Author Topic: wanted: quiet external HD (case) (not wanted: crying children) (Read 29,585 times)

brotherS · « **on:** January 18, 2007, 01:22 PM »

Hi!

You know how quickly little children can fill their eyes with tears?

My HD is not filling as quickly but now it's full. I don't want to burn what's on it and thus need an external HD. Since there seem to be 2602960123 different models available, I need your help.

What model would accompany my quiet PC (http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=6318.0) perfectly? Price is important, but silence too.

I still own a HD (with just a few dozen GB) in a bad case - I suppose it's possible to use that and the new one simultaneously, both using USB?

mouser · « **Reply #1 on:** January 18, 2007, 01:33 PM »

i don't know about quiet but carol bought a nice that uses slots that i like - in which cas you would put your own hard drive inside it - and would buy yourself a quiet drive (vs one of those super fast noisy ones).

in general it seems to me that my external hard drives are quieter than any drives in my pc - not sure why.

brotherS · « **Reply #2 on:** January 18, 2007, 01:52 PM »

Quote from: mouser on January 18, 2007, 01:33 PM

i don't know about quiet but carol bought a nice that uses slots that i like - in which cas you would put your own hard drive inside it - and would buy yourself a quiet drive (vs one of those super fast noisy ones).

Aaah, that's a solution I completely forgot about! Are there IDE-based-solutions that are hot-swappable now?

Quote from: mouser on January 18, 2007, 01:33 PM

in general it seems to me that my external hard drives are quieter than any drives in my pc - not sure why.

I can't second that, my Samsung SpinPoint drives were always very quiet.

cjseymour · « **Reply #3 on:** January 18, 2007, 01:57 PM »

I have used several external HDDs (Maxtor, Western Digital etc.), but my favorite is a small-sized 100 Gb Seagate (Model ST90000U2). It uses a USB connector and is *very* quiet.

Regards,
-Chris

Deozaan · « **Reply #4 on:** January 18, 2007, 10:53 PM »

I'd buy an IDE/SATA enclosure that plugs in via USB. That will allow you to use any drive as "hot-swappable."

f0dder · « **Reply #5 on:** January 18, 2007, 11:53 PM »

If you have motherboard support for it, I'd get an eSATA enclosure... faster & more stable than usb/firewire stuff.

brotherS · « **Reply #6 on:** January 20, 2007, 12:30 PM »

Quote from: Deozaan on January 18, 2007, 10:53 PM

I'd buy an IDE/SATA enclosure that plugs in via USB. That will allow you to use any drive as "hot-swappable."

Are there cases that offer a good noise level and at the same time grant easy access to the HD?
That way I could use another old HD in the same case at a different time.

Quote from: f0dder on January 18, 2007, 11:53 PM

If you have motherboard support for it, I'd get an eSATA enclosure... faster & more stable than usb/firewire stuff.

No, my PC is too old for that. Hmm... I never even consciously heard "eSATA" being mentioned anywhere.

mattsmith321 · « **Reply #7 on:** January 20, 2007, 01:53 PM »

Quote from: brotherS on January 18, 2007, 01:22 PM

What model would accompany my quiet PC (http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=6318.0) perfectly? Price is important, but silence too.

I didn't look at your system, but I have been pretty happy with a 250GB Western Digital MyLife. While I pointed you to NewEgg (which I highly recommend for buying PC stuff) I got mine from Dell with a 30% off coupon that I had. It ended up being too cheap to pass up. I initially considered just buying a hard drive and an external enclosure but decided not to mess with it. I do need to get another (that way I can have one off-site backup at all times) but not sure which direction I will go yet. Of course, my first pass at research is to order products at NewEgg by reviews and see which ones have really good reviews.

Dell[a] · « **Reply #8 on:** January 21, 2007, 11:13 PM »

nobody mentioned the fact that the baby's shirt is sooooooo wrong....
babies need huggles and kisses just like you guys do when you are upset with your puters

CodeTRUCKER · « **Reply #9 on:** January 21, 2007, 11:36 PM »

Dell[a] has a point.

brotherS · « **Reply #10 on:** January 22, 2007, 10:42 AM »

Quote from: Farmsteader on January 21, 2007, 11:36 PM

An external drive is designed to be more rugged, not that it is a good replacement for a hockey puck, but it is designed to be used more aggressively. Since the case is thicker, the components stronger and the internal shock-absorbing dampening material is insulatory in nature, there is less noise. Also, keep in mind that since the shell of your computer can act as an amplifier similar to the body (sound box) of a guitar or violin, the actual noise of the installed device will be magnified which will, in turn, highlight the differing sound levels of the internal/internal drives.

