I engaged "Dave's Computer" to build a new custom build Windows 11 computer as replacement for the Windows 10 machine. I presented my thoughts and needs to Dave about the new unit and he asked some basic questions as to my needs and want for the new unit. We touched on cost for the unit and I left...
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Home Server & NAS Builds · Dave's Computers, Somerville NJ
Home Server and NAS Builds in New Jersey
One box that backs up every PC in the house, feeds the TVs, holds the family photos and keeps the camera footage, built to run quietly around the clock. I plan and assemble custom home servers at my Somerville, NJ bench as part of my custom PC repair and upgrade work. Drop-off shop; you pick the finished server up set up and ready to plug in.
⭐ 4.8 Stars · 430+ Google Reviews
🏆 On the Bench Since 2011
📍 Somerville, NJ · Drop-Off Shop
🔧 $150 Build Consultation, Credited Toward the Build
📞 Call (908) 428-9558
🚗 Directions to the Shop
In this guide
- What a home server does for a family or small office
- NAS appliance or custom server PC
- What drives the spec
- Use case, drives, CPU and what else
- What's included and what it costs
- When a server isn't worth it
- What I see on the bench in New Jersey
- Directions to Dave's Computers
- Frequently asked questions
- Sources
What a Home Server Does for a Family or Small Office
Central storage that every machine in the building can reach.
Most homes I deal with in New Jersey have three or four desktops and a pile of external drives, and nobody is sure which one has the current copy of anything. A home server is the one place everything lands. Each PC backs itself up to it on a schedule, so a dead drive in the kids' gaming tower becomes a restore instead of a loss. Photos go to one shared folder that phones and PCs upload to. Movies stream from it to every TV through Plex or Jellyfin. Cameras record to it instead of to a cloud subscription. For a small office, the same box is a file server with a folder per person and a nightly backup nobody has to remember.
None of that needs a rack. A well-planned home server is a quiet tower in a closet that you check on twice a year. The work is matching drives, redundancy and CPU to what you'll actually do with it, which is what the consultation is for.
The rule I build around. The server is the first copy of your backups, not the only one. Synology's guidance for its own NAS units is the 3-2-1 rule: three copies, two kinds of media, one off-site, with the NAS itself backed up to another device or the cloud. I set every server up that way.
NAS Appliance or Custom Server PC
Two routes to the same goal, and I offer both.
A purpose-built NAS appliance is a small box with two to five drive bays, a low-power processor and software that handles shares, users, backups and photos without a command line. For a household that wants backups and a shared photo library and nothing more exotic, it's the right answer, and I set those up as a separate service on my Synology NAS setup page. You're limited to the bays and CPU the maker chose.
A custom server PC is a desktop tower built for the job. It holds eight to twelve drives in the right case, takes a CPU that can transcode several streams at once, accepts far more memory, and runs whatever you want: TrueNAS, Unraid, plain Linux, or Windows if your office needs it. It's upgradable like any tower. The trade is size and software that takes more attention, which is why setup is part of the build.
| Question | NAS appliance | Custom server PC |
|---|---|---|
| Drives you want, now or later | 2 to 5 bays | 6 to 12+ bays |
| Media server for several TVs | One or two streams, direct play | Several streams with transcoding |
| Upgrade path | Replace the unit | Add drives, memory, CPU |
| Best fit | Backups, shared folders, photos | Big libraries, many machines, home lab, small office |
Which side you land on is the first thing settled at the consultation, and I'll tell you if the appliance is enough.
What Drives the Spec
Six decisions that shape every home server I build.
1
Drive bays and redundancy
Redundancy means the server keeps running when a drive dies. A mirror writes the same data to two drives, so you can lose one and lose nothing; it costs half the raw space. Parity spreads a checksum across a group of drives, so four drives can lose one (or two, with double parity) and rebuild it; you keep more space but rebuilds take longer. TrueNAS's ZFS documentation recommends double parity on drives larger than 1 TB because of rebuild time, and I agree.
Redundancy is not a backup. A deleted file or a ransomware hit is copied to every drive in the set instantly. The server needs its own backup job to a second location.
2
NAS-class drives
Desktop hard drives are rated for a few hours a day. Western Digital's Red Plus line, as one example, is specified for 24x7 operation in multi-bay systems, with vibration sensing and error recovery tuned so a slow read doesn't get the drive dropped from the array. That's the class I supply with the build.
3
Quiet and low power
This machine runs 24 hours a day, so idle draw and noise matter more than peak speed: a low-power CPU, a high-efficiency ATX 3.x power supply sized for the drive count, large slow fans and damped drive mounts, the same thinking as my quiet PC builds.
4
CPU with enough for transcoding
If the server feeds TVs and phones, it will end up converting video on the fly for a device that can't play the original format. That takes a CPU with a hardware video encoder. A file-only server doesn't need it.
