NAS for Plex Server is a cool way of creating a media center with all of your favorite streaming services, like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon Prime Video, and Spotify. Network attached storage, or NAS, connects to a local area with one or more multiple hard drives. Once you have made the connection, you can access the centralized storage area from any home device with an internet connection.
Here are our top eight picks for the best NAS for Plex Server in 2023:
- Best Overall: Synology 4 bay
- Best Compatibility: Asustor AS5304T
- Best for Beginners: QNAP TS-453D-4G 4 Bay
- Best Budget Option: WD Diskless My Cloud EX4100 Expert Series 4
- Best Performance: TERRAMASTER F5-422 5Bay 10GbE
- Best User-Friendly NAS for Plex: QNAP Turbo NAS TS-453Be
- Best High-End: Synology DiskStation DS920+
- Best High-Capacity NAS for Plex: NETGEAR ReadyNAS 316 6-Bay
Best Overall: Synology 4 bay
- Centralized Data Storage - Consolidate all your data for complete data ownership and multi-platform access
- Sharing and Syncing Across Systems - Access, share, and sync data across different systems and devices using intuitive controls
- Powerful Backup and Restoration - Back up and restore critical devices and data using a host of intuitive backup tools
- Check Synology knowledge center or YouTube channel for help on product setup and additional information
- Check the product specification page for the software or application you want to use
The Synology 4 bay is an excellent choice for storing large amounts of data on a centralized hard drive.
Synology is a world leader in NAS for Plex servers, and Synology 4 bay joins the DiskStation lineup that includes models such as DS1019+, DS1511+, and DS1512+. A step up from the DS918+, the Synology 4 has a faster processor, larger RAM, and better usability. The Synology NAS for Plex Server comes with 4 drive bays, so you can expand it up to 28 TB, with enough space for your movies, photos, and music. It uses an Intel Pentium N3710 quad-core 1.6GHz processor backed up by 4GB of DDR3L RAM.
It has a quad-core ARM Cortex-A17 processor and an AMD Radeon R6 graphics processor. CyberLink Power Director for media streaming is accessible via DSM 6.2 operating system. It is compatible with Plex Media Server or apps from other providers to stream your media from your NAS over the internet. Covering this NAS with an external USB enclosure NAS transforms it into a portable hard drive.
As of July 19, 2023, this product is currently unavailable on Amazon. Please check back later.
Best Compatibility: Asustor AS5304T
- UPC: 887372001237
- Weight: 7.5 lbs
- 4 Bay NAS
- Intel Celeron Quad-Core
- 2 2.5GbE Ports
- 4GB RAM DDR4
- Gaming Network Attached Storage
Asustor AS5304T is a 4-Bay NAS device and fantastic choice for those looking for centralized storage that works with different OS’s and drives.
Asustor AS5304T has an Intel NAS server chip offering great performance and reliability. Thanks to its expandable design, you can add more drives easily on the fly. This NAS is also a perfect Plex Server for gaming. It comes with a gaming network attached storage design, and features two 2.5GbE ports, so you can connect your PS4 or Xbox One to stream media files quickly.
As the second-best NAS for Plex Media Server, the AS5304T is compatible with major operating systems, including Windows, Mac, and Linux. The device is attractive and comes with an excellent cooling system to ensure maximum power efficiency.
Check out the Asustor AS5304T on Amazon.
Best for Beginners: QNAP TS-453D-4G 4 Bay
- Intel Celeron J4125 quad-core 2.0 GHz processor (burst up to 2.7 GHz)
- Intel HD Graphics 600
- 4GB SO-DIMM DDR4 (Max 8GB)
- 4 x 3.5-inch drive bays (Diskless)
- 2 x 2.5GbE ports
Equipped with four bays, the QNAP TS-453D-4G 4 Bay is a great choice for users who want to back up, share and stream media files from their home media center via the internet.
QNAP TS-453D-4G has an Intel® Celeron® J4125 CPU that clocks in at 2.6GHz, which is powerful enough to handle multiple applications at the same time. Two 2.5GbE ports provide faster connectivity between the NAS and your computers or smartphones. It also comes with 8GB DDR3L memory for performance boost. Its graphics card works in conjunction with the CPU to ensure a smooth and seamless high-definition video playback and streaming.
