Best Plex Server For 4K
When choosing the best Plex server for 4k streaming the most important factor is the processor speed. Another important factor is the amount of RAM and the type of storage is also important. A fast processor is essential for smooth 4k streaming with a minimum of 4GB of RAM with solid state drives (SSDs)
I want to present a Plex NAS that has a better budget, like this one — the Intel TerraMaster Intel 10GbE Series NAS. If we were to recommend a single NAS for you to purchase for a better Plex experience, then QNAP TVS-672XT. The best Synology NAS for Plex is the DS220+ media server, which is a solid Plex server device.
If you want one more choice of best Plex Server NAS, and, by extension, 4K streaming, the TS-453D-4G checks all of the boxes. On a tight budget, the Network Attached Storage Device is the best budget Plex NAS for 4K transcoding. The DiskStation DS920+ is an ideal choice if you are sharing a Plex library and want extra bandwidth, or you are looking to transcode 4K media.
The enclosure is built to store files, not media, which is demonstrated by its 512MB DDR3L RAM. This NAS is very NAS-like too, and is also configured for the lower-end Intel Core i7-12700 and Core i5-12400 CPUs. The case is an amazing NAS case for the price, and it even manages to do a bit of 4K re-encode, should you need to.
It will easily handle several 4K transcodes at once, making the enclosure a great choice for multi-account streaming media. With the high-end Intel Dual-Core at 2.41GHz, you will be able to offline-transcode 1080P videos as well in a QNAP media-transcoding NAS. It is also heavily integrated with Plex, providing unprecedented media access worldwide. I would recommend QNAP media transcoding NAS to Synology from the perspective of eXpanding, due to the superior efficacy of working with Plex media servers.
Overall, I cannot determine which Plex-friendly NAS is better between Synology and QNAP. Today, I would like to discuss three of the best NAS drives to use as Plex media server. I went ahead and included options that would serve you well should you want to deploy a NAS for home use, to store files, for use with Plex, Raspberry Pi, as a device for keeping the raw video editing footage.
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If you are planning to transcode and stream 4K content, then you need some powerhouse components for Plex compatible NAS. You will require lots of CPU power when you are transcoding 4K content on Plex. If you want to be able to transcode 4K content in Plex, you need to get a NAS server that has a current generation Intel Celeron or Core CPU. While you can use a cheap enclosure for Plex to stream music and some older content, you will struggle with the transcoding of any files unless the receiving device supports them.
| NAS drives to use as Plex media server | Specifications |
| QNAP TVS-672XT | CPU: Intel Core i3-8100T |
| Synology DiskStation DS920+ | CPU: Intel Celeron J4025 |
| TerraMaster F2-221 | CPU: Intel Celeron J3355 |
For example, if you are playing a movie on your iPad, but the tablet does not have codecs for this media, Plex will transcode this file locally to the dual-bay NAS server and provide a version that the iPad can play. Then, the NAS will automatically attempt to transcode a 4GB 1080p MKV file into a format that Plexs application on the target device can use.
Pair a DiskStation DS920+ with some IronWolf 4TB HDDs, and you will have a beefy media server capable of streaming Plex across any connected devices in your house. The NAS handles Plex 4K streams with no issues at all, and you also get 1080p hardware transcoding.
The dual-bay NAS has dual bays, all the hardwired connections that you will ever need, and, in my use, handled Plex streaming and transcoding without breaking a sweat. The DS220+ handles 1080p transcodes with no issues, and can do 4K transcodes if you really need it, and the two-bay NAS server is an ideal option for Plex. Plex takes only a few minutes to install and set up, and does an amazing job streaming your locally stored media libraries to any connected devices in your home network.
Like Synology and QNAP, TerraMaster is easy to set up, and supports Plexs hardware transcoding of 4K videos. You can stream Super HD videos from Plex using TSx53D hardware transcoding at 4K resolution.
The Intel Core i5-8400T CPU is a monster for whatever you want to do on a NAS, but for Plex too, it is great at transcoding 4K content across a number of devices. The QNAP TS-H886 gets an impressive CPU, making it easily the best NAS for Plex, provided that you want the horsepower.
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The QNAP TS-453D-4G NAS for Plex comes in 2nd place on this listicle, being the best choice for average usage. This also includes the best NAS for Plex stated above which could be an excellent option for streaming movies and TV shows. We also have another NAS option for Plex here by Asustor State which could be a good choice if you want something very cheap to build a basic plex server in your house.
The best home and office NASs are also pretty convincing cases to install and run Plex. If you can afford an enclosure like this, you are bound to have a great time, as this enclosure is the best NAS for Plex from a performance standpoint. It is not only the CPU and RAM that makes it the best NAS enclosure to run Plex Media Server. The enclosure is the NAS that you should consider buying if you want a capable storage device for holding lots of media, with 4K playback capabilities.
Of course, the 672XT from QNAP is not a NAS you would buy if your transcoding needs are outlandish. You are also getting a home server that is suitable for small businesses, while QNAPs TVS-872XT is the beefy home lab you want if you want lots of storage space on top of the high-end transcoding capabilities. The QNAP TVS-872XT is a terrific Plex NAS, capable of handling a number of 4K transcodes easily, and it is a departure from typical low-power, dual-core CPU-powered NAS boxes on the market. The TVS-872XT is QNAPs best Plex NAS if you need an excellent experience streaming in 4K.
Right now, the DiskStation DS220+ is the best NAS you can buy for Plex streaming. User-friendly, inexpensive, and loaded with excellent Plex support, the Synology DiskStation DS220+ is an affordable media streaming server without cutting corners. The Synology DiskStation DS220+ exemplifies that point beautifully: The dual-bay NAS features an Intel Celeron J4025, and it easily handles Plex Native Streaming.
Plex Server NAS devices must support hardware transcoding, and 1080p or 4K resolution. Also, purpose-built 4K playback devices, like an HDR TV such as Apple TV 4K, with a native Plex client, should be best.
What makes a good Plex server?
An i3 processor and 2GB of RAM are minimum requirements for a good Plex server. Plex suggests using an Intel Atom 1.2GHz processor for no transcoding, an Intel Core i3 3.0GHz processor for one 720p transcode, an Intel Core i5 3.0GHz processor for one 1080p transcode, or an Intel Core i7 3.2GHz processor for one 4K transcode.
How much RAM do I need for Plex transcoding?
Plex Media Server often doesn’t need a lot of RAM. Usually, 2GB of RAM is more than plenty, while certain installations, especially those built on Linux, may work just as well with much less. Of course, if you’re using the computer for other purposes, having additional RAM won’t harm you and will undoubtedly be useful.