Newegg has a quick and dirty method for choosing a new NAS device and the drives to put it in. Announced today, NAS Builder provides a unique, clean interface for viewing available retailer NAS enclosures and selecting compatible hard drives or SSDs within the capabilities of a selected NAS device. You’re limited to choosing Newegg, and not all NAS, HDD, or SSD specs and features are disclosed through the shopping tool. But when used with its limitations in mind, the Creator seems like a useful starting point for NAS newcomers or even advanced users looking for a basic comparison tool.
Anyone who has ever shopped for tech components, whether it’s for a NAS, building PC, or maker project, knows how tedious, unorganized, and unreliable trade-in related websites can be. That’s why Newegg’s NAS Builder initially piqued my interest.
Opening the website prompts you to choose your total capacity requirements, up to “144 TB and above,” and from there, it shows you the relevant NAS devices that Newegg carries. All the expected sorting tools are there, so you can sort by price or for products with the biggest ratings (on Newegg), for example. Like the regular Newegg site, you can add filters like bay number and RJ-45 specifications, but NAS Builder’s look is much cleaner with a more stripped-down set of filters than the rest of Newegg, as well as other sites NAS shoppers might frequent. Unlike other NAS vendors’ NAS components, Newegg’s is more brand agnostic.
It’s also handy for the selected product to stay on top, allowing you to browse through the tool’s product pages and make quick comparisons.
As of this writing, NAS Builder has 73 enclosures across five vendors and no racks (although Newegg sells them outside of NAS Builder). The store may not have the exact NAS you want, but it’s still useful for getting a general idea of current pricing and selections, even if you decide to buy elsewhere.
You’ll need more than NAS Builder from Newegg to make an informed decision. Beyond a limited selection, it doesn’t share specific CPU models or NAS features. Want your NAS to include a USB port for a printer, HDMI for connecting a TV to a media server, or PCIe for connecting a GPU? Or do you have requirements about error recovery, advanced encryption, or internal file system support? You will have to dig deeper than this tool.