This NAS also comes with 8x SuperSpeed USB 3.0 ports that support 5Gbps transfer speeds and are backwards compatible with USB 2.0 devices. You can use these ports to connect external hard drives and other USB devices for data backup or multimedia playback.
Check out the QNAP TS-453D-4G 4 Bay on Amazon.
Best Budget Option: WD Diskless My Cloud EX4100 Expert Series 4
- Centralized storage with anytime, anywhere access
- Integrated 1.6 GHz Marvell armadaARMADA 388 dual-core processor and 2GB DDR3 Memory
- Twonky DLNA-certified media server and iTunes support
- RAID 0, 1, 5, 10 or JBOD and spanning
- Integrated backup software for PC users and Time Machine support for Mac users
If you want a budget option that does not sacrifice speed and storage, the WD Diskless My Cloud EX4100 Expert Series 4 is a great NAS for Plex.
DS3231-based NAS is a very powerful device with a quad-core processor and 4GB of RAM that can support 4 HDDs or 2 SSDs. It has a powerful quad-core processor for fast speed and high capacity. The 4GB of RAM will ensure that the Plex Server runs smoothly.
The WD My Cloud EX4100 also has a USB 3.0 port for file sharing and printers. It also has 8 Gigabit Ethernet ports for multiple devices to connect at the same time. This NAS is compatible with Plex Media Server, so you can access all of your media from anywhere with an Internet connection. The WD My Cloud EX4100 also supports RAID 1, 7, and 10 configurations, so you are covered if your home network ever goes down.
Check out the WD Diskless My Cloud EX4100 Expert Series 4 on Amazon.
Best Performance: TERRAMASTER F5-422 5Bay 10GbE
- Powerful Hardware: Features an Atom C3558R Quad-core 2.4GHz CPU, 8GB RAM DDR4 (expandable up to 32GB), dual SFP+ 10Gb Ethernet Interfaces, dual 2.5GbE Ports - providing up to 20Gb transmission...
- High-speed 10Gb Network Sharing: The T9-450 NAS server supports 10Gb network connectivity, allowing multiple Windows/Mac workstations to connect simultaneously. This enables seamless collaborative...
- Multiple Backup Solutions: The T9-450 cloud storage Features multiple backup applications including Centralized Backup, Duple Backup, Snapshot, CloudSync and more to enhance the safety of your data....
- Reliable Data Protection and Restoration：The T9-450 network attached storage offers reliable data protection with support for TRAID, preventing data loss due to hard disk damage. The NAS system...
- Compact Design: Features a small, space-saving design that can be used vertically or horizontally. The T9-450 NAS storage has a metal shell and intelligent temperature control ultra-quiet fan, which...
TERRAMASTER F5-422 5Bay 10GbE is a powerful five 3.5-inch hard drive bay designed for speed and performance.
This NAS can hold up to five hard drives at once, allowing users to store a lot of data. It also has a dual-core CPU, so it can run Plex with less strain on the system. This is a cool way to avoid the need to use multiple computers for file storage, media streaming, and syncing.
F5-422 5Bay 10GbE has an Ethernet port that connects directly to your router. It also comes with an internal USB 3.0 port that supports media sharing and backups. What we like about this NAS is it’s easy to install. Plus, it supports both Windows and Mac.
Check out the TERRAMASTER F5-422 5Bay 10GbE on Amazon.
Best User-Friendly NAS for Plex: QNAP Turbo NAS TS-453Be
- QNAP Turbo NAS TS-453Be Mini Tower NAS Server for Small Business and Home Offices
- Processor: Intel Celeron J3455 Quad-Core 1.5GHz 2MB CPU, Up to 2.3GHz Turbo; Memory: 8GB DDR3L Memory; Storage: 16TB (4 x 4TB) 6Gb/s SATA 3.5 Inch HDDs; Controller: Serial ATA-600; RAID Levels: JBOD,...
- Operating System: QNAP QTS 4.3.4; Operating System Features: Notes Station, HD Station, FTP Server, Print Server, File Station, Music Station, Video Station, Download Station, Photo Station, Notes...
