[SOLVED] Repurposing old hardware advice

[TomDuffield]

As I look at my home hardware, I recognize that everything I own is ancient and unable to support Win 11, even though I am not ready to go there yet.
I have an ancient Dell Studio XPS 7100 with 32 GB RAM, a homebuilt EVGA FTW LGA 1150 also with 32 GB RAM, and a Synology DS 418+ that I was able to resurrect from the dead by soldering a resistor to the motherboard.
My goal, while I research and build something more current, is to run a home media server (Plex?), a file server for backups and such, and a linux plaything. Any advice on which of these devices would handle that best would be appreciated. Is Plex on Linux more efficient? Would Plex run adequately from the Synology NAS?
Thanks in advance.
Tom

 

[USAFRet]

Plex runs just fine on that Synology NAS.
I tried it on my similar level QNAP, no problem. Runs just fine, but it does not work with ISO movies.

 

[TomDuffield]

Plex runs just fine on that Synology NAS.
I tried it on my similar level QNAP, no problem. Runs just fine, but it does not work with ISO movies.

I just wasn't sure if there would be any lag time or stutters given the age of the device. Other than the dead motherboard that required the soldered resistor I had been very happy with the Synology NAS.
Thanks

 

[USAFRet]

I just wasn't sure if there would be any lag time or stutters given the age of the device. Other than the dead motherboard that required the soldered resistor I had been very happy with the Synology NAS.
Thanks

I have more RAM (16GB) in my QNAP TS-453a, but a similar level processor.

As a test, I've done 6x simultaneous video streams out to 2x PCs, 3 each.

Also as a test...
2x movies to PC A
Music to PC B
1x movie to PC C
1x movie to PC D
Accepting several hundred GB of full drive backup from PC E.

Simultaneously.
Nary a burp.