I'm running Armbian as the main operating system, with CasaOS installed on top of Debian to handle the NAS features. With CasaOS, all files stored on the NVMe drives can be accessed from any device on the local network using a clean and user-friendly web interface.

For this project, I wanted an industrial, rugged look inspired by fanless heatsink enclosures. Instead of using an off-the-shelf case, I designed my own enclosure featuring large fins that mimic a heatsink. They're purely aesthetic, but they give the NAS a unique industrial appearance.

This Article Covers the complete build of this project, which includes the assembly steps, setting up Casa OS, and other processes. Let's get started.

MATRIALS REQUIRED

These were the components used in this project.

• Radxa ROCK 5 ITX Board
• ATX Power Supply
• 3D printed parts
• M2 screws
• NVME SSD
• HDMI MONITOR

HARDWARE- RADXA ROCK 5 ITX BOARD

The star of this project is the Radxa ROCK 5 ITX, a powerful single-board computer built around the Rockchip RK3588 SoC. It features an octa-core CPU consisting of 4× Arm Cortex-A76 performance cores and 4× Arm Cortex-A55 efficiency cores, delivering an excellent balance of performance and power efficiency for everything from NAS applications to edge computing and self-hosted services.

This Board comes with onboard LPDDR5 16GB RAM, an M.2 M-Key slot for high-speed NVMe SSDs, multiple SATA ports for storage expansion, 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet for fast networking, USB 3.0 connectivity, HDMI output, 40-pin GPIO expansion, and a standard 24-pin ATX power connector, making it feel much more like a compact desktop motherboard than a traditional single-board computer.

For this project, Radxa generously provided the hardware, including the ROCK 5 ITX board, the official heatsink, and the official power adapter. A huge thanks to the Radxa team for supporting this build.

Radxa has been developing high-performance ARM-based single-board computers for makers, developers, educators, and embedded applications for many years. Their product lineup ranges from compact development boards to desktop-class SBCs like the ROCK 5 ITX, making ARM computing more accessible for hobbyists and professionals alike. Their focus on open hardware, active software support, and powerful Rockchip-based platforms has made them a popular choice within the maker and homelab communities.

Do check them out for more cool hardware.

https://radxa.com/

RADXA ROCK 5 HEATSINK ASSEMBLY

We begin the initial hardware setup of the Radxa ROCK 5 ITX by installing the official heatsink. First, we apply a thin, even layer of thermal paste over the Rockchip RK3588 SoC, using a plastic card to spread the paste uniformly across the surface.

Next, we carefully position the heatsink over the processor, aligning its mounting holes with the corresponding screw holes on the board. Once everything is lined up correctly, we tighten the screws evenly to secure the heatsink in place and ensure good thermal contact.

Finally, we connect the heatsink's cooling fan to the dedicated fan header on the ROCK 5 ITX. With the heatsink securely mounted and the fan connected, the hardware setup is complete, and the board is ready for its first boot.

HARDWARE- ATX POWER SUPPLY

For the power source, I decided to use a standard ATX power supply. In this build, I'm using a 500W ATX PSU, which is definitely overkill for the power requirements of the system. However, I already had it lying around, so it made more sense to use it instead of buying a dedicated power supply.

One of the advantages of the Radxa ROCK 5 ITX is that it features a standard 24-pin ATX power connector, allowing the power supply to plug directly into the board without the need for adapters or custom wiring. This makes the entire setup incredibly simple, clean, and reliable.

Using an ATX power supply also means the NAS can be powered directly from AC mains, making it feel much more like a traditional desktop or server...