3 hours ago
Synology DS1825 plus or DS2422 plus
These are the most user friendly and reliable options for a large home Plex server. They support SHR two which gives dual disk redundancy but lets you use mixed drive sizes if needed. That flexibility is a huge advantage when coming from a JBOD pile. Plex runs extremely well on them and they have simple remote access options. DS1825 plus with an expansion unit gives you eighteen bays total. DS2422 plus gives you twelve bays from the start. Both fit well inside your budget. These are the closest thing to a worry free setup.
QNAP TVS h874 or TVS h1688
These give more raw performance for Plex and heavier transcoding. They support ZFS or Qtier and can take more powerful CPUs. They are more complex to manage than Synology but perfect if you want the best possible speed and dont mind a more technical interface. With your library size a sixteen bay model gives you the most room to grow.
UGREEN DXP series
These are becoming very popular but the software is still young. I would not put one hundred ninety terabytes of media on them yet as a primary long term server. They will get there but not today.
What I would avoid
Anything with fewer than eight bays.
Any vendor that does not support dual disk redundancy.
Unraid or TrueNAS unless you want to self build. They can be amazing but they require active management and deeper knowledge.
These are the most user friendly and reliable options for a large home Plex server. They support SHR two which gives dual disk redundancy but lets you use mixed drive sizes if needed. That flexibility is a huge advantage when coming from a JBOD pile. Plex runs extremely well on them and they have simple remote access options. DS1825 plus with an expansion unit gives you eighteen bays total. DS2422 plus gives you twelve bays from the start. Both fit well inside your budget. These are the closest thing to a worry free setup.
QNAP TVS h874 or TVS h1688
These give more raw performance for Plex and heavier transcoding. They support ZFS or Qtier and can take more powerful CPUs. They are more complex to manage than Synology but perfect if you want the best possible speed and dont mind a more technical interface. With your library size a sixteen bay model gives you the most room to grow.
UGREEN DXP series
These are becoming very popular but the software is still young. I would not put one hundred ninety terabytes of media on them yet as a primary long term server. They will get there but not today.
What I would avoid
Anything with fewer than eight bays.
Any vendor that does not support dual disk redundancy.
Unraid or TrueNAS unless you want to self build. They can be amazing but they require active management and deeper knowledge.