What are the suggestions regarding the proposed NAS components?
What are the suggestions regarding the proposed NAS components?
You’re seeking guidance on how to proceed. I’ve been exploring options and found a few suggestions online—especially the Jonsbo N1 build on YouTube. However, since that’s nearly a year old, I thought it would be wise to get opinions on my current plan.
Key considerations:
- Only for Plex media files; no gaming or other uses.
- Prefer a compact design.
- Aim for quiet operation.
Based on this, here’s what I was thinking about:
Case: Jonsbo N1
Motherboard: Gigabyte Auros B550 ITX
CPU: Ryzen 5 5600G
Cooler: BeQuiet Pure Rock LP
RAM: 32 GB DDR4 3600
SATA III SI-ADA40149 IOCrest 2 Port (plus two extra ports)
SSD for OS: Kingston A400 240 GB
NVME cache: WD SN750 250 GB
… plus some angled SATA cables
Without HDDs, the total should be around $720, which fits my budget—especially with possible discounts around Black Friday.
For storage, I’m planning Seagate IronWolf drives, aiming for up to 16TB now and possibly more later. I’d use Unraid for the OS, as it can handle varying HDD sizes.
Regarding your concerns:
- Is there anything unnecessary or overly complex in this setup?
- Would any of these choices be a waste of money or effort?
I appreciate all the advice you’ve given before—I’m looking forward to your thoughts!
A 4 bay NAS like Synology or QNAP fits comfortably within your $720 budget (excluding drives).
The QNAP TS-462 is priced at $470
TS-462 | Intel Dual-Core 2.5GbE Multimedia NAS with M.2 PCIe slots and expandable PCIe support
This powerful private cloud storage offers a wide array of multimedia and file management tools, perfect for enhancing your home digital experience. Your files, data, and media stored on the TS-462 can be accessed from any connected device, such as phones or computers.
www.qnap.com
You might discover these (or comparable) articles worth checking out.
https://9to5toys.com/2021/06/04/unraid-v...s-truenas/
I reviewed the cost of commercial NAS enclosures previously and found it more economical—and more demanding—to reuse old components, such as HP servers (noisy) and full tower desktop PCs with ample space for at least eight hard drives.
It's clear a Synology or QNAP NAS would have been a more refined option (compact, less noticeable), but I appreciated trying FreeNAS and TrueNAS Core. As you mentioned, Unraid could be preferable if you plan to run drives of various sizes.
A Synology or QNAS unit should offer the best power efficiency if you intend to keep the NAS running continuously. I expect they would be mindful of energy use and not be overly expensive to operate.
My HP ML350p servers, equipped with eight 3.5-inch hard disks, consume only 110W when idle, but I no longer run them beyond what's needed because of the noise.
Power costs here amount to roughly US $0.63 per kWhr, which is something I keep in mind as the bills arrive.