Best external storage solution

[bgreeley]

Hey everyone,

I've recently finished building my new machine and have yet to solve my need of some sort of external storage solution. I'm a photographer and would like a quick and reliable place to store my photos, videos and some music. I don't know if this affects anything, but I'd like to be able to do processing of these photos and videos from the external storage, as well as play mp3s from there as well. I'm looking for 1-2TB of space.

Thanks in advance for any advice,
Brandon

 

[bgreeley]

Bump.

 

[GhislainG]

Have you considered external USB or eSATA external drives? Buy 2 units and keep one off-site. That way you can have 2 copies of the same files and minimize your data loss risks.

 

[bgreeley]

Have you considered external USB or eSATA external drives? Buy 2 units and keep one off-site. That way you can have 2 copies of the same files and minimize your data loss risks.

Thanks for the response, but I don't really have an "off-site" option. I'm definitely looking for some sort of external HDs, but I was thinking if anyone had any recommendations as far as RAID options go or if there are any decent media servers ...

 

[GhislainG]

Personally I still prefer using 2 separate hard disks. While RAID is a nice feature, it doesn't help when a file is accidentally deleted. Other reasons for 2 external drives stored in a different room (since you can't keep one off-site) is in case of a fire or if your external hard disk gets stolen (not a possibility if your place is not an easy target). Only you knows how important your files are.

 

[bgreeley]

I can understand that, although, I'm not sure I care to me-proof my own data. Do you have any recommendations as far as which brands/models to go with for external hard drives?

 

[GhislainG]

I usually buy a decent quality aluminum external case with USB and eSata ports and no fan. Then I install a good hard disk that is known to run relatively cool.