5 Best NAS for Plex in 2024

 It's a much more specialized solution than repurposing an old computer, as you tend to be limited in the number of hard drives and SSDs you can install. This is a relatively simple option, and you should have no trouble finding the best NAS for Plex, regardless of budget.

QNAP TS-264-8G-US NAS

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Completeness as a dedicated Plex NAS server makes the QNAP TS-264 a gem. Inside is Intel Celeron N5105/N5095 and 8GB RAM. That CPU is extremely special because it handles 4K transcoding very well.

The QNAP TS-264 has respectable storage capacity, with two bays. That might not sound like much, but consider this: Both bays can handle a 22TB 3.5 hard drive in RAID 1. If you want more storage, you can choose a model from the same The product line has a maximum of 6 compartments.

Once you feel comfortable with the QNAP TS-264, you can tinker and expand. Another 8GB of RAM can be added for a total capacity of 16GB, increasing access performance with dual M.2 slots. The PCIe expansion slot can also be used for QM2 and network cards.

Synology DS223j 2-Bay DiskStation

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Synology DS223j is considered one of the easiest ways to set up a Plex server. It's almost plug-and-play, working with Windows, Android, Mac, and iOS.

Another great feature of the Synology DS223j is its expansion bays. You get two bays, each of which can hold a 2.5-inch SSD and a 3.5-inch hard drive. A single bay can accept HDDs as large as 20TB, so you can have up to 40TB of storage. That's more than enough for a 4K movie library or an even larger 1080p movie library.

As a side note, you can save a little more by purchasing the Synology DS120j. However, this comes at the cost of one less cavity and poorer performance.

QNAP TVS-h874X-i9-64G-US NAS

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The QNAP TVS-h874X may be overkill for most people. However, if you have a lot of media content or want to stream your Plex server to a large group of people, the 12th generation Intel i9 processor is more than enough to deliver multiple 4K streams at once.

Additionally, the QNAP TVS-h874X also has dual M.2 Gen4x4 NVMe SSDs to speed up the process. To ensure even more stable connections, there are two 10 Gigabit Ethernet ports, with the option to expand to a 25 Gigabit Ethernet port via the PCIe Gen4 expansion slot. However, an expansion slot for a GPU or better yet a QM2 card could easily be used to increase performance.

Asustor Lockerstor 10 AS6510T NAS

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If you have a movie collection that rivals streaming services, the Asustor Lockerstor 10 AS6510T NAS is just what you need. With 10 storage bays to install SSDs or HDDs, each of which can handle 18TB, you'll never need more storage.

Even better, the Asustor Lockerstor 10 AS6510T works well with RAID, so if you have space left, you can have a backup in case of memory failure. The most impressive thing besides the high capacity is the Ethernet ports on the back. There are four Ethernet ports - two 2.5 Gigabit ports and two 10 Gigabit ports. Combine that with dual M.2 slots for fast caching and data will rarely bottleneck.

Synology DS723+ DiskStation

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Windows and Linux aren't the only operating systems that can run Plex - it's also compatible with MacOS. In fact, if you have a spare MacBook or iMac, they'll make pretty good Plex servers on their own without the need for a NAS. However, a much more specialized solution is to use the Synology DS723+.

Setting up the Synology DS723+ is relatively easy. The user manual is quite lengthy but you should have no problem following it. The best aspect of the Synology DS723+ is its customization capabilities. The Synology DS723+ only has two storage bays, but if your movie collection exceeds the capacity of the hard drive and SSD, you can choose the DX517 Expansion Unit for an additional 5 drive bays. Even the 1 Gigabit Ethernet port can be swapped for something faster, such as a 10GbE port. Not to mention dual M.2 NVMe slots for fast memory aggregation and caching.

Isabella Humphrey

Update 31 May 2024