- QNAP NAS chassis comes in a sealed box.
- Hard drives and memory upgrades included separately NOT installed, installation required.
A powerful and reliable network device, QNAP Turbo NAS TS-453Be delivers robust performance and hardware-accelerated 4K video transcoding along with the latest features in a smaller form factor.
It has 16TB HDD storage, saving a large volume of data. This NAS also comes with two x Gigabit Ethernet WAN ports, 8 x USB 2.0 ports, and 1 x USB 3.0 port.
It supports various applications, including a DLNA media server, iTunes server, FTP Server, printer server, and Surveillance Station. The TS-453Be can also be used as a Virtual Machine host with its Virtualization Station if you require additional storage. Users can install multiple operating systems like Ubuntu Linux and Windows 10 onto the NAS for development or testing purposes.
This hard drive comes with an independent hardware encryption engine that provides efficient data encryption performance without impacting system performance. In addition, the hardware encryption engine can also be used to encrypt USB storage devices and the QNAP TX TV Box to provide encrypted content sharing across multiple screens.
Check out the QNAP Turbo NAS TS-453Be on Amazon.
Best High-End: Synology DiskStation DS920+
- Synology DiskStation DS920+, made for a variety of server roles such as backup, file storage, email servers, and domain controllers!
- Celeron J4125 Quad-Core 2.0GHz 4MB CPU; 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR4 PC4-21300 2666MHz SO-DIMMs; M.2 Storage: 1TB (2 x 500GB) M.2 Solid State Drives for Ultra Fast Storage; File Storage: 8TB (4 x 2TB) 6Gb/s...
- Features: Cache Acceleration, Virtual Machine Manager, Security Advisor, AES 256-bit Encryption, 2 Factor Authentication, Surveillance Station Suite, 4K Multimedia Server role, Desktop Backup, Hyper...
- Synology NAS chassis comes in a sealed box.
- Hard drives and memory upgrades included separately NOT installed, installation required.
One of the premier NAS for Plex servers, the Synology DiskStation DS920+ comes in several colors and supports up to four hard drives.
Not only is this NAS easy to set up and use, but it offers advanced features like Synology DSM operating system and additional security features such as encrypted data transmission. Logs that track system events and backup scheduling options some of its other nice features. You can configure your storage by removing the side panel and sliding in your drives.
The DS920+ comes equipped with a 1.4 GHz Celeron CPU and 8GB of DDR4 memory, which guarantees a smooth-running system. It also has dual LAN ports to connect to your home or office network and an additional port for connecting to the internet.
This NAS has two USB 3.0 ports and supports multimedia applications such as Plex Media Server, DLNA server, and iTunes server. With the DS920+, you can easily set up a dedicated Plex media server so that you can stream your personal media collection to all of your devices. It is easy to use, affordable and powerful at the same time.
Check out the Synology DiskStation DS920+ on Amazon.
Best High-Capacity NAS for Plex: NETGEAR ReadyNAS 316 6-Bay
- 6-bay Network Attached Storage with 5 levels of protection for all your photos, videos, and important files
- Securely store and share files in ReadyCLOUD (your own private cloud) from your PC, Mac, mobile device, or tablet
- Automatic backup and sync from multiple Windows PCs
- Automatic RAID protection against disk failure
- Peace of mind with proprietary snapshot technology for recovering past versions of a file or folder
(Please note that as of July 19th, 2023, the NETGEAR ReadyNAS 316 6-Bay Network Attached Storage for Small Business and Home Users is currently unavailable on Amazon. Please check back later.)
The NETGEAR ReadyNAS 316 6-Bay comes with six separate drive bays, each with its own processor, so the drive won’t slow down if one of bays starts acting up.
Although you can connect any type of hard drive to ReadyNAS 316, the device works best with Intel drives. You do not need to install the drives in different chassis, though. All you need is a power cord, and an Ethernet cabled and the ReadyNAS has everything else ready for you.