That's only true when you aren't talking about a quiet PC (http://www.donationcoder.com/forum/index.php?topic=6318.0)

brotherS · « **Reply #11 on:** January 22, 2007, 10:43 AM »

Quote from: Dell[a

link=topic=7068.msg49895#msg49895 date=1169421217]
nobody mentioned the fact that the baby's shirt is sooooooo wrong....
babies need huggles and kisses just like you guys do when you are upset with your puters

* brotherS hugs Dell[a]

I don't get too upset anymore, I recommend http://www.mymotivator.com/images/AsAManThinketh.pdf (great read, short book)

CodeTRUCKER · « **Reply #12 on:** January 22, 2007, 12:50 PM »

Quote

That's only true when you aren't talking about a quiet PC

How quiet a PC is all depends on the fan. All other decibels are dwarfed by comparison. Man, some fans sound like they are wind machines!

Ruffnekk · « **Reply #13 on:** January 22, 2007, 02:49 PM »

I recently bought a 500GB Western Digital which is very quiet and fast. It wasn't so expensive either (~€ 200). What's cool is the LED button which shows how full the drive is

Some specs if interested:

Spoiler (click to show/hide)

Western Digital HDD 500GB MYBOOK PRO 1T 7.2K RPM 16MB CACHE USB2 FIWI IN NMS

WD's My Book Pro Edition external hard drive with triple interface combines three leading external hard drive interfaces (FireWire 800, FireWire 400, and USB 2.0) on one drive for maximum performance and universal connectivity. Designed to work on both Macintosh® computers and PCs, this drive includes powerful EMC Retrospect Express backup and recovery software, a unique Capacity Gauge LED, and capacities up to 500 GB.

Product Features

- Triple interface — FireWire 800, FireWire 400, and USB 2.0
- EMC Retrospect Express — Powerful backup software that includes full system backup and recovery, easy scheduling, and encryption.
- Capacity gauge — See at a glance how much space is available on your drive.
- Intelligent drive management features — Automatic power-up, Safe Shutdown?, and LED activity lights make this drive especially easy to use.
- Smart design — The compact elegant case, iconic of a book, takes up less space on your desk, stacks horizontally, and allows two or more drives to nestle neatly together like volumes on a shelf.
- High quality hard drive — Inside the case is an exceptionally fast (7200 RPM spin speed), ultra quiet, cool-running hard drive from WD...of course!
- One-year warranty in the U.S., two-year warranty in Europe

Ideal For

- High-speed backup of important documents and images
- Extra storage for your computer
- Automatic backups of your existing hard drive
- Archiving the music stored on your MP3 player
- Adding plenty of space for digital video capture and editing
- Saving and organizing your digital photo collection

brotherS · « **Reply #14 on:** January 22, 2007, 06:50 PM »

Quote from: Ruffnekk on January 22, 2007, 02:49 PM

I recently bought a 500GB Western Digital which is very quiet and fast. It wasn't so expensive either (~€ 200). What's cool is the LED button which shows how full the drive is

Wow, that's a handy feature I never heard of before

I now ordered a 400GB Samsung SpinPoint (with 8MB cache) in a cooled case for ~€120. That's good enough for my needs.

@all: thanks for your advice!

CodeTRUCKER · « **Reply #15 on:** January 22, 2007, 11:55 PM »

Does it possibly have a setting that will let you define a threshold where the LED blinks red or something? Probably not, but I thought I'd ask?

f0dder · « **Reply #16 on:** January 22, 2007, 11:59 PM »

I wonder if the drive-full status works if you format it for NTFS... when you buy an external usb enclosure that comes with a disk, it's usually FAT32 formatted.

Ruffnekk · « **Reply #17 on:** January 23, 2007, 06:21 AM »

Quote from: Farmsteader on January 22, 2007, 11:55 PM

Does it possibly have a setting that will let you define a threshold where the LED blinks red or something? Probably not, but I thought I'd ask?

Not that I know of. I think the LED is only blue. It has two concentric circles, the outer circle indicates the power on/off and the inner circle shows the status of the used space.

