Jump straight to the section you want with these quick links: -Choosing the best external hard drive or SSD for your Mac or PC is essential. As any designer or artist knows, it doesn't take long for creative files to start filling up the internal hard drive of your machine – but it's important to pick the right one, and there are a number of considerations to make before pulling out your wallet. First, a quick recap of the basics. An external hard drive or SSD (which stands for Solid State Drive) is a device that can be easily plugged into your machine, giving you almost-instant storage space, without having to prise open your computer and make complicated upgrades. Jump to: Not only does an HDD or SSD give you more capacity for large files, but because the devices are portable, they can be taken with you on the go and plugged into different machines – handy if you swap between PCs and Macs regularly. Also, in the event that something bad happens to your machine, your files will still be safe and accessible.

• Cloud Storage For Apple Devices
• Best External Storage For Mac
• External Storage Device For Mac

Aug 29, 2018 - Best External Hard Drives for Macs Featured in This Roundup: CalDigit Tuff Review. MSRP: $179.99. LaCie 5big Thunderbolt 2 Review. MSRP: $3999.00. Western Digital My Book Review. LaCie Bolt3 Review. Samsung Portable SSD T5 Review. Akitio Thunder3 RAID Station Review. CalDigit AV Pro 2 Review. Promise Pegasus3 R4 Review.

Right now, we think the overall best external hard drive for Mac and PC is the Western Digital My Passport 4TB. It offers the best balance of speed, reliability, portability and price. But there are many options out there – scroll down to see our full list of recommendations, and the best external hard drive prices too. Storage considerations There are a number of things to consider when looking for an external hard drive or SSD for your Mac or PC. First, is storage.

You'll want to make sure you buy an external storage device that has enough capacity for your needs – without paying for high capacities you'll never use. Around 500GB is a good sweet-spot for external storage, though you can buy smaller capacities, as well as larger ones at 1TB or greater.

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Hard drive vs SSD: which is best? Another consideration is whether to get an external storage device that uses a traditional hard drive, or one with an SSD. Usually, external hard drives with traditional drives are more affordable and come in larger capacities.

There are external SSDs that come with large capacities – but these can be expensive. SSDs are much faster than traditional hard drives, and because they don't have any mechanical or moving parts, they're generally more robust and smaller in physical size as well. So, if you want to store huge amounts of data while keeping prices low, an external hard drive is the way to go. But if speed is your top priority – for example, if you move a lot of large files, or want to run programs off the drive – then choose an SSD. The right connections The connection between the external hard drive and your Mac or PC is also important.

The first generation rectangular USB-A ports are slowly being superseded by the newer, smaller reversible USB-C ports. These are now found on all modern PCs, and Macs. Some high end PC and Macs, such as the new iMac and, come with USB-C ports that support Thunderbolt 3. This is the fastest external storage connection there is, and it provides very fast data transfer speeds, though Thunderbolt storage is considerably more expensive than plain old USB. Best external hard drives and SSDs for Mac and PC 01. Western Digital My Passport 4TB.

WD backup software is basic This is the latest generation of the Western Digital My Passport range of external hard drives to have landed, coming in sizes from 1TB to 4TB. It features cloud storage and 256-AES encryption, along with WD's own backup software. It also offers very good data transfer speeds. And while it doesn't quite offer a similar speed to solid state drive devices, the Western Digital My Passport range finds a great balance between high storage capacities and quick file transfers. Samsung Portable SSD T5. Expensive The Samsung T5 SSD is a great performing storage device, reaching speeds up to 550 MB/sec, making the most of the USB 3.1 specification. It plugs directly into PCs and Macs with either a newer USB-C port or USB-A, is roughly the size of a matchbox and being a flash storage device, contains no moving parts, so can survive being dropped.

External SSDs may cost considerably more than hard disks, but the extra money and faster speeds go a long way. You’ll be able to easily load edit and save 4K video directly on the T5, which can be very slow with a USB hard disk, you can install applications onto it, or even run an entire alternative operating system off it at full speed, if you’re so inclined. The downside is the pricing. SSDs give you less capacity for more money, so we don’t recommend the T5 for backup.

