Asustor FLASHSTOR 12 Pro Gen 2 (FS6812X)

[Enquiries]

I can't find a single video online demonstrating video editing with the Asustor FLASHSTOR 12 Pro Gen 2 (FS6812X). I can see people talking about it but no one has used it. I don't know why that is. Can you tell me how it actually performs when editing videos and also how it would work?

[ed]

Thanks for getting in touch. You’re absolutely right — there’s been a surprising lack of hands-on video editing tests with the Asustor FLASHSTOR 12 Pro Gen 2 (FS6812X), even though it clearly targets that kind of workload. I’ve spent some time testing similar systems and can give you a breakdown of what to expect from this unit based on its hardware and intended use.

The FS6812X is built entirely around NVMe SSDs, and that makes a big difference for video editing, especially when working with large 4K+ footage. With 12 x M.2 NVMe bays, you can push it well beyond 10GB/s in internal performance depending on the SSDs you install. It also comes with a 10GbE port out of the box, which allows real-time editing over the network if your workstation also supports 10GbE. This is one of the few desktop NAS units that can deliver the bandwidth needed to work directly from the NAS with high bitrate media, assuming you’re using a fast enough switch and editing machine.

In terms of workflow, there are two main ways to use it. The first is to mount the NAS over 10GbE using SMB or NFS and treat it like local storage from within your NLE (like Premiere, Resolve, or Final Cut via macOS network mounting). The second is to use it as a local clone and sync your project assets from your workstation to the NAS at the end of the day for redundancy and collaboration. The FS6812X is fast enough for both options, but direct editing requires matching its speed with a good network card and SSDs in your client system too.

Performance-wise, the CPU inside is an Intel N6005. It’s not a powerhouse but for storage I/O and handling simultaneous 4K files it’s more than adequate when the actual editing load is being handled by your workstation. If you plan to run heavy Docker workloads or virtual machines on it at the same time, then it might feel underpowered. But for video editors looking to build a super-fast shared storage space, it’s absolutely capable. You will want to pair it with high-end Gen3 or Gen4 NVMe SSDs though, and ideally the same model to get optimal RAID performance.

If your budget is around $2000 excluding drives, you’re in a solid spot. The unit itself is about $1200–1300 diskless depending on region, which leaves headroom for 4TB or even 8TB drives depending on how much total storage you need. You’ll want to factor in cooling and endurance as well — enterprise-grade SSDs like the Seagate FireCuda 530 or Kingston DC1500M perform better under sustained write workloads than consumer-grade options.