RAID Storage Array for my Western Digital 250gb drives? - Help!

[Storage]

I have three extra Western Digital 250gb SATA drives that I'd like to put to
use.

My thought is to put them into a "rack" and make a 750gb RAID array out of
them for additional storage on my PC, probably via a USB connection.

I've heard of Drobo but is there a less expensive rack I can buy that will
allow me to slide these three (and possibly a 4th) drives into, then RAID
them into a 750gb virtual drive, and occasionally connect to my desktop for
data archiving?

It goes without saying that the rack system must be reliable. I'd appreciate
any leads.

TIA---

 

[Arno Wagner]

I have three extra Western Digital 250gb SATA drives that I'd like to put to
use.

My thought is to put them into a "rack" and make a 750gb RAID array out of
them for additional storage on my PC, probably via a USB connection.

I've heard of Drobo but is there a less expensive rack I can buy that will
allow me to slide these three (and possibly a 4th) drives into, then RAID
them into a 750gb virtual drive, and occasionally connect to my desktop for
data archiving?

It goes without saying that the rack system must be reliable. I'd appreciate
any leads.

The first lead would be that a 3-way RAID0 or JBOD is pretty
unreliable. One disk has a problem - all data is gone. I think
with such a setup, the rack is the least of your concerns.
Still, cheap is the enemy of reliable, while expensive is not
necessarily its friend.

Arno

 

[Edwin vMierlo [MVP]]

I've heard of Drobo but is there a less expensive rack I can buy that will
allow me to slide these three (and possibly a 4th) drives into, >

Probably no,
The "rack" manufacturer will probably only support a particular disk which
they manufactur themselves.
I have never seen a "generic rack" where you can "slide in some disks"...
rack and disks go together.

rgds
Edwin.