So you're thinking about setting up your own self-hosted streaming solution using Plex, but when you go online looking for advice on how to do it right, just about everyone suggests buying a NAS () device.So, you check out the cost of NAS devices that support Plex, and feel your heart sink as you see the asking prices.If it costs this much to run Plex, how are so many people doing it? Well, most of us don't use expensive NAS devices, and anyone who tells you that a NAS is required for Plex to work at its best is simply wrong.
The “NAS requirement” is mostly cargo-cult advice Don't be scared to think for yourself Plex doesn't care what device you run it on.As long as the operating system supports it, and it can see your files, it will serve them to Plex clients on the network.So why do so many folks on forums advise getting a NAS for Plex? I don't think there's any one reason, but part of it is that some NAS devices list Plex as a feature, and so some people might think that a device needs to be certified for Plex.
Other people simply think that a "proper" NAS is the gold standard for self-hosing streaming services.Eventually, you get a situation where someone followed that advice.It worked, and so they just tell the same thing to the next person.
No one stops to think whether this is necessary or not.Plex will happily run on almost any computer I know, I've tried If you read the official Plex system requirements you'll see a whole list of computer operating systems and devices before any mention of a NAS.The fact of the matter is Plex will run on anything that runs Windows, macOS, or Linux.
It won't necessarily run well, but it will work.That opens up an enormous world of choice for your Plex server.I have run Plex on many different systems over the years.
My first Plex server wasn't even run on a dedicated computer.It was installed on the same desktop PC I used for work and video games.Since I could only do one of these three things at any time, I wasn't concerned about performance issues.
My second Plex server used an old MacBook, which had the lovely advantage of being compact and coming with a built-in screen and backup power supply.Handy, since my main annoyance where I live are power outages, which means slogging over to my Plex server and rebooting it.Plex recommends a computer with a "Core i3" CPU at minimum, but that's very vague.
After all, there have been many generations of Core i3 CPUs with very different performance levels.For what it's worth, I've run Plex on a Haswell-era Core i3 dual-core system with no issues whatsoever, albeit with at most two streams at a time.In these times of hyper-expensive RAM, you'll be happy to hear that Plex direct streams works just fine with 4GB of the stuff on a Windows system, and you could possibly get away with even less on a lightweight Linux distro.
Though 8GB is what you want if there's transcoding involved.The interesting thing is that Plex almost recommends using a NAS on that page: Running a Plex Media Server on a NAS device is a popular option as it allows for an all-in-one device that not only runs the server, but also stores lots of content.However, most NAS devices have some limitations when it comes to running a Plex Media Server, so it may not be the best choice for everyone.
On the Plex page dedicated to NAS limitations, Plex points out that most NAS devices simply don't have the processing power to do Plex justice, or have software limitations.It's a much bigger headache compared to simply using a regular computer.Hardware matters more than the box it comes in As long as you have the horsepower, you're good to go So let's talk about my own humble Plex setup.
I bought an old dual-core Lenovo mini PC, with 8GB of RAM and a 256GB SSD.It came with a Windows 10 license, which I could port to Windows 11.Though Linux will work just fine too, as long as you learn how to mount external drives for Plex in Linux.
Incidentally, since my mini PC is not supported for Windows 11, I used the Rufus tool to remove those limitations, and it's been running fine for years.It even updates.At first, I ran this without a paid Plex subscription and I had zero issues.
Because all my client devices could handle the raw files without transcoding, the little server's only job was to pass the video data along.However, I later started paying for Plex which unlocked access to the built-in video acceleration on my processor.Subscribe to the newsletter for practical Plex tips Get more self-hosting confidence — subscribe to the newsletter for hands-on Plex setup advice, real-world hardware recommendations, and practical troubleshooting to help you run Plex without expensive NAS gear.
Subscribe By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.You can unsubscribe anytime.I also have a 200Mbps slice of bandwidth for my Plex server via a mesh network unit, which is more than enough to handle two 4K streams.
When you actually benefit from a NAS If you want more than Plex The only good case for a NAS to run Plex is if you need a NAS for something else.A NAS that can run Plex well will be expensive, so only using it for Plex is frankly foolhardy.If you need file backups, redundant drives, and all the other benefits of a good NAS, then Plex can be a side benefit.
If not, you are far better off buying a cheap computer to do the job instead.A computer with a GPU or iGPU with supported hardware transcoding, and a CPU that can deal with the demands of Plex are all you need.Since you're using a computer dedicated to Plex and Plex only, the actual amount of computing power you need is likely less than you think.
Even my old mini PC Plex server never hits 100% CPU usage while streaming, so I'm sure you can get by with something that is probably quite a lot better.
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