Best value external drive setup?

[dzigg]

Hey guys,

I have a 2007 white macbook act as a file server. Right now it's connected to a 3 TB WD Mybook drive.

I need more space, but not much budget, so after looking through some solutions offered ( Drobo, Synology, Qnap, FreeNAS Box, etc ), they are just way too expensive or have too many feature I don't really need. I only need it to be able store movies, tv shows, music, and backup work data. I don't really need fast drive, NAS capability (since it's already shared through the macbook), or RAID / redundancy stuff.

So long story short, I have two options in my mind :

1. Buy a powered USB hub, and add 3-4 external WD drive. This is the cheapest option I think.

2. Buy a docking station like Sharkoon Quattro.. It's about 100 bucks.

Reliability and also low power consumption is a must, since it'll run 24/7..

So what do you guys think? which one do you guys recommend?

Thx guys.

 

[dzigg]

Update : someone reccomend me this Roswill storage enclosure but it seems overkill and pricey.. although 8 drive gives me more expandability..

 

[Macman45]

There are a lot of cost effective ways to achieve this...One solution that won't break your budget, and will be expandable in future is to buy a four bay USB dock, and just add the drives as your requirements for space increase.

http://www.google.co.uk/products/ca...T7CXOY7Z8gPX36mmDg&ved=0CFAQ8wIwAg#ps-sellers

To use all four bays, a small USB hub could be added to the equation.


http://www.google.co.uk/products/ca...T4nyBM7J8gO_nqiRDg&ved=0CGAQ8wIwAA#ps-sellers


So for under £100.00 you have your solution without having to spen too much on more sophisticated NAS kit...Just add HDD's as required.

 

[hafr]

There are a lot of cost effective ways to achieve this...One solution that won't break your budget, and will be expandable in future is to buy a four bay USB dock, and just add the drives as your requirements for space increase.

http://www.google.co.uk/products/ca...T7CXOY7Z8gPX36mmDg&ved=0CFAQ8wIwAg#ps-sellers

To use all four bays, a small USB hub could be added to the equation.


http://www.google.co.uk/products/ca...T4nyBM7J8gO_nqiRDg&ved=0CGAQ8wIwAA#ps-sellers


So for under £100.00 you have your solution without having to spen too much on more sophisticated NAS kit...Just add HDD's as required.

It looks quite cool, but how sensitive are the drives when they're exposed like that? Do you have to be careful to dust them off from time to time, or would that increase the risk of them being damaged because of static electricity?

 

[Macman45]

It looks quite cool, but how sensitive are the drives when they're exposed like that? Do you have to be careful to dust them off from time to time, or would that increase the risk of them being damaged because of static electricity?

Nope, they are fine, just flick a duster over them...If you consider it, they are WAY more likely to accumulate dust in an enclosure with fans blowing dust around.

 

[dzigg]

There are a lot of cost effective ways to achieve this...One solution that won't break your budget, and will be expandable in future is to buy a four bay USB dock, and just add the drives as your requirements for space increase.

http://www.google.co.uk/products/ca...T7CXOY7Z8gPX36mmDg&ved=0CFAQ8wIwAg#ps-sellers

To use all four bays, a small USB hub could be added to the equation.


http://www.google.co.uk/products/ca...T4nyBM7J8gO_nqiRDg&ved=0CGAQ8wIwAA#ps-sellers


So for under £100.00 you have your solution without having to spen too much on more sophisticated NAS kit...Just add HDD's as required.

Hey thanks.. so it's similar my solution number 2

Unfortunately I can't find that specific brand on my country, sharkoon 4 dock bay is the only one I can found.

Btw, you said to use all four bays, a small usb hub can be added, what do you mean by that?

Also, I wanna ask how about when it's idle, does it have automatic sleep function option like in WD mybook? thx again

 

[Macman45]

Hey thanks.. so it's similar my solution number 2

Unfortunately I can't find that specific brand on my country, sharkoon 4 dock bay is the only one I can found.

Btw, you said to use all four bays, a small usb hub can be added, what do you mean by that?

Also, I wanna ask how about when it's idle, does it have automatic sleep function option like in WD mybook? thx again

Ignore that...I was thinking of using it with a Time Capsule..The Sharkoon is the same product under a different name...Probably made in the same place..

 

[dzigg]

Ignore that...I was thinking of using it with a Time Capsule..The Sharkoon is the same product under a different name...Probably made in the same place..

Ah ok, hehe. Yup the product is very similar and I can get it quite cheap too..

But how about the first option? it's much cheaper because all I need is a powered usb hub and probably a decent power strip to plug the external drives.. anyone using that kind of solution?

 

[hafr]

Ah ok, hehe. Yup the product is very similar and I can get it quite cheap too..

But how about the first option? it's much cheaper because all I need is a powered usb hub and probably a decent power strip to plug the external drives.. anyone using that kind of solution?

I checked in my local store a few minutes ago, and the difference in price between the cheapest external 2 TB drive and an internal (3,5") was about 25 euros. So having four drives would make it about the same price, but if you don't need four drives then a USB-hub and external drives would be cheaper.

 

[dzigg]

I wish that was the case, but in my local store, internal drive is about $35 more expensive.. probably due to stock or maybe thailand's flood effect?

But the swapabilty (is this even a word?) of 4 dock bay is nice, and I don't think I need more than 12 GB at one time anyway. Also the upgradability if I want to suddenly go to a Drobo or NASbox, I can just put those drives in there.