Home Server Hardware for a DIY NAS

For a four-drive DIY NAS, our compact home server hardware pick is the Fractal Design Node 304 with the ASUS PRIME H610I-PLUS D4: six case mounts, four motherboard SATA ports, and a separate M.2 boot-storage slot. Consider the UGREEN NASync DXP2800 instead if a two-bay appliance suits you and you want to skip component assembly. Documents checked November 2, 2026.

Quick picks

Compare specifications and all conditions

Fractal Node 304 Black

Choose it for

Compact case with six combined drive mounts

Limit to plan around

Mini-ITX/Mini-DTX boards; ATX PSU length up to 160mm

ASUS PRIME H610I-PLUS D4

Choose it for

Four SATA disks plus M.2 boot storage

Limit to plan around

Gigabit Ethernet, non-ECC memory, one expansion slot

WD Red Plus WD80EFPX

Choose it for

Exact 8TB CMR data-drive choice

Limit to plan around

Buy the exact model; calculate capacity after redundancy

UGREEN NASync DXP2800

Choose it for

Two-bay appliance with 8GB DDR5 and 2.5GbE

Limit to plan around

Diskless; cannot house the reference build's four SATA drives

Full comparison table ↔

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Pick	Choose it for	Limit to plan around
Fractal Node 304 Black	Compact case with six combined drive mounts	Mini-ITX/Mini-DTX boards; ATX PSU length up to 160mm
ASUS PRIME H610I-PLUS D4	Four SATA disks plus M.2 boot storage	Gigabit Ethernet, non-ECC memory, one expansion slot
WD Red Plus WD80EFPX	Exact 8TB CMR data-drive choice	Buy the exact model; calculate capacity after redundancy
UGREEN NASync DXP2800	Two-bay appliance with 8GB DDR5 and 2.5GbE	Diskless; cannot house the reference build's four SATA drives

Pick	Choose it for	Limit to plan around
Fractal Node 304 Black	Compact case with six combined drive mounts	Mini-ITX/Mini-DTX boards; ATX PSU length up to 160mm
ASUS PRIME H610I-PLUS D4	Four SATA disks plus M.2 boot storage	Gigabit Ethernet, non-ECC memory, one expansion slot
WD Red Plus WD80EFPX	Exact 8TB CMR data-drive choice	Buy the exact model; calculate capacity after redundancy
UGREEN NASync DXP2800	Two-bay appliance with 8GB DDR5 and 2.5GbE	Diskless; cannot house the reference build's four SATA drives

• 6 mountsNode 304 physical drive capacity
• 4 SATA portsASUS board's hard-drive connections
• 1 M.2 storage slotSeparate PCIe boot-storage connection

Decide what the storage must protect

Write down today's data, expected growth, acceptable downtime and an independent backup destination before ordering. Use our home server platform guide if you are still choosing between a storage appliance, reused computer and dedicated build.

Our example uses four 8TB drives: 32TB raw, or 16TB nominal with two mirrored pairs, before filesystem overhead and free-space allowances. That is capacity arithmetic from WD's drive size and TrueNAS's mirror rules, not measured formatted space. Each pair contributes one drive's capacity; losing both members of either pair makes the pool unavailable. Choose a different layout before migration if your failure-tolerance requirements differ.

Mirroring does not provide an independent backup. The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security recommends three copies, two media types and one offsite copy, plus restore checks. Budget backup storage alongside the NAS.

Best compact NAS case for this build: Fractal Node 304

The Node 304 documents specify 374 × 250 × 210mm, length × width × height, Mini-ITX/Mini-DTX support, a 160mm PSU length limit and a 165mm CPU-cooler height limit. Its six mounts accept either drive size; they are mounting positions, not a SATA backplane.

Fractal includes two front 92mm fans, one rear 140mm fan and a controller. Keep their airflow paths clear when routing cables. The reference PSU is 140mm deep and the cooler is 37mm tall, within the published case limits; verify cable bends during assembly rather than assuming the remaining space is all usable.

Variant check: this list specifies black FD-CA-NODE-304-BL. Fractal's product sheet separately identifies the white version. It also warns that sideways-facing motherboard SATA connectors can conflict with installation, so recheck the board layout before substituting another model.

NAS motherboard pick: ASUS PRIME H610I-PLUS D4

ASUS lists four SATA ports, one M.2 Key M slot supporting 2260/2280 PCIe 3.0 x4 storage, and one PCIe 4.0 x16 slot. The board measures 17.02 × 17.02cm. Allocate all SATA ports to the hard drives, M.2 to the boot SSD, and leave PCIe empty.

The limits matter: Realtek gigabit Ethernet, two DDR4 desktop DIMM slots, and up to 64GB of non-ECC memory. A faster NIC and an HBA would compete for the sole expansion slot; choose another platform if you already need both. For any future controller, verify slot width, card dimensions, cooling, OS driver and its specified drive cables before buying.

