Networking & wireless: Set Up NAS Storage or Keep Desktop as Media Server

Set Up NAS Storage or Keep Desktop as Media Server

Hi all. I am already starting to get into networking. I only know some basic things however I have managed to set up network shares and printers and mapping network drives to my laptop. One problem though is that here in Los Angeles it can get very hot and the apartment building I live in has tar sheets on the roof which absorbs heat. That heat can stay in my room and cause my desktop to go to literally bad burning temperatures. I have the cover off but my 7600GT burns my finger on contact and Speedfan is showing some very high temps of 80C for that only, CPU is 65C, and etc. I want to remove the Caviar Green Drive in My Book Essential and also put my old stock notebook drive in either a NAS Box or external cover with ethernet. I don't want any proprietary software to set up the drive. A web interface is fine for me if there is any.

Now this is my question to all of you smart networking users, should I look for an external enclosure with ethernet or a NAS box? If enclosure, I would like to look for one similar to the My Book World or Studio concept of simply having it show in the list of computers on the network.

As for the NAS box, I don't want any preinstalled hard drives in there, only to have at least 2 empty SATA slots to put in my drives. I'm looking to spend no more than $70 if possible as I am on a tight budget. I have a suckish 2Wire router from AT&T limited to G speeds but I plan to purchase the Netgear DGND3300 Dual Band N Router/Gateway to stream true HD to my laptop hooked to the TV with HDMI. I doubt the USB speeds I have will be sufficient. I hear FreeNAS is the easiest to use and the "best" by many users, please give me your 2 cents on this one please.

If I am missing any info please tell me. Thanks for your time and patience.