I found myself here because I was checking out complete NAS server systems and was kind of flustered by the prices I was seeing. This all started because my main PC of seven years took a turn for the worse about six months ago and lost some relatively important personal data. Being a techie, before even looking into NAS, my first thought was to just setup some sort of network storage on the cheap. By this I mean an external USB hard drive plugged into a Ethernet to USB dongle. I wasn't quite sure this would work since I don't believe a dongle has anywhere to hold IP address/domain information. Thus I thought there must be some kind small device like print servers that connect printers to networks. When I looked I found there are some out there but not many. And the ones I found cost a lot more than a $40 RJ-45 to USB adapter. Then I started focusing on NAS servers. I had heard about them but didn't really look into them. When I started reviewing them I liked what I saw. What I didn't like was the price. Also some of the 4-bay ones that cost less than $800 use plastic drive trays and plastic covers. Which do not help to dissipate heat. I thought I could pickup a new PC with 4 drive bays for less and use it for the same purpose. That is kind of where I'm at now.