Can you recommend a SILENT external hard disk?

[Akarin]

Hi all,

I'm looking to buy an external HD for my Mac mini, USB, powered or not. My requirements are these:

• it would be constantly on for weeks
• it should have at least 1 TB
• it needs to be USB
• it should absolutely not vibrate or produce any noise

So far, I have had WD and Samsung external drives but they all vibrate quite a bit and the background noise produced by that is driving me nuts while I work in a quiet environment. Most reviews and tests I could read don't tell if the drive is silent so I was wondering if any of you is using one that would fit my needs.

Thank you.

 

[miles01110]

What's your budget? Any platter-based drive will be noisy. You're going to have to get an SSD for something really quiet.

 

[GGJstudios]

Only a SSD is completely silent.

 

[drsox]

Have a look at the best Website for Quiet PC stuff : Silent PC Review. See : http://www.silentpcreview.com/

If you can't find an answer in their recommended section, then pose the question in the forums. Lots of well-informed people are there to help.

OR just find a better alternative of a small RAID NAS located in another room at the end of a GB LAN.

If you must go with USB, then go with a 2.5in USB drive rather than a 3.5in version.

 

[theSeb]

I have not found any external drives that are completely silent or do not vibrate, but the Samsung M2 comes pretty close. It does vibrate slightly though, so you could place it on some foam type material.

 

[Akarin]

I have not found any external drives that are completely silent or do not vibrate, but the Samsung M2 comes pretty close. It does vibrate slightly though, so you could place it on some foam type material.

From the reviews I read, it seems like a quiet enough HD. I will try this one out.