specifications

My NAS hardware

NAS build

MotherboardASRock J5040-ITX

RAM16 GB

System drive30 GB SSD

Cache drive (bcache)240 GB SSD

Data drives5× HDD — RAID10 (4 + 1 spare, mdadm)

PSUbe quiet! Pure Power 11 · 300 W · 80PLUS Bronze

Power draw~100 W

Former web-server build

MotherboardJ3455N D3H

RAM16 GB

Drive30 GB SSD (single)

PSUSeasonic SS-430GB Active PFC F3 S12II-430 · Bronze · 430 W

Power draw~12 W

Choosing components

The home storage builds I've put together are almost entirely secondhand gear bought on Aukro.cz, a Czech auction site. The main selection criteria stay the same every time: low power draw, drives suited to NAS duty, passively cooled CPUs, and enough SATA ports.

Tips and lessons learned

Going forward I want to avoid cheap ATX power supplies — a stable, low-watt PSU is worth the investment.
When picking HDDs, prefer NAS/Enterprise-class models for reliability under continuous operation.
A passively cooled CPU solves noise and part of the power draw at once, but it takes some care to keep an eye on case airflow.