Minisforum N5 Pro vs Zettlab D6 Ultra
Updated
Which should you buy?
Both take up to 96GB of DDR5, so they hold the same model sizes. The Minisforum N5 Pro has the stronger processor and a 50 TOPS NPU and is on sale in the UK; the Zettlab D6 Ultra has six bays, dual 10GbE and a ready-made local assistant, but had not shipped to the UK by October 2026.
What is the difference between the N5 Pro and the D6 Ultra?
This is the closest match among the upgradeable-memory AI NAS systems we track. Both accept up to 96GB of DDR5 SO-DIMMs, so both can hold 70B class models at 4-bit when fully populated (Estimated).
The N5 Pro has the stronger compute: a 12-core Ryzen AI 9 HX PRO 370 with Radeon 890M graphics and a 50 TOPS NPU, against the D6 Ultra's 14-core Core Ultra 5 125H with Arc graphics and an 11 TOPS NPU. The N5 Pro also supports ECC memory and offers two GPU routes, OCuLink and a PCIe slot wired at x4.
The D6 Ultra has the more complete storage side: six bays to five, and two 10GbE ports where the N5 Pro has one 10GbE and one 5GbE. Its ZettOS ships a local assistant with downloadable models, while MinisCloud OS is younger and many N5 Pro owners install another operating system.
Availability decides it for most UK buyers. The N5 Pro is sold through Minisforum's UK store and Amazon UK; the D6 Ultra was a sold-out pre-order with no UK shipping when we checked.
Choose the Minisforum N5 Pro if
You want the fastest processor and NPU in a compact AI NAS, ECC memory support and the choice of an external GPU dock, and you want to buy in the UK today. You are comfortable choosing and installing an operating system.
Choose the Zettlab D6 Ultra if
You want six bays, two 10GbE ports and an assistant that works without setup, and you can wait for the Ultra models to ship and import one. ECC memory and the strongest NPU are less important to you.
How do the specifications compare?
Every figure comes from the system's own record, with sources on each system page. The better figure in each row is marked.
Price
Compute
Memory
Storage
Connectivity
Software
AI
Other
Which can run bigger local models?
Both top out at 96GB of memory, so on paper they hold the same model sizes: 70B class models at 4-bit with room left for longer context (Estimated). The difference is speed, which depends on the processor, graphics and memory bandwidth rather than capacity.
For GPU acceleration, the Minisforum N5 Pro offers oculink (external gpu), while the Zettlab D6 Ultra offers pcie x8 slot. A discrete card with its own memory is the biggest single speed upgrade for local models, so this matters more than CPU cores for anyone planning to run 14B models or larger.
The Minisforum N5 Pro has a 50 TOPS NPU; The Zettlab D6 Ultra has a 11 TOPS NPU. NAS NPUs help vendor features such as photo recognition and search, but most open-source LLM runtimes do not use them yet.
What do they cost in the UK right now?
Live Amazon UK prices, each with the time it was last verified. Where a system has no verified Amazon UK offer, its Amazon US price is shown in dollars and marked.
| System | Price | Stock | Buy |
|---|---|---|---|
 | £1,040.41 Amazon UK · Verified | In stock | View Deal |
 | No verified price | Not shipping yet |
Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com, as applicable, at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
N5 Pro vs D6 Ultra questions
Which is better for local LLMs, the N5 Pro or the D6 Ultra?
The Minisforum N5 Pro scores higher on the AINAS Local LLM profile (79 against 78), which weights memory and GPU options most heavily.
Which has faster networking?
The Minisforum N5 Pro has 10GbE as its fastest port and the Zettlab D6 Ultra has 2 x 10GbE.
Which has more storage?
The Minisforum N5 Pro has 5 drive bays and 3 M.2 slots; the Zettlab D6 Ultra has 6 bays and 2 M.2 slots.
How long is the warranty on each?
2 years on the Minisforum N5 Pro and 2 years on the Zettlab D6 Ultra, according to the manufacturers.
Want to add a third system? Open this comparison in the compare tool.