Beginner: NAS

[Enquiries]

Hi Robbie,

I am interesting in buying a 4 bay Synology Nas. I have a large video, music and e-book collection and want to be able to have access where I am. I have watched several of your videos and am going to subscribe but I still don't know quite yet what is best for me. I have a Plex pass. I have windows and Apple OS. Don't know if Synology DS423+, 923+ or 1522+ is best for me. Any advice that you can give will be deeply aprreciated. Thanks in advance for taking the time out of your busy schedule to answer me. Have a nice weekend. Yours truly, Rick

[ed]

Great to hear from you! Since you have a Plex Pass and want remote access, the choice depends on how you’ll be streaming.

If you plan to transcode remotely (e.g., watching on mobile devices or when internet speed is a factor), the Celeron-based DS423+ is actually a better fit. It has integrated graphics, allowing Plex to use hardware transcoding, which is much more efficient for converting videos on the fly.

However, if your setup is mostly for local streaming (to smart TVs, Apple devices, or a powerful home setup), then the Ryzen-based DS923+ or DS1522+ is the way to go. They’re faster for overall NAS performance and futureproofing, but they lack hardware transcoding, meaning Plex would rely on software transcoding, which is much slower.

So, if you need smooth remote streaming, go with the DS423+. If most of your playback is local or on devices that support direct play, the DS923+ or DS1522+ will be the better long-term investment.