NAS / PC

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TG09

234 posts

Master Geek

#300747 1-Oct-2022 16:56

Hi all,

I've been using an old HP desktop to run my Plex and have an old QNAP 2-Bay NAS.

The HP has died, so looking to get a new NAS to run my Plex and upgrade the NAS.

Looking at getting maybe around 8TB of storage, currently have 4TB have to keep clearling out old TV Shows to make room

Any recommendations

freitasm

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#2976019 1-Oct-2022 18:11

The Synology DS220+ comes with 2 GB RAM but can go up to 10 GB with an extra 8 GB stick. It runs Docker really well and should have no problem if your Plex clients don't require transcoding.

jarledb

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#2976023 1-Oct-2022 18:28

I have had much better experience with the current Synology with hardware transcoding (DS 1019+) than the older Synology I had without hardware transcoding. Using it for Plex, and wouldn't get a new NAS without hardware transcoding next time I am in the market to buy one.

But as Mauricio mentioned, if you don't use it then no need to get it. I find it is being used here though.

Found an article with a list of Synology NAS with information about which support hardware transcoding.

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TG09

234 posts

Master Geek

#2976042 1-Oct-2022 19:58

Thanks for that info, i will take a look.

TG09

234 posts

Master Geek

#2976160 2-Oct-2022 07:41

What HDD would you go for WD Red?

https://www.pbtech.co.nz/product/HDDWD25402/WD-4TB-Red-Pro-NAS-HDD-35-SATA3-256MB-Cache-Design

Would these be ok, even though the rotation speed is slow at 5400 RPM

https://www.computerlounge.co.nz/shop/components/storage/hard-drives/seagate-ironwolf-st6000vn001-6tb-256mb-6gb/s-nas-hard-drive

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#2976161 2-Oct-2022 07:57

I use WD Red but 4 TB will be too small if using two bays only.

Jase2985

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#2976162 2-Oct-2022 07:57

Seagate iron wolf is also good.

look at newegg/amazon as well as their prices are normally much sharper than PBTech and they sometimes have decent sales

I recently got a 12TB WD Red Plus for $346 delivered from newegg

TG09

234 posts

Master Geek

#2976183 2-Oct-2022 09:59

Jase2985:

Seagate iron wolf is also good.

look at newegg/amazon as well as their prices are normally much sharper than PBTech and they sometimes have decent sales

I recently got a 12TB WD Red Plus for $346 delivered from newegg

Good deal on at the moment - https://www.newegg.com/Product/ComboDealDetails?ItemList=Combo.4519925

Sorry that is US Price

For 2 x 6TB NZ $502.40 inc Est. Duty & GST thats pretty good and will be enough for me

I will keep looking today to see if I can get the drives cheaper, probably will get that NAS with extra ram. If I can get it all under $1000 will be happy then sell my QNAP with 2 x 2TB drivers

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TG09

234 posts

Master Geek

#2977585 5-Oct-2022 08:40

Hi all,

Ended up ordering that DS220+ NAS with 2 x 6TB IronWolf Pro disks. Its on back order no place has it in stock, so up to 4-5 weeks they say.

Now I will need to get some RAM and figure out how to use Docker etc.. and make the most out of the NAS.

JimmyH

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#2998816 20-Nov-2022 15:59

I'm sticking with a modular separation between NASes (for storage) and PC (to run server).

The PC doesn't need to be too grunty, I'm running with an old i5 Haswell I picked up for a pittance second hand, and added an SSD to for metadata storage (an SSD for metadata is critical for larger libraries). It's easier to upgrade/replace the PC in future if you want more flexibility - and want to do things like adding TV tuners etc. Plus, NASes with processors and RAM sufficient to run a responsive server cost a lot more, and I learned my lesson about having an underpowered NAS without an SSD as a media server - it worked well initially, but got worse and worse as libraries got bigger.

My router connects to a dedicated Gigabit switch. Into that switch is connected my old NAS (8x6 TB drives in RAID, for 36TB usable), my new NAS (4x18TB drives in RAID6 for 36TB usable, 6 bays free for future growth), and my Plex server (as above). Thus works well, and the dedicated switch stops the NAS->server traffic slowing my other devices.

shrub

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#2998821 20-Nov-2022 16:35

Id find an old skylake or newer system and unraid it with dockers. You already have some drives and you can always add to it. This way you can put more money towards bigger hard drives. Having a pc and a NAS doing the same tasks doesn't make financial sense.

JimmyH

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#2998851 20-Nov-2022 18:25

They aren't doing the same job. The NASes supply bulk storage and backup across my network, not just for media. They provide a large amount of storage in a relatively power efficient, easy to access and easy to administer way.

The media server serves media. That's all it does. It was cheap to set up, and doesn't run 24/7. It only runs when I want to stream media.

Horses for courses I guess. But I like the flexibility of modularity. It means I can upgrade bits easily and at different times.