Need help with configuration for my first NAS

[Nemanja]

Hello ppl, 

I plan to build my first small home (media / backup) NAS, and I have no past experience with NAS. Actually, my first idea was to buy a commercial NAS device, but I realized that I have to spend a lot of money if I want to get a quality/fast device for the Plex server, and that for the same money I can build a much better machine for this need.
 

I read many topics about system requirements, experience etc. I was thinking about all the options unRAID, FreeNAS, Windows Server, WIndows 10, Ubuntu etc, but in the end I think that unRAID is the best option for my needs
 

This is what I need from NAS:

• Plex server for 1 user, in very rare situations 2 users
• Plex will serve files mostly in 480p (75%), 720p (20%), and in rare cases 1080p (5%)
• I will use Chromecast 2 and/or LG Plex app to play files from Plex server
• Using the services such as Sonarr, Radarr, Torrent synchronized with Plex
• Periodical manual backup of my work files (PSD, XD, AI, JPG, PNG) or sync using Resilio or similar service (I also have Google Drive 200GB for backup)
• I want to have local and remote access to work files, but most often I will only access from the local network
   

The challenge is that I have a very small apartment and I do not have much space available for setting up this device, and I want to build this NAS in small case, and this is what I had in mind:
 

• CASE InWin Chopin 150W (MUST HAVE)
• CPU Intel Pentium Gold G5400
• MB GIGABYTE B360N wifi (m.2 support, I will not use wifi)
• HyperX 16GB FURY DDR4 2666MHz (or I need 32GB?)
• HDD 2x SEAGATE BarraCuda 2TB 2.5"
• SSD m.2 120 or 240GB for caching

TOTAL ~500euro (price based on market in my country)

I'm open for any suggestion and recommendation, just please stay in budget friendly range :)
 

InWin Chopin case is so sweet, but also very small and it fits perfectly (tower mode) beside my home router (TV unit in living room), this is why I want this this case. But because of the size it is very limited, so I can put only 2x 2.5" HDD, and I have plan to use m.2 for SSD, b/c there are not other space for another disk.

The PSU is weak, only 150W but still good enough for this configuration.
 

I currently have two Plex servers, one on my old laptop, the other on my wife's laptop, and both server works perfect, even  if the resources of these laptops are used for other things. Both laptops are based on the Intel i7 (2620m/8GB and 3540M/16GB), these processors have a very similar score (PassMark) to Intel Pentium Gold g5400. Of course, the laptops are connected to the router via 2.4ghz wifi, because they do not have a 5.0ghz wifi, but Plex running without any problems, lags etc
 

I'm just not sure if this configuration can serve my needs? In most of the topics I've read, people use much more powerful CPU, have many more disks and have a much more users. 
 

Is there a significant advantage of using SSD for my needs, and how much capacity would have?

Thanks

[trurl]

With only 2 disks are you thinking of using one as parity?

 

1 hour ago, Nemanja said:

Is there a significant advantage of using SSD for my needs, and how much capacity would have?

I assume you mean instead of the HDDs. Probably not, and SSDs in the array can't be trimmed anyway. (Does anybody know if that restriction still applies even if there is no parity?)

 

I like that case and might consider it for my next "desktop" build.

 

I would probably consider going with more capacity though. There are larger 2.5" HDDs available. If you are considering running without parity then replacing a disk with a larger one later on will be a lot more trouble since there will be no way to rebuild to a larger disk if you don't have parity.

[Nemanja]

1 hour ago, trurl said:

With only 2 disks are you thinking of using one as parity?

Yes, is that okay ?

 

1 hour ago, trurl said:

I assume you mean instead of the HDDs

No, I mean SSD for caching and if there is no significant impact, I'll consider buying cheaper MB w/o m.2, and I'll spend this money for bigger hdds

 

1 hour ago, trurl said:

I would probably consider going with more capacity though. There are larger 2.5" HDDs available. If you are considering running without parity then replacing a disk with a larger one later on will be a lot more trouble since there will be no way to rebuild to a larger disk if you don't have parity.

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind and I will try to get 2x 4TB, anyway I can't put more then 2 HDD in this case

[trurl]

1x4TB parity + 1x4TB data sounds good. Can't get much bigger in 2.5" anyway for now.

SATA SSD instead of M.2 for cache will also be fine if it will fit in the case and will free up some money as you say.

 

The rest should be fine for your plex requirements. You would probably even be fine with only 8GB RAM.