It’s better to have a bigger hard disk for that and use the T5 in more specialised situations that need all that lovely performance 03. G-Technology G-RAID with Thunderbolt 3. High price G-Technology has long been a favourite of Mac creative professionals, and no small part of this is the clever use of silver aluminium that perfectly matches Apple’s iMac casing, keeping desktop areas with a uniform appearance. The latest incarnation of its G-RAID dual hard disk Thunderbolt product isn’t just a start performer, capable of 440 MB/sec transfer rates in RAID 0, which is pretty incredible for hard disks, but it also gives you a few extras. There's an HDMI 2.2 port on the back, which routes a video signal for an external display over the G-RAID’s Thunderbolt 3 cable, which has plenty of bandwidth to spare even with the hard disk going at full speed. It also has a USB-C port to connect to Macs or PCs that lack Thunderbolt. Expect to pay a small fortune for the largest capacities, but thanks to the easy drive removal system, you could always buy a cheaper, lower capacity G-RAID and upgrade it with off-the-shelf hard disks yourself.

Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt. Limited hard disk performance If you want to make use of your Thunderbolt port, then this Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt is a great option, as it provides twice the speeds of standard USB 3.0 drives. It's also not especially expensive compared to other Thunderbolt drives. This is mainly down to the fact that it's a traditional hard drive, not an SSD, which means it's not quite as fast as it could be – though it will still give you an upgrade to your transfer speeds. Helpfully, the Buffalo MiniStation Thunderbolt also comes with a USB 3.0 port for connecting to computers that don't have a Thunderbolt port. Adata SD700 External SSD. No USB Type-C The Adata SD700 will suit those looking for a rugged storage device that can provide ample capacity without costing too much.

It performs superbly well and remains the only SSD we’ve seen that's IP68 rated. Thanks to the solid state drive that resides in this external hard drive, it's a lot faster than external drives that use traditional spinning hard drives – so you're getting great transfer speeds as well as rugged protection. It also comes in capacities up to 1TB, so you don't have to worry about missing out on storage space just because it uses an SSD.

This Adata drive really does hit all the right notes. WD My Book Duo. Limited performance compared with Thunderbolt drives If you're looking for the absolute largest capacity external USB hard drive, then the WD My Book Duo Is the one to get, as it now goes all the way to 20TB. If you don't mind sacrificing some of the ample storage space you can set the drives up in a RAID 1 array, so you have file backups of your files should one of the drives die. This is an excellent feature if you're going to use this device to back up irreplaceable data, such as your creative work, as it adds a level of protection in case things go wrong.

It provides two additional USB ports on the rear, so you can easily insert flash sticks. The device, which comes with two-year warranty, has 256-bit AES hardware encryption, and automatic backup software (WD SmartWare Pro). It's also worth noting that the enclosure used is fully serviceable and that WD ships the drive already pre-formatted for Windows users (NTFS), so you'll want to reformat it to work with your Mac. Read TechRadar's review. LaCie Rugged USB-C.

Ugly orange casing Lacie’s rugged hard disk series is instantly recognisable from its orange casing, which is a rubber enclosure that keeps the disk safe from even medium-height drops up to 1.2m, along with your precious data. According to Lacie it can apparently withstand the pressure of a one-ton car, and is resistant to rain. That makes it a great choice for content creation when you’re out and about, whether you’re participating in daredevil sports, travelling the world, just a bit paranoid or simply clumsy.

If you work with libraries of large image files, or in audio or video production, you need to be selective about your external hard drive. Writing files directly to an external drive can incur some hefty performance demands, so it's best to determine your needs before you buy a drive.

With the ever-increasing data-transfer demands brought on by more megapixels, higher audio bit rates, and higher-resolution video—keeping up with all of that data can be a burden. The first thing to determine must be how much overall storage space you need and, then, what data-transfer speed your projects will require. Each medium is different, as is every user. To break it down, we'll discuss the writing of data to an external hard drive while editing video, for use in photo editing and running audio projects. Drives for Video Production No one creates a greater need for media storage than a videographer, especially those working in 4K. To prevent getting bogged down by a sluggish external hard drive, you need fast drives. These days, the default spin rate is 7200 rpm, though even faster drives are available for a premium.

Next, you need to consider your interface. Are you using FireWire, USB 3.0 or USB 3.1 Type-A or Type-C, Thunderbolt, Thunderbolt 2, or possibly the newer Thunderbolt 3? Do you intend to use eSATA or set up a RAID array because a single drive can't handle your output, so you need multiple drives? Interface Speeds: USB, Thunderbolt, and Beyond The latest in high-definition video requires a whopping 106 MB/s of bandwidth. But if you aren't working in the latest ProRes HQ 4K codec, you can get by with less speed.