The host server can connect to it through Wi-Fi, 3G, or 4G, so internet connectivity is always available. The ReadyNAS is designed to give you the best performance possible by using its ReadyDLNA protocol. The NAS is also equipped with ReadyCloud, so your data will automatically be backed up in the cloud. It can be used as a stand-alone device or attached to your network as an additional storage port. It can also serve as an internet router with its powerful Wi-Fi capabilities.
How To Pick The Best NAS for Plex Server: Step-by-Step
Here are the most important things you should consider when buying a NAS for a Plex server:
Drive Bays
You need to make sure that your NAS for Plex server has enough drive bays to accommodate the drives you want to add. Most do, but some of the very compact ones might only have room for two drives.
If you are going with a 4-bay model, you’ll be able to set up a total of 4 TB of storage. A 6-bay model can hold 8 TB of total storage. A good rule of thumb is to get a NAS with at least four more drive bays than you need. You can always add additional drives later.
RAM
The amount of RAM helps to store more data on your NAS for the Plex server, which helps it run faster. More RAM means a faster Plex server with less buffering and lower CPU load. It also might mean that you can get a more advanced NAS that is better at running multiple tasks at once. The best NAS for Plex has between 4-8 GB of RAM or memory.
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CPU
You want to ensure that your NAS for Plex server has a high-quality CPU to run all your applications smoothly. A multi-core CPU with a higher clock speed is ideal. The best CPUs have more than four cores and a clock speed of over 3 GHz, but anything over 2 GHz will be fine for most users.
This is one of the most important factors to consider when picking out the best NAS for a Plex server because it is key to the performance and stability of your streamers.
Transfer Speeds
How fast your NAS for Plex server can transfer files is also very important. If multiple users access the same files on the same server, you want to ensure it can handle all of the traffic. A NAS with a large capacity and high transfer speeds will be best. You should also consider using an external hard drive or network-attached storage if you need a lot of extra room to run many applications simultaneously.
Connectivity Options
Ensure that your NAS for Plex server provides you with good connectivity options. Some have only USB ports, while others can use multiple ports, Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and Bluetooth. It’s better to have more options than you need than not enough. It’s also important to ensure that the NAS you choose has ports you can use.
RAID Configuration
RAID is a way to double your data protection in case the first layer of protection fails. Some models have the option for single or multi-RAID configurations, while others don’t have this added layer of security. If you are planning on keeping very important data on your server, you might want to look at a NAS with this added layer of protection.
Warranty
You’ll want to ensure your NAS for Plex server has a warranty that covers hardware failures. Most are two-year or three-year warranties, but some can be lifetime warranties or come with data recovery services. This is an important part of picking out the best Nas for Plex server because you don’t want to have to worry about having it replaced and reformatted if it breaks within the first few years.
What To Know Before Buying NAS for Plex Server
Before buying a NAS for Plex server, you’ll want to ensure it’s compatible with your application. You need to check that the storage space is sufficient, but you also want to ensure that it can handle your tasks. The best NAS for Plex server allows you to customize your storage space and use it exactly how you want.
Alternatively, if you want to use your NAS for Plex server as a simple media center, you don’t need to spend extra money on bells and whistles. You just want a NAS that can handle your media center’s streaming, file transfers, and backups.
It is also a good idea to set up a RAID configuration or use extra external hard drives to store the data for the best results. This helps to prevent downtime or issues with your server and gives you a lot more room for transferring and backing up files.
Using NAS for Plex Server: What it’s Like
©Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash – License
Using these NAS for Plex servers is extremely easy, but you must ensure everything is set up properly. The setup can take a couple of hours or longer, depending on how many options you want. The only downside is that your files may not be accessible by others unless you have a router with a public IP address. For private home use, this isn’t much of an issue.
setting up the NAS for the Plex server is fairly simple. Depending on what software and applications you want to use, you should be able to connect the NAS to your computer and start setting things up. But first, you will need to create a user account and enable remote access.
Once the account is set up, go into the NAS’ settings (usually through a program on your computer) and set up shared folders. You can share these folders with other users as needed through a unique password that only they will know. In addition, you can set up your media center to automatically back up to the server each night. This way, you don’t have to worry about losing any of your media.
As an added bonus, many NAS for Plex servers also come with built-in FTP capabilities so that you can download media straight from the server to a flash drive and play it on any computer.
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