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I'm considering the NAS route as well but I'm going to want it on 24/7 (or maybe scheduled to shut down overnight) so that I have instant streaming access to files and can download torrents while I'm at work etc.
The only thing is I obviously don't want it to suck up a lot of power and it needs to be silent (or as close as possible).. An old PC seems like the way forward for flexibility (large readymade NAS solutions seem ridiculously expensive), but getting them to run really quietly and also cheaply adds up quickly as you end up spending a fortune in silent fans, isolation and passive heatsinks etc
I'm still torn which way to go as I know in the long term that I'm going to want 3-4TB minimum (which quickly fills up when ripping BR disks!)
The only thing is I obviously don't want it to suck up a lot of power and it needs to be silent (or as close as possible).. An old PC seems like the way forward for flexibility (large readymade NAS solutions seem ridiculously expensive), but getting them to run really quietly and also cheaply adds up quickly as you end up spending a fortune in silent fans, isolation and passive heatsinks etc
I'm still torn which way to go as I know in the long term that I'm going to want 3-4TB minimum (which quickly fills up when ripping BR disks!)