Products · FriendlyElec · NAS
FriendlyElec CM3588 NAS Kit
- Processor
- Rockchip RK3588
- Memory (RAM)
- 4, 8 or 16 GB
- Launch price
- $184
- Released
- 2023
Configurations
Pick one to see which models it runs. More memory lets larger models fit; bandwidth sets how fast they answer.
| Configuration | Memory | Usable for AI | Bandwidth | LLMs that run well | Launch price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rockchip RK3588 | 4.0 GB | 2.0 GB | 34 GB/s | 65 of 622 | $184 |
| Rockchip RK3588 | 8.0 GB | 5.2 GB | 34 GB/s | 150 of 622 | — |
| Rockchip RK3588 | 16.0 GB | 12.0 GB | 34 GB/s | 173 of 622 | — |
Specifications 8.0 GB configuration
| Maker | FriendlyElec |
|---|---|
| Type | NAS |
| Processor | Rockchip RK3588 NAS (8 GB) |
| Memory (RAM) | 8.0 GB |
| Usable for AI models | 5.2 GB |
| Memory bandwidth | 34 GB/s |
| FP16 compute | 0.1 TFLOPS |
| Runs models on | CPU cores |
| Drive bays | 4x M.2 2280 NVMe (PCIe 3.0 x1 each) + eMMC on module |
| NAS system | No preinstalled NAS OS; FriendlyElec images: OpenMediaVault… |
| Containers (Docker) | Yes |
| Virtual machines | Yes |
| Memory upgrade | LPDDR4X 2133 MHz (soldered on compute module) · up to 16.0 GB per the maker · non-ECC |
| Notes | Rockchip RK3588 (4x Cortex-A76 2.4 GHz + 4x Cortex-A55 1.8 GHz). RK3588 runs 1-4B quantized models on CPU (a reviewer saw about 14 tokens/s on the 16 GB unit) and small converted models on the 6 TOPS NPU, but RAM tops out at 16 GB and Ollama has no GPU/NPU acceleration here. |
| Product page | www.friendlyelec.com (opens in a new tab) |
Running AI on the FriendlyElec CM3588 NAS Kit
It can, with limits: expect small models only, at modest speed. Models run on its CPU cores, and this configuration leaves about 5.2 GB for them after the NAS system and its storage services. The grades below assume the NAS isn’t busy with backups or media work at the same time. More memory is the upgrade that matters most: see the configurations.
Apps you can install to run models
| App | How it installs |
|---|---|
| Ollama | In a container (Docker) |
| Open WebUI | In a container (Docker) |
| RKLLM / rknn-llm | In a container (Docker) |
Best LLMs for the FriendlyElec CM3588 NAS Kit 8.0 GB
| Quality | Model | Quant | Memory | Speed | Runs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 58Good quality (B) · 58 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 75/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | Gemma 4 E2B | Q4_K_M | 4.2 GB | 15.8 tok/s | Runs well |
| 50Fair quality (C) · 50 of 100: how capable the model is at Q3_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 75/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | Ling 3.0 Tiny (8B-A1.3B) | Q3_K_M | 5.1 GB | 32.3 tok/s | Runs welltight fit |
| 42Fair quality (C) · 42 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 74/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | Unlimited OCR 2 (3B-A0.6B) | Q5_K_M | 3.9 GB | 42.5 tok/s | Runs great |
| 57Good quality (B) · 57 of 100: how capable the model is at Q3_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 73/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | Nemotron Labs Dory 1.0 4B | Q3_K_M | 3.4 GB | 11.8 tok/s | Runs well |
| 58Good quality (B) · 58 of 100: how capable the model is at Q3_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 73/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | Nemotron 3.5 Bolt E4B | Q3_K_M | 5.1 GB | 10.4 tok/s | Runs welltight fit |
| 55Good quality (B) · 55 of 100: how capable the model is at Q3_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 72/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | Spark-X2.6 4B | Q3_K_M | 3.3 GB | 11.4 tok/s | Runs well |
| 57Good quality (B) · 57 of 100: how capable the model is at Q3_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 72/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | Nanbeige4.2 3B | Q3_K_M | 4.5 GB | 11.3 tok/s | Runs welltight fit |
| 57Good quality (B) · 57 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 72/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | MiniCPM5 2B | Q4_K_M | 2.9 GB | 14.4 tok/s | Runs well |
| 38Basic quality (D) · 38 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 72/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | Unlimited OCR (3B-A0.6B) | Q5_K_M | 3.9 GB | 42.5 tok/s | Runs great |
| 57Good quality (B) · 57 of 100: how capable the model is at Q3_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 72/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | Gemma 4 E4B | Q3_K_M | 5.1 GB | 10.4 tok/s | Runs welltight fit |
