Need Suggestions for File Storage

I have been pondering doing some upgrades, should I ever get my money tree to start producing, and have some questions about the different storage methods out there. What I would like to know is, what are the advantages and disadvantages between simply adding a larger HDD to my current system, building/purchasing a server unit, or building/purchasing an NAS box? I have researched this a little, but its hard to get a straight comparison of all three methods together. Thanks in advance

I have often wondered the same thing. I know it is the easiest just to slap in a new HDD but is it necessarily the best? I too would like some input from some of the experts here.

I am no expert by any stretch of the imagination, dont know what type of storage you are on about ferg, but i use an external 500 gig hard drive that i keep all the important stuff on.

Thanks for the reply murz. I have thought about an external drive, are they pretty dependable and durable? I need at least 1tb and would like to have more, got a lot of stuff to store.

Not 100% sure mate, ive had mine about 2 years and never had a problem with it,not sure where about you are in the world but in the UK they retail for only £70 which i think is a great price.
I'm sure thought the usual suspects ie Gman (sorry if i left anyone out) will post and enlighten you as to the best solution.

I'm already up to 2 500GB external drives along with a 1TB drive. I mainly have movies on all of them.....all the ones I have ripped, but haven't backed up yet.

I'm already looking for either another 1TB HDD or something larger.


This is the 1TB drive I have Hammer 1TB external HDD

Thats my problem Ray. I get behind on my burning and them I am out of room. I was just curious as to the benefits of each method.

The 500GB ones, I have nearly 100 movies on each, and nearly 180 on the 1TB one. They are all the same manufacturer, and these have a sleep mode, where if it's not in use for a few minutes, they power down to save power. I bought my first 500GB almost 2yrs ago, a second 500 a year ago, and the 1TB this past december.

Here's how my lil section of my comp looks.

Originally Posted by ferguj1

I have been pondering doing some upgrades, should I ever get my money tree to start producing, and have some questions about the different storage methods out there. What I would like to know is, what are the advantages and disadvantages between simply adding a larger HDD to my current system, building/purchasing a server unit, or building/purchasing an NAS box? I have researched this a little, but its hard to get a straight comparison of all three methods together. Thanks in advance

Let's take a look at some of the options you mentioned ferg.

First. Any of the above methods will solve your storage issues.

The extra HDD in your existing machine:

The advantage is simply more storage space.

The disadvantages are that it would be spinning constantly even when not being used, plus it would be an extra draw on your power supply.
It would also be fixed & tied to one particular machine.



The External HDD:

Disadvantages are none with the exception that it would be a touch more expensive over a fixed HDD.

The Advantages are that it would only need to be powered when required.
It would be portable so could be used on any system or even connected to a media centre to play any content.


The Server:

Well, what is a server?

People tend to be smitten by the myth that the server is almighty?

It's seen as something to be feared, that only should be accessed by some technical genius in a computer room in some I.T. Dept.


In fact, there is very little special about a server IMO.

All it really is, is a tower PC with room for more HDD's than the standard home PC.

Because it has the capacity to hold more HDD's it usually has a more powerful cooling fan than would be fitted to a home PC. Other than that, there is nothing special about a server.

NAS Box:

This is an option that has a few more sides to it.

Depending on the type you decide to use, it can be advantageous but you would really want the benefits to justify the cost.

You can for example, have the following with NAS.

Networking (allowing you to access your data remotely).

You can also have a redundant setup whereby you install 2- 4 drives but only get the benefit of half the total storage. What happens is this,

Let's say you installed 2 x 500GB drives, one would be for storage & all the data on it would be automatically backed up to the second drive. In the event of the working drive failing, the system would automatically switch to the second drive without any loss of data. You could then replace the faulty drive & the system would never have been down.

The NAS is a good idea where data is mission critical IMO.


I would think that in your case, the external drive would probably be the best option (Just an opinion though).


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Thanks for that G,by me reading your posts the lads in work think that im a computer geek keep the great advice coming