I’ve just finished setting up exactpy what you describe (Synology NAS and Debian mini PC server) and it is working so well. Why do you need a more powerful NAS? If you use it for just storage you won’t really be falling short of NAS compute power.

I considered adding the drives directly to the mini PC as well, but I’m happy I’ve kept the Synology for the best of both worlds. Synology makes it so much easier to share the storage, set up reverse proxy, provide constant 2 way sync with my online cloud WebDAV service, etc.

I’m in the same boat. My 2 bay Synology is enough, but the apps and Docker containers are bringing it to its knees. I’m keeping the Synology and adding on a mini PC to run docker containers.

Found a mini PC with an i5-12500T for £240.

I’m a noob at this stuff, but I’m hyped to get more stability in what I host and start using more demanding services.

While you’re at it… Try Newpipe sponsor block on your Android phone.

Its amazing how quickly you realise that you don’t need something when you’re forced to stop using it.