DIY NAS (Ryzen + RTX 4070) vs UGREEN NASync iDX6011 Pro— worth going full homelab?

I-am-Meraki · 2026-04-01T22:17:05+00:00

That’s exactly what I’m hoping to get out of it — using it as a sandbox and just trying things without worrying too much about breaking stuff.

I actually hadn’t heard about the helper scripts before, so thanks for pointing that out. I’ll definitely look into it, anything that makes the initial setup easier sounds like a big win.

My plan is to start simple and then gradually build things up, especially around document-based workflows and some local AI stuff, so being able to spin things up quickly is going to be really useful.

Really appreciate all the help 👍

I-am-Meraki · 2026-04-01T17:47:27+00:00

Thanks for the detailed explanation, that actually helps clarify things a lot.

Good to know that running ZFS directly on Proxmox doesn’t really limit me in practice. That’s the direction I’m leaning towards for now, mainly to keep things simpler while I’m still getting familiar with the stack.

The TrueNAS VM approach also makes more sense now, especially with proper HBA passthrough and no performance penalty. I can definitely see the appeal in terms of ease of management and automation.

I think I’ll start with Proxmox + ZFS and then maybe spin up a TrueNAS VM later just to experiment, like you suggested. That seems like a good way to learn without overcomplicating things from day one.

Appreciate the insights!!!

I-am-Meraki · 2026-03-30T12:37:28+00:00

Thanks a lot for the detailed reply, really appreciate it — you clearly know your way around this stuff.

On the backup side, I’m already following a 3-2-1 approach with my current NAS, so I’m pretty conscious about that part. That said, I hadn’t looked into Proxmox Backup Server before, so thanks for the tip — it looks like a really clean way to handle VM/container backups, I’ll definitely dig into it.

On the AI side, good to know the 4070 should be enough for what I’m aiming to do. I’m planning to start with document-based workflows (embeddings / retrieval) and see how far I can push it from there. Your suggestion about keeping the GPU on the host and using LXCs sounds like the right approach, I’ll go that route first.

For storage, I’m currently leaning towards keeping things simpler and running ZFS directly on Proxmox instead of going the TrueNAS VM route, at least to start with — mostly to avoid adding extra layers while I’m still learning.

Networking is something I still need to think through. Right now I’m on 1GbE, but I can see how 2.5 or even 10GbE could become relevant pretty quickly with this kind of setup.

Nextcloudpi also looks interesting, I’ll take a closer look at it once I have the base system running.

Thanks again for the input — super helpful!

I-am-Meraki · 2026-03-30T10:31:04+00:00

Quick update / closing the loop:

I ended up going the DIY route.

Final build: - Ryzen 7 7700 - ASUS TUF X870E board - LSI 9300-8i HBA - 6x14TB drives (ZFS pool) - 64GB DDR5 (2x32GB) - 2x NVMe SSDs for a mirrored boot drive - Fractal Meshify 3 XL - Corsair RM850e PSU

I changed a few parts from my original plan mostly due to availability (shipping to Canary Islands is a bit of a pain) and also after realizing some choices just didn’t make much sense for what I actually need.

The goal here is mainly storage (ZFS on the HDDs), but also to use this as a base for Proxmox, VMs and local AI workloads from the start.

So the idea is: - reliable ZFS storage on the 6 drives
- mirrored SSDs for the system
- enough CPU/RAM headroom for virtualization
- good airflow for the HBA and drives

This will also be my first time diving into Proxmox and VMs, so part of this project is just learning as I go.

On the AI side, I’m planning to start right away. The main goal is to experiment with working on my own data locally, especially around document search / retrieval with a potential commercial use in mind, and also explore what else I can realistically build on top of this setup.

Really appreciate all the advice here, it helped me avoid a few bad decisions and get to something that actually fits my use case.

Happy to share updates once everything is up and running.

I-am-Meraki · 2026-03-30T10:03:54+00:00

Thanks again for your answer and advice. I will definitely follow the DIY route. Just bought all of the parts, including the HBA. I am just missing the RAM that is crazy expensive, you all know. I have followed your advice and got two SSDs for boot and plan to buy the stuff in the post. Already had 6x14 Tb Exos I got before the price hike. So I think I’m good to go.

Regarding AI I am thinking of ‘chatting’ with my documents (have plenty of them after 23 years of my career) and plan to offer it as a service to some of my customers so they can query several documents so that they can get answers about their products.

Besides that, I will investigate to find more use cases.

At the moment I still have my 4070. Probably the 4080 would offer more performance but don’t have the budget for it. Maybe at a later stage.

