Buying A NAS Server

[john32073]

I am looking to buy a NAS server,This will be my first NAS Server,
I am going to use it for my cloud service and for TV media (cutting the cord)
I want to backup all my files, video, & pictures, and all the cell phones in my family so the can connect remotely over the internet back up stuff on their,
I do not Think I will be working on files directly on the NAS only Storing files their the Updating them Pulling them back to my computer to edit make changes the sending back to the server.
I am to use it a lot for TV media, streaming I am Looking at these Ready made units, I am going to use RAID 1 and 4TB hard drives on 2 Bays

Synology 2 Bay DS216J NAS Diskstation
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01BNPT1EG/ref=emc_b_5_t
I see this has 512MB memory That worries me is it enough?

Synology 2 Bay DS218J NAS Diskstation Is about the same

Next is QNAP TS 231p-US
https://www.amazon.com/TS-231P-US-Personal-mobile-Airplay-support/dp/B01N78FRVZ/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1531332865&sr=1-1&keywords=qnap+ts-231p


This on has 1GB of memory I like that, and the price More memory that the Synology ds216J and ds218J have

But then I noticed that the
QNAP TS 251 Has a faster CPU and supports Media Transcoding
Media Transcoding something I need for that will help streaming TV ?
Then this one
QNAP TS 251A
https://www.amazon.com/TS-251A-personal-direct-display-TS-251A-2G-US/dp/B01JHHGJJ2/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1531333922&sr=1-1&keywords=QNAP+TS-251a

This one has a HDMI port on front

What do you think is the best for a just a home NAS cloud box?
I am new at this NAS Server stuff
Thanks for your time reading this
Your thought will be helpful

 

[feelinfroggy777]

What software are you planning on using for streaming? I use Plex and like it a lot. Kodi is another popular option. It is great because I can run the app on any computer, phone, tablet, smart TV, or streaming box and access all of my media if I am on the network or remotely.

The problem with these NAS systems they don't have much processing power for transcoding. Transcoding is important because if the client cannot directly read the file format, than the CPU on the server has to transcode it. None of the servers you listed have very powerful CPUs and wont be able to transcode HD streams without a lot of buffering.

As far as RAM, if I remember correctly, plex recommends 4gb and I am not sure about Kodi. But if you are interested, here is a link to the requirements for plex and they go into detail of NAS.

https://support.plex.tv/articles/200375666-plex-media-server-requirements/

 

[why_wolf]

If the NAS is just serving up files then yes those both are totally fine. So long as you don't have a lot of users trying access it at once.

Now if you were planning on running PLEX or something similar directly on the NAS (as opposed to just running it on your PC) as well then yes you would want something with more RAM and a better CPU.

 

[john32073]

I was looking at Plex,, will check out Kodi,
Then using Streaming my TV will be the big part to store streaming movies
as far a file go that will be storage for me to have as a back up maybe 2 %of the time
5 people using to back up cell phone once in awhile.
I have two External HD that are 75% full I want to move all that to the NAS and have two 4TB or 2 6TB HD's Raid 1

 

[feelinfroggy777]

If you are going to run Plex don't get a NAS. If you have 5 people in your house, then you will need a CPU to run 5 concurrent streams. Good news is we are entering the new golden age of CPUs. This is more than your NAS, but it will run Plex like a champ.

PCPartPicker part list: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/cKWFXP
Price breakdown by merchant: https://pcpartpicker.com/list/cKWFXP/by_merchant/

CPU: AMD - Ryzen 5 1600 3.2GHz 6-Core Processor ($169.99 @ Amazon)
Motherboard: ASRock - AB350 Pro4 ATX AM4 Motherboard ($54.99 @ Newegg)
Memory: Crucial - Ballistix Sport LT 4GB (1 x 4GB) DDR4-2666 Memory ($44.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Video Card: Zotac - GeForce GT 710 1GB Video Card ($34.99 @ SuperBiiz)
Power Supply: EVGA - SuperNOVA G3 550W 80+ Gold Certified Fully-Modular ATX Power Supply ($49.99 @ B&H)
Total: $354.95
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2018-07-12 10:07 EDT-0400

You will also decide what OS you want to run. I run mine on Free NAS, but it takes some tinkering. But it is free and has a simple plex plugin. Windows is also another easy option.

Here is a tip when you buy your drives, you can get the same HDD as external drivers instead of internal 3.5" drives for much cheaper. They are simple to take apart and you just need to get a 3.5" tray to put them in your server. It will save you a ton of money if you buy a lot of drives.

For example, a 8tb internal WD HDD drive cost $299 at Microcenter. And at the same store you can get a 8tb external WD HDD drive for $169.