If you choose to run Plex Media Server on the Synology NAS, read both of these documents beforehand. It will save you much time and trouble.
- Installation & Setup of Plex Media Server on Synology
- Synology FAQ (DSM 5 & 6) - Questions, Answers, and a few How-To’s
Also, strongly suggest you do not install DSM 7. Plex on DSM 7 is still a work in progress (as is DSM 7 itself). If you are a glutton for punishment and run PMS on DSM 7, read these documents:
No matter where you run Plex Media Server, host the files on the Synology. You can mount the shares on the PC if needed.
With the files on the Synology you have protection from disk failure (assuming you’re using SHR1 or RAID 1).
The Synology must have a fixed IP address, either static or router assigned. It should be connected to the network with an Ethernet cable (no WiFi) at 1 Gbps. If you run Plex Media server on the PC, it must have the same.
For media that direct plays, either the PC or the NAS be fine. Direct playing media requires very little CPU.
For media that transcodes:
4K Media:
Without a Plex Pass, neither will transcode 4K HEVC video.
With a Plex Pass, the PC is definitely better, as transcoding will occur on the 1070. The Intel QSV graphics in the Celeron can also transcode 4K HEVC video, but not as reliably as the 1070.
H.264 / 1080p video (HD Blu-ray rips, etc):
Without a Plex Pass the PC is the clear winner. The Celeron CPU is not powerful enough.
With a Plex Pass, either is an option.
Subtitles:
If the video is transcoding and subtitles are enabled, Plex may have to burn the subtitles into the video stream. This varies by Plex client. Plex must burn subtitles for Samsung & LG SmartTV apps. Burning subtitles is not required for Android & Android TV clients.
This will be an issue using the Synology, even with a Plex Pass & hardware accelerated transcoding. On Linux based systems burning subtitles occurs with the CPU, not the GPU, and is a single threaded process. The Celeron CPUs in Synology NAS have low single-threaded performance. As a result, they struggle when burning in subtitles.
It depends on how much you need to transcode. The PC definitely wins if a lot of transcoding is required.
You can run Plex on both systems at the same time. Try Plex on the Synology and see how well it meets your requirements. You can always switch to the PC if needed.
