mp3 Storage: internal or External

Artick89

Hi,

I need to buy a new PC to replace a Windows 7 PC, which is about 8 years old.

I need to decided how best to store store my audio files. At the moment, I have about 280,000 mp3s (!) taking up about 1.7 TB of space on two internal hard drives (1 and 2 TB). The OS is stored on third hard drive (500 GB).

So space is not critical right now but I'd like to have the flexibility with the new setup to store a total of 3–4TB of mp3s and/or storing files in flac format. So to give myself that flexibility, I'm thinking of a total storage space of 8TB.

The question I'm hoping you can help with is this: should this 8TB of space be on two internal drives with the OS on a third drive (like my present arrangement) or should the music files be stored externally?

More specifically:
► If I store the mp3s externally, would a basic USB storage device suit my needs or should I opt for a box (is that the correct term?) that would allow me to swap drives in and out?
► Will a Windows 10 PC be able to play files stored externally without pauses in the music?

Thanks for your help.

advertsfox

Artick89 wrote: »

Hi,

I need to buy a new PC to replace a Windows 7 PC, which is about 8 years old.

I need to decided how best to store store my audio files. At the moment, I have about 280,000 mp3s (!) taking up about 1.7 TB of space on two internal hard drives (1 and 2 TB). The OS is stored on third hard drive (500 GB).

So space is not critical right now but I'd like to have the flexibility with the new setup to store a total of 3–4TB of mp3s and/or storing files in flac format. So to give myself that flexibility, I'm thinking of a total storage space of 8TB.

The question I'm hoping you can help with is this: should this 8TB of space be on two internal drives with the OS on a third drive (like my present arrangement) or should the music files be stored externally?

More specifically:
► If I store the mp3s externally, would a basic USB storage device suit my needs or should I opt for a box (is that the correct term?) that would allow me to swap drives in and out?
► Will a Windows 10 PC be able to play files stored externally without pauses in the music?

Thanks for your help.

For those requirements, I'd highly recommend an external NAS drive. You need 4TB so go for an 8TB option using Raid 1 (two drives are mirrored so you get an automatic redundancy backup). It is easily accessible over your network (gigabit speeds up to 1000Mbps), over the internet or via USB 3.0 for super fast data transfer.

WD My Cloud EX2 will do nicely. This way your new device can be seperate, while your network storage is accessible worldwide to you. You don't want your OS and music all on the same drive; an OS is easy to wipe / reinstall, 1.7TB of music is not so this is where the NAS storage will work wonders.

You have a dozen options for a new Windows 10 machine, a lightweight laptop with an SSD or a desktop will suffice. I personally like the Intel NUC units.

There will be zero issues playing media this way in terms of latency / pausing - not with modern hardware.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B01BIGSRLS/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_C6DiFb858AG0H

Doodah7

I would also STRONGLY suggest that you get a second portable 2, 3 or 4TB external hard drive and copy your music collection onto it and then store it elsewhere.

That's a lot of music to lose if (God forbid!) your house was to burn down and all your drives were in one place.

Artick89

Thanks for your replies. I'm reassured by advertsfox's comments about latency / pausing.

I have been thinking about using RAID and I'm not sure if I need it. At the moment, I backup my files (mp3s and everything else) about every 2 weeks to a portable disk, which is stored off site (thanks, Doodah7, for prompting me to point that out). I'm not sure i need the automatic redundancy that RAID gives me but I'd welcome further discussion on this aspect of the new setup.

dhaughton99

iTunes Match is a great service if you use iTunes and an iPhone. €25 a year