I know absolutely nothing about NAS and not much more about PLEX so please be gentle….
I have terabytes of music, photos, etc. (but no videos) tucked away and accessible through PLEX as set up on my desktop. The problem is that I have to keep that machine running continuously to access that content so I’m wondering if a NAS is right for me. People would be accessing content from laptops, desktops, phones, and tablets using either an app or the PLEX website.
In general terms, what should I look for in a NAS (if indeed I should use one) – would it run PLEX on the NAS or just be a file server? What would be some reasonably priced ones with the features I’d need?
How about we start with the list of NAS vendors & models which are supported by Plex?
Here’s the spreadsheet to show you different makes, models, and their capabilities. You’ll find NAS machines of all sizes, capabilities and prices.
Plex NAS Compatibility
From here, you can start looking at known compatibles (there might be more I’ve missed at this point as it’s ever changing)
I suggest, as you do this, think to the future before making your purchase.
It’s a lot easier to add/change a HDD (provided the unit supports bigger drives) than it is to change the entire chassis for more bays.
I always opt for having an additional bay or two that I can “grow into”.
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You can use a NAS as your Plex server, but in my opinion you should be sure it can support hardware accelerated transcoding/tone mapping, which likely means an Intel CPU with a GPU. That rules out new Synology units, for example.
Some users refuse to use hardware accelerated transcoding/tone mapping, and will manually create many versions of their files so that all possible client devices can be supported with a server that is no more powerful than a common Earth potato.
Personally, I prefer having one file that can be played anywhere with zero additional effort on my part, but what kind of server to run is a religious argument and you will have to find your own path.
The setup that works for me is any old NAS plus a separate server, which need not be fancy… A $200 mini PC–with the right CPU–running Ubuntu makes a dandy Plex server, and it uses very little power, too. If you are a PC guy you may even have a junk closet with many parts for a decent Plex server. A 7th gen or newer Intel CPU is the right ballpark – faster is obviously better but my first server was a gen 7 i3, and it did fine.
You say you have no videos?
Then by all means, go with a NAS.
(Unless you plan on eventually extending to videos.)
The only thing that would be a potential con is the CPU. There are devices with Intel compatible CPUs (usually the pricier ones), and there are devices with ARM-based CPUs.
If you want to use plex’s sonic analysis for your music, you definitely want an Intel compatible CPU.
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That being said, it’s no big deal to later add a separate mini PC to act as Plex server, while the NAS continues to serve as media storage. It will be more economical than to invest in a new NAS with strong processing capability.
And you are free to update NAS and server PC independently of each other, which again potentially can save you some money.
Heck, at this point, a Raspberry Pi might be a decent Plex server with a drive connected via USB. If you do no transcoding, then the Pi ought to be fine as a standalone media server. Easy enough to upgrade to a NUC later on if you want to really beef up the processor if you wanna do transcoding.
I go back and forth on the NAS idea all the time. But in the end I find it simpler, cheaper, and easier to just have an Intel based Linux Server (for HW decode) with a big USB drive (8TB). But I do have lots of videos, in addition to music and photos. And then I have 2nd 8TB USB drive that is unmounted 99% of the time for backup.
Then, when it is time for an upgrade I can get a new server and just plug in the old USB. Or vice versa, get a new USB and keep the old server.
My thoughts about this:
In my opinion a big advantage of NAS from Synology is it’s turn key solution: You don’t need to know too much about Linux.
- First you can start by logging in to the server from your local network. and move your files to the NAS.
- Install Plex and point it to your media directories.
- Then you set up DDNS or a VPN and make it accessible from outside your home network.
The power consumption is hard to beat on a Synology NAS (according to the UPS my DS224+ runs on about 20 watts of power).
If you buy a 4-bay NAS you could start with two HDD’s and add more in the future.
Or you could degrade the NAS to a simple storage device and offload the server functions (Plex, download tools, the arr apps and so on) to a Intel NUC which is more powerful in transcoding thanks to it’s stronger CPU.
A NAS is a good starting point. HDDs like WD Red or Seagae IronWolfs are built to run 24/7 and you have your files accessible all the time at one central device.
Personally 10 years ago I was thinking to myself “*Why do I need a NAS if I can have cheap HDDs for my files? I never need this s..t!” 
Thank god I was wrong! 
*
I think it helps if you have your digital life more or less on one central device instead of many different external HDDs. You can access them anytime you want and don’t have to search for the external HDD movies 2 (or was is the other HDD movies - action/adventure hmm… I can’t remember) These (1st world problems) are gone! 
Your post suggests that you are concerned about keeping the computer on. Leaving your computer on all the time is actually better then constant power cycles.
As for a NAS, if you have an old computer around and have some computer knowledge you might check in to Unraid. This is easy to upgrade and expand as needed. Otherwise stick to a ready made system.
Thank you to everyone – you’ve all provided some great advice.
This gave me a good excuse to crawl through my tech closet and get rid of some really old machines. I was going to used to best of three old laptops, but then I found this mini-PC on FB Marketplace for $125:
Windows 11 Pro 64-bit; Intel Alder Lake (12th Gen) quad core 3.40 GHz N95 processor; 16GB DDR4 RAM; 512GB SSD; Dual HDMI ports with 4k monitor support; x4 USB 3.0 ports; Gigabit ethernet NIC; WiFi; Bluetooth; Headphone and microphone jack
I think I’ll give that a try. At worst, I can resell and get almost all the money back.
