Old business computer for a NAS?

[robbbbo666]

We've just updated our computers at work and wondering if the attached specs would be ok for use as a NAS.

planning on adding (provided there's space) a couple of gen 3 m.2 drives and run Hex OS

Any feedback before I get it all setup would be appreciated.

 

Main use is my side huddle files for solidworks and image editing as well as my Plex location for my nvidia shield

[Electronics Wizardy]

Id check what slots it has for drives first. 

 

Generally I'd go HDDs for a NAS, much cheaper per TB, and your normally network limited anyways.

 

Otherwise that processor should be fine.

[robbbbo666]

2 hours ago, Electronics Wizardy said:

Id check what slots it has for drives first. 

 

Generally I'd go HDDs for a NAS, much cheaper per TB, and your normally network limited anyways.

 

Otherwise that processor should be fine.

I'll check that out, yeah see I thought that but there appears to be only $10-15 difference Aus between HDD and m.2 with ssd sitting in the middle. Figure the extra speed couldn't hurt?

[Needfuldoer]

That machine is plenty for a NAS.

 

 

38 minutes ago, robbbbo666 said:

I'll check that out, yeah see I thought that but there appears to be only $10-15 difference Aus between HDD and m.2 with ssd sitting in the middle. Figure the extra speed couldn't hurt?

The bulk of your storage should be mechanical hard drives in a redundant array. I'd still recommend getting one SSD for documents, especially if you plan on running Plex or Jellyfin. Store your media on the mechanical drive pool, but use the SSD for their thumbnails and metadata. Your client devices will feel a lot snappier if the server isn't pulling hundreds of tiny files off spinning drives.

[jaslion]

3 hours ago, robbbbo666 said:

I'll check that out, yeah see I thought that but there appears to be only $10-15 difference Aus between HDD and m.2 with ssd sitting in the middle. Figure the extra speed couldn't hurt?

What ssds are you looking at? Theres DOGSHIT m.2 drives with TERRIBLE write edurance and they can easily be written to death in a year. Be VERY mindfull of that.

 

Os is best kept on its own drive(s) to preven unnecrsary array writes.

 

Now for is it possible? totally. However it REALLY depends on what slots and ports it has. Usually its best to stick to sata here. If not with a lsi raid cars from ebay for cheap if this is stypical office pc 2 sata ports only systems

[robbbbo666]

3 hours ago, jaslion said:

What ssds are you looking at? Theres DOGSHIT m.2 drives with TERRIBLE write edurance and they can easily be written to death in a year. Be VERY mindfull of that.

 

Os is best kept on its own drive(s) to preven unnecrsary array writes.

 

Now for is it possible? totally. However it REALLY depends on what slots and ports it has. Usually its best to stick to sata here. If not with a lsi raid cars from ebay for cheap if this is stypical office pc 2 sata ports only systems

I'll check eBay out and confirm how many drives I can adapt to the current setup, I assume I can get some form of adaptor pci slot cards to make more drives work

i only need a TB of useable drive so 2 x 1tb should be enough to start with

 

i try to stick to crucial as a brand, pretty happy with LTTs coverage of them as they seem quite reliable 

was planning on leaving the OS in the current 256g drive

 

managed to snag a photo if you're interested

[jaslion]

22 hours ago, robbbbo666 said:

I'll check eBay out and confirm how many drives I can adapt to the current setup, I assume I can get some form of adaptor pci slot cards to make more drives work

i only need a TB of useable drive so 2 x 1tb should be enough to start with

 

i try to stick to crucial as a brand, pretty happy with LTTs coverage of them as they seem quite reliable 

was planning on leaving the OS in the current 256g drive

 

managed to snag a photo if you're interested

Aha a sff system always annoying to use.

 

Pcie is half half height here so you lose 90%+ of adapters.

 

Looks its been stripped of its hdd cases so that sucks

 

Safest bet is 2 sata ssds and call it good.

 

Dont get just the capacity you need always go beyond

[robbbbo666]

On 5/17/2025 at 10:19 PM, jaslion said:

Aha a sff system always annoying to use.

 

Pcie is half half height here so you lose 90%+ of adapters.

 

Looks its been stripped of its hdd cases so that sucks

 

Safest bet is 2 sata ssds and call it good.

 

Dont get just the capacity you need always go beyond

Thanks mate, was looking at a m.2 adaptor with 2 x 1tb drives but I'll look at a sata adaptor and maybe 3d print a holder in the for the drives

Looks like at least the seagate has drives are actually heaps cheaper per TB so I should be able to find a ssd that's similar

 

edit: I can get a 2tb crucial p3 plus m.2 for cheaper than an SSD.  State of the market atm I guess

Edited May 18 by robbbbo666

[jaslion]

11 hours ago, robbbbo666 said:

sata adaptor and maybe

No need you have the ports there already!

 

Yeah m.2 and sata are the same if you can find a low profile m.2 adapter it can work. KEYWORD low profile since these are half height pcie brackets

[robbbbo666]

On 5/19/2025 at 8:37 PM, jaslion said:

No need you have the ports there already!

 

Yeah m.2 and sata are the same if you can find a low profile m.2 adapter it can work. KEYWORD low profile since these are half height pcie brackets

I got a 4 block one but then slot doesn't have the option for dual mode.

might ditch this one before I get anymore wasted money into it and look into a cheap gaming PC.  Save myself the headache I think

[jaslion]

7 hours ago, robbbbo666 said:

I got a 4 block one but then slot doesn't have the option for dual mode.

might ditch this one before I get anymore wasted money into it and look into a cheap gaming PC.  Save myself the headache I think

Ah you got a passive one yeah forgot to mention that you do need one with a controller.

 

No need for a gaming pc really. Just a normal desktop pc is heaps to boot. These office rigs make great nasboxes just get normal sized ones.

[robbbbo666]

On 5/27/2025 at 8:25 PM, jaslion said:

Ah you got a passive one yeah forgot to mention that you do need one with a controller.

 

No need for a gaming pc really. Just a normal desktop pc is heaps to boot. These office rigs make great nasboxes just get normal sized ones.

All good, ended up finding a good deal on a 5700G and a good mini itx board

Max I've overkill but gives me plenty of headroom, I'll buy a decent nas case and run with that, plenty of sata ports and a couple of PCIe slots so this thing should do me forever.

i looked at a couple of full sized ones and most of them are super outdated/proprietary, instead of sinking more money into a dead horse I think this is the better option, plus ones I upgrade my current PC some

of those components can be passed on to the NAS.

 

Thanks again everyone for the advice!