NAS or new router?

[mrochester]

Hi, I'm looking to create a central repository for videos. I already have a router, and I already have an external USB hard drive. I'm considering whether it would be better to get a NAS and attach it to my current router, or get a new router that would accept my USB hard drive. Does anyone have any thoughts on the pros and cons of either setup?

For either scenario, I'm looking for recommendations. The router has to be wireless, but not for streaming video purposes (all the PCs that need to stream video are connected via cable). Or, alternatively, the NAS has to be at least 500GB, but possibly 1TB just for the sake of expansion. From a quick scout around, it looks like both options might be around the same price, but obviously the cheaper the better as far as I'm concerned!

Many thanks for your help

Michael.

 

[ace2109]

For video i would be going for a new router and attach a hard drive, purely because you can simply plug a new hard drive in when you need more space. Or if your router accepts it possibly a usb hub to attach multiple drives.

I personally have an apple airport extreme and have 2 hard drives attached and it works beautifully.

ace

 

[mrochester]

For video i would be going for a new router and attach a hard drive, purely because you can simply plug a new hard drive in when you need more space. Or if your router accepts it possibly a usb hub to attach multiple drives.

I personally have an apple airport extreme and have 2 hard drives attached and it works beautifully.

ace

I'm looking around at the routers now as a 1TB NAS seems to be about £150, so it would be cheaper to go the router route! The Linksys WRT160NL appears to be exactly what I'm after, although it seems to be a new model that isn't available yet. I looked at the Airport Extreme, but at £139 it seems pretty steep. At that sort of price I'd probably go with the Linksys WRT610N, which is dual-frequency wireless N, not that that is any use to me right now. That router is £130, so cheaper than the Apple.