Best Image models for the FriendlyElec CM3588 NAS Kit 8.0 GB
| Quality | Model | Quant | Memory | Speed | Runs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 90Excellent quality (A+) · 90 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8 GGUF, whatever it runs on. Match score 68/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | FLUX 3 Image Klein | Q8 GGUF | 4.3 GB | 27.2 min | Very slowCPU offload |
| 72Great quality (A) · 72 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4 GGUF, whatever it runs on. Match score 68/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | FLUX.2 [klein] 4B | Q4 GGUF | 4.6 GB | 4.0 min | Very slowtight fit · encoder unloaded after use |
| 39Basic quality (D) · 39 of 100: how capable the model is at FP8, whatever it runs on. Match score 66/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | SDXL Turbo | FP8 | 4.2 GB | 26 s | Runs well |
| 82Great quality (A) · 82 of 100: how capable the model is at FP8, whatever it runs on. Match score 66/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | Z-Image Turbo | FP8 | 4.4 GB | 9.3 min | Very slowCPU offload |
| 81Great quality (A) · 81 of 100: how capable the model is at Q4 GGUF, whatever it runs on. Match score 64/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | ERNIE-Image | Q4 GGUF | 4.1 GB | 1.8 h | Very slowCPU offload |
| 81Great quality (A) · 81 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8 GGUF, whatever it runs on. Match score 64/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | MOSS-Image SFT | Q8 GGUF | 4.1 GB | 66.8 min | Very slowCPU offload |
Best Video models for the FriendlyElec CM3588 NAS Kit 8.0 GB
| Quality | Model | Quant | Memory | Speed | Runs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 35Basic quality (D) · 35 of 100: how capable the model is at FP16, whatever it runs on. Match score 57/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | AnimateDiff v3 (SD 1.5) | FP16 | 4.7 GB | 63.8 min | Very slowtight fit |
| 49Fair quality (C) · 49 of 100: how capable the model is at FP8, whatever it runs on. Match score 51/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | LTX-Video 2B | FP8 | 4.0 GB | 1.6 h | Very slowCPU offload |
| 44Fair quality (C) · 44 of 100: how capable the model is at FP8, whatever it runs on. Match score 46/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | CogVideoX 2B | FP8 | 4.7 GB | 3.7 h | Very slowtight fit · CPU offload |
Best Decision models for the FriendlyElec CM3588 NAS Kit 8.0 GB
| Quality | Model | Quant | Memory | Speed | Runs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 78Great quality (A) · 78 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 84/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | OpenAI Privacy Filter | Q8_0 | 2.4 GB | 162 ms | Runs well |
| 86Excellent quality (A+) · 86 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 81/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | Jina Reranker v3.5 | Q8_0 | 1.9 GB | 3.5 s | Very slow |
| 84Great quality (A) · 84 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 80/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | Jina Reranker v3 | Q8_0 | 1.9 GB | 3.5 s | Very slow |
| 87Excellent quality (A+) · 87 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 80/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | Qwen3 Reranker 4B | Q5_K_M | 4.2 GB | 23.5 s | Very slow |
| 80Great quality (A) · 80 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 79/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | GLiNER2.5 Decide | Q8_0 | 1.2 GB | 1.5 s | Very slow |
| 85Excellent quality (A+) · 85 of 100: how capable the model is at Q5_K_M, whatever it runs on. Match score 79/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | zerank-2 | Q5_K_M | 4.2 GB | 23.5 s | Very slow |
| 85Excellent quality (A+) · 85 of 100: how capable the model is at Q6_K, whatever it runs on. Match score 79/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | Shieldstral 1.0 3B | Q6_K | 4.4 GB | 22.5 s | Very slow |
| 80Great quality (A) · 80 of 100: how capable the model is at Q8_0, whatever it runs on. Match score 78/100 (quality, fit, speed and memory use) sets the ranking. | FRIDA-Decisions | Q8_0 | 1.7 GB | 2.6 s | Very slow |
Other products with the Rockchip RK3588 NAS (8 GB)
Spec sources
Estimates come from published hardware specs and our open formulas, not from running the model on your machine. Real speed varies with runtime, drivers and settings. Numbers marked “Measured” come from a linked benchmark.