Choosing the best QNAP NAS for your Plex Media Server (PMS) is actually surprisingly straight forward. Once you have decided to buy a standalone NAS server for your Media to be accessible via Plex, then you really only have 3 concerns.

• Your Budget
• The Amount of Storage you need
• What scale your media is going to be in (eg 720p, 1080p, high bitrate, etc)

Once you have an answer for these, SPAN.COM can help you choose the perfect QNAP Plex Media Server for your needs. So let’s focus first on Budget. Due to the popularity of NAS and the diverse range of tasks that a NAS can perform, you can pick up some QNAP NAS devices for less than £99 (without TAX and your storage media of course). However, do remember than the strength of the hardware inside a NAS is almost always indicated by the price. A QNAP NAS (without Hard Drives or VAT) at less than 160-200 pound will rarely be able to handle 1080p media distribution (that require changing video formats between devices etc) are more geared towards Plex Media severs for standard-definition media. Once you go into the £250-400 territory you will be looking at  PMS for upto 720p and finally, most QNAP NAS above £400 will handle 1080p, but do check with us at SPAN.COM first – remember you will still need Hard Drives and we recommend WD Red NAS drives and and Seagate Ironwolf NAS drives.

So now you know about Plex Media Server and Transcoding. Now the most important bit… the Hardware. Just because a QNAP NAS is expensive, doesn’t mean it is suitable for your perfect, 1080p Plex QNAP NAS server. A number of factors affect a Network Attached Storage unit’s ability to comfortably run a Plex Server, from Memory and Manufacturer to software and Plugins. However, the most important factory of all is the CPU. The processor of the NAS device is important because, within its coding, it will have its own strength and weaknesses in the field of transcoding.


Typically NAS units use one of three kinds of CPU. 

An x86 Processor – A high-end chip that (if more than 2.0Ghz in frequency and dual/quad cores) will be able to handle transcoding with relative ease across all your Plex enabled devices all the way upto 1080p High Definition and is even popping up in 4K UHD Devices. These are typically found in the majority of QNAP and higher-end QNAP devices.

An ARM Processor – These are less proficient than the x86 chip and will struggle transcoding at 1080p and may even have difficulty at 720p High Definition. These are typically found in the home and small business units (QNAP 2 BAY units, as well as WD My Cloud and Seagate NAS). However, they are still a very prominent CPU and an excellent NAS processor in general. It is HIGHLY recommended though that you look at Realtek 64bit ARM newer generation ARM processors, as these can support Plex Media Server, but without transcoding.

A PPC (Power PC) Processor – Very much the lower end of the spectrum. These Processors are not particularly capable of any kind of real-time transcoding and will struggle to give you the optimal output via your Plex Media Server to your Network Enabled Device. We generally do not recommend them for in a Plex Media Server environment and are found in the low end, budget NAS devices.

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