DIY UnRAID NAS Build – Part 4: Installing a 10GBe Intel X710-DA NIC (Plus an Outtake!)

Welcome back to another instalment of my DIY UnRAID NAS Build series.
If you have been following along, you will know this project is built around an Intel NUC chassis that I have been carefully (and repeatedly!) taking apart to transform into a compact but powerful UnRAID server.

In Part 4, we move on to a major upgrade: installing a 10GBe Intel X710-DA network interface card. And yes, the eagle-eyed among you will notice something unusual at the beginning of the video, because this episode starts with a blooper. I left it in for your entertainment.

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A Fun Outtake to Start With

Right from the intro, things get a little chaotic. There is also a mysterious soundtrack playing, and I still do not know where it came from.
If you can identify it, feel free to drop a comment on the video.

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Tearing Down the Intel NUC Again

To install the X710-DA NIC, the NUC requires almost complete disassembly:

• Remove the back plate
• Remove the backplane retainer
• Take off the side panels
• Open the case
• Remove the blanking plate
• Prepare the internal slot area

This NUC has become surprisingly modular after taking it apart so many times, but it still puts up a fight occasionally.

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Installing the Intel X710-DA 10GBe NIC

Once the case is stripped down, the NIC finally slides into place. It is a tight fit, but the X710-DA is a superb card for a NAS build:

• Dual SFP+ ports
• Excellent driver support
• Great performance in VMware, Linux, and Windows
• Ideal for high-speed file transfers and VM workloads

If you are building a NAS that needs to move data quickly between systems, this NIC is a great option.

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Reassembly

Next, everything goes back together:

• Side panels reinstalled
• Back plate fitted
• Case secured
• System ready for testing

You would think after doing this several times I would be quicker at it, but the NUC still has a few surprises waiting.

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Booting into Windows 11 and Driver Issues

Once everything is reassembled, the NUC boots into Windows 11, and immediately there is a warning:

Intel X710-DA: Not Present

Device Manager confirms it. Windows detects that something is installed, but it does not know what it is.

Time to visit the Intel website, download the correct driver bundle, extract it, and install the drivers manually.

After a reboot, success. The NIC appears correctly and is fully functional.

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Why 10GBe

For UnRAID, 10GBe significantly improves:

• VM migrations
• iSCSI and NFS performance
• File transfers
• Backup times
• SMB throughput for Windows and macOS clients

It also future-proofs the NAS for any future network upgrades.

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The Mystery Soundtrack

Towards the end of the video I ask again: what is the music playing in the background?
I genuinely have no idea, so if you recognise it, please leave a comment on the video.

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Watch the Episode

You can watch the full episode, including all teardown steps, NIC installation, Windows troubleshooting, and the blooper, here:

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Thank You for Watching and Reading

Thank you for following along with this NAS build.
Part 5 will continue the series, so stay tuned.

If you have built your own UnRAID NAS or have a favourite NIC for homelab projects, feel free to comment and share your experience.

Regards,
Andy