By contrast, AVCHD 1080p video at 30 fps requires just 3 MB/s. But your hard drive's maximum write speed should exceed this by as much as is comfortable for your budget, because other issues, such as caching, also can impact performance. With any external hard drive interface, keep in mind that you will only achieve its maximum data transfer rate if your computer—and the external hard drive—support it. USB 3.0 is capable of 625 MB/s. However, check the rated speed of the external drive (it likely can't move data that fast). For example, the is rated at up to 180 MB/s.

The is rated at up to 226 MB/s. Note that, in both cases, these speeds exceed the 106 MB/s requirement of ProRes HQ 4K video at 24 fps. That can only be a good thing. G-Technology 6TB G-DRIVE G1 USB 3.0 Hard Drive Faster still is Thunderbolt.

Version 1 can transfer at bi-directional speeds up to 10 Gb/s (1,250 MB/s), Thunderbolt 2 can transfer at bi-directional speeds up to 20 Gb/s (2,500 MB/s), and the newer Thunderbolt 3 operates at bi-directional speeds up to 40 Gb/s (5,000 MB/s). But you'll pay more for these interfaces, which may not be worth it for all that speed: None of today's drives are that fast.

But if you need a RAID array or plan to use external solid-state drives (SSDs), you might want the Autobahn of interfaces. RAID Arrays A RAID array offers voluminous storage beyond what one drive can offer. And, using multiple drives can speed up data transfers, depending on the configuration. To set up a well-performing RAID, all of the drives should be the same speed and capacity.

Now, let's choose a RAID configuration. A popular option for video editors is RAID 5, which can suffer the loss of one drive without losing any data. The downside is that it's more expensive to set up a RAID 5 array because it requires at least four drives. You can use just two drives to set up a RAID 1 configuration, but the goal here is data redundancy, not speed.

The second drive is a copy of the first, so it's got you covered, should the other drive fail. Peace of mind. If you're after speed, it's hard to argue against RAID 0. All drives in this array are striped together, so they read and write simultaneously, which essentially doubles your speed whenever you double the number of drives.

Best External Storage For Mac

Here's the math: Two 2TB drives that write at 200 MB/s add up to 4TB of storage writing at 400 MB/s. But—here's the rub—you don't have data redundancy, so if one drive goes kaput, you lose all of the data in the RAID.

One of the big kahunas in this category is the, which offers lots of connectivity options: one 5 Gb/s USB 3.0, one 3 Gb/s eSATA, and two 800 Mb/s FireWire 800 ports. It also offers capacities of 8, 24, and 32TB, and the hot-swappable drives can be configured in RAID 0 or RAID 5.

G-Technology G-SPEED Q 16TB (4 x 4TB) 4-Bay RAID Array If you’re looking for gargantuan amounts of storage to protect immense amounts of hi-res footage, along with the speed to edit 4/5/6K video, look no further than Lacie’s. Available with two Thunderbolt 3 and one USB 3.1 Type-C interfaces in capacities of 48, 72, 96, and 120TB, its overall capacity is shared between twelve SATA 3.5' drive bays, and its hardware RAID controller supports RAID 0, 1, 5, 6, 10, and 50.

Using Thunderbolt 3, it can achieve read speeds of up to 2,600 MB/s and write speeds of up to 1,700 MB/s in RAID 0, while a RAID 5 configuration supports read speeds up to 2,400 MB/s and write speeds up to 1,200 MB/s. When paired with USB 3.1, RAID 0 read and write speeds can reach 400 MB/s, while a RAID 5 configuration yields read and write speeds as high as 350 MB/s.

RESTRICTIONS • You may not engage in reverse engineering, disassembly, decompilation or otherwise deriving a source code form of the SOFTWARE by any method whatsoever. IF YOU HAVE DOWNLOADED OR INSTALLED THE SOFTWARE AND DO NOT AGREE TO THE TERMS, PROMPTLY DELETE THE SOFTWARE. While ownership of the storage media in which the SOFTWARE is stored rests with you, the SOFTWARE itself is owned by Yamaha and/or Yamaha’s licensor(s), and is protected by relevant copyright laws and all applicable treaty provisions. Ch 3.0 for mac pro. GRANT OF LICENSE AND COPYRIGHT Yamaha hereby grants you the right to use the programs and data files composing the software accompanying this Agreement, and any programs and files for upgrading such software that may be distributed to you in the future with terms and conditions attached (collectively, “SOFTWARE”), only on a computer, musical instrument or equipment item that you yourself own or manage.

