Printable View
Can anyone offer advice on type of external hard drives to buy?
Have two computers on LAN both of which are running out of space - so am considering either one large 500GB ish (possibly network connecting type) or two smaller external drives.
Am looking for a quiet and reliable drive primarily - speed isn't too much of an issue as it will be largely for back up. Has anyone much experience of these (especially models available via UK suppliers)?
If you're looking for an external HD, all you need to worry about is capacity (how many GB) and interface (USB 2 is good, Firewire is better, assuming your pcs either already have a FW port, or a spare PCI slot for a FW card).
If you're looking for a networked dumping ground -- a shared disk both PCs can access simultaneously -- you're moving into the world of network attached storage (NAS). Much more fun.
Here's a relatively recent roundup of consumer-grade NAS devices. NAS is fun for the whole family. And here's a good article about one of the better NAS solutions.
I'm not being ironic -- NAS is serious fun.