong

i'd get something like the Ubiquiti's UNAS PRO. (7) bays from $499 as storage. Then do a mac mini or old low power PC as the compute if you need to run ARR's, VMs, LXCs etc.
https://store.ui.com/us/en/catego...?s=us&l=en

2

1

StrongDesk6816

Feb 27, 2026 05:33 PM

41 Posts

Joined Nov 2024

StrongDesk6816Feb 27, 2026 05:33 PM

41 Posts

Quote from leecewest

:

The one time I ordered a refurbished item from Minisforum it was obviously defective.

I had a similar experience with a refurb unit. It wouldn't even post. Thankfully I did get a full refund.

1

cuoreesitante

Feb 27, 2026 07:44 PM

2,078 Posts

Joined Aug 2008

cuoreesitanteFeb 27, 2026 07:44 PM

2,078 Posts

Got one. Been looking for a new NAS to replace an aging Qnap unit with a celeron, and this will do nicely.

Will probaby put Proxmox on it and make it a cluster with my existing miniPC, and run Truenas or something on a VM to connect the drives.

Now if I can get a deal on some ram that'd be great

leecewest

Mar 02, 2026 05:25 AM

170 Posts

Joined Mar 2011

leecewestMar 02, 2026 05:25 AM

170 Posts

Quote from StrongDesk6816

:

I had a similar experience with a refurb unit. It wouldn't even post. Thankfully I did get a full refund.

Mine had a screw loose, freely rattling inside the case. I removed the screw and tried booting the PC but it wouldn't post. I found where the screw belonged and screwed it in, then the PC would post but the PC would crash every 5 to 10 minutes. I think Minisforum doesn't even check their returns, they send them out as "refurbished" and let their customers confirm defects.

1

edgarwong

Mar 03, 2026 03:52 PM

1,147 Posts

Joined Jun 2012

edgarwongMar 03, 2026 03:52 PM

1,147 Posts

Quote from cuoreesitante

:

Got one. Been looking for a new NAS to replace an aging Qnap unit with a celeron, and this will do nicely.

Will probaby put Proxmox on it and make it a cluster with my existing miniPC, and run Truenas or something on a VM to connect the drives.

Now if I can get a deal on some ram that'd be great

I run proxmox on mine and setup ZFS and Cockpit LXC to manage file sharing etc so I dont have to run truenas; ZFS just runs natively

biker1284

Mar 03, 2026 05:19 PM

262 Posts

Joined Jan 2011

biker1284Mar 03, 2026 05:19 PM

262 Posts

I got a minisforum ms01 refurb last summer/fall. Looked new and no issues (so far) working as a light duty home server. I'd say they're worth the risk if price is right.

cuoreesitante

Mar 03, 2026 07:45 PM

2,078 Posts

Joined Aug 2008

cuoreesitanteMar 03, 2026 07:45 PM

2,078 Posts

Quote from edgarwong

:

I run proxmox on mine and setup ZFS and Cockpit LXC to manage file sharing etc so I dont have to run truenas; ZFS just runs natively

Interesting. Never heard of Cockpit before (I'm pretty new to Proxmox stuff), whats the benefit of running that isntead of something like TrueNAS?

Minisforum N5 AI NAS Barebone (Cert Refurb): Ryzen 7 255, 128GB Storage, 3x22110 PCIe SSD, 5x 2.5/3.5" SATA 3 Bay, USB4, OCuLink, 10G+5G Lan, MinisClound OS @ $439 + F/S

$439

$499

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