11 hours ago
Thanks for getting in touch. Based on your intended use — mainly Plex, photo backups, and future light sharing — and your budget of €1000–1300 including drives, I’d lean toward a QNAP system for your case, especially if hardware transcoding is something you’d benefit from.
Synology does offer a very user-friendly interface and smooth setup, but most of their recent systems lack integrated GPUs for Plex hardware transcoding, and their locked-down drive compatibility may cause long-term frustration if you’re planning to mix and match or upgrade drives over time.
I’d suggest looking at the QNAP TS-464 or QNAP TS-473A. Both support hardware transcoding, have more open drive compatibility, and give you the flexibility to expand RAM or add a 10GbE card later if needed. The TS-464 is especially good for home users, while the TS-473A is more powerful but might stretch the budget depending on drive prices.
Start with 2x 10TB drives in RAID 1 or SHR-style mirroring, then expand as needed. Plex, photo syncing, backups, and remote sharing will all be well-supported. Just make sure to enable snapshots or a proper backup strategy once your data starts to accumulate.
Synology does offer a very user-friendly interface and smooth setup, but most of their recent systems lack integrated GPUs for Plex hardware transcoding, and their locked-down drive compatibility may cause long-term frustration if you’re planning to mix and match or upgrade drives over time.
I’d suggest looking at the QNAP TS-464 or QNAP TS-473A. Both support hardware transcoding, have more open drive compatibility, and give you the flexibility to expand RAM or add a 10GbE card later if needed. The TS-464 is especially good for home users, while the TS-473A is more powerful but might stretch the budget depending on drive prices.
Start with 2x 10TB drives in RAID 1 or SHR-style mirroring, then expand as needed. Plex, photo syncing, backups, and remote sharing will all be well-supported. Just make sure to enable snapshots or a proper backup strategy once your data starts to accumulate.