Sometimes, the perfect solution doesn’t exist. So you have to build it. Here’s a look at an incredible custom NAS build.

Have you ever had a project in mind, but you just can’t find that one perfect piece of hardware to make it happen? You search and search, but nothing on the market quite fits the vision in your head. It’s a common story for anyone building a serious home server, especially when it comes to planning a custom NAS build. You either have to compromise on your dream setup or, like one resourceful builder, take matters into your own hands.

I stumbled across an inspiring project that perfectly captures this spirit. The goal was simple but ambitious: build a new Network Attached Storage (NAS) device with a ton of drive space, but keep it in a clean, standard-sized PC case. The problem? No off-the-shelf case could handle the sheer number of hard drives required.

The Challenge of High-Density Home Storage

When you start planning a NAS, you quickly realize that most consumer PC cases are designed for a completely different purpose. They have great airflow for a hot graphics card, fancy RGB lighting, and space for maybe two or four hard drives. That’s great for a gaming PC, but it’s not going to cut it when you want to build a serious media server or a backup hub for your entire digital life.

Your options usually are:

• Buy a dedicated server chassis: These are often expensive, loud, and look more at home in a data center than in your office.
• Get a pre-built NAS: Brands like Synology or QNAP are fantastic, but they can be pricey and less flexible if you want to run your own custom software.
• Compromise: Just build something smaller than you originally wanted.

But there’s a fourth option: modify something to perfectly suit your needs.

Thinking Outside the Box: A Custom NAS Build Called ‘Athena’

This is where the project, dubbed “Project Athena,” gets really interesting. Instead of settling, the creator picked up a popular, minimalist PC case—the be quiet! Pure Base 500—and decided to make it do something it was never designed for.

After a lot of careful planning and modification, the case was transformed into a storage monster. With some clever 3D-printed brackets, it can now hold an incredible number of drives.

Here’s what the modified case can fit:
* 9 x 3.5″ drives and 7 x 2.5″ drives simultaneously.
* OR, a whopping 25 x 2.5″ drives (if you’re going all-in on SSDs).

All of this fits while still supporting a standard ATX motherboard and power supply. You get the clean, quiet aesthetic of a modern PC case with the storage capacity of a dedicated server. It’s the best of both worlds, and it’s a brilliant solution to a problem many home lab enthusiasts face.

The Power of 3D Printing in a Custom NAS Build

So, how was this feat of engineering accomplished? The secret sauce is 3D printing. The creator designed and printed custom drive cages that mount securely inside the Pure Base 500 chassis, making efficient use of every square inch of space.

And in the true spirit of the maker community, they made the 3D files available for free. You can find them on the Project Athena GitHub page if you’re feeling inspired to try a similar build yourself. This is what makes the DIY community so powerful—people solving problems and sharing their solutions for everyone to benefit from.

(As a little side note, the builder also mentioned the colorful internal cables are for a PiKVM, which is a fantastic open-source project that lets you remotely manage servers. It’s a sign of a truly serious home lab setup!)

This project is more than just a cool PC mod. It’s a reminder that you don’t always have to be limited by what you can buy. Sometimes, the most rewarding projects are the ones where you have to get creative, learn a new skill, and build the exact thing you need. It turns a simple hardware upgrade into a unique, personal creation.

What’s the most creative solution you’ve come up with for a tech project?