So basically I'm debating what my next move is for home PC storage options. My current hard-drives are filling up and I'm at the point where I'm open to all suggestions.
My current setup at home is roughly as follows.
- Main PC, don't need full specs but i5 750, 4 GB ram, Windows 7 64 bit
- Storage in main PC: 2 x 1TB WD Black in Raid 1, 1 x OCZ Vertex 2 60GB for OS/Main programs/games.
I use this PC for downloading, games, but also my work as I'm a contractor on the side doing engineering work. This is why my RAID setup is important because I can't risk losing any data. I have lots of movies/tv shows/games, which is why my drives are filling up. And I like to keep everything so I don't want to delete older items.
Now as I mentioned, my 1TB drives are filling up (at about 90% now) and because of this I need to look at upgrading. I was thinking about several options which I will list.
- Take the 1TB drives out of RAID 1 to double my capacity. However, this will cancel out the safeguarding of having the redundant RAID 1 setup. If I didn't have the RAID setup I would have to look at some way to backup my drives. Even though I have about 900 GB of data, probably only 200 GB is crucial. However, how could I backup that 200 GB... obviously DVD's and even Blu-Ray's are too small. Unless there is some way to compress it (I'm not familiar with backup software) I'm out of ideas. I could just buy a 1TB external for backup, but would prefer not to.
- Keep the 2 x 1TB drives just for another build, and purchase 2 new 2 x 2TB drives to continue on with the RAID 1 setup. This way I can double my space just like in option 1 but maintain the RAID setup. However, this is a costlier option obviously as I would have to spend maybe close to 250-300 dollars on two new hard-drives. I'd also look at 3TB drives for a bit of future proofing, but I have seen mixed reviews on the current state of them.
- Keep my main PC as is, and build some sort of network storage devide with maybe 2 or 3TB of storage in RAID 1. Then transfer the bulk of my data off so I can keep my PC clean. I am not familiar at all with network storage, and the times I have looked it looks extremely expensive. However, price isn't my first concern here so it may still be an option.
Other than these options I'm a bit stumped. Just looking for other opinions or to confirm which option would be best. As I mentioned, price isn't a huge concern, but I would like to keep some sort of upgrade under $400 while keeping my RAID 1 setup in place if possible.
Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions.
My current setup at home is roughly as follows.
- Main PC, don't need full specs but i5 750, 4 GB ram, Windows 7 64 bit
- Storage in main PC: 2 x 1TB WD Black in Raid 1, 1 x OCZ Vertex 2 60GB for OS/Main programs/games.
I use this PC for downloading, games, but also my work as I'm a contractor on the side doing engineering work. This is why my RAID setup is important because I can't risk losing any data. I have lots of movies/tv shows/games, which is why my drives are filling up. And I like to keep everything so I don't want to delete older items.
Now as I mentioned, my 1TB drives are filling up (at about 90% now) and because of this I need to look at upgrading. I was thinking about several options which I will list.
- Take the 1TB drives out of RAID 1 to double my capacity. However, this will cancel out the safeguarding of having the redundant RAID 1 setup. If I didn't have the RAID setup I would have to look at some way to backup my drives. Even though I have about 900 GB of data, probably only 200 GB is crucial. However, how could I backup that 200 GB... obviously DVD's and even Blu-Ray's are too small. Unless there is some way to compress it (I'm not familiar with backup software) I'm out of ideas. I could just buy a 1TB external for backup, but would prefer not to.
- Keep the 2 x 1TB drives just for another build, and purchase 2 new 2 x 2TB drives to continue on with the RAID 1 setup. This way I can double my space just like in option 1 but maintain the RAID setup. However, this is a costlier option obviously as I would have to spend maybe close to 250-300 dollars on two new hard-drives. I'd also look at 3TB drives for a bit of future proofing, but I have seen mixed reviews on the current state of them.
- Keep my main PC as is, and build some sort of network storage devide with maybe 2 or 3TB of storage in RAID 1. Then transfer the bulk of my data off so I can keep my PC clean. I am not familiar at all with network storage, and the times I have looked it looks extremely expensive. However, price isn't my first concern here so it may still be an option.
Other than these options I'm a bit stumped. Just looking for other opinions or to confirm which option would be best. As I mentioned, price isn't a huge concern, but I would like to keep some sort of upgrade under $400 while keeping my RAID 1 setup in place if possible.
Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions.