Cheapest way to build a nas. Jan 19, 2015 · Related topics on forums.

Cheapest way to build a nas Dec 29, 2024 · Building a NAS is one such project, and with enough external drives, you can have a reliable file-sharing and backup server running on top of your tiny SBC. Found one for $400 shipped without drives. 0 NAS Killer 4. Build with what hardware you got or can get cheap second hand, install FreeNAS/TrueNAS (BSD based) or OMV (Debian based), and add disks as you go. CAT6 is recommended if you’ve got a large area to cover. I was going to build this but I decided to get a Dell R730XS LFF rackmount server. I was doing a search on Amazon and there are a lot of cheap models (also around 100 bucks), but I've never been into home NAS hardware so I don't know which is crap and which is not Hello, I am also interested in building a silent NAS and found your 5 builds very interesting. After 2 years running the second build, what is your feedback? Did you experience any heat issue, like with the drives themselves or the PCI buses ? Aug 13, 2023 · What is (subjectively) the best way to build a NAS on the cheap nowadays? An SBC like a Pi (or more likely a more affordable board) or just buying an old office pc? Make sure to check out the follow up video where I make some upgrades! • Upgrading My TrueNAS Server I needed a NAS, so I set out to build my own with primarily used PC components. If you find that the NAS Killer 6. Sep 29, 2025 · These affordable NAS servers let you easily store your precious photos and videos. com for thread: "Cheapest way to build a FREENAS?" Unfortunately, no related topics are found on the New Community Forums. Lots of storage on the cheap. Thus, the all-SSD high-performance edit NAS—on a budget. Jellyfin has easily become my second most used service. com 6 days ago · Buy hard drives cheap Keeping with the theme of buying used old computer parts to save, I built my NAS with refurbished drives from ServerPartDeals, but you can also sometimes find good deals on Amazon. Nov 3, 2024 · The Best Budget Friend / Low-Price NAS Drives It’s remarkable how much the range and affordability of private server devices have expanded in recent years, making them accessible even to budget-conscious users. Don't worry right now about all the drive bays, just install something like TrueNAS or whatever you are partial to. my older systems drawing 30-40w with a similar configuration, and it's really got my interested in pulling my power usage down. This option is usually more expensive DIY NAS: You just build your own NAS by buying PC parts. One of the key advantages of going the DIY route is the customization it offers. The cheapest way to build a house is to construct a small home with prefab components, cost-effective materials, and basic finishes. I would like to migrate my existing pool into an entirely new system and can re-use my case, drives, and power supply: CASE: Fractal Define R5 - fits up to eight 3. . It should have at least two HDD bays (for RAID 1 storage) and the possibility to install my own system on it (maybe TrueNAS or others). But those cost around $3500 new. Most "bays" only state limits on drive capacity because that was the highest that THEY tested it to at the time the marketing literature was made. Jul 23, 2025 · Pi NAS is an affordable way to manage files across your devices using a storage solution connected to your home network. May 19, 2018 · I'm gonna be honest upfront, I'm looking to save myself a couple hours of Google boredom. Here is a build I have spec'd out Apr 23, 2025 · So i'm currently thinking about a lazy man's way of backing up files before reinstalling windows and other file related stuff. Nov 24, 2025 · Learn to build your NAS with this beginner-friendly guide covering hardware, software, data protection, and maintenance for home network storage. " I mean, sure, technically a NAS without any storage is still a NAS, BUT the article itself is entitled "all SSD NAS," so it's disingenuous to leave out the cost of the SSDs when describing it as "budget. Mar 25, 2025 · All network-attached storage (NAS) enclosures come powered by Linux and are very capable little servers. We're going to run a through a few affordable options. The actual media is Check out the NAS Killer Guide. We've compiled a list of recommended options, both diskless & pre-built. It can be up and running in a few hours with a Raspberry Pi, a few storage devices, and software to manage everything. If you can guide me to decent tutorials, I'd be happy to learn myself, but thought I might ask first. I want to build by own NAS, but I don't know any good parts for $300. 5" Drives PSU: Corsair RM750x What motherboard+CPU combo would you recommend for a We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. It was a great purchase and allows me to use it for a lot of other purposes. What’s not to love? You lose one disk, throw in another and your data rocks on! This is the RAID Jul 18, 2025 · You don't need fancy hardware or confusing setups to build a NAS at home. dumb rule. See full list on nasmaster. ? Also what RAID setup would you recommend? This is my first time even looking into building a server, so not sure where to start. Jun 29, 2012 · My solution was simple: Purchase a cheap RAID (hardware) controller, an identical 1TB hard drive to the one I have, and a second hard drive to have the OS on. Any simple builds for a good working server (also on the go)? Get a cheap server, something like a Dell R410 or R610. Until now, I had them inside my 2. Apr 6, 2017 · Building your own Network Attached Storage doesn't have to be an expensive endeavor. " NAS makes the most sense because having your data independent from any workstation PC keeps it easily accessible and more secure. Before building my own homelab NAS, I used a 4-disk Synology DS412+ for seven years. Remember that your cable type plays an important role — it’s possible to run 10GbE speeds over CAT5e, but only for short runs. May 23, 2022 · Why build your own NAS? 