Recommend a NAS please under AUD1000 and advice on server location

Plex Media Server NAS & Devices
1

Hi All,
I went through the Plex NAS Compatibility Guide and looked at the products I would like, but it seems that the ones that can do what I want are between AUD2000-5000. Way out of my price range.

So the ideal for me is a 4 bay NAS, which is easy to set up and easy to maintain.
I would use it to store data from 5-8 devices and all my media files.
I am assuming I would then run a Plex server from my PC to manage all the transcoding required and stream across the home network.
Is this the best setup seeing as I don’t want to spend 1000s.
Is there a better way for me to set up the server?

and of course the recommendations for a good NAS…

thanks to all

2

So you would only need the NAS for storage and not running your Plex server? Then you don’t need to spend a lot, managing storage is what every NAS can do.

If you also want to run PMS on the NAS, then this is a different story.

3

Thanks for the reply -
I would prefer to run the PMS on the NAS, but I dont believe I can afford a NAS that can do that job.

4

Then throw together a traditional PC (desktop) with room for a few hard drives in it. That’s how I’ve been doing it for years now.

Main thing is the CPU. If you are not intending to buy a Plex Pass, go with a recent AMD CPU.

8 GB RAM is enough if you don’t do other things beside Plex and don’t do RAID.

5

Thanks,
I am currently using my PC to run the PMC, I just heard that running it from a NAS was the way to go!
I have an x64-based PC that has 16GB of RAM with an Intel Core i7-2600K CPU @ 3.40GHz, 3401 Mhz, 4 Cores, 8 Logical Processors running Microsoft Windows 10 Pro.
The client devices are 2 x Xbox one connected to the TVs and then iPads and phones.

Maybe I need a guide to setting up the server correctly for my circumstances?

However, I would also like a recommendation on a decent 4 bay NAS under AUD1000 please?

Also, you mention the Plex Pass and AMD - I have a Plex Pass - how does that influence the CPU?

6

That’s a bad generalization. I tend to discourage users from a NAS for the server. It is OK for media storage, but NAS devices with plenty of horsepower for transcoding are crazy expensive.
You usually get a better deal with picking a NAS solely for storage and then adding a separate mini PC. This also enables you to upgrade NAS and PC independently from each other.
https://support.plex.tv/articles/201373793-is-plex-media-server-on-a-nas-right-for-me/

That’s a “Sandy Bridge” CPU without hardware support for transcoding HEVC.

So you want something more modern for a server.
Only a Plex Pass enables you to use hardware supported video transcoding. This applies to QuickSync unit in Intel CPUs, but also to the equivalent hardware in graphics adapters.

7

So my PC isnt powerful enough and I cant afford the right NAS to act as server, so I am stuck with average PLEX performance?

So can someone guide me through the server settings that will give me the best performance I can expect with my average PC and a Plex Pass?

thanks

8

You just enable hardware transcoding and encoding in the transcoder settings and hopefully enjoy it for H264 files.

9

Without a hardware change, you won’t be able to transcode files which use the HEVC video codec. What graphics adapter do you have in your PC, currently?

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