Bought a Plex Pass on Cyber Monday? Here’s the NAS you should buy.

So, you went and scored an absolute bargain on the Plex Pass lifetime membership and you’re wanting to create your own media server at home, but where on Earth do you go next? The next task is to buy a network-attached storage (NAS) enclosure, which is basically a small computer that doesn’t run Windows 10.

This machine can be connected by your laptop, desktop, phone, tablet, or any other device that can connect to the net and use a browser. Setting up and running Plex on the NAS enclosure is but one use for the server. You can use it as file storage and cloud platform to replace OneDrive or another service or even connect a few security cameras and manage recordings.

Since I’m hoping you picked up that Plex Pass, it’s time to set up your very own home media server that’ll store photos, shows, movies, and plenty of other digestible content that can be streamed to any device you want in the house (so long as it supports Plex). NAS enclosures are versatile, but can cost $1,000 and beyond. It’s possible to buy the wrong NAS for your needs.

There are multiple vendors that produce catalogs of NAS enclosures at various price points. While this does mean there are plenty of enclosures to choose from, it’s easy to get lost in the sea of choice. We’re here to help you make the right decision for Cyber Monday.

Picking out the best NAS for Plex involves a few factors, including price, the processor, and number of drive bays. The better the processor is, the more expensive the enclosure usually becomes. More advanced features like 10Gb networking can also quickly inflate prices. We’ve rounded up some of the best NAS enclosures on sale for Cyber Monday.

Today’s Best NAS Deals

Best NAS deals for Cyber Monday

The best NAS for Home starts off as the most affordable NAS you can buy. The more budget-friendly enclosures aren’t anything special but allow you to configure everything to your liking and have a NAS up and running. More pricey NAS options here come rocking faster processors, more RAM, and drive bays. Just remember to apply the coupon!

This QNAP NAS has plenty going for it, including four drive bays, an Intel Celeron J4125 quad-core 2.0GHz processor, two 2.5Gb LAN ports, two USB 3.2 Gen 1, and three USB 2.0 ports. If you want to run your own file server or manage a Plex media server, this is a great enclosure. Remember to apply the coupon code 23BKFCYMB69 when checking out.

$400 at Newegg

This two-bay NAS enclosure has room for two 3.5-inch or 2.5-inch SATA drives, two 2.5Gbps Ethernet ports for speedy transfers, and a quad-core CPU paired with 4GB of RAM for smooth performance.

$289 at B&H

Western Digital’s My Cloud EX4100 is a more serious enclosure for adding your own hard drives and running an OS as you would Synology, QNAP, or another vendor. There’s Twonky DLNA certification for media server and iTunes support, dual-USB 3.0 ports on the rear alongside dual 1Gb LAN ports, and everything is powered by WD’s My Cloud OS. The price may be high but you get 32TB worth of WD NAS drives pre-installed so you don’t have to buy drives separately. Just remember to apply the discount code 23BKFCYMB75 at checkout.

$1,030 at Newegg

This isn’t a huge discount, but the AS5202T from ASUSTOR is a brilliant NAS for the full price, so saving $5 can go towards something else you need. Inside you’ll find two drive bays, an Intel Celeron J4005 dual-core 2.0GHz processor, and 2GB of RAM. ASUSTOR provides plenty of USB ports and dual 2.5Gb LAN for rapid network speeds. Just remember to apply the discount code 23BKFCYMB65 at checkout.

$295 at Newegg

The best part about saving money on a NAS like the WD 40TB My Cloud PR4100 Pro is that they come with hard drives already, which means you’re not only saving on the enclosure, but also the storage medium. This enclosure is pretty good at transcoding, making it a good match for Plex. This is down to the server having an Intel Pentium N3710 quad-core 1.6GHz processor with 4GB DDR3L RAM. Just remember the coupon code: 23BKFCYMB73.

$1,460 at Newegg

Getting the Best NAS Deal for you

While you can save money and get the cheapest NAS enclosure available, it may not be the best fit for your needs. This is why we strive to try and recommend the right deals for you. We want you to spend wisely and actually appreciate the technology you purchase and see it improve your life and those around you.

If a NAS has a steep price drop but we don’t believe it to be worth your money even when on sale, we won’t recommend it. It’s important to decide what you want to use the NAS enclosure for. If you’re not comfortable paying out for a more expensive NAS at full price, there’s no reason why you should pay a similar amount for one that’s discounted.

NAS enclosures are usually priced well, depending on the processor, drive bays, and other specifications. But when we’re enjoying big events like Cyber Monday, retailers will use all kinds of tactics to make you think a deal is better than it is. Be wary of prices that are inflated to appear like deals. We use tools like CamelCamelCamel that help us spot great deals, and you should use it too.

What about Plex?

Choosing the best NAS for Plex is a little more tricky than simply picking the best NAS overall since the processor becomes vastly more important, if not the most important, deciding factor. If you plan on storing and streaming 4K content, you’ll need to make sure your recipient devices (TV, consoles, PCs, etc.) support the same format your media is saved in. If not, the NAS will need to transcode it, which requires considerable performance. These NAS will be able to handle 4K transcoding.

Best Cyber Monday NAS Hard Drives Deals

You could install some old desktop-class hard drives inside a NAS enclosure and call it a day, but that wouldn’t work well. Hard drives used in desktop PCs simply aren’t designed to run continuously and be hammered by countless users. It could work, but you’ll likely run into reliability issues.

Hard drives designed specifically for NAS come rocking some advanced features, which is reflected in the price. These drives come rocking advanced features like vibration protection and better components that can withstand lots of data being read and written. Since it’s Cyber Monday, you can find some of these drives on sale right now, like the massive 6TB Seagate IronWolf for $156. There are yet more advanced NAS drives, like the Western Digital Red Pro series, which cost more but come with faster motors and additional features.