551
Don't throw away your old PC—it makes a better NAS than anything you can buy
(www.howtogeek.com)
this post was submitted on 30 Nov 2025
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OK. Science time. Somewhat arbitrary values used, the point is there is a amortization calculation, you'll need to calculate your own with accurate input values.
A PC drawing 100W 24/7 uses 877 kWh@0.15 $131.49 per year.
A NAS drawing 25W 24/7 uses 219 kWh@0.15 $32.87 per year
So, in this hypothetical case you "save" about $100/year on power costs running the NAS.
Assuming a capacity equivalent NAS might cost $1200 then you're better off using the PC you have rather than buying a NAS for 12 years.
This ignores that the heat generated by the devices is desirable in winter so the higher heat output option has additional utility.
Either you already have drives and could use them in a new NAS or you would have to buy them regardless and shouldn’t include them in the NAS price.
8 drives could go into most computers I think. Even 6 drive NAS can be quite expensive.
https://a.co/d/jcUR3yV
That's not a NAS, that's a whole-ass PC, though with only 8gb RAM. And way overpriced for the spec.