Data storage

What is the best and cheapest was to store data?


I would be using this at college for storing movies and backing up my laptops (as you can see in my sig the harddisk on my laptop is rather limiting and my external 320GB is full).

I would be keeping this in my bed room were my desk is so I would like it to be really quiet but I can sleep though most things.

At least 1.5Tb backed up storage, would prefer 2Tb.

Able to stream HD movies (whether it be usb 2.0 (3.0 would be nice but my current laptops don't have it) or Ethernet does not matter).

I will have 2 laptops so being able to connect to 2 computers at once would be good.

Cheap!!!!

User replaceable harddisks.

Size or looks do not matter.

Thank you

I am thinking a few of these, http://www.amazon.com/Sabrent-USB-D...1?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1266114793&sr=8-1 but that seems a bit clunky...

 

By "Best" what exactly are you looking for? There are many price ranges and options. Some drives sleep when not in use, which can be annoying for some. I have a 640GB MyBook, it has been working for me.

I have had bad experiences with devices like the one you linked to. Mainly due to power spikes when connecting and disconnecting.

Good luck!

 

Another thing I was considering was a Iomega StorCenter ix2-200, but are expensive for the amount of storage I want, I might get the one with 2x 500GB then buy my own HDD's and sell the 500GB ones.

 

http://www.qnap.com/pro_detail_feature.asp?p_id=112

+ low-noise 2Tb drive? It's going to be your quietest option, if not the cheapest.

(I would also get another 2Tb drive and a USB enclosure for backups)

Performance is not bad, as you can see here - it spanks the WD Mybook's butt. http://www.smallnetbuilder.com/nas/nas-reviews/30791-qnap-ts-119-turbo-nas-reviewed?showall=&start=3


Personally I use HP's Storageworks X510 for storing my movies and music. Windows Home Server rocks, and the LX495 / X510 is the best execution of it in a single device. It's low-noise for a 4-HDD device, fast, cheap (from my POV) and feature-packed with useful capabilities. If you're a DIY type of guy and you don't mind something noisier / bigger it might be worth considering building a WHS of your own.

 

What about throwing some harddisks in this?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16883220026

 

you can get a Windows Home Server hardware for under $200 if you want... lightweight desktop/pc for your file needs

 

Kinda in the same boat, been looking at this: http://www.addonics.com/products/raid_system/mst4.asp

I have a bunch of loose hard drives lying around, wanted to be able to consolidate everything into one tower/enclosure. Needs to be EIDE, SATA, 3.5, and 2.5 size drives.

 

That + WHS OEM (newegg has it) seems to be a smart idea as well, as long as there are no compatibility issues.