New external drive
Moderator: victimizati0n
New external drive
I'm lookin for a new drive, help me pick one... I wanna keep it at around $90-115, and I'd like 500 gb (dont worry much about finding a deal, ill do that, just help me pick a good model in that range please)
7200 rpm and 8mb cache should be fine, portability is not an issue, nuthin special needed, just some stable storage... also since it will be on all the time, I dont want something that might have heat issues
I've got two of these http://hdd.co.il/products_pictures/imag ... lDrive.jpg but theyre getting full and now WD doesnt make these anymore (but the drives inside are probably in the My Book?)
7200 rpm and 8mb cache should be fine, portability is not an issue, nuthin special needed, just some stable storage... also since it will be on all the time, I dont want something that might have heat issues
I've got two of these http://hdd.co.il/products_pictures/imag ... lDrive.jpg but theyre getting full and now WD doesnt make these anymore (but the drives inside are probably in the My Book?)
Its very difficult to find a good actively-cooled external drive, nothing ever seems to be perfect. The main issue I have with those actively cooled drives is that they use really small fans that are prone to dying or rattling.
That is why I do this with my externals:
http://www.mylilsite.net/images/sdhdcooling3.jpg
Requirements:
Enclosure that allows access from whatever method, to a flat surface of the hard drive, preferably the bottom (not the metal top, not like the one on the left in my pic).
Preferably a hard drive with a flat bottom surface. Some have grid-like setups that decrease the contact surface area.
Heatsink with fan with a large enough, flat contact surface.
That is why I do this with my externals:
http://www.mylilsite.net/images/sdhdcooling3.jpg
Requirements:
Enclosure that allows access from whatever method, to a flat surface of the hard drive, preferably the bottom (not the metal top, not like the one on the left in my pic).
Preferably a hard drive with a flat bottom surface. Some have grid-like setups that decrease the contact surface area.
Heatsink with fan with a large enough, flat contact surface.
For computers, buying cheaply and often will only leave you constantly in a world of shit.
![Image](http://www.mylilsite.net/images/computers/broadwellcomputerspecsmini.png)
![Image](http://www.mylilsite.net/images/computers/broadwellcomputerspecsmini.png)
I recommend Seagate, just because none of my 8 Seagates have died so far since the first purchase in about 2003-2004. Quite a good record considering that 2 of the 4 Western Digitals I've gotten have already died (BOTH less than a year after buying them). FYI, I run all my drives 24/7, if at all.
In terms of warranty, Seagate has 5 years on all of their product lines. Only Western Digital's flagship Raptor line gets 5 years.
For enclosures...? If you do indeed do my method like in the pic, ANY enclosure will work. XD
In terms of warranty, Seagate has 5 years on all of their product lines. Only Western Digital's flagship Raptor line gets 5 years.
For enclosures...? If you do indeed do my method like in the pic, ANY enclosure will work. XD
For computers, buying cheaply and often will only leave you constantly in a world of shit.
![Image](http://www.mylilsite.net/images/computers/broadwellcomputerspecsmini.png)
![Image](http://www.mylilsite.net/images/computers/broadwellcomputerspecsmini.png)
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- Posts: 33
- Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2007 6:03 pm
- Location: Fremont, CA
Haha, when I'm getting my next external, I'm aiming away from the premade ones... the premade one I have is IMPOSSIBLE to take apart, which sucked when it knocked over and died (Seagate).
For my other externals, I bought a hard drive to usb converter, which leaves the drive exposed, and is cooler. It's also versatile because you can switch drives easily and supports 2.5, 3.5, 5.25, sata and ide
If you're going to make your own external, I'd go with actively cooled if you're running it for 18 hours straight
wheeeee.
For my other externals, I bought a hard drive to usb converter, which leaves the drive exposed, and is cooler. It's also versatile because you can switch drives easily and supports 2.5, 3.5, 5.25, sata and ide
![Laughing :lol:](./images/smilies/icon_lol.gif)
If you're going to make your own external, I'd go with actively cooled if you're running it for 18 hours straight
wheeeee.
