If we were to choose a NAS for the home that strikes a good balance between price and performance, it would be the Synology DiskStation DS220+.
But picking one with the capabilities for Plex playback at 4K or can be kitted out with 10 hard drives for up to 160TB of capacity, that's when you need to pay attention to the specifications and marketing. I may have come across a little too strongly with the "you could get the NAS purchase wrong" since any enclosure you pick up will be able to be configured as a home file storage hub. An important fact to remember: Intel processors are generally more capable than ARM (basically non-Intel) CPUs. The Synology DiskStation DS120j and TerraMaster F2-221 are fine examples of savings to be had without sacrificing too much on functionality, so long as you only plan on using these servers for file storage. You don't have to spend much to get a good NAS either. For those who want to set up a Plex Media Server (PMS), the QNAP TVS-672XT is what you'll need. If it's not quite what you're looking for, the ASUSTOR NIMBUSTOR 4 (AS5304T) is an excellent second choice. For most people, however, the Synology DiskStation DS220+ is the best choice overall. Numerous vendors make NAS enclosures with some of the best models coming from Synology, QNAP, TerraMaster, and ASUSTOR. Generally, you'll want to steer clear on single-bay NAS enclosures because we always recommend at least two drives to be installed for a RAID configuration to better safeguard against data loss - RAID is a redundancy measure that makes sure if one drive fails, you'll not lose any data. The higher the number of bays, the more drives you can install, and the more capacity you can have for storing all your stuff. The second-most important factor in the decision-making for a NAS enclosure is the number of drive bays. These little server units can start at affordable prices, but when you factor in uprated internals, features like M.2 slots, and upgradable RAM, you can quickly see the price spiral out of control. Synology DiskStation DS419slim - Best portable: ARM CPU, 4 bays, 512MB RAM, 1Gb LAN.Ĭhoosing the best NAS for your home is primarily driven by the price of enclosures.QNAP TVS-872XT-i5 - Best performance: Intel CPU, 8 bays, 16GB RAM, 10Gb LAN.TerraMaster F2-221 - Best value: Intel CPU, 2 bays, 2GB RAM, 1Gb LAN.Synology DiskStation DS120j - Best affordable: ARM CPU, 1 bay, 512MB RAM, 1Gb LAN.QNAP TVS-H1688X - Best capacity: Intel CPU, 16 bays, 8GB RAM, 10Gb LAN.QNAP TVS-672XT - Best for Plex: Intel CPU, 6 bays, 8GB RAM, 10Gb LAN.ASUSTOR NIMBUSTOR 4 (AS5304T) - Best runner-up: Intel CPU, 4 bays, 4GB RAM, 2.5Gb LAN.