Noob nas question

[Silver5656]

so is it worth getting a premade nas such as a 4 bay synology or qnap? I'm not too worried about electricity usage (although if its a huge difference I might). Should I just build one? I know little about nases and will be doing a lot of research. I figure I could build a decent i3 computer for 500ish, cheaper than a decent 4 bay nas. my main usage will be media storage, itunes server for music and tv shows, and time machine

 

[Liggywuh]

I guess it depends if you will want more than the (I guess) 8TB of storage that the 4 bay offers you. You can keep going and going with a "server" until you run out of space/ sata connectors/ ports on mobo or addin cards.

The great thing with a ready built is it just works, but that makes it also a problem later, if you want to expand. There is no room to expand it.

 

[Old Hippie]

Loaded question that could take years to discuss.

Of course it's cheaper to build than buy but you have to determine what's the best solution for your situation.

If I were you I'd start my research at SmallNetBuilder to get an idea of what's avaliable in the pre-made NAS market.

I use a homebrew WHS server but there are many here that have much more knowledge than I.

Do a little research and come back!

Good Luck!

 

[hyuwa]

you can check out Synology 4 bay and QNAP 4 bay and do some comparisons to see what's avaialable