About the Build Log

Showcase your build. Descriptions, pictures, parts & price lists of what you used, whatever you think would show off your efforts. Don’t forget to talk about the challenges, hiccups, etc and share your knowledge!

If you’re getting help on a new build, we suggest creating a thread with the following:

  • What is this for?
  • Constraints
    • Chassis size
    • Budget
    • Noise allowance (is it running in a garage, etc)
  • Current plans and parts you have on-hand
  • Data reliability (if this is a NAS, etc)

You can do this as a single, free-form post, or you can follow our suggestion and use the template below to build out your “Build Spreadsheet”.

Build Spreadsheet (Google Sheet)

  • Capture all costs of your build
  • Inventory all the parts
  • Track where you can buy them
  • Track when you have them
  • Easy to share for a final review of compatibility, etc

Our template includes tabs for

Hardware

Track all of the components to get the build booting to OS

Extra items

Like your hard drives, UPS, and/or expansions (10G, etc)

Software

Whatever software you need to get this system operational to meet your goals. In some cases this may be a ~$100 Unraid license, or a GSuite account for off-site backup.

Pro-tip: you can copy and paste tables from Google Spreadsheet into your Thread and have it auto formatted