Hi all. I currently have a SFF pc (HP Optiplex-like but smaller) running Plex and some other software. Happy with my software setup for the time being.

However - I’m stuck with what to do next on the storage front. I have a 5TB external HDD that’s plugged into the little PC and that’s basically what I use for all of my storage. This isn’t enough (running out of space) and also doesn’t feel very versatile.

Where to from here? I don’t know whether to go the RAID route and buy an enclosure that supports it, or just get a bunch of drives and chain them together. A Synology NAS seems way too expensive. What should I do?

  • Malossi167@feddit.deEnglish
    2·
    1 year ago

    Just get an 18-22TB external drive. Cheap easy and can be reused once you outgrow it. Yes, a NAS is pretty cool but unless you need the uptime etc RAID can offer you are just better of getting a single, large drive.

    • Kwikxilver@beehaw.orgOPEnglish
      1·
      1 year ago

      Thanks for responding, appreciate it. I don’t really need a “NAS” so to speak because of my mini pc which stays on 24/7 - I just need a place to store stuff. I was thinking a RAID or similar hard drive enclosure might be best because I can find some cheap drives and shove them in. I never considered a single drive with a massive capacity.

      Do you think something like this 18TB drive is a good shout? I’m not sure if it’s shuck-able…

      WD 18TB Elements Desktop External Hard Drive - USB 3.0, Black https://amzn.eu/d/i7Xi05A

  • iempqob4@lemmy.worldEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    I’m in a similar boat, my Optiplex has a small m.2 expansion slot, I believe intended for a WiFi chip.

    I nought a dual SATA card for it, just need to find a nice enclosure that will power 2 drives and provide a direct SATA connection to some 3.5" disks.

    If anyone knows of some let me know!

      • iempqob4@lemmy.worldEnglish
        1·
        1 year ago

        Damn that’s frustrating, thanks for the info. I guess I already expected this to be a poor solution. Perhaps slow performance, but I guess I never considered the option of data corruption as well.

        I wonder if something like ZFS in a mirror could be used to mitigate the risk of something like this?

  • Kwikxilver@beehaw.orgOPEnglish
    1·
    1 year ago

    Just wanted to jump in here - I ended up doing as the commenter below me has said and bought a 20TB external hard drive. Well worth doing imo. I’m going to keep all of my important media that I want to save on the 5TB as a backup.