NAS for Plex

[Enquiries]

Hi I'm looking for my first NAS purely to host a Plex server. Needs to be capable of multiple 4k streams as most movies are in 4k HDR, from what I've read the Qnap TS-464 seems ideal. Alternatively should I look at a mini PC to host plex and be paired with a cheaper NAS purely for storage.
Appreciate any advice.

[ed]

Great question, and you’re right to weigh both options before committing. The QNAP TS-464 is a strong all-in-one choice for Plex, especially if you’re handling a few 4K HDR streams locally on your home network. It has an Intel Celeron N5095 CPU with integrated graphics that supports Plex hardware transcoding (for H.264 and H.265), and with 16GB RAM plus SSD caching, it can comfortably serve 3–4 simultaneous 4K direct streams to compatible devices.

That said, if most playback is through smart TVs or clients that can direct play 4K without transcoding, the TS-464 alone will do fine. But if you expect remote streaming, subtitles, or frequent transcoding, you’ll get far better performance by using a Mini PC with a more powerful CPU/GPU (like an Intel NUC, Beelink SER6, or Minisforum UM790 Pro) as your Plex server and pairing it with a simpler NAS (such as a Synology DS423+ or QNAP TS-233) for storage.

With your $1500 budget and 40TB capacity target, the most balanced setup would be:
• Mini PC for Plex: AMD Ryzen 7 or Intel i5/i7 (2022–2024 gen) with QuickSync or RDNA graphics.
• NAS for storage: QNAP TS-233 or DS423+ with RAID 5 and large WD Red Plus or Seagate IronWolf drives.

That gives you far stronger transcoding performance, faster Plex library scans, and keeps the NAS quieter and cooler.