Recommendations for Low-Budget NAS Box?

nuttapillar on 29/10/2022 - 11:57
Last edited 29/10/2022 - 12:30 by 1 other user

Hi, I want to build a NAS box, to house my 4 hard drives.

I was originally planning on buying a purpose-designed box, but they're pricey, and less custom. So I'm looking at building one. I'm looking for a good/cheap case that's small, but will just fit 4 3.5" drives, and a suitable motherboard and CPU. I'm willing to scour the internet and marketplace, and go second hand if I need.

I just need to know what parts to go for. It'll be for bulk long-term storage of media, and streaming 4K movies/shows to the TV.

Thanks!

Computing NAS

Comments

oscargamer on 29/10/2022 - 12:10

Budget?
- Nugs on 29/10/2022 - 12:50
  
  low-
  .
  - oscargamer on 29/10/2022 - 14:20
    
    Is that your low or my low?
Hybroid on 29/10/2022 - 12:42

+3

See if you can pickup a HP Microserver cheap on marketplaces.
- Indomietable on 29/10/2022 - 14:17
  
  I got this and it's perfect for me especially since I'm not doing much heavy lifting on my NAS box. Its small, quiet, low power, allows for HDD hotswap, and has optional ILO.
  - nige0090 on 29/10/2022 - 20:35
    
    For simple file server activities (i.e. no transcoding) the HP microserver, even Gen 7, work well.
    With 8GB of ram, they run Win 10 or any of the various Linux distribution - Unraid, OMV etc
    Also, although they are intended to use ECC ram, many people have had success with cheaper regular ram.
    You can find a list of compatible ram online.
    There is, or was, quite an active community.
DGrayson82 on 29/10/2022 - 12:47

+1

Fractal Design Node 304 and your choice of mobo/cpu etc
NotAnAudiophile on 29/10/2022 - 14:29

+1

Yes definitely build it yourself, try using Unraid.
nedski on 29/10/2022 - 15:37

Get an old PC and set it up with TrueNas
Anj1n on 29/10/2022 - 16:32

+2

Old PC with low power motherboard.
Open Media Vault OS.
Advantage of the PC platform is hardware failures can
be fixed quickly and cheaply but work out the energy running cost.
spal on 29/10/2022 - 16:59

I have a HP Gen8 micro server. I had upgraded the CPU and 16GB ram + SSD. It is now starting to struggle to do large 4K files. Not enough grunt to transcode in Plex. I am also looking for moving my HDDs to another device. The used PCs which are regularly listed here are very tempting. However, being SFF not sure how to fit multiple drives. Also, PSU will need to be upgraded to be able to run the drives.
- Indomietable on 29/10/2022 - 23:41
  
  Curious, why do you need to transcode?
  - spal on 31/10/2022 - 07:56
    
    Some originals aren't 4k quality.
    - Indomietable on 31/10/2022 - 08:02
      
      Are you transcoding from lower quality to higher quality ?
pjetson on 29/10/2022 - 18:03

How about a second hand Synology NAS? I've seen a few two-drive models on Facebook marketplace for around $150 recently.
- Mechz on 29/10/2022 - 18:52
  
  Yeah I'm sure OP can cram 4 drives in if they try hard enough.
  - pjetson on 29/10/2022 - 20:04
    
    Sigh. I was just saying what I'd seen lately and a price point for that, it wasn't a recommendation. I've seen two-drive models recently, maybe people are also selling four-drive (or more) models.
  - spal on 31/10/2022 - 07:58
    
    Cramming 4 drives in 2 bay models, wouldn't it have heat and power supply issues?

Recommendations for Low-Budget NAS Box?

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