🔗︎ If you’re new to the homelab world or have no experience building PCs, I recommend that you don’t build your own NAS. I then installed Docker Engine and a Portainer container for managing other containers. My existing NAS hardware is very old. Unlike off-the-shelf NAS solutions (my favorite being Synology), a DIY NAS can be tailored to your needs. Mar 15, 2020 · One client & one server or NAS: The Netgear and QNAP switch options both work fine here, and can potentially be a cheap way to use existing wiring. Ideally this includes building the primary machine from second hand components, aside from drives, but I would love some tips on the best places to find cheap hardware! Apr 21, 2024 · Sorry there aren’t any links in this post but the forum won’t let new users post more than 2. Currently using a Synology NAS but they are not budget friendly. The last time I actually built a computer was before cell-phones existed, so I am completely lost when I look Seagate Exos HDDs are cheap (compared to other NAS drives), but could anyone comment on durability, etc. Do most people use direct attached storage, external enclosures, etc? Or is your Nas limited to the storage you can get out of whatever the mini PC can hold (One Jan 8, 2025 · Budget (including currency): Ideally under 350? I would prefer AM4 unless something is better. In general, you can save about 50% off the normal sale price if you buy a drive manufacturer recertified or refurbished. Mar 15, 2023 · A suprisingly affordable DIY NAS featuring TrueNAS SCALE, an Intel Celeron N5105 CPU, 32GB of DDR4 RAM, 2x 250GB NVMe SSDs, and room for 7 hard drives (5x 3. This USB port Jul 4, 2024 · Learn how to assemble a NAS on a budget with our step-by-step guide, ensuring affordability and efficiency. My NAS has a 7th gen i3 CPU and 16 GB RAM, and it runs 20 Docker containers including Jellyfin media server without breaking a Jan 6, 2024 · Lately I’ve been realizing that purchased digital media isn’t really yours, and a recent event in particular sparked me into doing something I’ve been wanting to do for a while now: build a NAS to contain all my legally purchased digital media, digital backups of physical media, as well as personal documents and photos. These use slightly older hardware, but are still relevant and completely viable. There are off-the-shelf solutions that offer similar functionality with a gentler learning curve. For my NAS, I installed minimal Debian 11 with the Cockpit web UI, and 45Drives Cockpit plugin for managing Samba and NFS shares. However, should you wish to save money through repurposing an old system or simply want to learn something new by building and launching your own NAS, TrueNAS Scale is a great OS to use. My hope is to have a low power NAS that's just powerful enough for Jellyfin and overnight transcoding to convert any new media to a direct-streamable format. 5 inch). 5-inch and 2x 2. Dec 9, 2019 · Looking for the best Plex server? Here are some of the best budget, prebuilt, and DIY ways to run a Plex server! Having said that I don't think there is any promise that building your own will be cheaper upfront (unless you buy used, but then you can also buy an off-the-shelf NAS used too). Building your own might be cheaper long term because upgrades don't involve buying an entire new unit. We'll show you how to get started. 1 NAS Killer 5. Sep 8, 2023 · Previous builds Listed below are previous NAS Killer builds. May 21, 2022 · I want to build a home NAS and I do not want any branded NAS-solutions like Synology etc. I do not need to buy storage drives bc I already have enough HDDs at home. What’s the cheapest way to build a NAS or DAS setup? I’m open to using second-hand parts, old PCs, or even budget-friendly new components. Building a home media server takes up less space but it does take more technical know-how than I think most people want to put into building these. 3 days ago · Cheapest type of house to build per square foot The cheapest homes to build cost $75 to $275 per square foot on average and include barn-style houses, modular homes, shipping container homes, and tiny houses. 