Don't throw away your old PC–it makes a better NAS than anything you can buy

Original Article ↗ Hacker News Discussion ↗

Role of a NAS vs just using your desktop

  • Some argue a separate NAS is overkill if you already have a desktop: putting disks in the main PC is simpler (no network in the path), cheaper, faster, and likely more reliable than maintaining two machines.
  • Others see a NAS as a “home server” more than just storage: always-on box for SMB/NFS/S3, Time Machine, media servers, Home Assistant, self-hosted apps, backups, etc., often kept separate from the main workstation.

Old PC as NAS: pros and cons

  • Pros: free/cheap reuse of hardware, lots of RAM/CPU, room for many drives, flexible OS choice (Debian, FreeBSD, Unraid, TrueNAS, NixOS, Proxmox, etc.).
  • Cons: higher idle power, more noise, larger footprint, often overpowered for simple NAS tasks. Several people say a modern low‑power NAS or mini‑PC is quieter, smaller, and can save enough electricity to pay for itself.
  • Some prefer repurposing SFF business PCs or laptops (built‑in “UPS”) instead of full gaming towers.

Raspberry Pi and low‑end solutions

  • Pi‑based NASes are called cheap and reliable by some, but others report power issues, drive failures with USB hubs, and SD card corruption.
  • Workarounds include booting from SSD and using powered USB hubs, but this adds bulk and complexity.

Data integrity: RAID, ECC, and filesystems

  • Strong camp insisting on ECC RAM and checksumming + scrubbing (ZFS, btrfs, SnapRAID) after experiencing bitrot. Some “wouldn’t run a NAS without ECC.”
  • Others advocate simple mdadm RAID + LUKS + ext4 as easier, portable, and low‑maintenance; they distrust proprietary NAS stacks more than DIY.
  • Debate over ZFS on Linux (out‑of‑tree, “hobbyist”) vs btrfs (“most tested on Linux”) vs SnapRAID/mergerfs; parity RAID5/6 vs multi‑copy RAID10‑style layouts; and USB enclosures vs internal SATA.

Turnkey vs tinkering and “lifecycle stage”

  • Several posters say their younger selves loved homelab experimentation, but with families they now prefer turnkey appliances (Synology, UGREEN, Terramaster) that “just work.”
  • Others report disappointing “turn‑key” experiences with some software NAS distros and conclude that custom setups still require skill, so they might as well own the full stack.

Environmental and usage considerations

  • Tensions between reusing old hardware vs buying efficient new gear; no consensus on where the CO₂ break‑even lies.
  • Some simply don’t need much local storage anymore (streaming + cloud), while others have tens of TB of media, RAW photos, or backups that make a home NAS compelling.