Required, mass storage solution

FL630 · 6 Jan 2016 at 12:56

Hi.

I've got a new case which doesn't allow the use of any 3.5" drives. Now I'm after a 2TB+ storage solution to go along with it.

My initial thoughts are something like a NAS, but realistically I'm not sure I have either a) the capital or b) the requirements for soemthing that over the top.

Is it possible and/or safe to use a USB 3 external hard drive as a permanent solution? My motherboard also has an eSATA port, but I believe these are slower.

The drive will be used for mass storage of pictures, videos and small files such as word and excel. Any games will naturally be on my SSD.

What are my options?

darwin1859 · 6 Jan 2016 at 12:59

Could you use 2.5" SATA drive(s)?

FL630 · 6 Jan 2016 at 14:06

My main concern with them is no soft mounting, unless I could use thick double sided tape?

Is there any disadvantage to 2.5" over 3.5"? I think I could fit 3x 2.5" drives in the case. I've currently got a 256GB SSD and looking to get another.

crinkleshoes · 6 Jan 2016 at 14:22

Only really size concerns and cost per GB.

I wouldn't call a NAS OTT... but then I have 4 of them, so I may be a little biased.

You can still get the HP Gen 8 microserver for #110 after cashback... that's not very expensive, IMO. Then you'd be able to up your storage to 24TB+ if you ever needed/wanted to.

I just ordered 6x 4TB HDDs to increase my array.

ant1298 · 6 Jan 2016 at 14:59

eSata is 5Gbps as far as I'm aware. USB 3 is 3Gbps.

An ext HDD would be fine, I would do that. But I'd ensure I had a good backup.

Anthony.

crinkleshoes · 6 Jan 2016 at 15:41

eSATA also has lower latency compared to USB... the drive will act more like an internal drive, whereas a USB drive will be somewhat slower.

I thought eSATA depended solely on the host controller? Most eSATA connectors I've seen don't have an intermediary bus, they are just a SATA extender on the PC side. Or is the limitation in the hardware on the EXT HDD side?