I have 20 500GB HDDs I got for free off a client who was disposing of some old desktops, daisy chained through a series of powered USB hubs currently hosting my Jellyfin and Immich content.
I would regret the power usage of running 20 small hard drives as opposed to a few big ones but the cost of electricity is definitely still smaller than the cost of big hard drives
I have 20 500GB HDDs I got for free off a client who was disposing of some old desktops, daisy chained through a series of powered USB hubs currently hosting my Jellyfin and Immich content.
I regret nothing.
I would regret the power usage of running 20 small hard drives as opposed to a few big ones but the cost of electricity is definitely still smaller than the cost of big hard drives