Plex Media Server and your QNAP NAS

The first step to consider when starting your Plex MEDIA Server, is choosing where it is going to live. A popular choice for this is of course a NAS populated with NAS Hard Drives. A NAS, or network Attached Storage device, is a Hard Drive enclosure that can hold anything from 1 to 24 Hard Drives (depending on the unit you choose) and lets you access the contents of the device anywhere in the world. With this there are the security and permissions that you would expect in this highly data sensitive age and it makes housing your Plex Media Server on a QNAP NAS an excellent idea. But which one? QNAP are one of the leading and most popular NAS providers worldwide and their range featuring small 1-Bay NAS devices that can support low level Plex support all the way up to giant Xeon CPU and multibuy solutions that run Plex Media Servers for groups of users at any one time.

So now you know about Plex Media Server and Transcoding. Now the most important bit… the Hardware. Just because a NAS is expensive, doesn’t mean it is suitable for your perfect, 1080p Plex NAS server. A number of factors effect 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 Synology 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 home and small business units (Synology 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.

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 low end, budget NAS devices.