8 hours ago
Thanks for following the channel and for your kind words!
It sounds like you’re leaning towards building a custom NAS, which is a great choice if you want flexibility. If you’re concerned about using Chinese motherboards, there are definitely other options. The Intel Core i7-4790K you have is still a solid CPU, but it might be a bit old for heavy virtual machine usage or 4K media transcoding. You could still use it for lighter workloads and as a starting point, but if you're planning to run more demanding tasks in the future, you might want to look into something a little more modern, like a Ryzen or newer Intel CPU.
For hardware, a good balance would be:
Motherboard: A reliable one from brands like ASUS, ASRock, or Gigabyte. Look for one with enough SATA ports (if you’re planning to use multiple drives) and possibly an M.2 slot for caching SSDs.
RAM: 16GB or 32GB, depending on what kind of workloads you plan to run. More RAM helps with virtual machines and caching.
Storage: Since you want 12-20TB, start with a couple of 8TB or 10TB drives (maybe Seagate IronWolf or WD Red) in a RAID configuration for redundancy.
Power Supply: Get one with a bit of headroom (80+ Gold or better).
As for TrueNAS vs Unraid, both are excellent choices, but TrueNAS offers ZFS, which is great for redundancy and performance, especially with large file systems. If you’re comfortable with a bit of learning and want a solid, reliable system, TrueNAS is great. Unraid offers more flexibility and might be easier to set up, but it can be a bit more "manual" when it comes to expansion and configuration.
If you’re unsure about the hardware, you could also look at pre-built NAS options like Synology or QNAP for a more user-friendly experience, though they may not offer the same customization options as building your own.
It sounds like you’re leaning towards building a custom NAS, which is a great choice if you want flexibility. If you’re concerned about using Chinese motherboards, there are definitely other options. The Intel Core i7-4790K you have is still a solid CPU, but it might be a bit old for heavy virtual machine usage or 4K media transcoding. You could still use it for lighter workloads and as a starting point, but if you're planning to run more demanding tasks in the future, you might want to look into something a little more modern, like a Ryzen or newer Intel CPU.
For hardware, a good balance would be:
Motherboard: A reliable one from brands like ASUS, ASRock, or Gigabyte. Look for one with enough SATA ports (if you’re planning to use multiple drives) and possibly an M.2 slot for caching SSDs.
RAM: 16GB or 32GB, depending on what kind of workloads you plan to run. More RAM helps with virtual machines and caching.
Storage: Since you want 12-20TB, start with a couple of 8TB or 10TB drives (maybe Seagate IronWolf or WD Red) in a RAID configuration for redundancy.
Power Supply: Get one with a bit of headroom (80+ Gold or better).
As for TrueNAS vs Unraid, both are excellent choices, but TrueNAS offers ZFS, which is great for redundancy and performance, especially with large file systems. If you’re comfortable with a bit of learning and want a solid, reliable system, TrueNAS is great. Unraid offers more flexibility and might be easier to set up, but it can be a bit more "manual" when it comes to expansion and configuration.
If you’re unsure about the hardware, you could also look at pre-built NAS options like Synology or QNAP for a more user-friendly experience, though they may not offer the same customization options as building your own.