Your NAS advice, please

Forums › Desktop computing › Your NAS advice, please

gadzooks

2 posts

Wannabe Geek

#320233 21-Jul-2025 17:34

First post! Need advice on which way to go when it comes to upgrading my old DS116 (single bay) Synology NAS.

Currently used for:

Auto backing up from phones and laptop, then Hyper Backup'd nightly to cloud.
Plex server (movies and music).
Running some 'arrs.

I'd like more grunt, storage and compatibility.

For example, it's painfully slow when trying to view photo thumbnails via a mounted folder in Windows. Also, I can't run Docker or enable 'Sonic Analysis' in Plexamp, and hardware transcoding for movies might be nice, giving me the option to view remotely.

Given recent moves by Synology, I'm not sure whether I should be looking at other NAS brands (I have zero experience with any others and have grown very comfortable with Synology). I also have zero interest in trying to build/troubleshoot my own NAS (time poor).

Thanks in advance,

gad

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
80646 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 41030

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#3395990 21-Jul-2025 18:33

Do you have e a budget?

Referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies

Support Geekzone by subscribing (browse ads-free), or making a one-off or recurring donation through PressPatron.

Jase2985

13730 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 6202

ID Verified

Lifetime subscriber

#3396031 21-Jul-2025 21:42

If familiar with synology and happy to buy a new one dont get a 25 series.

You dont specify how much storage you want/need or what your budget is so its really hard to recommend something.

I still like my synology, i just dont like/agree with wear the company is heading, and moving to a different platform would require a lot of time to be invested and a learning curve. Hopefully they will change their stance on other branded HDD's

xpd

Geek of Coastguard
14115 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 4574

Retired Mod

ID Verified

Trusted

Lifetime subscriber

#3396056 22-Jul-2025 07:49

Also look for something with 2.5Gb ethernet - good future proof option, and if you get a 2.5Gb switch, it makes hell of a difference.

XPD / Gavin

LinkTree

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
80646 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 41030

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#3396065 22-Jul-2025 08:33

If you have no problem with using Synology-only drives, the 25 series is good. I hae a DS925+, running 20+ containers, two 2.5 Gb ports. If you want to be flexible with drives, use the previous model. If you could find a DS923+ that would be good, but two 1 Gbps only.

Referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies

Support Geekzone by subscribing (browse ads-free), or making a one-off or recurring donation through PressPatron.

gadzooks

2 posts

Wannabe Geek

#3396485 23-Jul-2025 10:54

freitasm:

Do you have e a budget?

Good question! Budget is around $500, unless that's way out of whack?

I'm also wondering whether I should be offloading Plex to a mini PC rather than buying a more powerful (and more expensive) NAS. I still need more capacity, though. I've nearly maxed two 4TB drives (one is plugged into the DS116 via USB).

Thanks for all the replies so far 👍

gad

freitasm

BDFL - Memuneh
80646 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 41030

Administrator

ID Verified

Trusted

Geekzone

Lifetime subscriber

#3396486 23-Jul-2025 10:59

Does the budget include new HDD? PBTech lists a few NAS under $500 but that doesn't include HDD and they are al two-drive only.

You will need to think about what are you using two drives for - a single larger storage partition, or a mirrored storage, limited by the size of the smaller drive.

You will also need to check each model to see if you can run apps on them - preferably docker, instead of installing things directly on the NAS, although this is the fallback option.

Referral links: Quic Broadband (free setup code: R587125ERQ6VE) | Samsung | AliExpress | Wise | Sharesies

Support Geekzone by subscribing (browse ads-free), or making a one-off or recurring donation through PressPatron.

HP

Shop now for HP laptops and other devices (affiliate link).

Quinny

926 posts

Ultimate Geek
+1 received by user: 208

Trusted

#3396512 23-Jul-2025 11:40

I have a Synology DS1821+ NAS and love it. I run "Container" for Home Assistant and Plex and do backups of PCs in the home. Mine is the 8-drive model, but you can go as low as 2. As above, the latest models are not as Plex-friendly. I wanted to go huge, and I have 82 TB (in raid) as a result. Don't regret a cent spent. https://support.plex.tv/articles/201373803-nas-compatibility-list/ can help, and Trade Me has several. Your budget is small, and you may be better off using an old pc. I suggest a budget of $500 to $1500 for the NAS, then buy/upgrade drives as you can. Always check the largest drives the model can use. YMMV of course :)

reven

3748 posts

Uber Geek
+1 received by user: 874

Trusted

#3396514 23-Jul-2025 11:46

For NAS software I'll always recommend unRAID.

Its very simple and is perfect for home use, yes it costs, but its well worth the price.

For apps, use Dockers, so much easier than anything. You can run these on unRAID, and this is what most people do, its just an "Community App Store". So you don't really need to know much about them.

I'd recommend you use FileFlows (available in the Unraid Community App Store or a download from fileflows.com) to convert all your media to a consistent format with stripped out languages for audio/subtitles you dont want, transocde early and save the space. Disclaimer, I'm the dev of FileFlows.