5
ECC memory as an option for business data
Error-correcting memory catches a flipped bit before it's written to disk as bad data. Optional for a family media server; recommended for a business file server holding the books or client files. It changes the motherboard and CPU, so it's decided at the start.
6
A UPS
A server with six spinning drives should never lose power mid-write. A battery backup that shuts the server down cleanly is part of every quote, and it stands between the drives and the surge damage I see after every summer storm.
Use Case, Drives, CPU Class and What Else
Typical starting points. Your quote will be tuned to your data and your house.
| Use case | Drives | CPU class | What else |
|---|---|---|---|
| Family backup server (3-5 PCs, photos) | 2 to 4 NAS drives, mirrored | Low-power desktop CPU | UPS, off-site or cloud copy of the server |
| Home media server (Plex or Jellyfin for several TVs) | 4 to 8 NAS drives, parity | CPU with hardware video encoder | Wired network to the TVs, larger case, SSD for the app library |
| Camera recording plus backups | 4 to 6 drives, parity, sized for retention | Low-power desktop CPU | Surveillance-rated drives, UPS, wired cameras |
| Home lab (VMs, containers, learning) | 2 to 6 drives plus fast NVMe | More cores, more memory | 32-64 GB RAM, second network port |
| Small business file server | 4 to 8 drives, double parity | Desktop CPU with ECC support | ECC memory, UPS, nightly backup to a second device or cloud, user accounts per person |
Drive counts are a snapshot as of this writing. The consultation adds up what you actually have and sizes the pool with room to grow.
What's Included and What It Costs
Quoted after the consultation, set up before you pick it up.
The build consultation is $150, credited in full toward the build when you approve the quote. Home server and NAS builds are quoted after that consultation, because drive count and redundancy layout swing the price more than anything else, and I'd rather size it right than publish a number that fits nobody. For context, my workstation builds start at $2,000 and gaming builds at $2,500 as of this writing. The quote gives you the performance tier and the price, with a written spec sheet at pickup. Parts are quality retail components with a manufacturer warranty, no proprietary boards, the same as every custom PC I build.
Setup is part of the build. When you pick the server up, the OS or NAS software is installed and current, the storage pool is built with the redundancy we agreed on, shares and user accounts exist for each person, and a backup job from each of your PCs has been configured and run once so I know it works. If it's a media server, playback is confirmed on your devices. You plug it in, and the PCs start backing up that night.
Bring the PCs, or their drive sizes. A photo of each PC's storage screen, or the towers themselves for a day, lets me set up every backup job in one pass.
When a Server Isn't Worth It
What I'll tell you at the consultation if the math doesn't work.
If you have one PC and a few hundred gigabytes of stuff, a home server is the wrong purchase. An external drive on a scheduled backup plus a cloud copy of the photos costs a fraction of a server, is what I do on my backup setup service, and protects you just as well. I'll say so and send you home with that instead.
The server earns its keep with several machines to protect, a media library bigger than any single drive you'd trust, cameras that need somewhere to record, or a small office whose files shouldn't live on someone's desktop. Between those two situations, an appliance NAS is usually the middle answer.
Don't build a server to save a dying drive. If a PC is already clicking or throwing disk errors, that's a data recovery job first; copying from a failing drive can finish it off. Get the data safe, then plan the server.
What I See on the Bench in New Jersey
Composite examples, built from the kinds of jobs that come across my Somerville counter.
A Bridgewater family with four desktops and no backups. Two gaming towers, a homework PC and a home-office machine, with years of photos scattered across them. I built a four-drive mirrored server with a low-power CPU in a damped case, set a nightly backup job on each PC, put the photo folder on the server with phone upload on, and scheduled the server's own backup to a cloud account. It sits in the basement and nobody hears it.
A Hillsborough customer's overloaded two-bay appliance. He wanted it to transcode a movie library for three TVs and a phone, and its CPU couldn't keep up. The answer was an eight-bay custom server with a hardware video encoder and a parity layout. The old appliance became the off-site backup target at a relative's house.
A Flemington office whose "server" was the bookkeeper's desktop. When that PC went down, nobody could work. I built a six-drive double-parity file server with ECC memory and a UPS, an account per employee, and a nightly backup to a drive that goes home with the owner. The old desktop got a repair and went back to being a workstation.
Bring the drive sizes from each PC, or the PCs themselves, and we'll plan the server around what you have. The $150 consultation is credited toward the build.
📞 Call (908) 428-9558Drop-off shop at 75 N Bridge St, Somerville NJ · Mon-Fri 10-5, Sat 9-2
Directions to Dave's Computers in Somerville, NJ
Downtown Somerville, one block off Main Street, behind Bank of America.
Dave's Computers, 75 N Bridge St, Somerville, NJ 08876Drop-off shop, Mon-Fri 10-5 and Sat 9-2. Street and municipal-lot parking around Main Street.