0 OTiS - QSV all-in-one (this one is particularly Are you looking for cheap alternative housing ideas that won't get you in a ton of debt? Here are a few realistic ideas for you. Hello home networkers! I would like to setup a private NAS in my home network. NAS Killer 4. I recently got a Roku stick for my TV, I feed it via a Plex server on my laptop. Way cheaper and more customizable to accomodate your needs, but it is going to take way more time to set up. My main goal is to have around 2-4 tb of storage for a media server. May 26, 2024 · Learn how to build a relatively cheap custom Plex Server with the best hardware (CPU & GPU) for streaming and transcoding. (whatever you choose, make sure your NAS has access to docker, because some of the cheaper NAS don't, and I think it is game changing). Jul 16, 2025 · Building a DIY NAS is the cheap option to get setup with a home server, here's how I did it and everything you need to know to get started. Thanks for any help :) Aug 1, 2006 · Introduction Be sure to check out: More Cheap and Fast RAID 5 NASes How To Build a Really Fast NAS Series RAID (“Redundant Arrays of Independent Disks”), especially RAID level 5, is particularly compelling to geeks, even wannabe geeks like me. Since you’re choosing the components and the software, you can tailor the setup to your Jun 27, 2024 · You can build a pretty cheap NAS that's more powerful and customizable than an off-the-shelf option, and here's how. Jul 16, 2025 · Building a DIY NAS is the cheap option to get setup with a home server, here's how I did it and everything you need to know to get started. Sep 20, 2023 · Almost every year, I put together a parts list for an economical do-it-yourself network attached storage (NAS) server called the “EconoNAS. I see so many suggestions to people to use a mini PC to build their own Nas, which makes a lot of sense to use containers and add server functionality, But my immediate thought is how limited you are for storage. Any tips on where to find good deals or how to get the most out of a budget build would be greatly appreciated! 21 comments share save Sep 15, 2023 · Pros: Extremely powerful for almost any task you throw at it Full support for major NAS software platforms and high-end features Outstanding Plex media server performance Abundant RAM support Jun 28, 2024 · Though they are rare, finding the best budget NAS is possible. ” Each year, my goal with this DIY NAS is the same: to build an extremely budget-friendly DIY NAS that outperforms off-the-shelf products. In 2024, it's hard to believe that you can now get a NAS device from major brands for a Hi guys! I want to build or buy a PC to make a server out of it. truenas. I just got a i3-10100 system for my lab and I was amazed to find that it sips a mere 5-10w at idle vs. I had five 8TB Samsung QVO SSDs from my insane $5000 Raspberry Pi server build. Most routers already have the features you need, so with a spare SSD or hard drive, you can easily set up simple and secure shared storage for every device in your house. This guide is $385 without any hard drives and has a much more expandable case with more hard drive space. Oct 17, 2011 · Building your own NAS is a great way to safeguard and share your data, without breaking the bank. Zen1 epyc is in that price range and offers a ton more of everything. Jan 19, 2015 · Related topics on forums. That's pretty much as effective and cheap you can do a NAS for home-use. Jun 21, 2024 · How to build a $100 NAS storage server in 2024 12:23 pm June 21, 2024 By Julian Horsey If you are running out of space on your main computer and considering purchasing a network attached storage May 5, 2025 · Why Should You Build a DIY NAS? Building a NAS (Network Attached Storage) can provide many different benefits. Whats the best You could build a consumer build with ECC UDIMM much cheaper and have way more passmark but pull more power. 0 is a bit out of your budget, look at one of these previous builds instead. Just really curious. This way, the two 1TB hard drives can be connected to the RAID controller on a mirror setup (or RAID 1), while the additional hard drive can keep the operating system. Jul 20, 2022 · But as my video workflow matures, I find myself needing a central storage solution disconnected from my main workstation. Price doesnt includ HDDs Country: USA, California, Near Microcenter Tustin Games, programs or workloads that it will be used for: NAS stuff? Im a complete beginner for servers and stuff Other details : I am looking at building a trueNAS server for the main purpose of network storage and backups so I will likely run trueNAS core. Roughly 65% of the cost of the DIY NAS: 2025 Edition came from storage alone. It doesn't need to be very high end, just enough for 4tb of storage and a basic plex server for me and a few friends. Nov 26, 2024 · Because of their size and because you should be building redundancy into your NAS, storage is always the most expensive item when building a DIY NAS. I'm looking to build/buy a TrueNAS box that is both reasonably cheap and power efficient. Nov 28, 2021 · Want to set up a homelab? Here's how I used old hardware and open source software to build my homelab. Cheapest way to build a NAS? Heh guys! I’m looking for tips and tricks on how to build the most affordable NAS solution. 5 Gbps NAS. Sep 29, 2022 · How and why smart consumers are now ditching expensive Cloud storage and building cheap DIY NAS home media servers using SATA HDDs If you're looking into building a NAS (Network Attached Storage) and realizing how expensive pre-built systems can be, but you don't have the money to shell Dec 12, 2018 · What is a good way to build or buy a NAS for under $100 I was thinking maybe buy a used pc then put more drives in but I'm not sure how well it will work Jan 1, 2017 · The complete guide to my DIY NAS build. Want to build your own NAS server on a budget? In this video, we'll show you how to set up a NAS system in your home lab with up to 40 TB of storage!This vid We would like to show you a description here but the site won’t allow us. Your Wi-Fi Router Can Become a Basic NAS Most modern routers have a USB port, which you can use to share files across your home network.