[FenceMan]

Now that I have my XBMC enabled Revo purring, I am quickly running out of storage space and I am looking for the best way to upgrade, advice please.

My setup is currently:

Windows 7 PC set up in basement home theater w/ 1 TB hard drive (about 600GB set aside for media storage). This PC runs XBMC and feeds my projector as a second monitor.

Acer Aspire Revo 1600 set up in bedroom that hooks up via 802.11n to basement PC and streams the media via SMB share.

I would like to add another 1-2 TB's of storage should I:

1. Add another internal drive to basement computer? I know this will work since this is how I share my existing media, but I do notice a bit of stutter on HD videos if the drive is being written to at the same time.

2. Add an external drive to basement computer? Not sure if this will be fast enough to stream files? I have an external Sata connector that I can use in lieu of USB 2.0 if needed.

3. Add a Networked Attached Storage Device? This is expensive and seems like overkill since I am only sharing between two computers?

I am trying to get the most bang for my buck, thanks in advance.

[hogfan]

I would go with a NAS w/ mirroring if you care about your data. It costs more, but it will save you from having to re-encode all of your media from source if a single HDD fails. I'm looking for a good small footprint NAS.

The Netgear Stora looks like it's exactly what I'm looking for with the ability to add a second drive for mirroring. From what I've heard though, Netgear has put all of their proprietary BS on in and you have to have it attached to an internet connection to even be able to use it.

Freenas may be the way I go, but it's hard to build a NAS as small as the Stora with PC parts. Netgear can take their crappy software and subscription fees and shove it. Western Digitial is bad about this too with the MyBook World and their crappy useless MioNet software.

[SunnyUK]

If you want bang for your buck, go for an extra internal hard disk for the basement computer. 1 TB goes for around £60 on this side of the pond these days.

[ThickHead]

Hi,
I bought one of these IOCell 352ND enclosures last summer for $99 http://www.iocellnetworks.com/product/352nd.php . Put in (2) 1TB drives configured as mirrored, and use it to store/share all kinds of media files across 3 PCs on home LAN. It has a gigabit ethernet interface, as does my HTPC, so they are on wired LAN using an Apple Airport Extreme (gigabit) router. Another desktop PC and my laptop access it via 802.11g which works great. It's been running 24X7 for six months now with no errors or problems.