Directions to the ShopFrom Bridgewater
3 miles · about 10 minutes
Route 22 or Route 202/206 to the Somerville Circle, then Route 28 east (West Main Street) into downtown. Left onto N Bridge St.
Open in Google MapsFrom Hillsborough
5 miles · about 12 minutes
Route 206 north into Somerville, right onto West Main Street, then left onto N Bridge St.
Open in Google MapsFrom Bound Brook
4 miles · about 12 minutes
Route 28 west straight into downtown Somerville. Right onto N Bridge St.
Open in Google MapsFrom Piscataway
10 miles · about 20 minutes
I-287 north to Exit 17 (Route 202/206 south), then Route 28 east into downtown Somerville.
Open in Google MapsFrom Flemington
15 miles · about 25 minutes
Route 202 north to the Somerville Circle, then Route 28 east into downtown. Left onto N Bridge St.
Open in Google MapsFrom Princeton
18 miles · about 30 minutes
Route 206 north through Montgomery and Hillsborough into Somerville. Right onto West Main Street, then left onto N Bridge St.
Open in Google MapsTimes are typical drives outside rush hour. Call 908-428-9558 before a long drive if you want to confirm I'm at the counter.
Google Reviews
What Customers Say on Google
Live from the Dave's Computers Google listing. Tap any review to read it on Google Maps.
4.8
★★★★★★★★★★Based on 434 Google reviews
I have been going to Dave's Computers for years because he always fixes my problems. I also use his anti-virus and it is as good as any, if not better, than others that I would have to pay much more for. If you're having problems, go to Dave's. He doesn't break the bank and he solves the problems.
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Over the last decade or so, whenever I had a computer problem, I went to Dave. I recently had a very worrisome crash; the system failed to boot up. (I hadn't needed to use him for about 3 years.) I paid the "rush fee" on Saturday when dropping the machine off with the weekend agent. By Monday...
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"As a Broker of over 40 years in New Jersey I rely on my computer help", which is the artery to my success and business. Thank goodness Dave's is here for me with the messes I get into with scammers, land grabbers and just uneccesary things that I pick up. The most effective virus program have ever...
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I had previously tried to build my own PC to no success. Even though right now it is really tough to get a PC built due to the price increases with RAM’s, GPU’s and other parts because of AI, I still really wanted to get one for myself. I came across Dave’s Computers online and went in for a...
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Home Server and NAS Build Questions From New Jersey Customers
What people ask before they book the consultation.
What does a home server build cost in New Jersey?
A home server or NAS build is quoted after the $150 consultation, and that $150 is credited in full toward the build when you approve the quote. Drives are the biggest variable, so I don't publish a floor for this build. For context, workstation builds start at $2,000 and gaming builds at $2,500 as of this writing.
Should I get a Synology NAS or a custom server PC?
If you want backups, shared folders and a photo library with the least fuss, an appliance is the right call and I set those up too. If you want more than four or five drives, a CPU that can transcode several streams, room to run your own software, or a machine you can upgrade later, a custom server PC fits better.
Is RAID the same as a backup?
No. RAID keeps the server running when one drive fails. It does nothing about a deleted file, ransomware or a fire, because every drive gets the same change at the same time. Synology's own guidance is three copies of your data on two kinds of media with one off-site, and I set the server up that way.
How much storage do I actually need?
Add up what's on every PC you want backed up, add the media and camera footage you expect to keep, then double it, because backups keep old versions and drives fill faster than anyone plans. At the consultation I size the pool so you can grow without replacing every drive in two years.
Can you set up Plex or Jellyfin on it?
Yes. If the server will feed the TVs, I spec a CPU with hardware video encoding so it can transcode for the phone in the car and the older TV in the den at the same time, install the media server, point it at your library and confirm playback on your devices before pickup.
Do you recover data from a NAS or server that has failed?
Yes. NAS and RAID recovery is a separate service, quoted after the diagnostic. Power the unit down and bring the whole thing in with the drives in their original order. Don't rebuild the array or swap drives first, because a bad rebuild is the most common way recoverable data becomes unrecoverable.
Sources and further reading
- Synology, Data Backup Solutions: the 3-2-1 backup rule: three copies, two media, one off-site, and backing the NAS itself up to another device or the cloud.
- TrueNAS Documentation, ZFS Primer: mirror versus RAIDZ layouts, and the recommendation of double parity over single parity for drives over 1 TB.
- Western Digital, WD Red Plus NAS Hard Drive: what a NAS-class drive is rated for in a 24x7 multi-bay system.
Plan Your Home Server or NAS Build in Somerville, NJ
Bring the drive sizes from each PC and a rough idea of what you want the server to do, and we'll size it at the $150 consultation, credited toward the build. Start with my build request form, or read more about custom PC repair and upgrades in NJ if the better move is fixing what you already own.
📞 (908) 428-9558Mon-Fri 10am-5pm · Sat 9am-2pm · 75 N Bridge St, Somerville NJ · Drop-Offs Welcome