When setting up or choosing an OS, consider SSD caching for faster performance.
When setting up or choosing an OS, consider SSD caching for faster performance.
Your system has enough hardware for TrueNAS. You won't need a GPU if your i7 includes built-in graphics, since you can handle video conversion using Quick Sync. An SSD doesn't act as a "write cache" like ZFS would. Treat it as a standalone storage unit, and keep the metadata databases for your media servers (like Plex or Jellyfin) on it. They'll run much faster than relying on a spinning drive.
Great feedback. When discussing "OMV Vs truenas" posts, people often mention CPU and RAM requirements. Including GPU considerations is helpful too. This information came from an office clearance bin. It’s useful for setting up systems like Plex. For a setup needing write caching—especially with photo editing from various sources and handling large files—I’m looking into NAS options. I’d appreciate suggestions for NAS configurations that support write caching, particularly for photo editing tasks. I also plan to use it for general storage and media services.
ZFS benefits from more RAM available on a device. UnRAID can leverage an SSD as a read/write cache for its arrays using its special RAID implementation. Also, with just one Ethernet port connecting your PC and NAS, your data transfer speed will be capped at 100 MB per second.
Consider using software like Truenos or Freenas, gather more RAM from the old PC storage, and store OS and plugins on an SSD. Also, think about 2 spinning disks in RAID 1 versus your fast 1Gb connection—likely slower overall. Your current editing rig already hits its limits with 16GB, so SSD caching might help.
And thank you for helping this be clearer and more friendly—most of what you found online about getting a NAS is either super simple or super detailed, leaving a lot to guess. I really value your effort!