Newegg's recently announced NAS Builder offers a unique shopping experience for those seeking to assemble a NAS and the drives needed to fill it.
Simple Selection Tools and Filters for Finding the Right NAS Device
Unlike more detailed configurators from NAS vendors, the NAS Builder presents an organized view of compatible NAS devices and drives with simple selection tools and filters for sorting by price, reviews, and RJ-45 specs.
According to the story by Ars Technica, this allows users to quickly compare products from different brands and fill out the NAS within their total capacity requirements. However, as other components and features cannot be specified, shoppers must look beyond the NAS Builder when assembling a NAS.
A Quick and Helpful Solution: Newegg's NAS Builder
Newegg is giving shoppers needing a NAS device a quick and helpful solution with its newly launched NAS Builder. The tool provides an efficient, straightforward interface for perusing NAS devices and compatible HDDs or SSDs within a selected NAS device's capabilities.
It's a great way for newcomers or advanced users to make a comparison and evaluate whether they're getting their money's worth. Newegg's NAS Builder offers 73 enclosures across five vendors and allows consumers to sort by price, number of reviews, or search based on specific criteria such as bay counts and RJ-45 specs.
Convenient Drive Selection with Estimated Minimum Wattage, Cost and Capacity
Its ability to add filters is convenient and provides a much cleaner version than shoppers will find elsewhere. Additionally, a selected product is available at the top of the page so users can perform quick comparisons, fill out the chosen enclosure and see your total capacity requirements.
When selecting a drive, Newegg's configurator also adds a convenient estimate of the minimum wattage, cost, and capacity the NAS will hold for videos, photos, and albums.
Calculating RAID Array Capacity and Protection With Newegg's RAID Calculator
While these parameters are broad due to the lack of customization, it's still helpful to gauge your expectations. As an added bonus, the RAID calculator goes further, breaking storage arrays into capacity, protection, and unused, as also noted in an article by Business Wire.
As expected, Newegg's tool has its limits. It does not provide specific CPU models or NAS features like USB ports, HDMI, PCIe, error recovery, encryption, or internal file system support.
It also does not differentiate between HDDs using SMR and CMR disks. Furthermore, this tool won't be enough to make an informed decision if you're considering a drive with Western Digital black or surveillance features.
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Building a NAS from Scratch: Considerations Beyond the NAS Builder
Lastly, while the NAS Builder encourages consumers to buy their products from Newegg, it doesn't suggest to shoppers the option to build a NAS from scratch. These flaws do not take away from the fact that Newegg's NAS Builder is an efficient way to streamline the shopping process.
The tool is great for shoppers looking for basic comparison tools and has few considerations beyond capacity, drive type, RAID configurations, and budget. Even though you'll have to look beyond the tool to ensure you're getting the necessary specs, it's still a great starting point for finding the perfect NAS.
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