What Is The Best Portable Harddrive to Run a Plex Server from?

Griefbringer on 03/11/2019 - 12:49

Hi all,

I have recently found out about the benefits of Plex and have started setting up my library.
I am used to using my portable harddrive between my desktop and laptop, and going to friends/family houses.
Now that I have Plex, I was looking for what the best harddrive to keep plugged into my desktop is, so that I can directly store media onto it, and not be concerned about its longevity.
My current harddrive is a 4 year old seagate 1tb portable harddrive that has served me well, but I am concerned that if I keep it running 18 hours a day it won't last much longer.

Would a harddrive designed for a NAS system be worthwhile? I don't need anything particularly fast, as it will only be used to store data on

Computing

Comments

  • brendanm on 03/11/2019 - 13:15
    +1

    External case with a nas quality drive if you must use external. Otherwise just put a decent drive in your system, and stream your Plex to your friend/family's houses.

    • Griefbringer on 03/11/2019 - 14:43

      I have a 500gb 970 (boot) and 500gb 860 (game) drive. I have a few bays left and was considering a 1Tb SATA SSD but didn't think I needed SSD speeds.
      Are "NAS quality drives" able to be put in a normal PC set up and used as a 'normal' HDD?

      • brendanm on 03/11/2019 - 20:52

        If you are doing serious plexing you'll need far more than 1tb, I have 4tb and it's almost full at the moment. Yes, Nas drives are just better quality, made for constant backup and access.

        • Griefbringer on 03/11/2019 - 21:06

          Yes I was thinking 2-4Tb. But the equivalent cost of SSD would be prohibitive. Hence I think I'll go for a 4Tb My Cloud

  • Rumbaar on 03/11/2019 - 13:30
    +2

    I'd advice getting a NAS drive, WD MyCloud, and having it attached your your network. Then it's not reliant on a specific computer being on, and you can set it up as an always on device so anything can write to it and read from it 24/7

    • Griefbringer on 03/11/2019 - 14:42

      Thanks for the advice.
      4Tb mycloud from officeworks looks competitively priced. $286 for 4Tb vs 4Tb Ironwolf (approx $180)+minimum $200-250 NAS

      • spackbace on 03/11/2019 - 15:37

        I've had a mycloud before. Good thing is they have WD Red drives inside.

        All was going well till my ex knocked it off a cabinet!

  • SydStrand on 03/11/2019 - 14:23
    +1

    I am concerned that if I keep it running 18 hours a day it won't last much longer.

    If you're running off a portable HDD, you should be more concerned with your PC running 18 hours a day. Even wake on LAN is unreliable.

    Get an external NAS enclosure. You only use 1TB so your storage requirements seem to be low, you'd get away with a 2 bay.

    • Griefbringer on 03/11/2019 - 14:45

      Yes I only have it on about 5-6 hours a day currently.
      The downside to running my plex server was having to keep it on overnight if not home. It definitely sounds like a NAS is going to be better

    • brendanm on 03/11/2019 - 20:53

      I just leave my main PC with Plex running 24/7. Handy if you just want to do something quickly as well.

  • Richardc on 03/11/2019 - 15:42

    get SSD

    • Griefbringer on 03/11/2019 - 15:45

      I don't need SSD speeds for bulk storage of media

      • Typical16-bitEnjoyer on 03/11/2019 - 17:02

        Don't worry about the speed aspect. SSD is far more reliable (exactly what you are seeking) as their longevity is more a factor of write cycles rather than "on" time.

  • hawkeye on 03/11/2019 - 15:58

    Don't know anything about plex but a SSD 512MB you'd get for around $100 wit a usb media support router would be a cheap way out and networked.
    I run Qnap NAS with VLC media player and this app for tablet/phone https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.qnap.qfile…
    or OpenVPN on a laptop away from home. You can install Plex on either Qnap and Synology NAS's I never bothered with it.

    A NAS is going to cost you a lot more to buy. SSD's are coming down in price with no moving parts.

    Another option entry point WD My Cloud $155 2TB very easy to configure https://www.umart.com.au/Western-Digital-WDBVXC0020HWT-SESN-… with apps https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wdc.wd2go&… I don't use mine anymore but it lead me to buy a Qnap 4 bay

    • kiitos on 04/11/2019 - 12:34

      What aspect of having the MyCloud led you to getting a Qnap? Was it just the amount of space available or other factors?

      • hawkeye on 04/11/2019 - 18:00

        Back then Google photo's wasn't around "I don't think" Samsung were offering 50GB free dropbox account with new phones for 2 years. There was no way I was going to pay when it expired so found the Mycloud learnt how to network and send pics back away from home and streamed movies thinking this was cool.
        Discovered Qnap surveillance station and so many other things you can do with it.
        It's like having a computer for a computer.

  • Screamingeagle on 03/11/2019 - 18:56

    How much space do you think that you would need for your plex media?

    • Griefbringer on 03/11/2019 - 20:46

      2Tb. I only really store stuff that I'd watch again, so I delete most shows and movies after I've seen them. Hence 1Tb lasting 4 years.

Login or Join to leave a comment
Login Join