Quote from: f0dder on January 22, 2007, 11:59 PM

I wonder if the drive-full status works if you format it for NTFS... when you buy an external usb enclosure that comes with a disk, it's usually FAT32 formatted.

I use the drive with FireWire 800 which is much faster than USB and yes, it is formatted NTFS and the indicator still works

urlwolf · « **Reply #18 on:** January 23, 2007, 07:49 PM »

Quote from: Ruffnekk on January 22, 2007, 02:49 PM

I recently bought a 500GB Western Digital which is very quiet and fast. It wasn't so expensive either (~€ 200). What's cool is the LED button which shows how full the drive is

Some specs if interested:
Spoiler (click to show/hide)
Western Digital HDD 500GB MYBOOK PRO 1T 7.2K RPM 16MB CACHE USB2 FIWI IN NMS

WD's My Book Pro Edition external hard drive with triple interface combines three leading external hard drive interfaces (FireWire 800, FireWire 400, and USB 2.0) on one drive for maximum performance and universal connectivity. Designed to work on both Macintosh® computers and PCs, this drive includes powerful EMC Retrospect Express backup and recovery software, a unique Capacity Gauge LED, and capacities up to 500 GB.

Product Features

- Triple interface — FireWire 800, FireWire 400, and USB 2.0
- EMC Retrospect Express — Powerful backup software that includes full system backup and recovery, easy scheduling, and encryption.
- Capacity gauge — See at a glance how much space is available on your drive.
- Intelligent drive management features — Automatic power-up, Safe Shutdown?, and LED activity lights make this drive especially easy to use.
- Smart design — The compact elegant case, iconic of a book, takes up less space on your desk, stacks horizontally, and allows two or more drives to nestle neatly together like volumes on a shelf.
- High quality hard drive — Inside the case is an exceptionally fast (7200 RPM spin speed), ultra quiet, cool-running hard drive from WD...of course!
- One-year warranty in the U.S., two-year warranty in Europe

Ideal For

- High-speed backup of important documents and images
- Extra storage for your computer
- Automatic backups of your existing hard drive
- Archiving the music stored on your MP3 player
- Adding plenty of space for digital video capture and editing
- Saving and organizing your digital photo collection

Ruffnekk, where did you get the drive at that price? In Europe, I mean... newegg has it cheaper, of course.

urlwolf · « **Reply #19 on:** January 23, 2007, 08:01 PM »

Any suggestions (newegg equiv.?) to buy hardware in Europe?

longrun · « **Reply #20 on:** January 24, 2007, 12:19 AM »

I use and recommend the SATAVault external enclosure, which has both eSATA (SATA II; some enclosures are only SATA I) and USB 2.0 outputs. It's cool, fast, and reliable and has a removable tray for hot-swapping drives. Unlike many enclosures it has no fan. I read numerous horror stories about drives burning up, but I've used a Seagate NL35 drive in one with no problems and without the drive's becoming hot. The vented aluminum case conducts heat much better than many other cases. See http://www.satagear.com/SS-302i-Silver_SATA_3.5_inch_Enclosure.html.

longrun · « **Reply #21 on:** January 24, 2007, 12:39 AM »

My post was unclear: I read horror stories about other fanless enclosures, NOT the SATAVault. Mine has performed flawlessly.

f0dder · « **Reply #22 on:** January 24, 2007, 12:52 AM »

I wonder how much sata I vs II matters for an external enclosure - it's not like a single drive will saturate even SATA-I. That enclosure looks really sweet though, I might consider something like that (though ideally what I really want is a fileserver

).

PS: what's the power connector like (the end you insert in the enclosure)? One of those flimsy svhs like pieces of crap, or something more sturdy?

longrun · « **Reply #23 on:** January 24, 2007, 03:31 AM »

The power connector is like an SVHS connector. I find them awkward but I've connected and disconnected countless times with no problem.

Ruffnekk · « **Reply #24 on:** January 24, 2007, 07:49 AM »

Quote from: urlwolf on January 23, 2007, 07:49 PM

Ruffnekk, where did you get the drive at that price? In Europe, I mean... newegg has it cheaper, of course.

I bought it at a local Internet shop in the Netherlands (www.aces-direct.nl). They sell it for € 175.00 excl. VAT, which is 19% in Holland, so that comes to € 208.25 in total.