Newegg has a quick and dirty way to choose a new NAS device and the drives that will go into it. Announced today, NAS Builder provides a unique, intuitive interface to browse available NAS enclosures from retailers and select compatible HDDs or SSDs within the capabilities of the selected NAS device. You’re limited to Newegg’s choices, and not all NAS, HDD, or SSD specs and features are revealed through the shopping tool. But when used within its limitations, the constructor looks like a useful starting point for NAS newbies or even advanced users who want a basic comparison tool.
Anyone who has bought technical components, whether for a NAS, a PC build, or a manufacturer’s project, knows how tedious, disorganized, and unreliable the related commercial sites can be. That’s why Newegg’s NAS Builder interested me in the first place.
When you open the website, you will be prompted to select your total capacity requirements, up to “144TB and above”and from there it will show you the corresponding NAS devices that Newegg offers. All the sorting tools you’d expect are there, so you can sort by price or by the products with the most reviews (e.g. on Newegg). Like the regular Newegg site, you can add filters such as the number of bays and RJ-45 specs, but the look and feel of NAS Builder is much cleaner with a more stripped-down set of filters than the rest of Newegg, as well as other sites that NAS buyers may visit frequently. Unlike NAS configurators from NAS vendors, Newegg is no longer brand specific.
It’s also handy that the selected product stays at the top, allowing you to browse product tool pages and make quick comparisons.
At the time of writing, NAS Builder includes 73 enclosures from five vendors and no racks (although Newegg sells them outside of NAS Builder). The store may not have the exact NAS you need, but it’s still useful for getting a general idea of current pricing and selection, even if you decide to buy elsewhere.
You’ll need more than Newegg NAS Builder to make an informed decision. Apart from the limited selection, it does not use certain CPU models or NAS features. Would you like your NAS to have a USB port for a printer, HDMI for connecting a TV to a media server, or PCIe for connecting a GPU? Or do you have requirements for error recovery, advanced encryption, or internal file system support? You will have to dig deeper than this tool.