Building a TrueNAS Homelab NAS: Part 1 – Planning & Sourcing in a Shortage Market
Introduction
Building a powerful TrueNAS SCALE-based homelab NAS has been an interesting challenge, especially given the current hardware shortages and high prices of key components like ECC-supported motherboards and Intel processors. This blog post documents the planning and sourcing process for my custom NAS build, which is now fully optimized for ZFS storage, virtual machines, Plex transcoding, and future expansion.
This is Part 1 of a multi-part series covering: ✅ Planning & Sourcing (this post) ✅ Setup & Configuration (next post) ✅ Performance Testing & Final Optimization (later posts)
Why Build My Own NAS Instead of Buying a Prebuilt One?
During my research, I looked at options like the iXsystems TrueNAS Mini X+, which is a compact, prebuilt ZFS storage appliance. While it’s a solid system, I ultimately decided to build my own because:
✅ More Future-Proof & Expandable – My custom build has more PCIe slots, more storage expansion options, and better CPU upgradeability. ✅ More Powerful CPU – My Intel i7-14700 offers better performance than the Intel Atom CPU in the TrueNAS Mini X+. ✅ Dedicated GPU for Plex – By adding an NVIDIA Quadro P2000, I offload all Plex transcoding to the GPU, reducing CPU load. ✅ More Control Over My Hardware & Privacy – No vendor-locked firmware, telemetry, or backdoors—I know exactly what’s running on my NAS. ✅ Similar Cost, Higher Performance – My build matches or beats the TrueNAS Mini X+ at a similar price point.
📌 My Current TrueNAS SCALE Build
| Component | Selected Part |
|---|---|
| OS | TrueNAS SCALE |
| CPU | Intel Core i7-14700 (20C/28T, ECC Support) |
| Motherboard | ASUS Pro WS W680M-ACE SE (W680, ECC Support, PCIe 5.0, 6x SATA, 2x 2.5GbE) |
| Memory | 2x Kingston KTH-PL548E/16G (32GB DDR5-4800 ECC Unbuffered) |
| Boot Drive (TrueNAS SCALE) | WD_BLACK SN850X NVMe SSD |
| VM Storage Drive | WD_BLACK SN850X NVMe SSD |
| HDDs (ZFS Storage Pool) | 4x Western Digital 8TB Red Plus (CMR, NAS Drives) |
| HBA Card (Storage Controller) | LSI 9300-8i (PCIe 3.0 x8, IT Mode) |
| GPU (Plex Transcoding) | NVIDIA Quadro P2000 (Unlimited NVENC Transcodes) |
| CPU Cooler | Noctua NH-U12S Redux (120mm, High Performance) |
| Case | Fractal Design Node 804 (Compact, High-Airflow) |
| Power Supply | Seasonic FOCUS GX-650 (80+ Gold, Fully Modular) |
🔹 Why I Chose TrueNAS SCALE Over TrueNAS CORE
Since I have 20+ years of experience administering Debian Linux, I decided to run TrueNAS SCALE instead of TrueNAS CORE (FreeBSD-based). Here’s why:
✅ Better Virtualization – Uses KVM/QEMU instead of FreeBSD’s bhyve, which has limited VM support. ✅ Native Docker & Kubernetes Support – I can easily run self-hosted apps like Nextcloud, Home Assistant, or Pi-hole in containers. ✅ Better GPU Support – Supports Intel Quick Sync, NVIDIA NVENC, and AMD GPUs for hardware acceleration (CORE doesn’t). ✅ Better Hardware Compatibility – More PCIe devices, NICs, and HBAs work out-of-the-box in Linux.
🚀 Current Virtual Machine Plan
✅ Plex VM – Uses NVIDIA Quadro P2000 for unlimited hardware transcodes. ✅ Nginx (LEMP) VM – Testing server for web development & self-hosted projects.
🚀 How My Build Compares to TrueNAS Mini X+
| Feature | My Custom TrueNAS Build | iXsystems TrueNAS Mini X+ |
|---|---|---|
| CPU | Intel Core i7-14700 (20C/28T) | Intel Atom C3758 (8C/8T) |
| Memory | 32GB DDR5-4800 ECC | 32GB DDR4-2400 ECC |
| Storage Expandability | 6 SATA + HBA Expansion | 6 SATA Bays, No NVMe |
| Networking | 2x 2.5GbE LAN | 2x 10GbE SFP+ Built-in |
| PCIe Slots | PCIe 5.0 x16, PCIe 4.0 x4 | Limited PCIe Expansion |
| HBA Card | LSI 9300-8i (ZFS-optimized) | Onboard SATA Controller |
| GPU | Quadro P2000 (Plex Transcoding) | None |
| Power Supply | 650W Fully Modular | Proprietary |
📦 Challenges in Sourcing Hardware
One of the hardest parts of this build was finding compatible hardware at a reasonable price due to ongoing CPU & motherboard shortages. Some challenges I faced:
⚠️ Motherboards with ECC support are hard to find – Many W680-based motherboards are out of stock or overpriced. ⚠️ Intel Xeon CPUs are expensive – I originally considered a Xeon E-2100 or E-2200, but they were either discontinued or overpriced. ⚠️ GPU prices are unpredictable – The NVIDIA Quadro P2000 was one of the best options for Plex transcoding, but availability fluctuates.
🚀 Next Steps: Installing & Configuring TrueNAS SCALE
Now that all the hardware is sourced, the next steps are: ✅ Installing TrueNAS SCALE ✅ Setting up ZFS storage pools & VM environments ✅ Configuring Plex with NVIDIA GPU passthrough ✅ Optimizing network performance & remote access
🔜 Stay tuned for Part 2: Setting Up & Configuring TrueNAS SCALE!
What are your thoughts on this build? Have you built your own TrueNAS homelab NAS? Let me know in the comments!
