I am looking into getting my first NAS for my Plex Media Server plus all my photos and movies.
I’ll be connecting the NAS to my router via Ethernet and accessing via my Macbook and using a couple Apple TVs and mobile devices for playback.
My thinking is that I need a device with 4GM RAM, at least 4 TB of storage, RAID and a processor with a passmark score of at least 6,000.
Does this sound correct and is there any easy resource to narrow down which device meets these qualifications? I’m especially struggling to find an NAS that meets the passmark score so perhaps I need something different than an NAS?
You’ll eventually make it to the NAS compatibility list and a suggestion to use a recent Core-i3 or better CPU, Kaby Lake or newer (to handle the eventual HW transcodes).
The new QNAP TVS-672n is a great example of one.
Synology makes some very good ones too that are well supported here.
I’d probably go for one that has 10 drive bays for the future and using up some SSDs I have around, and maybe I’d get one with a 10G ethernet plus a proper switch that can do port trunking.
Never leave out the UPS, and get a big 1500VA or larger one with a pure sine wave output. Manufacturers say your NAS will not deal gracefully with a power cut, but I’m unwilling to prove that to myself.
Your specs sound fine for running only Plex. 4GB, 4TB, a bit more passmark though. Plex pass holders can get a significant discount on WD Reds and Seagate Ironwolves on the plex.tv website, like 20%. So check that out sir.
