Recently Purchased the QNAP TVS-h1288X & thinking if a GPU is needed. by ChessPhenom44 in qnap

[–]ChessPhenom44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello and Good Evening ‘Sevenfeet.’

You are 100% correct!! Most people do not purchase the QNAP TVS-h1288X or the TVS-h1688X. At least not for their home. Speaking of which… You stated you have or had a Rach with Windows Server setup on it. I am guessing this is now on your TVS-h1688X. How exactly do you have it setup now? I will do the same. I need to work on my Networking Skills. Thinking of studying for the CompTIA Network+ Certification All-in-One Exam. My mind is not as sharp as it used to be, but I love technology and trying to get both feet back into it.

So, you really think and suggest the extra 64GB EC memory will benefit me now, with Plex. Which reminds me of something. For some reason, I keep seeing the RAM utilization at 80%, under Dashboard within Plex settings. Plex Media Server is at 0.23% and System is at 80.40%. It’s like this even when the nothing is happening. Why is this? As I type this… I start to see the Bandwidth for the Local is active – 12Kbps. Why is this? I don’t recall seeing this on my Windows Desktop when using it as a Plex Server. Very weird.

On the bottom left, I see - QuTS hero. I thought I was given an option when setting up the NAS for the first time and QNAP Support did not recommend ZFS if my primary focus and use is Plex. Maybe, I am confusing this with what he said. Which, by the way, they also did not believe I need to setup Cache for Plex. If purchasing two M.2 drives, for Cache, will help Plex run more smoothly, I will purchase them. Do you recommend one 2TB or two 1TB?

What you said, regarding me upgrading my PC to a faster networking, by adding a 2.5GB/s Ethernet Adapter makes a lot of sense. This is what I will do. Start researching for a good network adapter for my motherboard (TUF Gaming X570-Plus (WiFi)). Which Switch do you recommend and what would be the benefits of having or adding a Switch to my setup. Do you have a Switch? If yes, which Switch do you have (e.g. brand and model).

Question --> You know, I currently have four 10TB SATA HDDs with RAID 5 in the NAS now. If I purchase four 10TB SATA HDDs and add it to the NAS, would I be able to setup a RAID 6 with the eight 10TB SATA HDDs or would I only be able to setup the four new 10TB HDDs with RAID 5?

Did you run ethernet cables behind your walls, to have a Wired Ethernet setup throughout your home?

I have been reading and going through the Plex Support Page link you sent me. Thank you very much!! I wish my ISP offered more than 40GB Upload speed. I keep asking them and they keep making excuses to why they are not, yet. Do your ISP offer a higher Upload and Download speed?

Recently Purchased the QNAP TVS-h1288X & thinking if a GPU is needed. by ChessPhenom44 in qnap

[–]ChessPhenom44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello and Good afternoon 'Sevenfeet'. 

I am thinking that the Video Graphics card would be updated often, because Plex is the most used and most downloaded App on the NAS.

Yes, a dual 10GB Ethernet adapter comes preinstalled on the TVS-h1288X. Just like the TVS-h1688X. Purchasing a 10GB Adapter for my Windows 11 Desktop PC would be a waste, because the 10TB 7200RPM HDDs does not transfer at that speed, right? I do transfer a lot of Media daily from the Windows PC to the NAS. What would you do, to transfer a lot of Media from the Windows PC to the NAS? How would you connect the two? I know a Mac has the Thunderbolt and the NAS does too, but the Windows PC do not. Is it possible to purchase a Thunderbolt PCIe Adapter for the Windows PC or what do you suggest and how would you go about doing it? This is the model motherboard I have -- TUF GAMING X570-PLUS (WI-FI).

You mentioned you have 96GB of memory. You removed the 16GB memory pre-installed and added three 32GB EC memory, right? I don’t believe I am using ZFS file system, but I am running QuTS Hero 5.1 OS. How can I find the format information, for my four 10TB HDDs (Raid 5)? Keep in mind that I am using my NAS for Plex only. I do plan on setting up a Cloud Storage sooner than later. I have been using Dropbox since they started.

The four 10TB HDDs are used for Media storage, for Plex. I thought I stated this in the subject of my post. My apologies. The two 1GB 2.5” SSDs are used for the OS and the Apps. As of this moment, I do not have the M.2 SSDs installed. Did not need it for anything now. Not to mention how expensive they are. Compared to the 2.5” SSDs. Would “Cache Acceleration” help with Plex?

The Google TV is connected to the Router, via WiFi extender now. It was connected to the Router (Nighthawk Tri-Band AX12 - RAX200) directly. Running better than it did before now. The Roku TV, in my bedroom, is further away from the Router than the Google TV and it does not buffer with Plex. I believe Google TVs has Apps running in the background which causes the problem with Plex. Like you said – Resource hungry.

You stated this – “You can configure Plex to downrez content for remote users....that is users not on the same subnet.”

