What Do You Recommend to Do For Lots of Storage?

[PowerMan57two]

So my tower that just runs 24/7 that runs besides the couch acts as my "server" well I'm running out of space and I can't fit anymore hard drives in it.

What do you recommend for the best storage? Would you suggest just getting a full size tower such as this one and new motherboard/CPU and then just throw in a bunch of 1TB hard drives in the new case and call it good?

or what are some other ways I could go about doing this... ? Thanks!!

[mountain_rage]

Originally Posted by PowerMan57two

So my tower that just runs 24/7 that runs besides the couch acts as my "server" well I'm running out of space and I can't fit anymore hard drives in it.

What do you recommend for the best storage? Would you suggest just getting a full size tower such as this one and new motherboard/CPU and then just throw in a bunch of 1TB hard drives in the new case and call it good?

or what are some other ways I could go about doing this... ? Thanks!!

Its probably your cheapest route to just build a new "server" to go along side your current rig. The other alternatives are external drives, or simply a bigger case, same mobo with a couple pci sata controller cards added for more storage slots.

[drtoker]

What about network storage? Instead of a whole new box, how bout a device that just houses hard drives for storage?
May be cheaper if your not looking to upgrade...

[PowerMan57two]

Originally Posted by drtoker

What about network storage? Instead of a whole new box, how bout a device that just houses hard drives for storage?
May be cheaper if your not looking to upgrade...

Can you show me an example? Are these expensive?

[mountain_rage]

Originally Posted by PowerMan57two

Can you show me an example? Are these expensive?

I believe he is talking about these, which is a machine designed for what you are doing.

http://www.dell.com/content/topics/s...nthome&lid=bn2

http://www.hp.com/united-states/camp...asmart-server/

http://us.acer.com/acer/product.do?L...CRC=3001324579

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16833124345

http://www.newegg.com/Store/SubCateg...Server-Systems

Or possibly hard drive modules

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817332011
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817332009

[carpefile]

You could also just buy external enclosures and add your own hdd, which is what I do. I like the external drives for portability, its waaay faster for me to drive over to a friend's with a 1tb external and swap out booty while we burn one in his mancave than any internet connection (so far anyway).

[Tic3]

Network Attached Storage (search Google for details) is probably the best solution.

Essentially a single or multiple external drive solution which is accessed via TCP/IP over the network.

Can be expensive, but for home use you can find something without too much pain.

[Mels_Smileys45]

yeah, I don't know why you would not consider buying stack-able external hard drives. Thats the most flexible solution. Western digital now makes 2TBmodels and you can add more at your leisure. I find externals great for my needs. I usaully leave around three hooked up at any one time along with my two internal drives. The main HD in my PC stays clean as possible and nothing ever gets downloaded there except programs. If you always keep your PC's hard drive clean your PC will stay at peak operating performance. Also the more cluttered hard drives you add the slower your PC will boot and respond when pulling up shit.

IMO you should keep your PC as simple as possible and by keeping information on separate external HD's you will minimize your chances of being hit by some random act of God and losing all your shit.

Add one 64Gig Flash hard drive to your pc and then set up the secondary hard drive how ever you want but I would NOT add more than two in a RAID configuration of your choice. Then keep all your other HD's external to keep your PC very, VERY FAST! Adding too much jun will make you PC suck balls performance wise but it may impress the local yahoos who don't know any better.

Its time to change the way the masses look at PC set ups because the industry have them brainwashed into thinking bigger is better. Well its NOT! Of course this could be debated and some people simply like the way things are and will not change and thats okay. Ten seconds in front of my rig would change your mind though. Its not the best spec wise but the way I have it set up makes it respond and perform as if its a PC from the future. Perhaps it is....

[Mels_Smileys45]

BTW HERE is a neat little gizmo you can buy at Ebay. Its an adapter that let you plug a flash device into your ]40 Pin IDE cable.

I think its pretty neat and cool and will let older PC's scream like a demon!!!


CF Compact Flash to 40 Pin IDE ATA Bootable Adapter SSD

This adapter can supports up to two Compact Flash memory cards (CF Card) to an IDE host interface and also supports the latest Ultra DMA (UMDA) mode CF Cards. This adapter is transparent to the operating system and does not require any drivers. With this adapter, the host PC will identify the CF Card as a standard IDE hard disk (i.e. with cylinders, heads and sectors). As such, you can install any operating systems and the CF Card wtill be bootable. Due to this, this adapter does NOT support hot plug function.

[PowerMan57two]

Okay, this might be a dumb question but if I buy a full size tower like this one, how do I know which motherboard will fit the back of this tower? I'm trying to match up a motherboard's ports to what the holes look like in the back of this full size tower, and I don't undertstand how to get the motherboard to fit the right tower :-/

[mountain_rage]

Originally Posted by PowerMan57two

Okay, this might be a dumb question but if I buy a full size tower like this one, how do I know which motherboard will fit the back of this tower? I'm trying to match up a motherboard's ports to what the holes look like in the back of this full size tower, and I don't undertstand how to get the motherboard to fit the right tower :-/

Compatible Motherboards: ATX
Micro ATX

If you look at the motherboard page you can look under form factor. If you are in doubt you can ask wherever you are buying from if they are compatible. To be honest, the limitation is usually in the motherboard being too big for the case, not sure if you can even have an issue the other way around.

[El Comandante]

Go with the CM Stacker. Fits everything: E-ATX, ATX, m-ATX, BTX, m-BTX, PICO-BTX BTX. The rear iso slot is standard.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000P4WH98

[w31n3r]

Originally Posted by PowerMan57two

Okay, this might be a dumb question but if I buy a full size tower like this one, how do I know which motherboard will fit the back of this tower? I'm trying to match up a motherboard's ports to what the holes look like in the back of this full size tower, and I don't undertstand how to get the motherboard to fit the right tower :-/

thats a non issue. motherboards come with their own face plates which you have to fit to the back of the tower after removing the default covering.

so if you're plonking in your old mobo, remember to poke out it's face plate (metal thingy with the holes for the mobo ports like VGA, USB, P/s2, etc, to peek out of) from the pld tower and fit it onto the new tower. be careful of cutting your hands while removing the default covering on the new tower.