Thinking about building a NAS.. first question can I do it with this mini-ITX case?

[Scam]

I have spent the last year renovating my first home with my partner and we're almost getting onto the fun stuff Which means I'm looking at a home NAS server for three main reasons;

1. Backing up my files (duh) and playing nicely with Google Drive
2. Acting as an FTP server/backup for my new Reolink video doorbell clips
3. Messing around with Home Assistant

So, this thread might descend into talking about all of the above points.. but as it stands I'm doing some research into building my own, or buying something off the shelf.

First question; I have a leftover Lian Li PC-Q03B case. In the spirit of recycling and re-using things, I'd like to use it if possible. It'll look nice But can I fit the appropriate number of drives? I don't need a lot of space. I'm not a media hoarder, but I would like to feel a little more secure in backing up my photography. For example, my PC boot drive I'm only using 130GB, my media drive 200GB, my games drive 500GB. That's it. So that's only like 1TB which is nothing at all.

Then I'll also need to look at what distro to use if I'm DIY'ing. TrueNAS, UnRAID etc.. there's a lot out there. Any pointers?

 

[Hades]

A few points of consideration come to mind:

1) Do you want to "fire and forget" with minimal setup and maintenance? If so then consider a commercial NAS.

2) If the NAS is online most of the time then power consumption becomes an issue. So choose hardware appropriately.

3) If you're OK with a little more setup and maintenance then either TrueNAS or UnRAID would be great options. The pro's and con's of each are:
TrueNAS = Faster than UnRAID but needs drives of matched size.
UnRAID = Slower than TrueNAS but you can mix and match drive sizes.

I went with UnRAID on an old HP N40L but leave it powered off 99% of the time. I only turn it on when needed (wake on LAN).

 

[Scam]

Blimey it's been nearly two years since I posted the above and I haven't gotten anywhere with it. The fact that Google is telling me I'm nearly out of storage on my Google Drive has prompted me to look into this again.

So @Hades to answer your question I'd like to do a bit of tinkering. I like the idea of building my own server and being able to whip it into something else if I want.

So, my question for 2025 ( ) is... where do I find good hardware bundles to go in Lian Li PC-Q03B case? I was reading on NASCompares.com and found a recommended 'cheap' bundle using a Topton N6005 mobo, but you search for that on Ebay and you just get a bunch of Dell Optiplex computers. Which look amazing value to be fair...

Where do I start finding cheap hardware, preferable a mobo with onboard cpu etc.

 

[Snapshot]

If you squelch about in the rainforest you'll find mITX boards made by CWWK but sold under various brand names that have the Intel N355 CPU and six SATA ports, designed for DIY NAS. It's not the cheapest option (you could save money by downgrading the CPU to N100 or N150) but it is the most capable. I've just built one into an equally ancient Lian-Li PC-Q18B then did test installs of TrueNAS and OpenMediaVault which both went well. I think I'll stay with OMV as it's a lot simpler than TrueNAS which is good at my age.

 

[IanAG]

I've recently picked up one of the same motherboards mentioned by Snapshot, albeit the N150 variant, and initially testing looks good with Unraid.

The case you have looks a bit limited for storage, although it sounds like you don't have any crazy requirements. If you don't need an optical drive, I think it would take 3x2.5" drives, or 1x2.5" and 1x3.5" drive, then most motherboards (including the CWWK ones mentioned) would have 2x nvme/m2 slots also.

In terms of sourcing, I didn't have much luck with Amazon and had to get a refund, pretty sure the item either never got sent or was lost immediately after sending. Alternative I have used a few times now is Aliexpress.

Do you have anything else beyond the case that you are planning to reuse, like PSU or storage?