Thermaltake Xaser VI | C2Q Q6600 w/ Thermalright HR-01 | Intel G33 | Crucial 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2-800
Diamond ATI HD4850 512MB w/ Thermalright T-Rad² | WD Green 640GB 7200RPM SATA | WD Blue 500GB 7200RPM SATA
2 Sony NEC DVD+RW | Media Card Reader | Vantec Fan Controller | Vista Home Premium 32bit
2 22" 1680x1050 | Logitech MX Revolution | Logitech G11 | Logitech G25 | Wacom 3.7x5.8 | Nakamichi SoundSpace 3 | Grado SR60
Diamond ATI HD4850 512MB w/ Thermalright T-Rad² | WD Green 640GB 7200RPM SATA | WD Blue 500GB 7200RPM SATA
2 Sony NEC DVD+RW | Media Card Reader | Vantec Fan Controller | Vista Home Premium 32bit
2 22" 1680x1050 | Logitech MX Revolution | Logitech G11 | Logitech G25 | Wacom 3.7x5.8 | Nakamichi SoundSpace 3 | Grado SR60
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- Posts: 33
- Joined: Tue Dec 04, 2007 6:03 pm
- Location: Fremont, CA
Also, 500GB are about 70-80 now? And the enclosures can be anything from 10-50+
Thermaltake Xaser VI | C2Q Q6600 w/ Thermalright HR-01 | Intel G33 | Crucial 4GB (2x2GB) DDR2-800
Diamond ATI HD4850 512MB w/ Thermalright T-Rad² | WD Green 640GB 7200RPM SATA | WD Blue 500GB 7200RPM SATA
2 Sony NEC DVD+RW | Media Card Reader | Vantec Fan Controller | Vista Home Premium 32bit
2 22" 1680x1050 | Logitech MX Revolution | Logitech G11 | Logitech G25 | Wacom 3.7x5.8 | Nakamichi SoundSpace 3 | Grado SR60
Diamond ATI HD4850 512MB w/ Thermalright T-Rad² | WD Green 640GB 7200RPM SATA | WD Blue 500GB 7200RPM SATA
2 Sony NEC DVD+RW | Media Card Reader | Vantec Fan Controller | Vista Home Premium 32bit
2 22" 1680x1050 | Logitech MX Revolution | Logitech G11 | Logitech G25 | Wacom 3.7x5.8 | Nakamichi SoundSpace 3 | Grado SR60
cool ill start lookin for some seagates, if im using usb 2.0, what kind of sata do i want (1.5 or 3.0 gb/s)? is there a max cache size i should look for? anything else that usb is going to limit ?
and whats a good company in terms of enclosures, or do u know some models that are good in terms of cooling, i know nothing about enclosures
and whats a good company in terms of enclosures, or do u know some models that are good in terms of cooling, i know nothing about enclosures
You'll see a max transfer speed through USB 2.0 of 30MB/s, it realllyyy doesn't matter at that point what the specs are for the hard drive you get. They will all be bottlenecked the same way by USB 2.0. For the sake of future proofing, consider an enclosure that includes an eSATA port as well.
I don't know much about enclosures either, except that mine worked and they were cheap. Generally speaking, all the enclosures use converter chips from the same few companies and are virtually identical in the eyes of the PC. Of course there are still bad ones so read user reviews before buying. The deciding factor is indeed the enclosure's ability to keep the drive cool, and with all the random models that exist, its hard to find that sort of information. That is why I don't bother, and just buy a cheap one and do the cooling mod that I have been doing.
I don't know much about enclosures either, except that mine worked and they were cheap. Generally speaking, all the enclosures use converter chips from the same few companies and are virtually identical in the eyes of the PC. Of course there are still bad ones so read user reviews before buying. The deciding factor is indeed the enclosure's ability to keep the drive cool, and with all the random models that exist, its hard to find that sort of information. That is why I don't bother, and just buy a cheap one and do the cooling mod that I have been doing.
For computers, buying cheaply and often will only leave you constantly in a world of shit.
![Image](http://www.mylilsite.net/images/computers/broadwellcomputerspecsmini.png)
![Image](http://www.mylilsite.net/images/computers/broadwellcomputerspecsmini.png)
hey palm, in ur pic, are the fans blowing the air up and away from the drives? how are they physically attached to the drives? where are they getting power from?
ive been lookin for cases with fans and theyr like $50 which puts my total at like $120-130... either i buy a mybook or some lacie drive or i try to copy ur set up
ive been lookin for cases with fans and theyr like $50 which puts my total at like $120-130... either i buy a mybook or some lacie drive or i try to copy ur set up
Last edited by mannyace on Wed Aug 20, 2008 9:19 pm, edited 1 time in total.
http://c1.neweggimages.com/NeweggImage/ ... 136-07.jpg
i could keep this in the carrier and not even worry bout the rest of the case right? whether its this model or one like it... then i throw a heatsink and fan on it and it should be good?
i could keep this in the carrier and not even worry bout the rest of the case right? whether its this model or one like it... then i throw a heatsink and fan on it and it should be good?