One of the Thunderbolt 3 ports can also be used to daisy-chain a single 5K or dual 4K displays. LaCie 12big 120TB 12-Bay Thunderbolt 3 RAID Array Solid-State Drives SSDs use flash technology, so they have no moving parts. This could be critical if you are recording video in a studio or other enclosed location where the video camera must be near the external hard drive. Having the whirring sounds of a writing disk and spinning fan show up in your audio will become annoying quickly. For example, the from LaCie offers 2TB of storage.

This SSD is rated at read speeds of up to 2,800 MB/s and write speeds of up to 2,200 MB/s in RAID 0—perfect for 4K video. It has two Thunderbolt 3 ports so you can daisy-chain additional drives. But SSDs charge a premium that's many times per TB, compared to a RAID array. If price is not your issue, they do provide quiet performance and lightning-quick data transfer. LaCie 2TB Bolt 3 Thunderbolt 3 External SSD Older Interfaces If your computer only has USB 2.0, and you're trying to edit video, you should consider an upgrade. The old USB interface has a maximum speed of just 60 MB/s. Similarly, FireWire 800's capability of transferring up to 100 MB/s won't earn a recommendation for manipulating high-definition video—newer hard drives are capable of faster speeds.

For more information, see the B&H article,. Picture Perfect In general, photographers don't need as much hard-drive space for their still images as videographers need for their footage. And, editing a photo on an external hard drive does not require the same bandwidth as editing video. Still, a trigger-happy photographer needs a fast and reliable external hard drive that can seek and display numerous uncompressed RAW files in a jiffy. You don't want your creative time to turn into a wait-and-see game of file-find and transfer. If you don't need portability—say, in a photography studio—a desktop model will usually get you more terabytes for your money. One drive in this category is the, which comes in capacities of 3, 4, and 5TB.

It offers read speeds up to 180 MB/s and has a single USB 3.0 port. Seagate 2TB Wireless Plus Mobile HDD with Built-In Wi-Fi Music to Your Ears Here's one benchmark for computing the overall capacity the music-makers need in an external hard drive: 24 mono tracks recorded at 24-bit/44.1 kHz will eat up about 190MB of hard disk space per minute. If all you intend to do is write stereo audio onto an external hard drive, you're unlikely to hit a bump in the road.

But if you're doing multi-track recording, you may run into data-transfer limitations. This could occur if your projects use a lot of plug-ins that are manipulating the audio tracks on the fly, or if you are triggering multiple virtual instruments with MIDI. For best performance, it’s widely recommended that your digital audio workstation (DAW) software run on a separate drive from the one to which you write your audio files. That is, your OS and all your applications, including the DAW software, sit on one drive, and there is a dedicated drive for audio files. If you draw upon a lot of samples or virtual instruments, consider having all of these on yet another drive altogether.

For example, in my project studio, recording multi-track sessions to a FireWire 800 drive is not a problem. I can record live the maximum my audio interface will allow simultaneously—eight tracks of audio—without trouble at 24-bits. Mixing with dozens of plug-ins also is no problem—but my sessions rarely exceed 24 tracks. In my case, the maximum of 100 MB/s for FireWire 800 is not a bottleneck. Larger sessions, or those using a higher bit rate, would hit the ceiling. All of the drives I use are 7200 rpm, and it's unlikely anyone would recommend a slower drive. It's possible you could get away with it for very basic audio projects, but why risk it?

Whether you can benefit from an even faster drive is debatable. If it's a boost in performance you need, you would likely do as well by adding another 7200 rpm drive than swapping an existing 7200 rpm drive for a faster model. If you need a drive with the Thunderbolt 2 interface, consider the, which is available in capacities of 6, 8, 10, 12, and 16TB, has two Thunderbolt 2 and three USB 3.0 interfaces, two hot-swappable drives, and is compatible with RAID 0 and RAID 1.

In case you aren't looking for the performance boost or data redundancy you get with a RAID array, this drive also supports JBOD (Just a Bunch of Disks), a linear configuration. WD My Book Pro 16TB (2 x 8TB) Two-Bay Thunderbolt 2 RAID Array Another worthy Thunderbolt 2 option is Lacie’s.

Available in capacities of 3, 4, and 8TB, it has two Thunderbolt 2 ports and a USB 3.0 port. This drive also offers an SSD upgrade that’s sold separately.

And—most important for audiophiles—the drive's aluminum body offers fanless cooling. That's important because fans make noise (see the next section). Beware of the Noise As just mentioned, as well as in the videography section, spinning fans make noise, as do spinning hard drives. If you can, you should separate your PC or laptop and external hard drive from the recording room. If you can't accomplish this, or sufficiently isolate the noise with sound damping, you will likely end up with background noise that can become irritating. If the disk drive must be nearby, consider a solid-state drive (SSD).

