Upgrading the QNAP TS-470 NAS -

Upgrading the QNAP TS-470 NAS - Processor and RAM

Shopping List:

1. QNAP TS-470 NAS - http://www.amazon.com/QNAP-TS-470-4-Bay-iSCSI-10GbE-ready/dp/B00EE18MZG/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402894956&sr=8-1&keywords=qnap+ts-470

2. Intel 3770T I7 processor - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008ACVF9A/ref=oh_details_o00_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

3. Arctic Silver 5 cpu grease - http://www.amazon.com/Arctic-Silver-Thermal-Compound-Grams/dp/B000OGX5AM/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402895001&sr=8-1&keywords=arctic+5

4. Arcticlean solution - http://www.amazon.com/ArctiClean-60ml-Kit-30ml/dp/B0007TOR08/ref=pd_sim_pc_8?ie=UTF8&refRID=0AZZ21BF4KSY1ASJ1J36

5. 16 gigs SO-DIMM memory - http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B008TYIEVQ/ref=oh_details_o04_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Before Upgrading:

I would recommend that if you are upgrading a brand new NAS you want to make sure it is working before you crack the case. Doing this upgrade will VOID you warranty so you don't want to upgrade a broken box only to find out after the upgrade. Therefore I installed the latest firmware to QTS 4.1.x, installed my SSD's, created volumes and copied data back and forth to the NAS. Very limited testing but I knew before I started the upgrade that the box booted, the back-plane worked and the network cards worked.

Here is how I did the upgrade:

1. Remove all hard drives before starting.

2. Remove the 3 screws on the back side of the device picture below. Pry the cover back by inserting a flat head screw driver under the lip of the cover and gently work the screw driver around, if you don't keep moving the screw driver you will end up bending the list. Keep working the screw driver until the cover moves back freely and then lift the cover off.

3. Next remove the screws for the power supply and the screw holding in the network adapter. Once the screws are removed you can move the power supply to then unplug the network card. Pictures below.

4. Remove the rest of the screws in the back panel. You will need a really small Philips screwdriver to remove the black screw between the audio connectors. Remove the screws on the side of the back panel and the screws on the bottom of the back panel as pictured below.

5. Unplug the fan and then remove the back cover completely.

6. Cut the zip tie holding the power connector to the hard drive back plane in place.

7. Remove the power connector.

8. Remove the three screws holding the heat sink and the back plane in place.

9. Using a long Philips screw driver remove the two screws holding the bottom of the back plane.

10. Slide the back plain out.

11. Remove the 4 screws holding in the motherboard. The upper left is covered with a warranty sticker. Once that is removed there is no going back. Your warranty will be void.

12. At this point the power supply is still connected to the motherboard. I was able to slide the motherboard out the back of the chassis about two inches until the heat sink had cleared the chassis. Then I pulled the motherboard (if facing the NAS from the back) to the right and free it from the chassis. I then laid the chassis face down and laid the motherboard on it’s back and the power supply was to the side still connected. If you are concerned you will snap a cable you can unplug power supply from the motherboard.

13. Gently remove the dimm(s) by moving each of the metal tabs outward until the dimm releases and then move the dimm up to a 45 degree angle and remove.

14. Here is the new Intel Quad Core I7 3770T CPU. Notice the triangle in the lower left hand corner of the green border. That needs to align with the same orientation and the cpu that is removed which will have the same triangle which shows you how to orient the cpu.

15. Loosen the 4 screws holding the cpu heat pipe until they spring up. Then pull off the cpu heat sink.

16. Push the retention lever down and then move it from under the frame of the cpu holder and then lift if up to allow you to release the cpu holder.

17. Notice where the triangle is on the old cpu. Then remove the old cpu and place the new cpu in the same orientation.

18. Replace the retention bracket. Make sure the front of the bracket is hooking under the screw and the back of the bracket as the retention bar in place. Then push the retention bar down and slip it back under the retention frame.

19. Clean the surface of the heat sink. Using ArctiClean solution works really well. I misplaced my solution so I used a few paper towels and that worked fine.

20. Squirt some of the Arctive Silver 5 Thermal compound in the middle of the cpu.

21. Using a small firm piece of plastic, or razor blade (I used the top cover edge of my Kingston memory kit) to spread the grease around to cover the entire cpu. You want the layer as thin as possible while covering the whole cpu.

22. Place the heat sink back on top and screw in the screws. Screw them in a pattern of opposite each other and start with screwing them in half way and then all the way, but do not just screw them in starting in one corner and working your way around. If you do the screws opposite each other you will get a better bond between the cpu and the heatsink.

23. Insert the new dimms into their sockets by inserting them at a 45 degree angle until the contacts are all the way in and then press them down to lock them into the socket, one after the other.

24. Start assembly by reversing your steps.

25. Return the motherboard, plastic guard and screw the motherboard into place.

26. Return the backplane and screw it in with the heat sink.

27. Plug the power supply back into the back plane.

28. Thread the fan connector back through the chassis and screw the back cover back on.

29. Plug in the network card and screw in the retention screw

30. Put the power supply back in place and screw in the power supply.

31. Place the cover back on the chassis and screw in your final 3 screws

GO TO: You can read about my goals here.

GO TO: Why did I upgrade?

GOTO: You can see the testing I did before I did the upgrade here.

GOTO: You can see how I upgraded the TS-470 from the basic model to what some have dubbed the Ultimate model, however I would argue more like the “best for security and performance“ model.

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