New Build – Feedback Welcome

TrueNAS General
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Hi all,

I’m considering a new NAS build and would love your feedback before I start ordering parts. The system is meant to be versatile and reasonably future-proof without going overboard on power consumption.

Use Cases

  • Plex server – Capable of 4K/8K transcoding and ready for AV1
  • Frigate NVR – With Google Coral TPU (only 2 cameras for now)
  • Windows VM – Fast enough for regular office use in a Windows VM
  • Multiple Docker apps (40+, steadily growing in number…)

Build Priorities

  • CPU: Max 65W TDP; integrated GPU for now (e.g., Intel Core i9‑13900T because of iGPU capabilities)
  • Storage: 4x M.2 NVMe slots (onboard or via expansion)
  • Drives: 6+ 3.5" HDDs now, expandable later
  • RAM: 128GB (expandable); ECC would be great if possible
  • GPU: Future upgrade path for a discrete GPU (e.g., NVIDIA Blackwell for Steam gaming)
  • SATA expandability: Ability to add an HBA like LSI 9300-8i (in IT mode)

My current thoughts on the hardware build:

  • Case: Jonsbo N5 ATX
  • CPU: Intel Core i9‑13900T
  • Cooler: be quiet! Pure Rock 3 black
  • Motherboard: ASUS Pro WS W680‑ACE (ATX, LGA1700)
  • RAM (ECC!): 4x Kingston DIMM 32 GB DDR5-5600 ECC, KSM56E46BD8KM-32HA, Hynix
  • PSU: be quiet! Pure Power 12 M 1000W (v13 may be a bit too large for the case)
  • Fans: 4x Noctua NF-A12x25 G2 LS-PWM 120mm

Hardware to Reuse:

  • 2x M.2 NVMe WD Black SN850X 8TB (data pool)
  • 1x M.2 NVMe Intenso 250GB (boot-pool)
  • HDDs: 4x WD Red Pro 20TB (WD201KFGX)

Questions & Concerns

  1. Do you see any immediate issues or obvious bottlenecks with this setup?
  2. Any known GPU compatibility pros/cons for NVIDIA vs AMD on TrueNAS SCALE
  3. Jonsbo case looks nice, but this NAS will be placed in the basement, so other cases are definitively an option
  4. Would DDR4 be good enough, or is DDR5 worth it here?

Looking forward to your thoughts!

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Refer to the Plex forum for the hardware requirements and then add a little more.

You have a lot of things you want to do with your system. Power savings will not be one of them.

I do not recommend the WS, I’d recommend an actual server board.
How did you plan to connect the four NVMe drives to the computer? If you use bifurcation then you must have a motherboard that support it ot you need to buy a PLX board.

Does this mean you will be purchasing two more 8TB NVMe drives or just 1 more? If yes, RAIDZ2 or RAIDZ1.

Without downloading the motherboard user manual, I don’t know about this MB for this kind of project.

DDR4 is probably good enough, however you need to buy what is compatible with your motherboard. You cannot stick a DDR4 module into a DDR5 connector. If this is the kind of system you want, you still have some more research to do.

This helps. I would recommend you look for high airflow cases. If you add an HBA, they need a HAF case to remain cool. A perforated case cannot direct airflow. The Jonsbo case you are looking at is not good for this. Odds are you will find yourself some ugly case and it just works. Google HAF case and you will see a lot of them.

Remember a few things:

  1. Your drives and fans are consumables.
  2. Your MB, CPU, RAM are not consumables.

Spend wisely as you may be living with your selections for a while.

3 Likes
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Seems like you plan to use it as an all-in-one SOHO server. I wouldn’t recommend TrueNAS for this purpose. Better look for some full-fledged hypervisor.

Also, @joeschmuck recommendations look valid to me. Except for the airflow part – I don’t have enough experience with this to evaluate.

1 Like
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Thank you thank you thank you. It’s most welcome advice and made me think…

Based on these reflections and after doing some more research, I decided to

  • put more emphasis on building this as a hypervisor system
  • go all-in with server components, inside a HAF case
  • put less emphasis on power efficiency

Updated parts list (click for more details):

