shall i buy a NAS drive or an external ( i already have 2 1tb portables)
 

i already have a couple of 1tb portables which are kind of full.
should i try out a nas drive? are they worth it...foolproof for the future or is it better just getting another external harddrive

i quite like the idea of sharing my data easy without my computer being on and being able to steam etc...

Re: shall i buy a NAS drive or an external ( i already have 2 1tb portables)
 

Standalone NAS' are in my opinion horribly overpriced. There's nothing they can achieve you can't do already just by leaving your computer on. They're also a lot slower than direct-attach drives.

Re: shall i buy a NAS drive or an external ( i already have 2 1tb portables)
 

Whilst you may be right, the cost of leaving a NAS on 24/7/365 is far cheaper than leaving most desktop PCs on all the time :)

To the OP I would say that although I would personally stick with external, you seem to have too many already so maybe a NAS isn't a bad idea. Maybe this one/ (And it's not "over-priced" either :D)

Re: shall i buy a NAS drive or an external ( i already have 2 1tb portables)
 

It would take years before the cost of the money wasted in buying the NAS is balanced by the energy savings, assuming you don't turn your desktop computer on at all. If you use your desktop 1/3rd of the day, it'd take another couple years on top of that. Not to mention most PCs can be put in standby and woken remotely, Macs even have this feature built-in.

Re: shall i buy a NAS drive or an external ( i already have 2 1tb portables)
 

You meant "off" right? Because not turning your PC on at all negates the reason for having a NAS; ie to store files created on your PC :confused:

As do PCs.

Re: shall i buy a NAS drive or an external ( i already have 2 1tb portables)
 

No I meant on. You lose the power benefits of a NAS as soon as your PC is on.


No they don't.

Re: shall i buy a NAS drive or an external ( i already have 2 1tb portables)
 

so a western digital nas 3tb drive isnt worth it? i just like the idea of being able to network files easily and transfer my data to it..and i can also email links etc i believe.. share files..

Re: shall i buy a NAS drive or an external ( i already have 2 1tb portables)
 

How many devices would this NAS be connecting to also needs to be taken in to account.
As If you have 3 devices on the go trying to access say 2 portable drives.
Then you see the problem. 1 device has no choice as it can't access the portable drives with NAS they can..

WMP on PC is a DLNA streamer and all PCs with windows forced on them have that.

It also depends on what Protocols you want.
DLNA, Upnp, bonjour, FTP, HTTP, Airplay

For example WMP on PC only does DLNA and Upnp. If you had a vita your screwed
Twonky on PC/NAS has a web interface and will stream MP4 to Vita with out having to stop others playing on PS3, This is why Twonky used to cost money.. no longer does.

Re: shall i buy a NAS drive or an external ( i already have 2 1tb portables)
 

Sorry. Missed the word "remotely" for some reason :blush:

---------- Post added at 22:09 ---------- Previous post was at 22:07 ----------

I don't know without looking if you can get a 3TB 2.5" hard drive, but I wouldn't want to lug a 3.5" one around! So, on that basis, I think I'd go for a NAS. But the final decision is yours.

Re: shall i buy a NAS drive or an external ( i already have 2 1tb portables)
 

Yes, they do.

I doubt there is a PC around these days that doesn't support WOL.

All you have to do is ensure you've got it enabled and open the port.
Windows supports WOL right out of the box.

Re: shall i buy a NAS drive or an external ( i already have 2 1tb portables)
 

The exact amount depends on what you use to access the data. If you access the data exclusively on PCs that you won't see as much of a saving. If you access the data using tablets, laptops, phones or even hardware media players then the savings are greater.

Re: shall i buy a NAS drive or an external ( i already have 2 1tb portables)
 

No, they don't.

Wake on lan by definition only works on the LAN.

For it to work remotely, you need router support - which again, Macs negotiate automatically and PCs do not. If you have manually reconfigure external devices to get it to work then by definition it is NOT built-in.

Re: shall i buy a NAS drive or an external ( i already have 2 1tb portables)
 

What utter rubbish.

I have to configure my router to host multiplayer games, are you going to tell me these games do not have multiplayer built in as well?

WOL works fine remotely and takes seconds to configure firewalls for. A mac wouldn't negotiate it automatically on my network due to the settings on my external firewall, so I guess macs don't have it built in either.

Or is it built in if it works out the box in your situation only?

If the windows PC was directly connected to the internet then WOL wouldn't need any external configuration. THAT is the test of if it's built in or not. If you introduce additional factors, then that those additional items have to be correctly configured does not mean something is suddenly no longer built in, it means you've introduced something that stops it working.

Sure it might be easier to use on a mac, I'm not going to argue that, but to say that it's not built in because like many many network protocols it requires configuration of routers and firewalls if they exist, is simply preposterous.

Re: shall i buy a NAS drive or an external ( i already have 2 1tb portables)
 

Slightly OT but for how many years have we heard "Macs can't get viruses" or similar ;)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-17623422

Re: shall i buy a NAS drive or an external ( i already have 2 1tb portables)
 

Slightly OT???

The OP isn't helped any by bickering over WOL, definitions of 'built in' and viruses on Macs...