Looking for reliable and quiet USB 2.5" HD

doveman · Post by **doveman** » Fri Jan 08, 2010 5:16 am

I need to get my brother a USB 2.5" HD, which will store his media library and will be connected to his HTPC most of the time, so needs to be quiet. 500GB will be enough capacity for him.

As well as being quiet, I obviously want something that's reliable. Ideally, a ready-made USB drive, as although I believe it's possible to get a seperate drive and enclosure that can be powered by USB alone, seperate enclosures tend to be bigger and uglier.

I notice that some USB 2.5" drives now come with two USB connectors for powering them. Is this really necessary, as I've used drives before that work just fine with just one connector, which is obviously easier and neater?

Big Pimp Daddy · Post by **Big Pimp Daddy** » Fri Jan 08, 2010 10:00 am

Not too sure what the state of play is nowadays with regards to S-ATA drives, the last 2.5" external drive I owned was an IDE one from a few years ago. I got a tiny (thin metal shell same size as the drive but ~1cm longer for the IDE to USB circuit) enclosure off ebay for 99p plus postage (similar-type thing: http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/2-5-USB-2-0-IDE-H ... 518fa23380) and put my own drive in it. I think this is the only way you can guarantee a quiet setup as there's no real way of telling what drive you get in a ready-made enclosure.

I disagree that separate enclosures are bigger or uglier, there is so much more choice that I'm sure you can find some that you like.

A lot of enclosures come with a cable that splits into two USB plugs, normally you will only need one, but in some situations where the max current per header is low (unpowered USB hubs in keyboards, front-panel USB headers on some motherboards etc.) you will need to plug in both.

tay · Post by **tay** » Fri Jan 08, 2010 11:35 am

I got a "Seagate FreeAgent 500 GB External hard drive - 480 Mbps - 5400 rpm". It is quiet enough for an HTPC and uses one connector. I agree that separate cases are uglier, but you can always hide them. That said, I wouldn't bother with one myself.

mumford · Post by **mumford** » Fri Jan 08, 2010 11:39 am

I use Western Digital Elements portable for media storage. It is an external 2.5" HD 500gb, has just one USB connector, and is quiet

Eunos · Post by **Eunos** » Fri Jan 08, 2010 1:42 pm

Personally, I would look at a WD 5400rpm Scorpio with an Ebay enclosure if I were buying today.

As for reliability, buying a second drive for weekly backups is a lot better than crossing your fingers.

JamieG · Post by **JamieG** » Fri Jan 08, 2010 5:56 pm

tay wrote:I got a "Seagate FreeAgent 500 GB External hard drive - 480 Mbps - 5400 rpm". It is quiet enough for an HTPC and uses one connector. I agree that separate cases are uglier, but you can always hide them. That said, I wouldn't bother with one myself.

+1 for the Seagate Free Agent Go 500Gb version.

I have one of these and it is very quiet indeed. It is a 5400rpm 2.5 inch notebook drive enclosure that needs only a single USB2.0 connection for power.

I've got it plugged in to my main PC (SSD, HR01+ w/ Slipstream 800 at 5V, so very quiet) as I type about 0.5m away and I can hear it at idle over the ambient noise if I concentrate. It is only a little louder when copying files to the HDD. It spins down when not in use and is virtually silent in such conditions.

Highly recommended.

Vicotnik · Post by **Vicotnik** » Fri Jan 08, 2010 7:52 pm

I usually go for the DIY approach. Get a nice cheap enclosure and pick a nice HDD that suit your needs. I'm going to get the Scythe Kamazo2 eSATA+USB enclosure for a spare 2.5" drive I have lying about. Its just under 12$ + tax here in Sweden.
eSATA can be very nice if the drive will be connected most of the time.

doveman · Post by **doveman** » Sun Jan 10, 2010 7:30 am

Cheers for the tips guys.

I'll have a look at prices for the FreeAgent Go 500GB.

The ebay enclosure might be a good alternative as well, I didn't realise they were available so cheaply. No worries about backups, as he'll be keeping a copy of the data either on his other PC or burned to DVD.

I need to get myself one as well though, to use for backing up the stuff on my PCs that I haven't/don't want to burn to disc.

doveman · Post by **doveman** » Sat Jan 23, 2010 11:28 am

Well having looked at the prices of the 500GB FreeAgent (Â£73), 500GB WD Elements (Â£65) and a WD 2.5" internal 500GB drive (Â£60), I'll probably recommend the FreeAgent or WD Elements for my brother as it wouldn't be any cheaper to buy the drive and enclosure separately. I'm slightly inclined towards the WD Elements, simply because Seagate HDs make me nervous!

I'll probably get a 2.5" drive and the Scythe Kamazo2 (Â£12) for myself, as I could use the eSATA connection and don't want the hassle of external power.