04-16-2025, 08:02 AM
(This post was last modified: 04-16-2025, 08:02 AM by officesnakes.)
(10-06-2024, 06:14 PM)stalgya Wrote: First, thanks so much for the YouTube channel. It took me some time to find your stuff for some reason, but I think you're the most balanced.
I've been using cloud backup and external hard drives for years, and I'm looking to be more intentional with data management. I was looking to buy a 4- or 5-bay NAS and I've found myself spinning in circles online. I want to backup 3 MacBooks (varying vintages), and photos from 2 iPhones and 3 iPads solar smash. I also want to consolidate all my external hard drives (usually about 1-2 TB of used space) into one place. And I would like to install a Plex server so that I can play some of the movies I've ripped from my old DVD collection. I was hoping to be a responsible adult and back this up to BackBlaze or another backup provider.
I've been going back and forth between Synology and QNAP. I only wanted to spend up to about $600. It seems like Synology basically isn't an option so I should focus on QNAP. Based on the above request, do you think I'm asking for too much and I should increase my budget? I'm somewhat tech savvy (I just started messing with Docker), but I also want a solution that mostly works without a lot of fidgeting.
Thanks in advance!
For backing up multiple Apple devices, consolidating external drives, running Plex, and cloud backup, a 4-5 bay NAS is a reasonable choice. For a $600 budget, QNAP is a more viable option than Synology (since Synology is more expensive for a similar configuration). However, if you want better performance (Plex transcoding, multiple backup devices), you should consider spending ~$100–$200 more or choosing a model that supports future RAM/SSD upgrades.