Why the J5040-ITX is an existing-owner option

ASRock marks the J5040-ITX discontinued in July 2023, with support conditional on supplier availability. Its documented ceiling is 8GB of DDR4-2133/2400 SO-DIMM memory, not the desktop DIMMs below. It has four onboard SATA connectors: two platform connectors and two through ASMedia ASM1061. Its PCIe 2.0 x1 slot and wireless-only M.2 Key E socket are different resources from the ASUS board's.

Four hard drives consume all its SATA connections. Do not copy this build's NVMe boot plan onto it or assume a conventional x8 HBA fits its x1 slot. This is why it is excluded from the new-build list.

Complete four-drive reference parts list

These exact components form a documentation-based compatibility plan for a bare-metal TrueNAS storage server. No additional storage controller or discrete graphics card is specified.

CPU and RAM: ASUS's CPU support lookup includes the i3-12100. The 12100F lacks its integrated graphics. Noctua marks the selected cooler compatible with both the processor and motherboard. ASUS's memory lookup lists KVR32N22D8/16; this is one module, not a two-module kit.

Boot variant: the DC2000B is intended for server boot use and has hardware power-loss protection. Keep the Y in the part number: the heatsink version is 8.3mm high. Its PCIe 4.0 interface operates at this board's PCIe 3.0 link speed, following PCIe backward compatibility. TrueNAS's hardware table specifies a 16GB boot device, while its installation guide recommends 20GB or larger; this SSD exceeds both.

Cable ledger: the PSU supplies five SATA power plugs, two peripheral four-pin plugs, a motherboard 24-pin plug and a CPU 4+4-pin plug. Connect every HDD directly to SATA power and data; use the case controller for its fans and CPU_FAN for the cooler. ASUS includes two SATA data cables; the list specifies four matching SATA18 cables and leaves those supplied cables as spares. Reuse an Ethernet patch lead, installer USB stick, keyboard and display cable for commissioning.

A documentation conflict to check: ASUS's live specifications list one chassis-fan header; the current English manual lists three. Using Fractal's supplied controller avoids relying on the larger count. Check the actual PCB before adding fans.

Data-drive pick: WD Red Plus WD80EFPX

The exact WD80EFPX specification confirms 8TB, CMR recording and a 3.5-inch SATA interface. Match that suffix on the order; substituting another capacity or drive family needs a fresh check. The reference build uses four identical-capacity drives for its mirrored pairs.

This DIY choice does not establish compatibility with an appliance. Check that separately before ordering disks for the alternative below.

Appliance alternative: UGREEN NASync DXP2800

The DXP2800 specifications list two SATA drive bays, an Intel N100 processor, 8GB DDR5 memory expandable to 16GB, and one 2.5GbE port. It runs UGOS and is sold diskless. Choose it if two SATA bays meet your storage plan and you prefer the appliance route; it cannot hold this reference build's four hard drives.

Its two M.2 NVMe slots support SSD caching or a separate SSD pool. Those slots do not add SATA hard-drive bays. Select compatible drives separately, configure storage and maintain an independent backup. The TrueNAS boot and mirrored-pair plan above applies to the DIY build, so plan the appliance's storage separately.

Our home NAS guide compares the broader appliance choices.

How we choose

We compared manufacturer specifications, dimensioned manuals, CPU and memory support lists, cooler compatibility tables and TrueNAS documentation. This is a researched reference configuration; assembly, power consumption, acoustics and stability have not been measured. ASUS lists Windows support for this board; the TrueNAS plan follows that platform's published hardware requirements, rather than an ASUS Linux certification.

Commission it and prepare recovery before migration

Choose the OS using our Unraid vs TrueNAS guide; the SSD boot plan here follows TrueNAS. Its hardware guidance recommends exposing disks directly rather than building a hardware RAID array.

1. 1

   Assemble and inspect

   Install CPU, cooler, RAM and boot SSD; route cables clear of fans and fit the drive brackets.

2. 2

   Install onto the SSD

   Use the temporary USB installer; leave data drives disconnected while selecting the boot target.

3. 3

   Validate the hardware

   Reconnect disks, confirm every drive and wired networking, run memory and drive-health checks, and inspect temperatures during sustained copying.

4. 4

   Prove the storage plan

   Create the mirrored pairs and an SMB dataset; configure alerts and a separate backup, then restore sample files before migrating originals.

Save the TrueNAS configuration with its password secret seed after setup changes. Secure that file and any dataset encryption keys away from the NAS. For a failed boot SSD, reinstall TrueNAS, restore the saved configuration, and import the existing pool if needed; do not create a replacement pool over recovery disks. Keep the installed release identifier with your recovery notes.

Test a file restore from the independent backup, including permissions, before trusting the system with originals. Plan a supported shutdown arrangement using our router and NAS UPS guide.

Verdict

Choose the Node 304 and ASUS PRIME H610I-PLUS D4 for this documented four-drive build, with separate SSD boot storage and the listed power and data cables. Consider the UGREEN NASync DXP2800 when a diskless two-bay appliance suits you. If you require ECC or simultaneous HBA and network-card expansion, change the motherboard plan before buying.