SPCR

Hello all,

I would like to buy a 2.5 inch HDD to put in an external enclosure. I'd like to know if all such drives can be bus powered over USB? Can they all be bus powered over Firewire?

I am looking for a HDD with a capacity of 200 GB or more (preferably more). Can anyone recommend me a good drive? The quieter the better.

Will I notice a significant difference between a 7200 RPM 2.5 inch HDD and a 5400 RPM one in terms of performance? This drive will only be used for storing data - not for running an OS or applications from.

Furthermore, does anyone have any suggestions regarding nice looking sturdy enclosures? I have a Silverstone MS03 enclosure for a 500 GB 3.5 inch HDD (http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/ ... ms03&area=). I quite like the styling on this one and it's rock solid but it has a tiny little fan in it and isn't particularly quiet.

Many thanks in advance.

Pedro.

Yes, all fans can be run with only one USB-connector. I've had a 'wooden disk' for a while. Took a 2,5" hdd, bought a USB to IDE adapter, wrapped in some thin foam for shock-absorption and made a little wooden box around it. Like a little wooden suitcase, looked very cool.
But lately it fell from 1,20m and it didn't work anymore. Not much foam I presume... Moreover, I glued the wood together (without screws), so it isn't very easy to disassemble. But this weeks I've got exams, so I'll probably find some time.


About the enclosures: a 2,5" HDD doesn't generate a lot of heat, so it probably can be cooled passively. If you can remove the fan, cut the wires or try something else to short the fan out you can check with the temperatures (S.M.A.R.T.).
SPCR review the Antec MX-1 by the way. Was quite quiet (has a fan) and kept the drive cool.

All 2.5" drives can be bus-powered, but the larger, more power-hungry ones will require 2 USB ports rather than 1. Most enclosures come with a dual-head USB cable for this reason. I don't know about Firewire.

Also if you're going to use USB, it cripples the performance so much that the actual speed of the hard drive won't matter.

Actually I've noticed that while it is correct that all 2,5" external drives can be powered by the USB this doesn't mean that all USB ports can power a 2,5" external drive.
For instance I have a Revoltec AluBook 2,5" with a Samsung 120GB drive. With most computers I just have to plug it in to an available USB port and it will be up and running, but for some reason this doesn't wok with all computers.
At first I thought that it was merely USB 1.0 and 1.1 ports that didn't have the juice, but I have also come across a few USB 2.0 that will require the use of an external adapter to power the external HDD.

/M

Very interesting comments people. Thanks a lot.

Anyone else have something to say on all this?

pedro wrote: Furthermore, does anyone have any suggestions regarding nice looking sturdy enclosures? I have a Silverstone MS03 enclosure for a 500 GB 3.5 inch HDD (http://www.silverstonetek.com/products/ ... ms03&area=). I quite like the styling on this one and it's rock solid but it has a tiny little fan in it and isn't particularly quiet.

.

I got the Antec MX1 and was very disapointed with the noise level. The thread on the SCPR review of that enclosure show some other people with similar problems. ie most samples are not as quiet as the one spcr got. As for the silverstone I'm pretty sure it won't be quiet either. No mention of dbA levels (antec claim 22dba but definitely don't reach that low). Basically I haven't been happy with actively cooled enclosures. I would guess that maybe a passively cooled enclosure combined with a GP 500gb (I'm getting one soon. I can tell you my opinion if you're interested) will be a better option. The MX1 with the fan ran the HD very cool. I am thinking that passive cooling is all that is needed for a Green Power Hard disk.

I had a 80gb usb samsung drive. Really really silent and always worked through usb power in the many computers that i tried it on.

A USB 2.0 compatible port has to provide 5V and current of 500mA, this means that they can provide maximum power of 2,5W / USB port.
So the answer is: if you buy an efficient 2.5" hdd, which consumes less or around 2.5W, in most cases it'll work with one USB 2.0 port. (good quality cable also recommended)

Power consumption charts with current high capacity notebook drives:
Chart1
Chart2

I'm using a Hitachi Travelstar 5K250 250GB drive with AAM enabled (slowest seek/less power needed), and it's working from one USB 2.0 port in most computers.

actually, i noticed that it will depend on the enclosure more than anything else; i am talking from personal experience.

i got the new wd 320 (forgot the name). okgear enclosure i had won't power it up via single usb. same drive in icy dock had no problem.

it was mentioned earlier that not all usb ports provide the same current and it's true. to get around it, get the simplest enclosure you can find. usb only is a good starting point. the more complicated the enclosure is, the more current it will need to power up.

My 7200RPM 200GB Hitachi 2.5" drive works with a single USB port most of the time. Some laptops just don't have enough juice and require two USB ports for the power. But most of the time it works on a single USB port.

-Ed

mcoleg wrote:actually, i noticed that it will depend on the enclosure more than anything else; i am talking from personal experience.

On that note, can anyone point me in the direction of a good online resource comparing and contrasting enclosures? Or can anyone simply recommend me a nice sturdy and simple one?