These are significantly more expensive, but if your pocketbook can handle it, you'll prevent disk and fan noise from marring your pristine audio. For additional information, see the B&H article. I'm a photographer and also work in post visual work. I'm looking for better options to store and backup my files whilst working on the system. I've used LaCie, WD, and Toshiba, and all of my drives started breaking down and not showing up on my computer after a few months. Toshiba was the only one that lasted for more than a year.

Either the disk would start squeaking, or the drive just wouldn't show up (both in the disk utility and devices menu. Are there any other drives or options you could recommend to me? I would really like to stop losing info and files because my drives stop working. Hi Bryan - If you want the capacity: Designed for storing and working with intensive multimedia files including video, photos, audio, and music libraries, the 6TB G-DRIVE G1 USB 3.0 Hard Drive from G-Technology (B&H # GT0G03674) lets you store up to 6TB of your data and transfer it to or from your computer using USB 3.0 technology. Housed in an aluminum enclosure, the G-DRIVE G1 features data transfer rates up to 226 MB/s and a rotational speed of 7200 rpm, both of which allow for quick file access and fast data transfer speeds.

The G-DRIVE G1 natively supports USB 3.0 and includes a USB 3.0 cable, and is backwards compatible with USB 2.0. If you want the speed and form factor of an SSD: Designed for HD video editing, enclosed in aluminum, and compatible with Windows, Mac, and Linux, the black 1TB U32 Shadow USB 3.1 External Solid State Drive from Oyen Digital (B&H # OYU32SSD1000) provides fast, silent, and durable performance, allowing you to access data quickly and efficiently using solid-state drive technology and micro-USB 3.1 connectivity. This SSD has a capacity of 1TB, allowing you to store a variety of files, including movies, photos, music, documents, and more.

External Storage Device For Mac

Using its 10 Gb/s USB 3.1 interface, which is also known as USB 3.1 Gen 2, data can be transferred at speeds up to 575 MB/s, and is compatible with 5 Gb/s USB 3.0, which is also known as USB 3.1 Gen 1, and 480 Mb/s USB 2.0. Included is a USB 3.1 cable. Hi Herman - Designed with the ability to edit and playback multiple audio and HD video streams, the s is a production-grade external RAID array that connects to your host system using its one micro-USB 3.0 port, two FireWire 800 ports, or one eSATA port at speeds up to 360 MB/s. The StudioRAID is equipped with two 3.5' drive bays and a total capacity of 4TB, which is configured as 2 x 2TB 7200 rpm hard drives. To help facilitate its functionality within a production environment, the StudioRAID comes pre-configured as a RAID 0, which helps enhance performance by spreading data across two drives and is also compatible with RAID 1, which offers data redundancy. For those who do not require a RAID, JBOD and SPAN are also supported.

This array is powered by an internal international auto-switching power supply that operates at 100-240 VAC at 50/60 Hz, is cooled with an intelligent quiet fan, uses disk health monitoring, and is constructed from a scratch-resistant black powder-coated aluminum chassis with a brushed stainless steel face plate. While the StudioRAID comes pre-formatted for HFS+ Journaled for Mac, it may also be used with Windows, Linux, Unix, and BSD after a simple reformat. Included is a micro-USB 3.0 cable, a FireWire 800 cable, and a power cable. It is protected by hardware, data recovery, and advance replacement warranties. Thunderbolt Connection - Theis a high performance RAID array built for professionals seeking to edit multiple HD video streams. It features a rugged all metal enclosure, and Thunderbolt 2 and USB 3.0 connectivity for fast transfer rates of up to 360 MB/s in RAID 0. It also supports RAID 1 and JBOD configurations if needed.

This array is configured with two 4TB 7200 rpm drives for a total capacity of 8TB. Even though it's preformatted for Mac, you'll be able to reformat it for compatibility with Windows systems. Included with the StudioRAID Enterprise RAID are 2-year level 1 data recovery and 1-year advance drive replacement services. Hi Mabellucy - If the images are on a drive that is formatted for a Mac (HFS+ Journaled) - then the Windows PC cannot read the them. Save all the images to a Windows formatted drive (exFAT formatted), then the PC can read them. With the it is easy to back up important files and create system backups using the included WD Backup software for Windows or Time Machine for Mac. In addition to simplifying the backup process for both Windows and Mac computers, this hard drive features 256-bit AES hardware encryption to ensure stored files remain secure.

The My Book Desktop drive features a USB 3.0 port for fast data transfers and comes exFAT formatted making it easy to get up and running in no time. Hi I'm wondering whether the Thunderbolt 3 and USB-C connections on the new macbook pro are a gamechanger for high performance editing drives. If I want to futureproof myself (and am getting the new macbook pro), should I also be looking to get thunderbolt 3 capable hard drives to maximise performance? I suppose the alternative would be to stick with a trusty thunderbolt 2 drive and use the thunderbolt 3 to thunderbolt 2 adapter.

Does anyone know how performance compares when using the adapter? Thanks for your help! Hi Estifanos - The is a dual bay RAID enclosure that features 2x 3TB hard drives, running at 7200 rpm with a 32MB cache. The external enclosure also features USB 3.0/2.0 and FireWire 800/400 connectivity, giving you the flexibility and options to attach this unit to older PCs and Macs.

USB 3.0 offers an interface transfer rate of up to 5.0 Gbps, while the average (sustained) transfer rate is 210 MBps. The FireWire transfer rate is 800 Mbps max, and the average transfer 82 MBps. It supports RAID 0 (both disks are counted as one large drive) and RAID 1 (striping the data for redundancy and backup) and is preconfigured as RAID 0. The drives are user-serviceable and hot swappable, meaning that you can replace them at any time with fresh drives for more storage capacity.

There are also a number of features that give the LaCie 4TB 2big Quadra an added layer of protection. Besides the redundancy of data in Raid 1 mode, the unit also ships with professional backup software for timed and scheduled backups that include file-level and system-level restores. This gives you the option of performing a full system backup that would let you boot your Mac directly from the 2big Quadra.

It's compatible with Time Machine and Windows 7 backup, and there's even a Kensington lock slot to prevent physical theft of the unit. Another feature that ensures reliability in your data protection is the effective dual cooling system. An overheated drive can mean the difference between restore and failure, and LaCie has implemented a system that consists of three components - a solid aluminum heat sink, a thermo-regulated magnetic levitation fan, and numerous large venting holes for air dissipation. The fan controls speed based on the ambient temperature of the unit, so it's energy efficient and quiet since it is not spinning unnecessarily all hours of the day. You can also set the unit to deliver email alerts when a temperature or RAID level is approaching a critical status to help you plan ahead and avoid crashes. Just estimating how much storage space you need is a challenge for most of us! So, first thing I recommend is that you keep all of you SD and camera cards in one place.

Never erase them, just use a new card for each event or trip or holiday. SD cards are inexpensive, but they can be hard to keep with and pretty hard to label! Second thing I suggest is cloud storage, since you can backup anything - computers, iPads, smartphones, etc to cloud storage. It's fast, affordable, and accessible from anywhere. Local storage puts the burden on you to first, choose a good device to back up to and second, you have to maintain it. What happens when your external disk fails?

(yes, a raid array is the right way, but it's still expensive) So, for ametures, I strongly recommend multiple copies of your most treasured photo files and videos. Keep them in several places and even as attachements in your email. Share them, frequently. Prints fade, even from the best labs, so digital photos are really important. And, if you edit photos, then you'll want a lot of storage space and you need a system to keep the original files (raw) and the edited files (which can be smaller files, like a jpg).

I have recenlty given up backups of my entire computer to a single disk. The backup drives in my network router and even directly connected to my computer have all failed in surprisingly short order! I bought 10 different drives in 5 years and none of them have lasted! Finally, I just bought another hard disk for my desktop and I back-up to that. It's fast and automatic. And, that internal hard disk has lasted much longer than any of the external hard drives.

(why is a longer story, but it boils down to the quality of hard drive available to the public and what we are willing to pay for them). I don't really like storing my family images on a public system and I don't recommend it. Anything you share in social media will probably be arround a long, long time. Just make sure it's stuff you don't mind sharing with the rest of the world.

The best way to have storage is to have it located in the same box you are working on. The lowest speed device or interface will determine the overall throughput. A comment on RAID - it is for fault tollerence not speed. RAID IO is dependent on the physical hardware throughput with the slowest part being the start of the bottleneck. Network addressed storage is going to be limited to the speed of your slowest switch.

Using a gig port on your NAS and using a gig port on your PC while attached to a 100Mb switch will result in a max of 100Mb throughput. Going wireless could be even slower as wireless access points are hubs not switches. The more users shareing your wireless connection the slower your throughput. You want High speed storage? Get a desktop with fast disks.