Years worth of documents, including pictures, favorite music, personal videos, and photos disappear because of issues with the computer or storage – that sounds horrible. Does this situation sound familiar to you? If not, then good for you, because I can’t say I’m the lucky one here. That’s why I started seeking devices that could store my data so I won’t feel miserable ever again.
Of course, you can always buy some space on a remote cloud server, but they will keep scanning your data. That’s why it’s such a good idea to pick a personal cloud storage device to keep your data. Even if the apocalypse is happening tomorrow, it won’t affect your cloud storage device. So, here are some good options for you to choose from.
QNAP (TS-451 or TS-251)
If it’s OK for you to spend just a tad more than you would expect to spend on a home storage device, then you may consider purchasing QNAP. Models TS-251A and TS-451 are both good and of great quality. The developers of these models have decided to make functional devices rather than pretty on the outside. It’s easy to upgrade the device, plus, it has a very convenient removable storage (hint the price).
Both models can be controlled remotely by the remote control. You can choose between 1 GB, 2 GB, or 4 GB RAM depending on your needs. Of course, 4 GB will cost more. But don’t be worried if you purchase 1 or 2 GB of RAM, as it was mentioned, the device can be easily upgraded and that means that you can double or even triple your RAM. Of course, if you need such a powerful storage device. Both models offer a great storage capacity so you can store everything you want.
Seagate Personal Cloud Home Media Storage Device (3TB NAS, 4TB NAS, 6TB NAS)
If you don’t want to go nuts when building your home storage empire, then you may want to check out the Seagate Personal Cloud Home Media Storage Device. It comes as 3TB NAS, 4TB NAS, 6TB NAS (from 3 to 6 terabytes), the cheapest version is Seagate Personal Cloud Home Media Storage Device 3TB NAS could be bought for less than 140 dollars on Amazon. So it would be a great option for limited budgets or for people who don’t want to spend a fortune on a home storage empire.
The good news is that if you don’t seem to have enough space, you can expand it by plugging in an additional device with the help of a USB. The bad news is that the device does not support removable or replaceable hard drives. On the other hand, it’s extremely affordable and the feedback from users is mostly positive.
Western Digital My Cloud Personal Network
If you want to purchase a device, but you don’t seem to find reasonable feedback from users, then check out Western Digital My Cloud Personal Network on Amazon. It’s one of the most purchased home storage devices with thousands of reviews from customers. So you may find any details related to the device. Even though you can’t upgrade the hard drives, the model offers different entries, starting from 1 to 8 TB NAS.
You may even opt for a special mirror edition that has 2 drives. The benefit of such a model is that it provides redundancy to drive failures. The disk drive can be removed and replaced, so that’s an advantage as well.
The good news is that all models have 3.0 USB ports so users can expand even more their home storage and store more data to secure it from losses and system failures. You will also be glad to hear that My Cloud supports Windows, Mac, and mobile software so you can send data from PC or tablets/phones, as well as get access to your stored data from various supported devices.
Synology DiskStation (Models: DS416play and DS216play)
DiskStation is a great company developing various tools and devices, including cloud storage devices for homes. It has several great quality devices that offer various capabilities to its users. If you are seeking something less fancy but very functional, check out 2 models: DS416play and DS216play.
Note, the company is producing 2 other models DS416 and DS216, these are without the “play” mark. The difference is that those mentioned devices with the “play” mark offer more flexibility since they support video transcoding.
It would be wiser to choose the models with the “play” mark if you want to watch videos in great quality. What does that mean? It means that even if your device doesn’t support 4K Ultra format, you will still be able to watch videos in 4K Ultra format. Of course, if you have a device that supports 4K Ultra, then you can pick the DS416 or DS216 models.
The prices are pretty average, DS416 can be bought for less than 250 dollars, DS216 for almost 400. You should note that hard drives should be bought separately. And good news for those who prefer more powerful storage devices – DS416 has four bays that support a maximum capacity of 32 TB, and DS216 offers 2 bays supporting a maximum capacity of 16 TB. Both models support RAID, moreover, it also supports most devices including Samsung Smart TV and Apple TV.
The Bottom Line
Before deciding which device to purchase, it would be a good idea to figure out what you want from your home storage network. Those mentioned devices in the article will aid you on your way to build a fully-supported storage network to which you can get access from any device that has access to the Internet.
If you are not sure how much space you need, or you don’t have too much data to store, it would be a good idea to purchase a device that can be upgraded. In the future, you could add more hard drives to expand your collection. And note that a storage cloud device for your home is more reliable and you can get access to it even if you are traveling as long as your network is online.
Author Bio: Theresa Cofield is a freelance writer who has a love for creativity and a passion for helping others. She works as a blogger at csgobettingg.com where she covers the topics of esports and the gaming industry.
Theresa is a guest blogger. All opinions are her own.
