4 beginner mistakes to avoid when building your DIY NAS

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Building your network-attached storage (NAS) device from scratch is a great way to customize the system to your exact needs. It's also fun and provides a strong sense of accomplishment when everything is running. Still, there are some mistakes you should be aware of to avoid repeating when building your NAS. From choosing the wrong CPU to not using active cooling enough, I'll go through some beginner mistakes to show what to look out for.



1 Selecting the wrong CPU for the job

Hold the Intel Core i9-14900KS

The choice of CPU is one of the most important aspects of a NAS. Just like a PC, it determines what you can do with the server, including running services on simple file storage. Even the cheapest desktop chips are overkill for network-attached storage. A modern Intel Core i3 processor may have more cores than you need, but that opens up other possibilities with the NAS. Think web servers, media servers, gaming servers, home surveillance, and more. You need to make sure the processor you want to buy has enough PCIe lanes for your storage.

It is generally better to choose a powerful chip that is not being used to its full capacity than one that is faltering at the limit of its capacity.


2 Not installing enough active cooling

A look inside the Lenovo ThinkServer SR250 V2

Like any electronic device, your NAS will need cooling. Passive cooling can only handle a certain amount of heat and if you're using a CPU with a TDP of 30 or more, you may want to consider active cooling, especially if you plan on using multiple storage drives. Always keep in mind that virtually everything in your home-built NAS generates heat, including components soldered to the motherboard. PCIe 4.0 and 5.0 SSDs are known to pump out significant heat under load, so planning cooling channels is important to ensure thermal throttling doesn't occur.


When using a PC case with multiple fan motors, it is generally recommended to occupy them all and run them at lower speeds.

3 Not enough SATA and NVMe connections available

The SATA connectors on an X99 motherboard

You'll need a few storage connections. For consumer-grade units, you'll be playing with SATA ports and M.2 slots. The former are great for connecting high-quality 2.5-inch SSDs, and the M.2 slots are reserved for faster NVMe drives. As long as your CPU has enough PCIe lanes to cover every NVMe slot, you can reap the benefits of fast storage and caching. There's never “too many” ports, so it's always good to go overboard with the ability to expand your NAS later. And remember: any PCI slot can be used for SATA expansion cards, allowing you to add even more ports to your motherboard.


4 No data backup

Surface Pro 8 with SSD for data backup

Once everything is up and running, you need to start making regular backups of all the data stored on the NAS. Using a RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) does not count as data backup. Even the most stable RAID configuration can fail, leaving you with no access to the data stored on the NAS. This is where a reliable backup strategy comes in. Most NAS enclosures and operating systems offer a way to automate the process without much hassle. All you need to do is follow the 3-2-1 backup rule to ensure you always have a copy of your data available to use when rebuilding the storage array.

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