Table of contents:

• What Is NAS?
• Desktop Drive
• Differences
• Conclusion

If you want to increase the amount of storage on your system, there are many options, each with its own advantages and disadvantages. To narrow down your search, we’re looking at two of the most popular options: NAS drives and desktop drives. We compare them with each other to evaluate their effectiveness.

If you’re not sure what NAS drives and desktop drives really are, you’ve come to the right place. We’re going to shed some light on the hardware before exploring which one might be the best choice for you (this will depend on what you need it for).

Whether you’re looking for a drive to use at home or in the office, there are options to suit any of them. So let’s take a look at what each disc actually is.

What Is NAS?

NAS (Network Attached Storage) is a storage device that is connected to a network and allows you to store and access data from a central location. This central location stores primary data that only authorized network users and various clients have access to.

NAS is flexible and scalable, which means that if you need additional storage, you can simply add it to what you already have.

NAS is often compared to a private cloud in an office or home for select users. It’s faster, cheaper, and gives you all the benefits of an on-premise public cloud while giving you complete control.

NAS is often recommended for small and medium businesses as they are very easy to use and eliminates the need for any professional IT department or specialists. This makes them really cost-effective, as not only do you not need a team of experts to run them, but the device itself is cheap to run. In addition, there is a software NAS for free on the market. 

Perhaps the best thing about NAS is that they centralize data storage well in a secure and reliable way that only authorized users can access in a controlled manner. This storage method prevents data from falling into the wrong hands or being used for malicious purposes. 

While there are many positives, there are also negatives that can cause problems for SMB-sized businesses. One of these problems can occur if a document, for example, has been edited or updated and those changes have not been authorized, i.e. when another user tries to access it, which means the data may be out of sync.

Other NAS issues related to reliability and availability can arise if the storage fails. As a result, users will not be able to access any of the data in the vault, which in turn may result in delays in responding to customer support requests or sales inquiries. Setting up RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) will help solve this problem. Any NAS with more than two bays allows at least one level of RAID.

Desktop Drive

Desktop drives offer ample storage just like NAS drives but don’t connect to the network in the same way. This is where data is stored for a long time – not just what you save, but all the code needed for the operating system, browser frameworks used to access the Internet, drivers for accessories, and everything else.

Each hard drive has a certain amount of space, some of which is automatically used by the operating system and backup settings. However, the rest can be used to store the data you download and save, whether it’s a new application or a series of documents.

Hard drive space is not as important now as it used to be due to cloud-based software that does not require local storage. Data can also be stored in the cloud to help free up hard drive space, a technique that can be critical if your desktop computer’s large disk space is being used for other purposes.

There are two types of desktop drives:

• internal
• and external.

The internal hard drive is located inside the computer and is directly connected to the motherboard, but it cannot always be upgraded. For example, on a desktop PC, the side panel can be easily removed to remove the old drive and plug in the new one. This is a quick and easy update.

External hard drives are exactly what they sound like outside of the PC and are often connected via a USB cable. This option is usually slower due to the connection, but it can also be disabled from the PC without any major issues. This allows you to increase the capacity of your hard drive.

In addition to internal and external, a hard drive can be a hard disk drive (HDD) or a solid-state drive (SSD). There is a big difference between the two, which you can learn more about in our storage wars! Article SSD vs HDD. But to give you a quick overview, here is some information about hard drives and solid-state drives.

A hard drive uses a spinning magnetic disk to store information, however, this adds to its list of moving parts, which also includes heads to read and write data to the disk as needed and a motor to spin the disk. This is an extremely simple method, meaning that hard drives are often cheaper.

As for SSDs, there are no moving parts because these drives use semiconductors that store information by changing the electrical state of very tiny capacitors. Sounds extremely technical, but luckily you don’t have to worry as SSDs are very reliable. They are also much faster than hard drives and have a much longer lifespan, making them a popular choice.

Differences

One of the main differences between them is the time they are in operation. NAS drives operate 24/7, which means that authorized users can access data and files at any time. Whereas with a desktop drive, since it’s only connected to one desktop, it only works when that desktop is enabled. This also means that all data and files on the desktop drive are inaccessible.

Using the desktop drive may cause vibration, noise, and heat. These drives also have high-performance options so the drives can spin faster and read data faster. Lower speeds create less vibration and noise, but of course, they won’t be able to read data as quickly.

With NAS drives, you never have to sacrifice speed for a quieter, cooler experience. Most NAS drives are equipped with anti-vibration technologies that prevent the drives from generating excessive vibration and noise while maintaining high performance.

Conclusion

When these two are pitted against each other, it becomes clear that they each have their own advantages, each of which becomes more significant depending on how you use them. For example, if you are looking for a cheap and reliable storage solution that users can access, then a NAS would be your most reasonable option.

Desktop drives are more suitable for those who do not need multiple users to access centralized data and do not need their continuous operation. Desktop drives in the form of solid-state drives are reliable, easily portable, and ideal for personal use or the secure use of a select few users.