NAS Hard Drives

Western Digital's plug-and-play network drive

All of the above external hard drives attach directly to your computer with a USB, FireWire or eSATA connection. Experts call these models direct-attached storage. If you run a home network or business network, you might consider a network-attached storage (NAS) drive. NAS units connect to your network with a Gigabit Ethernet cable. Although the drive is then accessible to all devices on the network, data speeds are limited to the speed of your network, which is likely to be significantly slower than USB and FireWire -- and much slower than eSATA.

A few NAS devices are aimed at the consumer market. The Western Digital My Book World Edition comes in 1 TB (*Est. $170 for 1 TB) and 2 TB (*Est. $270) versions. The last-generation model of this NAS drive got poor reviews from owners. Complaints abounded, from frustrating setup to slow performance to dead drives. But top experts say the latest version, introduced in 2009, works well.

"The My Book World Edition is the simplest, speediest networkable hard disk I've tried," says Walter Mossberg of The Wall Street Journal. Western Digital says this drive is easier to use, runs cooler and uses less power than other NAS drives, and professional tests say that's all true.

The My Book World Edition painlessly backs up your data -- automatically, as you write it, or all at once with one click -- and it streams music, movies and photos very efficiently, reviews say. A rival NAS, the Linksys Media Hub (*Est. $280 for 500 GB), also heavily pushes its media-streaming capabilities; in a test at CNET, the Linksys streams three high-def movies to three different computers simultaneously, with no stuttering. Both devices can stream media to your HDTV via an Xbox 360 or Playstation 3. But experts at Register Hardware like the My Book World Edition better -- they say it streams media just as well and it's smaller, quieter and cooler than the Linksys, with double the storage at a much lower price.

The My Book World Edition works equally flawlessly with Macs and PCs, Mossberg finds, as long as they're running recent operating systems (Mac OS Leopard, Windows Vista and the beta of Windows 7 all work in his test). If you want to back up to two separate disks, the Western Digital My Book World Edition II includes two hard disks for a total of 2 TB (*Est. $280) or 4 TB (*Est. $550). But make sure you get the current World Edition version (product numbers start with WDH1NC or WDH2NC); the pre-2009 versions that users dislike looks exactly like the new ones, and they're still widely for sale.

Apple's Time Capsule

Apple's Time Capsule (*Est. $270 to $450) streamlines your workspace: It's a wireless router plus NAS drive rolled into one small, sleek, glossy white box. It's an unusual product, and just about every major review source has tested it. They agree it's a great router -- but not the best NAS drive.

The Wall Street Journal's Walter Mossberg sums it up: "If you use Time Machine on a Mac laptop, then Time Capsule's $299 price is money well spent," he writes. "If you don't, there are cheaper or more versatile solutions to the backup problem."

New Macs come bundled with Apple's Time Machine backup software, but some external hard drives aren't compatible with it. Time Capsule is, and Mac owners report that it's easy to set up. After that, you never have to worry about backups -- they happen automatically and wirelessly for every computer in your house.

"The beauty of Time Capsule is that it just works, silently backing up your Mac over your network without your having to remember a thing," writes Macworld, which rates the Time Capsule higher than any other NAS drive.

But Macworld also says the Time Capsule transfers files more slowly than other NAS drives. It also costs more than a good router and external hard drive, bought separately. Although it's compatible with PCs, experts conclude that Time Capsule makes little sense for a purely PC household. Time Capsule comes in 500 GB (*Est. $270) and 1 TB (*Est. $450) versions.

Building your own NAS

You can buy NAS boxes with no hard drives included -- just empty slots where you insert your own hard drives. Computer-savvy users often say that these work better than the cheaper plug-and-play NAS drives, because you can choose exactly the drives and sizes you want and replace drives if they break.

However, these pricey units may be overkill for basic home users. Business-level models from QNAP and Synology get good reviews, and these companies also offer smaller versions more suitable for the home, such as the QNAP TS-119 (*Est. $375) and Synology DS209+ II (*Est. $455). Expect to pay another $80 to $100 for each 1 TB hard drive.

The Pogoplug (*Est. $100) is the easiest way for a home user to get NAS, experts say. It's a little gadget that turns any USB drive (external hard drive or flash drive) into a basic NAS. You don't need any software or special skills -- just plug this little 4-by-2-inch box into your Internet router and you'll be able to access everything on your external drive over the Internet, from anywhere.

It works problem-free in professional tests, and experts say it's incredibly simple to use. "For $99, the ability to turn a random drive into not only a network-accessible device, but a remotely-accessible device is huge, and we plan on putting it into heavy rotation around here," Engadget.com says. The Pogoplug is an Editors' Choice at Laptop Magazine, although editors note that its speed is limited by your router and it can be slow. Pogoplug works with Windows, Mac OS and Linux.

Seagate has licensed the Pogoplug capabilities for its Seagate DockStar (*Est. $100), which is basically a cradle-shaped Pogoplug that can dock a Seagate FreeAgent Go (*Est. $70 for 250 GB) portable hard drive. You can also plug three other drives into the DockStar's USB ports. Unlike Pogoplug, however, Seagate charges for access: The first year is free, but it's $30 a year thereafter. Because Pogoplug offers the service for free, "We'd be inclined to go with Pogoplug's instead," CNET concludes.