11 hours ago
First off — you’ve done an impressive job getting this far. Architecting and running your own LLM stack locally, with HuggingFace integration and your own “MoM” setup, is exactly the kind of forward-thinking self-hosting we love to see. Well done.
Now, onto your question: if you want to make sure your hardware investment is future-proof, allows for expansion later, and supports secure, local-first access from all your devices — while staying close to your $1,000 budget — here’s what I’d recommend.
Why You’ll Want Expansion
Because you’re running generative AI workloads, you will eventually benefit from a GPU upgrade. LLMs, even when running locally and trimmed down, scale much better with GPU acceleration. So you don’t want to get stuck with a platform that has no PCIe slot or way to attach an external GPU later.
3 Strong Options
1️⃣ QNAP TVS-h474 / h674 (or 74 Series)
• Around $1,000–$1,200 for the 4-bay h474.
• Comes with a PCIe Gen4 slot so you can add a GPU later.
• Supports ZFS via QuTS hero OS, which is ideal for data integrity on sensitive models and projects.
• Well-tested platform with excellent remote access features and decent security tools out of the box.
• Quiet and small enough for home/office use.
2️⃣ Aoostar WTR Max NAS
• Similar pricing ($950–$1,100 depending on where you source it).
• Ryzen 7 Pro CPU, tons of NVMe slots for fast SSD storage.
• No internal PCIe slot — but it has an OCuLink port, which lets you attach a PCIe external GPU enclosure later on. So you still have an upgrade path.
• Runs TrueNAS or Proxmox well if you want to stay closer to open-source.
• More power and flexibility than most commercial NAS units.
3️⃣ Minisforum N5 Pro
• ~$1,100–$1,200.
• AMD Ryzen 9, very capable CPU for AI workloads.
• Multiple NVMe slots for fast SSD storage.
• No PCIe slot inside, but does support OCuLink external PCIe expansion like the WTR Max.
• Very compact and quiet, but more DIY-friendly than turnkey.
What I’d Choose
If you want something more plug-and-play with strong software support (and don’t mind QNAP’s quirks), the QNAP h474 is a solid choice.
If you prefer a more open, DIY-friendly, Linux/ZFS stack with tons of compute headroom, and don’t mind setting up your own services, the WTR Max is probably your best match.
The N5 Pro sits in between: super powerful, but a bit less flexible than the WTR in the long run.
Now, onto your question: if you want to make sure your hardware investment is future-proof, allows for expansion later, and supports secure, local-first access from all your devices — while staying close to your $1,000 budget — here’s what I’d recommend.
Why You’ll Want Expansion
Because you’re running generative AI workloads, you will eventually benefit from a GPU upgrade. LLMs, even when running locally and trimmed down, scale much better with GPU acceleration. So you don’t want to get stuck with a platform that has no PCIe slot or way to attach an external GPU later.
3 Strong Options
1️⃣ QNAP TVS-h474 / h674 (or 74 Series)
• Around $1,000–$1,200 for the 4-bay h474.
• Comes with a PCIe Gen4 slot so you can add a GPU later.
• Supports ZFS via QuTS hero OS, which is ideal for data integrity on sensitive models and projects.
• Well-tested platform with excellent remote access features and decent security tools out of the box.
• Quiet and small enough for home/office use.
2️⃣ Aoostar WTR Max NAS
• Similar pricing ($950–$1,100 depending on where you source it).
• Ryzen 7 Pro CPU, tons of NVMe slots for fast SSD storage.
• No internal PCIe slot — but it has an OCuLink port, which lets you attach a PCIe external GPU enclosure later on. So you still have an upgrade path.
• Runs TrueNAS or Proxmox well if you want to stay closer to open-source.
• More power and flexibility than most commercial NAS units.
3️⃣ Minisforum N5 Pro
• ~$1,100–$1,200.
• AMD Ryzen 9, very capable CPU for AI workloads.
• Multiple NVMe slots for fast SSD storage.
• No PCIe slot inside, but does support OCuLink external PCIe expansion like the WTR Max.
• Very compact and quiet, but more DIY-friendly than turnkey.
What I’d Choose
If you want something more plug-and-play with strong software support (and don’t mind QNAP’s quirks), the QNAP h474 is a solid choice.
If you prefer a more open, DIY-friendly, Linux/ZFS stack with tons of compute headroom, and don’t mind setting up your own services, the WTR Max is probably your best match.
The N5 Pro sits in between: super powerful, but a bit less flexible than the WTR in the long run.