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Nas Advice - Enquiries - 06-02-2025

Hello.

We're a family of 6 people and we use the google cloud services 200gb. with the family photos, school works and more, the limit is already reaching.
I believe 2 TB for 99 euros is too much for our family budget
So, I came up with the nas solution and I think even though it will cost a little bit, it will give more space, more stuff to tinker with for me and my family.

I'm having trouble to choose the right board and cpu.
N100 I think it would be suffice but checking the media solution like what jelyfin does and downloading media, I think I need something better. but checking the prices for motherboard with LGA 1700 and i5-12100, it surpasses the 600 euros even if I buy used nas HDD.

Is there any advice you could provide me so I can be more certain of what path to follow?

Many thanks


RE: Nas Advice - ed - 06-06-2025

That makes total sense, especially with a family and media needs growing fast. If budget is tight, building a custom NAS with an LGA 1700 motherboard and i5-12100 can get pricey, especially when you add drives.

One option you might want to consider is going with a TerraMaster NAS instead. These tend to be more affordable than building from scratch but still offer solid hardware. Plus, you can install your own OS on them — like TrueNAS Scale, OpenMediaVault, or set up Jellyfin for media streaming. This way, you get a good balance of flexibility, decent performance, and a lower upfront cost.

It’s a great middle ground if you want something capable but don’t want to blow the budget on DIY parts.