I'm looking to build a small PC server to run TrueNAS that can accommodate 5-8 NVMe drives. Currently, I have 5 2TB drives set up in a RAIDZ2 configuration on my Proxmox server, but I want to transfer the storage to a dedicated NAS so I can use my Proxmox server solely for VMs. The new setup should support at least 5 NVMe drives, plus an additional OS drive or two (which could be SATA SSDs). I'm considering using CPUs like the N100 or N150, but I'm concerned they might not have enough PCIe lanes for all these drives. Also, I'm struggling to find motherboards that support these CPUs—most options seem to come from Ali Express or are NUC-style builds. I've found a few systems on Ali Express that can hold 4 NVMe drives, but I'm unsure about their reliability. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
1 Answer
Getting 5 NVMe drives to run on a sub-20 watt NAS is going to be a challenge. Just the drives alone would draw around 15 watts, and if you're running RAID, that adds more load on the CPU. If you're looking for something low-power, you might want to check out micro NAS setups using SBCs, but keep in mind, for the price of high-quality SSD storage, it's worth considering a more robust solution. Something like the Asustor Flashstor or a refurbished workstation with NVMe expansion cards could offer better performance without sacrificing too much power efficiency.
I don't actually need high performance for my setup. I'm mainly using RAID for media storage, archives, and backups. I also thought NVMe drives wouldn't draw much power unless they're actively reading data, unlike traditional spinning drives.