Patriot Valkyrie Dual Bay NAS

Product: Patriot PCNASVK35S2 Dual Bay NAS
Provided By: Patriot Memory
Price: Find Lowest Price Here

Introduction:

It's been quite a while since I have fell in love with a dual-bay NAS storage solution.  My long-standing choice has been the D-Link DNS-323 because it just works.  Today we are taking a look at another dual-bay unit that features a pair of USB ports, a Gigabit connection and hot-swap bays for two of your favorite 3.5" hard drives.  The Patriot Valkyrie arrives on the scene over two years since D-Link has launched their solution so we hope that this has been worth the wait.  For those of you that have an existing NAS, we'll take a look at some of the features of this device.  If you don't yet have a Network Attached Storage system, you'll also want to check out the review and see what Patriot - a memory company - brings to the storage market.

Box Front

Box Back

The two biggest reasons for an external storage solution such as the Patriot Valkyrie are data backup and convenient sharing.  Instead of opening shares on your main machine which may open you to security risks, you can share files on a remote device and keep your computer locked down.  Also, if you backup regularly and your PC has a drive fail, you will have your data saved on an external device and this will save you thousands of dollars in drive recovery costs.  The reasons are great and the cost is quite small so let's dive in and see what is included with the Valkyrie.

Bundle:

The Patriot Valkyrie comes in a nice sleek box and looks pretty professional.  It comes very well packaged and unless Jim Carey is delivering for UPS, your drive shouldn't arrived damaged.

 
Bundle

The box contains the dual-bay enclosure, a power adapter, software CD, quick install guide and a network cable.  The Valkyrie supports 10/100/1000 base networks and the cable appears to be up to the task.  It's a 6' Cat. 5E cable and should be good enough for most close applications.

Closer Look:

This enclosure looks pretty slick and although it feels lighter than the DNS-323, it still feels very solid.  It looks very slick and has a metal body with a plastic front.  It looks very professional and the metal body helps transfer heat from hard drives better than plastic units.

 
Valkyrie Profile

The overall finish of the Valkyrie is very professional and there is really nothing to complain about in regards to its presentation.

The drive area is hidden from view by a dark tinted plastic door that makes up for most of the front of the NAS.  Along the left side are HDD activity LEDs.  The top of the front contains the power LED, LAN activity LED, as well as USB I and USB II Activity LEDs.  There is also a power button, backup button and a USB port along the top.  You can also see some front ventilation on the right side of the door.  This should help keep things cool.

Valkyrie Front

Valkyrie Rear

The back of the Valkyrie is not all that interesting.  There is a second USB port that can be used for either a printer or a USB storage device - including the Thermaltake BlackX (Tested).  As you can see there is a Ethernet port, power connector, reset button and a cooling fan.  I'm not all that excited to see a fan on this device.  That being said, drives get hot and need ventilation, but I hope that the fan is reasonably quiet.  A loud NAS can make it one of the most irritating devices in the office.

Before we take a look at drive installation, we'll cover the list of features and specifications on the next page.