Any major considerations for full disk encryption? (I read docs.freenas.org on this, didn't seem like anything notable.) Fans: 3x 120 mm @ front (3 included), 3x 120 mm @ middle (3 included), 2x 80 mm @ rear (2 included) With the use of Silverstone’s SX500-G SFX PSU ( reviewed here), the installation of 5x 2.5″ HDDs wasn’t any easier. Without supporting a dedicated GPU, I guess this case could work for APU fans that are looking for a half-decent NAS chassis to stuff a 2200G or 2400G into. Even then, if the case was specifically designed for the use of an APU, it could have been even smaller. One of the central components for a NAS build is going to be your case. A NAS case is a tiny niche compared to mainstream tower cases. But there is undoubtedly a market for them. In this article, we will round up four best NAS cases you can buy right now.

Such compact cases with little space “behind” the PSU are a prime example of the one disadvantage modular PSUs have in such space-constrainted situations: A need for additional space for those plugs there. mATX and ATX motherboards will be larger but may come in cheap. They also often increase the number of available SATA ports. If your case has enough space and you are adding many drives, then these may be a better choice. A small detail, but never the less something I can appreciate -the simple design of the the door hinge. We don’t really recommend other form factors for a Network Attached Storage. Sure, you can go for an E-ATX motherboard, but that will be overkill.

SilverStone CS280B

Of course, you can always buy a preconfigured NAS. But where’s the fun in that? Building a custom Network Attached Storage allows upgradability. It allows for greater flexibility in terms of hardware. And there’s the satisfaction you get from setting up a diy rig, too.

I was very interested in building the most compact DIY NAS as I could reasonably achieve, but I was almost nearly as interested in evaluating the latest release of FreeNAS, FreeNAS-11.2-U2. The DIY NAS blogs wind up being an excellent way for me to tinker with the latest version of FreeNAS, before deciding to upgrade my own NAS. The release notes from the FreeNAS 11.2-Release r talk extensively about the new Anuglar-based UI, which has been something I’ve been looking forward to for quite some time.

Buyer’s Checklist

I’m not sure how detectable it is in the assembly’s video, but I ran into two problems immediately in the BIOS and then on the next boot. Ultimately, space is what mattered the most in this blog, and I think that I’ve been unquestioningly successful in that regard. The amount of space that the DIY NAS: 2019 Edition takes up (11.8 liters) is nearly half of what the prior year’s NAS used up (21.6 liters). It’s been quite a few years since I built my NAS, but given what I know of my data-storage habits today, I probably would have been quite comfortable to trade a bit of storage capacity to build an even smaller NAS. But Brian, your conclusion is WRONG! The ITX-sized GPU (6.7″/170.18mm x 4.7″/119.38mm) wouldn’t fit into the PCIe slot due to the positioning of the hot-swap bay. There are hot-swap variations of this case available if you wanted that. Otherwise, the L4500 fits up to fifteen 3.5″ drives, which should be more than enough for any home user. You could even try buying multiple cases in the unlikely scenario you run out of drive bays.