ASK NC

First, thanks so much for the YouTube channel. It took me some time to find your stuff for some reason, but I think you're the most balanced.

I've been using cloud backup and external hard drives for years, and I'm looking to be more intentional with data management. I was looking to buy a 4- or 5-bay NAS and I've found myself spinning in circles online. I want to backup 3 MacBooks (varying vintages), and photos from 2 iPhones and 3 iPads. I also want to consolidate all my external hard drives (usually about 1-2 TB of used space) into one place. And I would like to install a Plex server so that I can play some of the movies I've ripped from my old DVD collection. I was hoping to be a responsible adult and back this up to BackBlaze or another backup provider.

I've been going back and forth between Synology and QNAP. I only wanted to spend up to about $600. It seems like Synology basically isn't an option so I should focus on QNAP. Based on the above request, do you think I'm asking for too much and I should increase my budget? I'm somewhat tech savvy (I just started messing with Docker), but I also want a solution that mostly works without a lot of fidgeting. 

Thanks in advance!

Thanks for the kind words! Based on your needs—backing up multiple MacBooks, iPhones, and iPads, consolidating external drives, and running a Plex server—I’d recommend looking at the QNAP TS-464 or TS-664. Both are solid options with 4 or 6 bays, and they offer good performance for backups, file storage, and Plex streaming. Plus, they’re within your $600 budget range.

If you prefer Synology, the DS423+ is another good choice. It has 4 bays, works great for backups, and is straightforward to set up with fewer technical headaches.

Hope this helps!