New Hex OS Build CPU: 7700T vs 5800X

[The_Hawkeye]

Hello,

I'm about to start building my Hex OS NAS. At the moment I already have a "NAS" build around a 7700T + 16 GB DDR4 @ 2133MHz , running windows. My inital idea was to transfer this hardware into the Hex OS machine.  However, with the recently (officially) announced re-launch of the 5800X3D an alternative is presenting itself. Build a new machine using my current "gaming" CPU a 5800X. In this scenario I would:

• Buy a new 5800X3D for gaming and use the 5800X for Hex OS 
• Transfer the 16GB of DDR4 from my old Windows NAS to the Hex OS build
• Look for a new (of 2nd hand) cost-effictve AM4 MB with a many SATA ports as possible >> Any recomandations?
• Add a 2.5Gbe network card, intel I226 style
• Do I need a (parmanent) GPU ? I could use one during setup of-course. I sitll have a GTX970 laying around. 

The disks I'm planning to add into system are: 

• 3x 14TB (new) 
• Then extending the pool with a 12 TB + 14 TB drive (currently in use) after transfering the data on them from Windows to Hex OS.  

Any thoughts or other considerations I should take into account? 

Thank your your help and support! 
Hawkeye 

Edited June 1 by The_Hawkeye

[The_Hawkeye]

Maybe it's usefull if I add my use-cases:

• PLEX (of Jellyfin in future)
• Radarr, Sonarr (and other rrrr products)
• Qbittorrent
• Nextcloud 
• Immich 
• Off-site back-up to Hetzner over FTP of citircal data
• VM for Windows 11  (nice to have) for Media ripping 

Thanks again! 

[Eric Michels]

looking to get similar suggestion on a new bill be aware that your 970 is no longer supposed by true nas

[Mobius]

In general i recommend using intel cpus that have gpus (older than 12th gen or newer than 14th gen)
intel quick sync is still superb.
Unless you are feeling constrained by the 7700t I would just stick with it.

You may also want to think about if the upgrade from 5800x to 5800x3d is worth it for you. While there is a difference, a stronger gpu is more worth it imo.

 

On 6/1/2026 at 1:33 PM, The_Hawkeye said:

Do I need a (parmanent) GPU ? I could use one during setup of-course. I sitll have a GTX970 laying around. 

With the 7700t you likely wouldn't need a gpu but the 5800x doesn not have an integrated gpu so you would need one.

21 hours ago, Eric Michels said:

looking to get similar suggestion on a new bill be aware that your 970 is no longer supposed by true nas

This is correct apps can't use nvidia gpus older than the RTX 2000 series
however you can still attach it to a VM

On 6/1/2026 at 1:33 PM, The_Hawkeye said:

Add a 2.5Gbe network card, intel I226 style

Whatever you add just make sure it is not realtek

On 6/1/2026 at 1:33 PM, The_Hawkeye said:

Look for a new (of 2nd hand) cost-effictve AM4 MB with a many SATA ports as possible >> Any recomandations?

This is kinda tough, whats available in the used market regularly changes 
What is available in my area is likely different from whats available in your area.
You can also consider getting a "cheap" HBA card (LSI 9305 or newer)
 

[Todd Miller]

The secondary to questions like your is what do you want.  For me I have a pretty powerful and it works pretty good but I started on old hardware I had that just barely met the standards.  Plex and Imich (when it worked at all) worked on that hardware.  Basic NAS functionality worked just fine on that hardware.  Yeah I had slower network.  Yeah transcoding was frustrating until I figured out what it was doing.  But I can say with complete honesty my new setup is just faster, that's all.  Installs didn't fail any more with the old setup.  Apps didn't crash or go rogue any more often.  Don't lose focus on what your creating.  If you need the top of the line hardware and can budget for it that's your call.  If you can't then build what you can.  But please don't mix up things like want and need.  And sometimes the coolest setup is the one nobody believes you got to work.  This community, including the admins, is pretty tough to slide something by but HexOS can handle all kinds of equipment so don't sweat it too much because this flexibility is a large part of the charm.