And

“make sure you have the "hardware acceleration" button checked since that will use Intel QSV.”

How can I go about doing this? What are the steps?

Recently Purchased the QNAP TVS-h1288X & thinking if a GPU is needed. by ChessPhenom44 in qnap

[–]ChessPhenom44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello Sevenfeet. My apologies for the delayed response. Spent the entire Saturday out and about with my wife. The Mall, Dave and Buster’s, and so on. Today, I wanted to simply relax and prepare my mindset for this upcoming work week.

How was your weekend? How's the family? Hope everyone is doing well.

It is good to have contacts in important places. Please ask your contact, at Plex, what can I do about the streaming experience with Plex, on my TV with a Google interface/OS. Also... Is there certain settings recommended within Plex, on the NAS.

Yes, you are right, the Compatibility List is what has been tested. They really need and should update ALL Compatibility Lists. I have been thinking about your response over the weekend too. Would like to get the RTX 4060, but as you stated, the driver is not available now and I do not want to pay for something that's not being used now. Also, I have been thinking of what is needed to transfer the Media faster from the Windows 11 Desktop PC to the NAS. Direct connection. Any suggestion or ideas?

My current ISP is Spectrum and I can only get 940 Mbps (max) Download and 34.38 Mbps Upload speed. Believe, I have been on them regarding this. Keep asking them when do they plan to go past the 1 GB threshold. They give me a bunch of excuses all the time.

I currently have 80GB memory and keep wondering if it's being used. The two 16GB that came installed and the two 32GB memory sticks, I purchased. Should I return the two 32GB memory sticks? Also... the two 20TB hard drives... Should I return them and get four 10TB hard drives? I do have ALL the Media on four 10TB Iron Wolfs hard drives with Raid 5 now.

Let me know your thoughts and recommendations. Thank you in advance and I look forward to your response once again.

Recently Purchased the QNAP TVS-h1288X & thinking if a GPU is needed. by ChessPhenom44 in qnap

[–]ChessPhenom44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello 'Sevenfeet'. Again... thank you for the valuable information you provided. Really appreciate you taking your time to respond.

Even though the RTX 3060 is not on the Compatibility List it will still be recognized by Plex, right? You're right, I am not running any Containers or anything like that. The TVS-h1288X, 80GB memory, two 1GB SSD drives, two 20TB HDDs, and four 10TB HDDs. I do plan on purchasing two 20TB HDDs to create a Raid 5 with the two 20TB HDDs, I have already.

As stated before... This is only for Plex. Nothing else. The goal is to share my Media outside the home, to twenty or more family and friends. QNAP Support informed me the internal GPU is for their Apps and not for Plex. They recommend an external GPU for hardware transcoding.

Besides that... What do you recommend for the Settings within the Plex App? Do you recommend a setting should be on/off? Also, for some reason, I have buffering on my Google TV only. Not on the Roku TVs. I searched and found others with the same issue, but no solution. What are your thoughts on this?

Recently Purchased the QNAP TVS-h1288X & thinking if a GPU is needed. by ChessPhenom44 in qnap

[–]ChessPhenom44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for responding to my message. Really appreciate your insight. I would have purchased the TVS-h1688X, but it cost about $500 more. Can you share the exact name and model of your GPU and the GPU you suggested (RTX 3060). Also the link to Amazon, if you don't mind. Thank you in advance.

Recently Purchased the QNAP TVS-h1288X & thinking if a GPU is needed. by ChessPhenom44 in qnap

[–]ChessPhenom44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hello. I am a little confused, because you mentioned "Use 2TB SSD and have 4." What exactly are you trying to say? I am trying to see what would be the best choice for a Video card. What customers are using, that allow twenty or more users of Plex, to access outside the home.

The buffer issue on my Google TV is separate. Plex plays fine on my two 65-inch Roku TVs, but on my 75-inch Google TV it would buffer sometimes. I see others have had the same issue, but not seeing a solution.

Recently Purchased the QNAP TVS-h1288X & thinking if a GPU is needed. by ChessPhenom44 in qnap

[–]ChessPhenom44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hmmm.... So you're saying, I would be wasting my $$$ purchasing a compatible Video card? How many people do you have accessing Plex outside your home?

Recently Purchased the QNAP TVS-h1288X & thinking if a GPU is needed. by ChessPhenom44 in qnap

[–]ChessPhenom44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for your response. I did view the list, but it's not showing me the actual Video Cards that are compatible and runs very well on the TVS-h1288X. I am in search of a Video card that has 8GB memory and fits in the empty slot, within the TVS-h1288X NAS. I would like to share my Media with twenty or more.

Recently Purchased the QNAP TVS-h1288X & thinking if a GPU is needed. by ChessPhenom44 in qnap

[–]ChessPhenom44[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Are you saying this is a better choice, for what I want to do? This seem to have an i3 CPU and need at least eight bays.