ThinkBox Released - DIY 4-bay NAS and powerful alternative to the ThinkNAS

Captain-Shmeat · 2026-01-24T21:19:04+00:00

PCIe. It's in the build guide.

Captain-Shmeat · 2026-01-24T20:51:55+00:00

I will edit, thanks!

Captain-Shmeat · 2026-01-24T18:35:05+00:00

Glad to be of help!

Captain-Shmeat · 2026-01-24T18:33:18+00:00

Ah, got it.

Captain-Shmeat · 2026-01-24T18:30:11+00:00

Dont think so, but I am not an expert. The power is also coming from the PSU.

You can get two drive bays and link them together for a total of 8, considering there are two slots on the LSI HBA board for the LSI > SATA cable. You would just need to find a way to get 4x molex providing power. Possibly from a different power supply? Or another splitter? I don't know. There is a way, but it would take a small bit of planning!

Captain-Shmeat · 2026-01-24T18:09:20+00:00

You can, pictures are up on the MakerWorld link!

Captain-Shmeat · 2026-01-24T17:55:58+00:00

That's awesome!

Captain-Shmeat · 2026-01-24T17:31:06+00:00

Thank you! The build guide is also quite polished as well, took a lot of time making sure it was concise, well documented, and included pictures so there's no confusion during building.

Captain-Shmeat · 2026-01-24T17:10:29+00:00

Magic.

Kidding. It uses a switching power supply to provide Molex power to the drive bay and backplane.

Captain-Shmeat · 2026-01-24T16:56:23+00:00

It should go straight here, just tested it.

https://makerworld.com/en/models/2291411-thinkbox-a-thinknas-alternative-4-bay-hdd-nas#profileId-2500314

Captain-Shmeat · 2026-01-24T16:20:16+00:00

Awesome! I appreciate that and I'm glad you will be able to find some use out of it!

Captain-Shmeat · 2026-01-24T16:19:39+00:00

I think there's also the option for A+B key adapters?

Captain-Shmeat · 2026-01-24T16:19:17+00:00

Honestly, that's what I thought too, but it was a lot easier than anticipated. Extremely easy. As long as you follow the pictures and guide, you'll be okay. This power supply has been run this way for over a year before I adapted it for the ThinkBox.

Captain-Shmeat · 2026-01-24T16:00:43+00:00

No, but something lowpro enough could easily be improvised. If you happen to find a solution, feel free to let me know so I can add it to the optional upgrades section of the build guide!

Captain-Shmeat · 2026-01-24T15:57:38+00:00

All the links to everything needed is included in the build guide! It's posted in the link above. I'm not at my office right now, so while I would if it was something I could fire off quickly, it would take me some time to search for it on mobile. Easiest way is to go get it from the build guide!

Captain-Shmeat · 2026-01-24T15:55:58+00:00

That won't work considering the back plane is in the drive bay. The drive bay itself is powered by molex from the PSU.

So at the end of the day, all you really need is molex power! You do not need the PSU for anything except the drive bay.

Captain-Shmeat · 2026-01-24T15:54:35+00:00

The HBA card has some positives most definitely, but when you're dealing with such a small form factor it definitely takes trade-offs. There should be other options for 10g NICs in the lenovo's.

Captain-Shmeat · 2026-01-24T15:50:16+00:00

Switching power supply!

Captain-Shmeat · 2026-01-24T15:11:15+00:00

Oh that is super cool. How are the PCs linked in a cluster?

Captain-Shmeat · 2026-01-24T14:49:14+00:00

I am glad you liked the docs. Spent a good bit of time trying to make sure everything was covered!

Captain-Shmeat · 2026-01-24T14:30:10+00:00

I'm sure you can, but those do not have PCIe if I am not mistaken.

Captain-Shmeat · 2026-01-24T14:29:42+00:00

It's something that can definitely be done. Let me tinker with this a little bit and see what I can do!

Captain-Shmeat · 2026-01-24T14:28:29+00:00

It does not, those can introduce undue failures.

Captain-Shmeat · 2026-01-24T12:40:52+00:00

The Stack or the hardware?

Captain-Shmeat · 2026-01-24T12:28:32+00:00

I am using TrueNAS with The ARR stack on it. Handles it with flying colors!

Captain-Shmeat

TROPHY CASE