Is building a NAS feasable for me

[Pineapple Wizard]

A little while ago I decided I want to build a completely new PC, new case/parts/everything. My topic isn't about that PC, it's about my current one. I do not really have family members or friends that are interested in my current one. So, I decided on re-designating this PC to a NAS. However, in two Discords I am I basically get the response that my current PC would be overkill as NAS, or that I am better off with just buying a pre-built one.

Current PC

Motherboard: ASRock B85M Pro4
CPU: Intel i5-4460 quad core 3.20Ghz.
GPU: Radeon R9 390 Series.
RAM: 16GB.

1 SSD and 2 HDD.

 

The plan
So the plan is that I repurpose this PC, take out what I don't need and buy stuff like a better case, perhaps a smaller motherboard so I can put the NAS away, slap FreeNAS or Plex on it and call it a day. It's also mostly used for family media. Videos, photos, shared music, you name it. So basically just storage. I know there are plenty of cloud based storage providers... but I want to re-purpose this PC and I like to have that stuff locally. I'm sure Google Drive will be around until I am dead, but pictures locally is better.

 

Question
So, in short, for a man that does not want to throw away what he has and needs a project, can I use my old PC as a NAS?

[GDRRiley]

you don't need the GPU. you got plenty of power with a 4th gen i5

your going to want a few large HDD. 8tb externals are often a steal

[Samfisher]

TBH, I would just keep the Windows installation and share the drives to the network instead of having to configure everything again.

[NelizMastr]

I agree with @GDRRiley here. Take the GPU out and sell it. The onboard video is all you need. If you keep Windows on it, and not virtualize anything, you can even make use of QuickSync for Plex. Plex Media Server is also available for Windows.

 

Also, like @Samfisher mentioned, making some shares on Windows is pretty easy and you won't have to learn another OS.

 

FreeNAS and alternatives are great, but when you just want some shares and Plex and you already have a working OS, it takes less time and effort to just reconfigure that.

[Pineapple Wizard]

I appreciate all the answers. I am still very much searching in how to approach this project so all answers are useful! I will take out the GPU and get more storage from the money I get. @GDRRiley 8TB in total, or 3+ HDDs of 8TB?

 

@Samfisher I may still use FreeNAS, not because I am stubborn and really want to, but since I have an extra machine I may as well tinker with it and learn to configure. It's not set in stone, and before I start I will really put pros and cons on paper. But since this is an extra machine I do feel a little more liberty to tinker with it. 

 

All in all, thanks a lot for the input so far! It's really useful!

[Samfisher]

1 minute ago, Pineapple Wizard said:

I appreciate all the answers. I am still very much searching in how to approach this project so all answers are useful! I will take out the GPU and get more storage from the money I get. @GDRRiley 8TB in total, or 3+ HDDs of 8TB?

 

@Samfisher I may still use FreeNAS, not because I am stubborn and really want to, but since I have an extra machine I may as well tinker with it and learn to configure. It's not set in stone, and before I start I will really put pros and cons on paper. But since this is an extra machine I do feel a little more liberty to tinker with it. 

 

All in all, thanks a lot for the input so far! It's really useful!

Freenas uses ZFS, which requires you to reformat all your existing disks so you'll have to move any existing data off those drives before you do so.  It's one of the main reasons why I didn't go Freenas and just use Windows shares.

[GDRRiley]

18 minutes ago, Pineapple Wizard said:

I appreciate all the answers. I am still very much searching in how to approach this project so all answers are useful! I will take out the GPU and get more storage from the money I get. @GDRRiley 8TB in total, or 3+ HDDs of 8TB?

I don't know your storage budget but here are the lowest cost per g/b right now

https://pcpartpicker.com/products/external-hard-drive/#sort=ppgb&page=1

some of these internal drives are on amazing and aren't what they claim to be

https://pcpartpicker.com/products/internal-hard-drive/#sort=ppgb&page=1

[Pineapple Wizard]

That is very interesting to know @Samfisher! Thank you, I did not realize that and is very good to take into account. Tinkering is not the same as wiping for me so this is indeed very useful!

 

That's also very useful to use @GDRRiley I don't want to say I have an unlimited amount of money on my account, but I am not against paying more in order to be able to just leave it alone afterwards and use it what I made it for.