NAS Recommendation
#1
Hey dudes. Im simply running a firetv for my home theatre. Probably will upgrade to something like Nvidia Shield in future. I was wondering what sort of NAS I should get. I've been deciding on a 2BAY NAS with no Raid. At the moment I can get a few different things pretty cheap, but I'm thinking like a QNAP TS231. My main question is can I use a seagate archive 8TB drive in a NAS such as the QNAP? I know it's not recommended and people have issues but I am only using the NAS for media streaming and won't be streaming constantly. Has anyone had any experience with this sort of set up?
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#2
If you are in Europe, i would recommend getting HP Microserver G8 with G1610T. It costs around 200-250 euros in most European countries. Sadly elsewhere it is much, much more expensive. For non-RAID tasks the Seagate Archive might be considered usable; pretty much any RAID controller would start kicking that drive in a RAID array.
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#3
If the hard disk is on this list, then it is ok to use: https://www.qnap.com/i/en/compatibility/?model=155

Always check against the exact model of NAS you wish to purchase with the exact drive model.
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#4
Probably not what you want to hear, but get an old PC instead. There are only two kinds of NASes: (1) cheap Chinese crap, and (2) cheap Chinese crap in expensive packages. They are universally underpowered, slow, buggy (in both hardware and software), and badly ventilated. You're almost guaranteed to have problems with them and disks >2TB. Get a real machine instead, with an old but good quality mainboard and a well-ventilated case. Even a headless router such as PC Engines' APU with external disks would be substantially better than any NAS. IMO, of course.
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#5
I have had QNAP in several different modells now for the last 6 years without any problems. So I would recommend QNAP. Works like a charm and has alot of nice apps.
AppleTV 4K, LG 65E6 OLED TV, Marantz NR1606, Harmony Elite
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#6
(2016-06-19, 18:43)kbatay Wrote: Probably not what you want to hear, but get an old PC instead. There are only two kinds of NASes: (1) cheap Chinese crap, and (2) cheap Chinese crap in expensive packages. They are universally underpowered, slow, buggy (in both hardware and software), and badly ventilated. You're almost guaranteed to have problems with them and disks >2TB. Get a real machine instead, with an old but good quality mainboard and a well-ventilated case. Even a headless router such as PC Engines' APU with external disks would be substantially better than any NAS. IMO, of course.

Yeah I had a friend recommend me this solution and he said you could do it quite cheaply. But then again we are talking maybe $50-$100 savings here, so I'm trying to debate whether it would be worth the extra hassle.
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#7
(2016-06-19, 13:14)faugusztin Wrote: If you are in Europe, i would recommend getting HP Microserver G8 with G1610T. It costs around 200-250 euros in most European countries. Sadly elsewhere it is much, much more expensive. For non-RAID tasks the Seagate Archive might be considered usable; pretty much any RAID controller would start kicking that drive in a RAID array.

Yeah probably won't get something that expensive for that task that I am trying to achieve.

(2016-06-19, 18:06)joelbaby Wrote: If the hard disk is on this list, then it is ok to use: https://www.qnap.com/i/en/compatibility/?model=155

Always check against the exact model of NAS you wish to purchase with the exact drive model.

Thanks for that...it would've been incompatible!
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#8
Just a thought... If you have a router at home maybe it have the ability to share an usb attached storage over the network? I have an ASUS RT-N66U it's a few years old but it can do this.
So if you already have the drives much cheaper to get a powered hdd usb case for the disks and let you router share them on the network.
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#9
(2016-06-19, 13:14)faugusztin Wrote: If you are in Europe, i would recommend getting HP Microserver G8 with G1610T. It costs around 200-250 euros in most European countries. Sadly elsewhere it is much, much more expensive. For non-RAID tasks the Seagate Archive might be considered usable; pretty much any RAID controller would start kicking that drive in a RAID array.

WOW, you're absolutely right...I can get one of these for 195€ here in Spain!! That seems like a hell of a bargain. I am looking to change my DLink 320l NAS for something more serious and was considering a QNAP TS-251, even knowing it would not do for some higher bitrate transcoding in Plex. But all other alternatives of NAS I found too expensive (p.e. 350€ for a QNAP TS-251+).

Only negative side is it will consume much more power than the typical NAS, but I don't care too much about that. Also it will probably louder but I have it in my "man-cave" so no problem there Smile

I'm almost convinced Big GrinBig Grin
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#10
Just be aware that the G1610T will not be capable of transcoding under Plex too. But you can replace the CPU in the HP easely.
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#11
I have an older QNAP 6-Bay NAS running for a 4+ years now. It is a great little unit with a ton of apps available. I use it not only to store my media on it but it also runs the MySQL for Kodi databases. Works like a charm. I believe newer units with fewer drives should also be good for your use. One good thing about these units is that you simply "set it and forget it", I have home servers as well which are a lot more versatile but also require a lot more management.
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