Uploaded January 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
100 Reasons DIY NAS (TrueNAS, UnRAID, Proxmox) are BETTER than Turnkey (Synology/QNAP/etc) nascompares.com/guide/100-reasons-diy-nas-truenas-unraid-proxmox-are-better-than-turnkey-synology-qnap-etc
My Top 5 NAS Drives of 2025:
- Aoostar WTR Max ($799) Amazon - amzn.to/3MjjHDE
- Aoostar WTR Max ($859) AliExpress - https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c4MB7ppT
- Minisforum N5 NAS ($594) - amzn.to/4romPyo
- Beelink ME Mini ($279) - amzn.to/49EKggw
- Lincstation N2 ($395) - amzn.to/4itqZRp
- UnifyDrive UT2 Mobile NAS ($399) - unifydrive.com/?ref=ROBERTANDREWS
+ Get a further 5% OFF with this code: NASCOMPARES
Top 5 PLEX and Jellyfin NAS Systems 2025:
Synology BeeStation Plus 8TB ($409) - amzn.to/44jOOoS
Minisforum N5 NAS ($594) - amzn.to/4romPyo
Terramaster F4 SSD ($319) - amzn.to/480i9Hp
ZimaBoard 2 1664 ($349) - amzn.to/3KiHBP0
UGREEN DH4300 PLUS ($339.99) - amzn.to/4ppPKQD
Video Chapters
00:00 Intro and context for part two
00:37 Why this video focuses on DIY users who avoid turnkey
00:59 Acknowledging DIY software cost and time tradeoff
01:37 Reason one vendor lock in across turnkey platforms
02:07 Examples of restrictions and artificial limits
02:34 Why this alone keeps many users on DIY
03:09 Reason two OS and storage combined on turnkey devices
03:37 Why this design alarms DIY users
04:06 Reason three superior customization in DIY
04:39 Fine tuning cache behavior storage network and power
05:25 Reason four full hardware freedom in DIY
05:58 Reuse old gear or build from scratch as preferred
06:32 Reason five more randomized security surface
07:05 Reason six frictionless scalability with any hardware
07:33 Moving drives between systems without brand limits
07:56 Turnkey expansion restrictions explained
08:51 Reason seven pools are portable between DIY platforms
09:20 Switching operating systems without losing storage
09:42 Why turnkey cannot match this flexibility
10:17 Reason eight full control over telemetry
10:39 Blocking calls home and managing endpoints
11:02 Low level control unavailable on many turnkey systems
11:32 Reason nine pure storage or pure virtualization modes
11:53 Efficient hardware use without extra services
12:15 How DIY platforms keep tasks separate
12:42 Why turnkey cannot strip away bundled features
13:17 Reason ten unmatched modularity
13:39 Swapping components while keeping the same server
14:08 Long term ownership advantages
14:31 Closing summary of all ten reasons
14:53 Invitation for discussion from both camps
Thinking of buying a product mentioned in today's video? If this video has helped you make that decision, you can use the links and we will get a small % profit of whatever you buy.
100 Reasons DIY NAS (TrueNAS, UnRAID, Proxmox) are BETTER than Turnkey (Synology/QNAP/etc) nascompares.com/guide/100-reasons-diy-nas-truenas-unraid-proxmox-are-better-than-turnkey-synology-qnap-etc
My Top 5 NAS Drives of 2025:
- Aoostar WTR Max ($799) Amazon - amzn.to/3MjjHDE
- Aoostar WTR Max ($859) AliExpress - https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_c4MB7ppT
- Minisforum N5 NAS ($594) - amzn.to/4romPyo
- Beelink ME Mini ($279) - amzn.to/49EKggw
- Lincstation N2 ($395) - amzn.to/4itqZRp
- UnifyDrive UT2 Mobile NAS ($399) - unifydrive.com/?ref=ROBERTANDREWS
+ Get a further 5% OFF with this code: NASCOMPARES
Top 5 PLEX and Jellyfin NAS Systems 2025:
Synology BeeStation Plus 8TB ($409) - amzn.to/44jOOoS
Minisforum N5 NAS ($594) - amzn.to/4romPyo
Terramaster F4 SSD ($319) - amzn.to/480i9Hp
ZimaBoard 2 1664 ($349) - amzn.to/3KiHBP0
UGREEN DH4300 PLUS ($339.99) - amzn.to/4ppPKQD
Video Chapters
00:00 Intro and context for part two
00:37 Why this video focuses on DIY users who avoid turnkey
00:59 Acknowledging DIY software cost and time tradeoff
01:37 Reason one vendor lock in across turnkey platforms
02:07 Examples of restrictions and artificial limits
02:34 Why this alone keeps many users on DIY
03:09 Reason two OS and storage combined on turnkey devices
03:37 Why this design alarms DIY users
04:06 Reason three superior customization in DIY
04:39 Fine tuning cache behavior storage network and power
05:25 Reason four full hardware freedom in DIY
05:58 Reuse old gear or build from scratch as preferred
06:32 Reason five more randomized security surface
07:05 Reason six frictionless scalability with any hardware
07:33 Moving drives between systems without brand limits
07:56 Turnkey expansion restrictions explained
08:51 Reason seven pools are portable between DIY platforms
09:20 Switching operating systems without losing storage
09:42 Why turnkey cannot match this flexibility
10:17 Reason eight full control over telemetry
10:39 Blocking calls home and managing endpoints
11:02 Low level control unavailable on many turnkey systems
11:32 Reason nine pure storage or pure virtualization modes
11:53 Efficient hardware use without extra services
12:15 How DIY platforms keep tasks separate
12:42 Why turnkey cannot strip away bundled features
13:17 Reason ten unmatched modularity
13:39 Swapping components while keeping the same server
14:08 Long term ownership advantages
14:31 Closing summary of all ten reasons
14:53 Invitation for discussion from both camps
Thinking of buying a product mentioned in today's video? If this video has helped you make that decision, you can use the links and we will get a small % profit of whatever you buy.
