By now, it has become quite obvious there is a never ending need for storage. Specifically, more storage in a physically smaller space and always available, no matter where you currently are. The Googles and Microsofts of this world want to you be believe cloud computing is the next big thing, and they may just be right, the always-on culture is constantly gaining ground with no sign of slowing down. However, what if you don't feel like handing out your data to the big corporations, but still want a simple way to access your data no matter where you are located at that specific moment?

Not too long ago, the answer would have been building your own server, but that often comes with its fair share of problems, and who wants to deal with that? The alternative to that is network attached storage, or NAS for short. These units are specifically design to accomplish one task -- store data. When you only have one thing to focus on, it generally results in a better solution. The last barrier to bring these into your home was pricing and with units now available for well under $200, so that's pretty much a non-issue.

Which brings me to Patriot's latest entry, the Valkyrie. It is an affordable, two drive unit, which features pretty much everything you need for home storage, whether it's media streaming, downloading, file sharing or simply backing your precious data. This Patriot NAS supports a pair of SATA2 3.5" drives up to 2TB each. All that in a small form factor and powered by a minimalistic processor sipping barely any power.

Read on to find out if it is really as great as it sounds!