NAS or External SATA HDD Dock?

[SarcasticOne]

Hi All,

my "beloved" desktop PC of 7 years has decided it no longer wants to be in the land of the living and fried it's motherboard...

i dont really want to buy a whole new desktop PC, as it hasnt been used as anything more than a torrent box/storage solution for the past 3-4 years... currently have 1x 750gb SATA HDD that's in good shape, NTFS format, and works fine

not looking to spend a fortune, just want to get it up and running and storing stuff again

was considering something like this:
2.5/3.5" 3x SATA HDD Dock Docking Station Clone USB HUB | eBay

the thing is, i have 1 HDD already, so i would ideally like to be able to plug it straight in and then have space to add more to it....

anyone have experience with a decent USB dock? or a cheap NAS (preferrably with 4 bays...)

---------- Post added at 03:49 PM ---------- Previous post was at 03:45 PM ----------

SATA QuickPort USB3.0 | SHARKOON Technologies GmbH
another option... can pick them up for ~$60

[Yeldarb]

Bought this the other day...USB3 2.4" HDD enclosure. Needs two USB ports on your PC (one for Power, the other for Data). But still effective.
2.5" SATA HDD Enlosure - USB 3.0 - Jaycar Electronics

or try this USB2...

External USB 2.5" Hard Disk Case - Jaycar Electronics

[Caffeine Fiend]

Hi Mate,

Off the shelf NAS (Network Attached Storage) devices, even basic 2 bay units, tend to start at a couple of hundred bucks without drives. So unless you're looking in that sort of price bracket or beyond, then I'd stick with USB connectivity

NAS devices do have significant advantages though in terms of a) they can be plugged directly into the network. ie. don't need to be connected to a PC that has to stay on all the time, b) can support RAID for disk redundancy/performance etc etc.

[rayd]

I've got 2 spare sata docks that I'm not using, you can take one off me for $30 (postage inclusive) if you want ...

[mech81]

I've tried Docking stations and didnt work well for me - Vantec was the brand I was using and it kept "error"ing when I was copying and swapping files. I've gone back to the tried and true HDD enclosures plus they give me a bit more security when I'm transporting the HDD's around. My two cents and experience.

[Nexus]

Cheap USB solutions can be a bit hit and miss. I've had one client for whom the drive passed diagnostics, etc, etc...but when it came to running is image backup, it would lockup. No fault of the software, OS, and the hardware passed diagnostics. A near identical but slightly upmarket model - no worries.

I would reccommend a simple NAS solution, myself.

Or you could build a mini-ITX system, install linux or whatever and have the same thing for the same or less money.

[Jrbris]

I work in IT and at home i use a QNAP NAS, does a little more than just a storage device. Western digital do one as well .

just depends what you want to spend and what you would like to do..

or you can shop at umart online, Umart Computer Notebook&PC Parts - Umart online® Your one stop Computer Shop for computer parts,notebook and new system

[Jmac]

build a pc with mITX mobo
Gigabyte GA-H67N-USB3 Mini-ITX Motherboard B3 [GA-H67N-USB3-B3] - $149.00 : PC Case Gear
This way the Mobo, Cpu and RAM are covered for <$200 and it uses low power.
I reccon you could build one for ~$300-$400 easily.

4x2TB in RAID5 = 6TB
Install ubuntu and setup a Samba share. Doneskis.

Would make a good home server, low power consumption, data redundancy and can be left online to download

[Caffeine Fiend]

You can get 3Tb drives now, though they're exxy.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[SarcasticOne]

build a pc with mITX mobo
Gigabyte GA-H67N-USB3 Mini-ITX Motherboard B3 [GA-H67N-USB3-B3] - $149.00 : PC Case Gear
This way the Mobo, Cpu and RAM are covered for <$200 and it uses low power.
I reccon you could build one for ~$300-$400 easily.

4x2TB in RAID5 = 6TB
Install ubuntu and setup a Samba share. Doneskis.

Would make a good home server, low power consumption, data redundancy and can be left online to download

Now THAT is tempting...