First small diy nas and backup hardware advice

As i’m confident in assembling parts and administer my future nas, i’m a little lost with all the hardware possibilities and compatibility implications.

So please i would need help for taking the right decisions and choosing the right pieces. I’m presenting you my needs, wishes, and ideas.

I Need :
To store personal files (photos, videos, documents) for 3 persons. Ability to sync smartphones/computers, and smb access. These datas are for the moment on different computers, or public cloud providers. Their total size is about 1 TB, but will of course grow.
I’m also planing to host a couple linux vm and don’t plan to create a mediacenter (i don’t even know plex or transcoding that many people seem to want).
Finally i will need a backup for everything.

I have :
Personal knowledge of nextcloud and truenas, so i may go for both (unless more appropriate suggestions).
4x 4 TB 3,5in sata hard drive from a recycled server, that i will use for my data (2 for a 4TB mirror, 1 spare, 1 for the external backup).
1x 8 GB RAM ECC RDIMM DDR4 2133 (to be used or not, depending on compatibility).

My budget :
About 400€, for the nas and backup (considering i won’t need to buy hard drives for the data).
I hope it can fit in and i’m ready to add a little more (100€), if i can avoid a too much slow or unsatisfying solution.

I want for the nas :
A motherboard with

  • just enough sata ports (2 would be the minimal, 4 to be comfortable for future migration to bigger storage)
  • the right socket for the right cpu for my needs (i don’t know if xeon or i3/i5 or ryzen…)
  • 1 gb ethernet (maybe an available slot to improve it in the future)
  • if i can use my 8GB ecc ram, i’d go for it
  • 2 nvme slots, if it can fit in the budget for 2 small nvme ssd for the system (around 100GB seem largely enough)…if too expensive, what should i use ?
    A case, the smallest that can fit everything
    …and every other pieces i’m totally ignorant in choosing (psu, fans, cables…)

I would like it silent and not too “heaty”, with care for power consumption, and of course reliable.

I want for the backup :
Something cheap, small, silent, low consumption. i was thinking about an arm based system, (it will be a simple linux doing rsync in the night with the nas), with an ethernet port and a case for the overall system (board + harddrive).

Thank you for your help, and please do not hesitate to contradict my choices with your experience and expertise.

There are threads here about versions of NAS Killers that are very detailed and fit well within your budget.

That said, I am really interested in seeing how far we can take some cheap, low power devices

Here’s where I explore this idea and would enjoy your input: Any technical reasons why we cant have a NAS Killer using the intel HP 290 or ProDesk 400 G4?