I happen to have a lot of old gaming PC parts scattered around the drawers and bins of my office. This comes from years of building PCs professionally, but it also meant that I could simply repurpose my old gaming desktop into a home server instead of buying a dedicated NAS.
A powerful NAS can get really expensive
And rightfully so
I have a pretty powerful NAS in my homelab, and it wasn’t cheap. The Ugreen iDX6011 Pro NAS features a Core Ultra 7 processor and 64GB of LPDDR5x RAM, alongside six hard drive bays, a PCIe expansion slot, and two NVMe drive slots.
Really, it’s almost got desktop-type specs in it and it makes for a great homelab server thanks to all its power. But, with an eye-watering price of $2,599, it’s expensive. Like, you could build a really, really powerful gaming PC for that cost.
Why do NAS systems cost so much? Well, they’re designed for a very specific purpose and have a lot of purpose-built hardware. For starters, a NAS will have hot-swappable bays for hard drives. You’ve also got to have a decent amount of processing power and enough RAM to handle the storage and self-hosted app needs of the NAS. Then, there’s the enclosure and power supply, plus the operating system.
A NAS is nothing more than a desktop packed into a compact case with sliding trays for the drives. It’s understandable why they’re so expensive. Of course, there are cheaper models out there, but they don’t offer desktop-class performance like the iDX6011 Pro does, and that’s what I wanted. So, while I have the iDX6011 Pro now, before I got it I repurposed an old gaming PC into a server and still use it today.
QuizUnique and creative DIY NAS setups
Trivia challenge
From old laptops to dusty routers — find out how well you know the wild world of homemade network storage.
HardwareNetworkingSoftwareDIY BuildsStorage
Which major advantage makes an old laptop a surprisingly good candidate for a DIY NAS build?
Correct! A laptop’s built-in battery acts like a mini UPS (uninterruptible power supply), protecting your data from sudden power outages. This is a significant perk that desktop-based NAS builds don’t get for free.
Not quite. The big hidden advantage of a laptop NAS is its built-in battery, which functions as a natural UPS. This keeps the system running briefly during power cuts, protecting data integrity without any extra hardware.
Which open-source firmware is most commonly flashed onto compatible routers to enable NAS-like USB storage sharing features?
Correct! OpenWrt is a Linux-based open-source firmware that replaces stock router firmware and adds powerful features, including USB storage sharing via Samba or NFS, turning a basic router into a lightweight NAS.
Not quite. OpenWrt is the go-to open-source firmware for repurposing routers. Once flashed, it supports USB drives connected to the router’s USB port, enabling basic NAS functionality like Samba file sharing on a very small budget.
Which NAS operating system is specifically designed to run well on low-power ARM-based single-board computers like the Raspberry Pi?
Correct! OpenMediaVault (OMV) is a Debian-based NAS OS that supports ARM architectures, making it a popular choice for Raspberry Pi NAS builds. It’s lightweight, free, and has a web-based GUI that simplifies setup.
Not quite. OpenMediaVault is the answer. Unlike TrueNAS or Unraid, OMV is optimized to run on ARM processors, which is why it’s the community favorite for Raspberry Pi-powered NAS projects.
When building a NAS using a Raspberry Pi, what is the most common bottleneck that limits file transfer speeds?
Correct! On older Raspberry Pi models (prior to the Pi 4), both the USB ports and the Ethernet port shared the same USB 2.0 bus, creating a significant bottleneck when transferring data between network and storage simultaneously.
Not quite. The real culprit on older Raspberry Pi models is the shared USB and Ethernet bus. Because both the network adapter and USB storage competed for the same bandwidth, real-world NAS speeds were often far below what the hardware theoretically promised.
What is a ‘Franken-NAS’ commonly referred to in DIY storage communities?
Correct! A ‘Franken-NAS’ is a beloved DIY term for a NAS cobbled together from spare and salvaged parts — old desktop cases, mixed hard drives, and recycled motherboards all stitched together into one functional (if ugly) storage machine.
Not quite. A Franken-NAS refers to a storage build assembled from mismatched, salvaged components — think old desktop parts, second-hand drives, and whatever case happens to fit. It’s a badge of honor in the DIY NAS community.
Which RAID level is recommended for a small 2-drive DIY NAS that prioritizes data redundancy over total storage capacity?
Correct! RAID 1 mirrors data identically across two drives, meaning if one drive fails, your data survives on the other. It cuts your total usable capacity in half but provides simple, reliable redundancy — perfect for a two-drive home NAS.
Not quite. RAID 1 is the right answer for a two-drive redundancy setup. RAID 0 stripes data for speed but has zero redundancy, and RAID 5 or 6 require three or more drives. RAID 1 mirrors your data across both drives for straightforward protection.
