Probably a stupid question, but i'll ask it anyway

 

I really like the advantages unRAID has over traditional RAID. But, having said that, i don't have room for a custom big tower. I do have space for a small form factor enclosure like Synology's 8 bay 1812 or 12 bay 2411.

 

Now the stupid part is it possible to run unRAID on Synology hardware (overriding the synology OS) even with some advanced linux tricks? Or if not, would it be possible to replace the SYnology mainboard, replace it with a 'standard' board and run unRAID anyway?

 

That way i could have the best of both worlds; a small enclosure that still holds 12 disks, and running unRAID

I doubt that Synology has left their system with the capability to be modded like you want, but do not know for sure.

 

Something you might want to consider is a small form factor Mini-ITX case that can hold a lot of drives. For example, this Lian Li case http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811112339 can hold (7) 3.5 drives within its dimensions of 14.41" x 7.83" x 11.02".