Case: Fractal Meshify 2 XL
  • excellent airflow
  • tool-less, easy access to everything
  • E-ATX, SSI-EEB, ATX, mATX, mini-ITX
  • 6 HDD trays, upgradable to 16 HDDs / 5 SSDs
  • 3 Dynamic X2 GP-14 fans - decent off-the-shelf (~32dbA), upgradable
  • dimensions 600mm x 240mm x 566mm; 14kg net weight
  • specifications
  • heise preisvergleich - €220
Mainboard: ASRock Rack GENOAD8UD‑2T/X550
  • supports 4th gen (Genoa / Zen 4) and 5th gen (Turin / Zen 5) CPUs
  • 10.4" x 10.5"
  • Single Socket SP5 (LGA 6096), supports AMD EPYC™ 9005*/9004 (with AMD 3D V-Cache™ Technology) and 97x4 series processors
  • system on chip
  • 8 DIMM slots, max 128GB RDIMM capacity, max 4800 MHz
  • Up to 16 SATA 6Gb/s
  • Supports 2 M.2 (PCIe5.0 x4)
  • Intel X550-AT2, 2x 10GbE RJ45
  • Remote Management (IPMI)
  • Support ATX PSU or 12V DC-IN
  • Power connectors (check PSU): 1 (4-pin, ATX PSU signal) w/ ATX 24-pin adapter cable, 3 (8-pin, ATX 12V)
  • specifications
  • heise preisvergleich - €850
CPU: AMD EPYC 9255 (Zen5)
  • Genoa (5th) generation from Oct 2024
  • SP5 socket (LGA6096)
  • 24 cores/ 48 threads
  • 3,25Ghz, boost up to 4,3GHz
  • 128MB L3 Cache
  • TDP 200W (configurable to 120W?)
  • 12 DDR5 ECC memory channels
  • 128 lanes PCIe 5.0 directly connected
  • 6400 MHz RAM frequency
  • specifications
  • heise preisvergleich - €1800-€2200
RAM: 8x Kingston Server Premier RDIMM 16GB, DDR5-6400, CL52-52-52, 1RX8, reg ECC
  • !check again if supported!
  • KSM64R52BS8-16MD
  • ECC RAM, registered DIMMs, 6400 MHz
  • 8 modules ~ matching 8 channels on motherboard, but CPU has 12 channels
  • specifications
  • heise preisvergleich - 8x €130
CPU Cooler: ARCTIC Freezer 4U-SP5
  • designed for SP5 socket
  • supports up to 360W TDP
  • comes with MX-6 thermal paste
  • 124 (L) x 147 (W) x 145 (H) mm
  • 2x 120 mm PWM Fans
  • 45.3 dBA
  • specifications
  • heise preisvergleich - €55
PSU: Seasonic PRIME PX-1600
GPU: Inno3D GeForce RTX 3060 Ti X3 OC 8Go

M.2 expansion:

Asus Hyper M.2 x16 Gen 4 Card
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YOur RAM will be overspend! The MoBo only supports 4800 MT/s, so a 6400 one is waste of money. Pick a 4800 rated RAM. Spend the money you saved on a lower latency module.
ALso, an 1600 W PSU seems way overkill, exceptt, if xou also plan to run some local LLMs later with two RTX 5090. (Or to play extreme overclocking with one.)
I see, you plan to use a 3060 Ti OC.
If you have it right now, its OK, but if not, I would rather buy a 5060Ti 16 GB (only 8x PCI!) or a 5070 Ti 16 GB (16x PCI) instead. ALso, the 3060 is I guess PCIex Gen3 or 4 only, while the 50 series is gen5
Jay just released a video yesterday, hot much of a waste of money to buy the much more expensive OC variants of the cards.

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Thank you for taking a look and these comments!

You’re right! I guess I’m used to overclocking from gaming PCs. It seems not possible with this motherboard.

Indeed, I would like to keep that option for later.

Very good catch! I’ll switch to 5060 Ti.

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Well, then it is a wise choice!

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A lesson I learned about my toolless case, the top and front pop off. While carrying the case these popped off and the entire system fell to the ground. It was not good. I ended up manufacturing two plastic brackets which screw into place to secure the front and top covers. I can remove two screws if I need to access those areas and the side panels pop off without issue.

This is just a warning and before you put anything in your case, place it over something soft like your bed, now carry it in various ways, can you pull off a panel while holding it? Remember, the case gets rather heavy once you start populating it.

The tempered glass is nice, you can blow smoke into the front fans and visually see where the airflow goes. What isn’t getting cooled?

If you are not using fans in the top of the case, and depending on the system most people would not need those, you could cut out a piece of thin cardboard, like form a cereal box, and sandwich it between the case and top panel to ensure air does not flow in that direction.

I think about these things and if you take your time, you may as well, but experience is the best teacher.

Others have pointed out a few things to you. And you definitely went in the other direction for components. This a beast of a system. Unfortunately you are making some mistakes in component selection. I’m not trying to be mean but you need to pay close attention to the components you select. Read the user manual for everything you can get your hands on. The motherboard manual is a must. The QVL for RAM is a must. I’m not saying to not purchase some of these items, I’m only saying that you should ensure compatibility. The RAM speed is an item for example that “might” work, but look at the QVL.

Also, when building a system of this caliber, run MemTest86+ for many many days, and Prime95 for probably 6+ hours (I’d go for 24 hours as it is a lot of money and I’d want to find any problems immediately, not 6 months later). All should work without a single blip of a problem.

If you just won the lottery, send me a blank check and I will gladly build you a fantastic system, and as said on Jurassic Park, “Spared no expense”, and build myself one as well. Okay, mine would be smaller as I don’t need a Cray computer in my living room. :wink:

Best of luck to you.

1 Like
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Ah the internet, especially utube… tool less, sigh :frowning:

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I’m sure there’s plenty of tools on youtube :wink: