$300 - 399 Hard Drives

The Bottom Line: The Synology Disk Station DS409slim makes an excellent NAS server for both home and small business applications, and it fits especially well in offices with limited space.

Specs: Synology Disk Station DS409slim - NAS server, 0 GB, PC, Mac, 4 pin USB Type A, RJ-45, Standard, Gigabit Ethernet

The Bottom Line: The Seagate BlackArmor 220 is a good entry-level NAS server for small business and advanced users.

Specs: Seagate BlackArmor NAS 220 - NAS server, 2 TB, PC, Mac, RJ-45, 4 pin USB Type A, Standard, Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet

The Bottom Line: Although the Transcend SSD18M solid-state drive is astronomically expensive, the price is balanced with its tiny footprint and impressive transfer speeds. It's easy to geek out on the beauty of the design, and even though hardcore nerds will love its versatility, the simple fact is that bargain-hunting consumers can get much higher capacities for a lot less, at least for now.

Specs: 128 GB, Hi-Speed USB / eSATA, 1.8" x 1/6H

The Bottom Line: Although expensive and difficult to use for networking novices, the Synology DS209+ offers awesome throughput speed and nearly all the features you could ever need in a NAS server.

Specs: Synology Disk Station DS209 - NAS server, 0 GB, PC, Mac, 4 pin USB Type A, RJ-45, Standard, Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet

The Bottom Line: The inexpensive price of the Patriot Warp V.2 helps it stand out among solid-state hard drives, but its performance shows few significant benefits over normal hard disks. You'd be better off buying a fast 7,200rpm laptop hard drive or selling your firstborn to invest in the Intel X-25M SSD.

Specs: 128 GB, Serial ATA-300, 2.5"

The Bottom Line: If you can get by the lackluster bundled software, the empty three-bay Thecus N3200 offers much to like, including lightning-fast throughput (even in RAID 5) and a useful feature set that will appeal to home and small office users alike.

Specs: Thecus Technology N3200 - NAS server, PC, Mac, Unix, RJ-45, 4 pin USB Type A, 7 pin external Serial ATA, Hot-swap, Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet

The Bottom Line: The second-generation Drobo adds a FireWire 800 connection, but the original USB-only on the now discounted Drobo might be the best bet for Windows users until better FireWire 800 drivers arrive. The device remains the most automated and easy-to-use redundant backup product we've seen.

The Bottom Line: The HP Media Vault MV2120 is a two-bay NAS drive that novice networkers will find simple to set up and use. While it offers flexible expansion options with a free internal drive bay and two USB ports, the intrusive Media Vault software and lack of a print server dampen our enthusiasm a bit.

Specs: HP Media Vault Mv2120 - Network drive, 500 GB, PC, 4 pin USB Type A, RJ-45, Removable, Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet

The Bottom Line: Drobo takes the pain and confusion out of data protection and lets you tailor and expand the drive according to your needs. This so-called storage robot works exactly as promised and is the most innovative storage device we've seen in a long time. We want one.

The Bottom Line: HP's Media Vault is a storage drive that offers an easy way to back up files from your networked PCs, along with the ability to stream your digital media files to other networked devices in your home. We really like this drive.

Specs: HP Media Vault MV2020 - Network drive, 500 GB, PC, RJ-45, 4 pin USB Type A, Standard, Ethernet, Fast Ethernet, Gigabit Ethernet