NAS Vs Larger SSD?

[marc55]

I would like to get by with a 256 SSD vs always paying more for a 512SSD, but with all my files, music, and pictures, I only have 100GB left on my current 512 SSD.

So, I'm thinking if I get a home NAS, I could keep most of my stuff on the NAS and access it anytime from virtually anywhere, and the WD My cloud looks like a decent one for the price.

I would like to know if any of you guys use a NAS instead of paying extra on every new computer for the additional SSD capacity, how well it actually works, and which one you have found to be the best.

Thank you

EDIT: To answer the questions below-

I have 2 computers, 2 iPads, and an iPhone

I do not have them stored in iPhoto or iTunes

 

[GhettoMrBob]

That largely depends on how you store those pictures and music. Are you using iTunes and iPhoto? If so, it can be a little bit of a pain to store them externally. It's possible but you'd have to ensure that your NAS was mounted when iPhoto/iTunes are launched (they both look for the external storage, if it's not detected they'll recreate an internal database and start over....this can make things hairy).

 

[maflynn]

Will this be for a single computer or multiple computers?

A DAS may be a better fit if you you're just looking for something for your MBP.

That way you avoid the ethernet/wifi bottle neck.

 

[sonicrobby]

Ive had this issue before and went both routes.

I got a time capsule to store my 400GB video collection, which was fine and dandy until I decided to place all my videos in my itunes library so my apple tv could access them. This was a issue because it was slow. Apple TV was streaming from itunes which was pulling it from an NAS.

My solution was to spend the extra $$$$ to get the maxed out internal SSD on my next rMBP purchase. This one best fit my needs, there was never any lag time and I had access to all my videos even when not connected to wifi. But even 750GB is minuscule to me as that quickly filled up.

My next solution was getting a mac mini as a media server. I replaced the HDD with a 1TB disk, dedicated solely to my video database. This allowed me to keep all the more crucial media (music and pictures) on my macbook, and plenty of storage left for bootcamp and all of my games. The apple TV I have is now virtually useless, but I like having it around just in case.

In the end, I personally prefer internal storage, but offloading to a second mac works evn better as it also functions as an NAS with non-itunes files, and itunes home sharing when I want to view my media on my laptop.