Prosumer NAS Solution

[Enquiries]

I am a hobbyist photographer and personal travel video creator. Recently, I started working as a free volunteer with a local sports non-profit as they are building a photo/video studio where I will collaborate on shooting photos of athletes and recording/editing a podcast. I need to consolidate my personal files (around 4-5 TB) and store the non-profit’s photo and video files. I plan on setting up a NAS at my home office or the studio (wherever it makes more sense in the future) to store all the data. The studio and my office have 1 Gbps internet, and some other volunteers might need to access the organization files periodically for collaboration. I have binge-watched a million of your videos but can’t decide whether to go the DIY route or an off-the-shelf solution. I have built a Hackintosh and PC in the past, but I am primarily a great step-by-step build guide follower. HELP!

[ed]

It sounds like you have a great mix of personal and professional needs for a NAS. Since you're already comfortable with building PCs and Hackintoshes, a DIY solution using TrueNAS or Unraid could be an affordable and flexible option. You could customize it to fit your exact requirements and scale as your storage needs grow. Plus, you’ll have more control over upgrades, and it could come in under your $1000 budget, especially if you use existing parts.

However, if you want something that's easier to set up and manage, an off-the-shelf NAS like the QNAP TS-464 or Synology DS923+ would give you powerful options with good collaboration tools, especially for your non-profit work. These models are scalable, support multiple users, and have great software for file access and backups.

Both options are solid, but if you want simplicity, go off-the-shelf. If you want customization and don't mind some DIY, a TrueNAS build could work too.

[gilbelocity]

It sounds like you have a great mix of personal and professional needs for a NAS. Since you're already comfortable with building PCs and Hackintoshes, a DIY solution using TrueNAS or Unraid could be an affordable and flexible option. You could customize it to fit your exact requirements and scale as your storage needs grow. Plus, you’ll have more control over upgrades, and it could come in under your $1000 budget, especially if you use existing parts.

However, if you want something that's easier to set up and manage, an off-the-shelf NAS like the QNAP TS-464 or Synology DS923+ would give you powerful options with good collaboration tools, especially for your non-profit work. These models are scalable, support multiple users, and have great software for file access and backups.

Both options are solid, but if you want simplicity, go off-the-shelf. If you want customization and don't mind some DIY, a TrueNAS build could work too.

Same guy here, just with a username now:

How much maintenance/upkeep does a properly built TrueNas/Unraid DIY build require, and how stable/reliable is it? I might go DIY.

[Westicia]

If you're comfortable with DIY, go for it; it’s cost-effective and fun. Check out Unraid or TrueNAS for flexibility.

[gilbelocity]

I will go DYI. I’m just doing some final research on hardware.

Thanks for your reply.