What protocol do most DIY NAS builders configure to allow Windows PCs on the local network to browse shared folders like a network drive?
Correct! Samba implements the SMB (Server Message Block) protocol on Linux and Unix systems, enabling seamless file sharing with Windows machines. It’s the standard choice for home NAS builds because Windows natively understands SMB shares.
Not quite. Samba, which uses the SMB protocol, is the standard answer here. It allows Linux-based NAS systems to present their shares in a way Windows PCs understand natively, so you can map them as network drives without any extra client software.
Which low-power x86 platform became extremely popular for DIY NAS and home server builds due to its fanless design and efficient Intel Atom or Celeron processors?
Correct! Compact Chinese-manufactured mini PC boards from brands like Topton and Cwwk, featuring Intel’s N100 or N5105 processors, became hugely popular in the DIY NAS community around 2022–2024. They offer multiple 2.5GbE ports, low power draw, and multiple SATA connections at a very low price.
Not quite. The Topton and Cwwk N100-based mini PC motherboards became a community favorite for budget DIY NAS builds. They pack multiple Ethernet ports, SATA connections, and efficient modern CPUs into a tiny, affordable package that traditional options couldn’t match at the price.
Your Score
/ 8
Thanks for playing!
My old gaming PC has better specs than almost any NAS around
Gaming systems are unreasonably powerful for anything but gaming
I have the benefit of having some nice hardware from years of building custom PCs though, I do want to lead with that. So, when I needed a powerful server, I turned to a desktop that was sitting in my closet.
I had an i9-13900K desktop with 32GB of DDR4 RAM just sitting there unused. I had recently moved from Intel to AMD for my gaming rig to test out PCIe 5.0 and DDR5, and that meant the Intel system got set aside. It was the perfect system, too. It has six SATA ports, three M.2 slots, and a 750W power supply.
Last year when I turned it into a server, RAM was still affordable. So, I picked up 64GB of the same RAM that was already in the system to bump it from 32GB to 96GB. In total, that upgrade cost me around $150.
With an i9-13900K, 96GB of DDR4 RAM, and more storage capabilities than most NAS systems come with, I decided that my old desktop would make the perfect home server.
I had already spent the money on it
So it basically was free to use, and I like free things
While I spent $150 on the RAM for the server, that was all I had to go out of pocket to get a system with those capabilities. Yes, I already had the system, but, even selling the desktop I couldn’t have got a NAS with anywhere close to the specs or performance that the desktop had.
Since I was reusing my own hardware, I was able to choose the operating system to put on it. While I could have run Unraid or TrueNAS bare metal on the server, I opted for Proxmox. Since it has so much power, Proxmox allows me to slice up the server into smaller virtual machines for specific purposes. For a while, this desktop became the only system in my entire homelab outside of my main storage box.
I actually had a ton of storage in it, too, running TrueNAS in a virtual machine. The desktop really was the perfect NAS replacement for me, and the only reason it got replaced by the Ugreen iDX6011 Pro is because I got one for work. Had the Ugreen not come in, I would still be using the gaming desktop as my primary server right now.
I still utilize the gaming desktop in my homelab, though. It’s my primary node for heavy-weight virtual machines. I have three development VMs spun up on it, as well as multiple game server nodes. I have more than enough compute power to handle anything I need on it without the desktop ever breaking a sweat.
-
- CPU
-
Intel 8th Generation Core i5
- Graphics
-
Intel Intergrated UHD Graphics 630
- Storage
-
256 gigabytes
The Dell OptiPlex 7060 mini desktop PC is a great choice to run your homelab or office. It features an 8th Generation i5 processor, which allows it to run Windows 11 Pro out of the box. It ships with 16GB of DDR4 RAM and a 256GB SSD, as well as being user-serviceable if you want to upgrade it in the future.
-
- Storage Capacity
-
8TB
- Compatible Devices
-
SATA
The WD Red Plus hard drive line is designed specifically for NAS usage. This means the drive is build to withstand 24/7/365 usage, with up to a 180 TB per year workload rate. You’ll also get a 3-year warranty with the purchase of WD’s Red Plus drive lineup.
Sometimes the best NAS isn’t a NAS at all
While I love having dedicated NAS systems in my homelab, sometimes the best NAS isn’t actually a NAS—it’s an old desktop. While my old desktop is still fairly new and extremely powerful, you very likely have everything you need sitting around your house to build a NAS right now.
All you need is an old desktop, some hard drives, and the desire to install TrueNAS, OpenMediaVault, or Unraid. Once that’s done, you have a NAS without having spent a single dime on an expensive storage appliance.
So, if you’re wanting a NAS but don’t have hundreds or thousands to drop on one, then just repurpose your old desktop into a NAS, it’ll definitely get the job done.
Stephan is the sports journalist for the Maple Grove Report.
