Using a single board computer (SBC) can be a viable choice for network-attached storage (NAS). It’s compact, sips power compared to desktop-class hardware, and can be relatively affordable over purchasing a turnkey NAS server. Not all SBCs are built the same, however. They’ll have an Arm, RISC-V, or x86 processor, and while you could technically build a NAS with any CPU, so long as you can attach storage and allow for remote connections, I’ll round up some reasons why you should use one with an x86 CPU.