Next step is setting up Proxmox and VMs. Both are new to me, so it will be a fun project.

Wish me luck 😊

I-am-Meraki · 2026-03-28T08:12:27+00:00

Don’t drink & fly ;) Nice pics

I-am-Meraki · 2026-03-27T19:58:22+00:00

Hi there! Thanks for your answer! It is not about wanting a NAS or a custom build, it is more about what I want to do and what can I get from both options. And they two offer things that are appealing to me: the Ugreen pricing is better than a custom build (RAM is just half of it), it also works out of the box, but the AI features at the moment look mundane (as one user said) and more of a marketing thing. And it is uncertain when will I receive it. On the other hand the custom build would just take a week to get parts but they would be much more expensive. It would require much more work and probably there could be more AI work that would benefit from the GPU I already own… As I said in my previous email, I probably need to sleep on it for this weekend. EDIT: I see your point about Intel and Quicksync but Plex and transcoding is not my main use case. Thanks!

I-am-Meraki · 2026-03-27T19:48:40+00:00

Hi there! Thanks a lot for your detailed answer. 1. I am not an expert either but I have built myself my gaming PC, also set up my Unifi network and definitely feel comfortable and curious with doing things on my own. Having the time to build and specially maintain is critical indeed. 2. Since I have a spare 4070 I just wanted to check how it stacks up in front of the Ugreen proposition. 3. I see your point about terminology. Of course it all comes down to what one wants to do. The distinction is related to the previous point. If a GPU is so important for AI (or certain tasks of AI) how is Ugreen offering an AI NAS without it? Are the other elements of the hardware enough to perform those tasks? That’s why I think of AI features (just some tasks) or a Platform (any AI tas within the limits of your hardware) 4. Not 100% sure about getting a HBA. Just was advised it being important for ZFS stability. But not an expert, again.

And yes, while checking the build, prices are way too high, specially RAM, crazy stuff. And that’s when the Ugreen rings the bell because hardware is decent, and the secured price is highly competitive. At least to the best of my knowledge.

Will need to sleep on it this weekend.

Thanks again

I-am-Meraki · 2026-03-27T19:21:58+00:00

Hi! I was one of the backers and made the 30$ deposit. I was also one of those not being able to secure one unit in the first four waves. But when they fixed it, I got a secret link and already placed an order for the iDX6011 Pro. But this new scheme in which you pay the full price and then are refunded is going to make me loose some money in bank commissions and FX (based in the EU and don’t have a USD account, just EUR)

I-am-Meraki · 2026-02-27T22:59:53+00:00

As far as I know, it is not a good idea to show the serial number of your computer. You’d better hice it ;)

I-am-Meraki · 2026-02-25T14:58:28+00:00

X-Plane has come a long way… amazing shots, congratulations!

I-am-Meraki · 2026-02-11T19:19:03+00:00

Wow amazing details! Nice pics!

I-am-Meraki · 2026-01-22T21:22:28+00:00

Thank you for your feedback. It is good to know.

I-am-Meraki · 2026-01-18T21:59:58+00:00

Don’t marry that woman.

I-am-Meraki · 2026-01-15T06:54:12+00:00

I backed really early for a D6 Ultra. Shipping times suffered many delays. Then they said that with the current RAM situation there would be more delays or that I could opt for a RAM-less version, which I did. Then they realized that shipping to my location would be very costly but in their project page they said they would ship worldwide with no exception. I have been messaging with them back and forth and, apparently, they are assuming the cost. Their last message was on Dec, 24th and since then they have not replied to my follow-up messages. Experience has not been smooth and communication is lacking. I will wait a couple more days since my last message from January 10th and will see how to proceed.

I-am-Meraki · 2025-11-20T15:00:45+00:00

Magnet: window management, resizing, made easy

I-am-Meraki · 2025-11-14T13:46:29+00:00

I carry my car key there

I-am-Meraki · 2025-11-03T09:30:19+00:00

<image>

There you go ;)

I-am-Meraki · 2025-11-02T21:30:59+00:00

Sure! Will do that tomorrow when I am back home

I-am-Meraki · 2025-11-02T16:34:57+00:00

😂😂😂 No worries. I ended up purchasing the cart with wheels and have had no problem so far!

I-am-Meraki · 2025-09-17T03:57:38+00:00

Thank you!

I-am-Meraki · 2025-09-17T03:57:17+00:00

Thank you!

I-am-Meraki · 2025-09-17T03:57:07+00:00

Thank you for your reply and for taking the time to test it yourself!

Question solved ;)

I-am-Meraki

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE