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Looking for SILENT external hard drive

J

Jeff1

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Dec 17, 2007
1
0
Two questions:

1) I'm looking for an external hard drive to use for Time Machine backups on a new Mac. Of course I'd like it to be reliable, etc., but I also want it to be SILENT -- or as close to silent as possible. Any suggestions?

2) Can I use a single, large external hard drive to do Time Machine backups for two different Macs? They don't both need to be connected to the drive at once -- I'd just like to be able to connect it to whichever Mac I want to backup at a given moment. If it is possible, will that require configuring/reconfigurring each time? If it's not relatively effortless, so that I just connect it to the relevant Mac and Time Machine takes over, then I'd probably go for two, smaller hard drives instead of one big on.

Thank you!
 
1. Fanless enclosures like the IcyBox range for instance, plus a quiet drive, a long cable and stashing it underneath a desk or bookshelf or somewhere similar... as long as you've got some air circulation.
 
Check out the g-techs. I know people in pro audio who really like those. I've got one myself.
 
I'm in the same boat as the OP. What's more, I don't like the idea of leaving something powered on all the time. So my question is this:

If an external drive is firewire, does that mean it's self-powered?

Or do I need to look for a specific self-powered drive that doesn't require it to be plugged in? Basically, I want something that I can just keep plugged into my iMac - much like an iPod - and not have it externally powered.

Advice is welcome and appreciated.
 
The NewerTeck miniStacks from macsales.com are nice. I have one of the v2's and it is super quiet. I put my ear up to it and still couldn't really hear it. It also powers off when it is not connected or when the object that it is connected to (Mac, AirPort) is powered off. It does, however, have to be plugged into an outlet; the computer cannot power it. It also doesn't look too bad.

http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/
 
ClassicBean said:
I'm in the same boat as the OP. What's more, I don't like the idea of leaving something powered on all the time. So my question is this:

If an external drive is firewire, does that mean it's self-powered?

Or do I need to look for a specific self-powered drive that doesn't require it to be plugged in? Basically, I want something that I can just keep plugged into my iMac - much like an iPod - and not have it externally powered.

Advice is welcome and appreciated.
Click to expand...

No, FireWire does not mean self-powered. However, if you're using it with an iMac, you might as well get a powered drive, because self-powered will cost more and usually come in smaller capacities (they're usually 2.5" drives because they're intended for laptops), and they don't always work as well.

jW
 
I use a Western Digital MyBook. I haven't used it with Time Machine, but it's been great otherwise. Only time I notice it is the slight whir it makes when the hard drive wakes up from sleeping.
 
un1ty said:
Check out the g-techs. I know people in pro audio who really like those. I've got one myself.
Click to expand...

I've got a 500GB G-Drive Q, & I love it!!! It's fanless, been rock-solid from a reliability standpoint & it looks good too!!
 
whatever you get, stay away from the MyBook Pro, they are like hairdryers!!!
 
Best advice: From experience here, get a "kit" and put it together yourself.

Get a FANLESS enclosure - aluminum is good because it dissipates heat, is nice and sturdy, and tends to shut drives up nice and good.

Make sure this enclosure has "vibration protection" or AKA Elastomer Mounts.

Get a NICE QUALITY drive - I'd say a Seagate Barracuda line. (any of the Seagate drives with 5 year warranty)

Most of the hi-end / hi warranty drives, have better spindle and platter balancing. They also tend to have larger caches - which reduce wiper arm chatter a bit.

Faster drives WILL be noisier - but most 7200 RPM drives from Seagate are nice and quiet these days. (though a 5400 RPM could be somewhat quieter) Just no 10K RPM drives. ;)

Depending on speed requirements - a external network drive (or NAS) may be of service. I've got one in my basement - so I hear NOTHING from it. (though it's real purpose is in case of fire / theft - I have a copy stuffed away elsewhere) But they are VERY SLOW compared to USB or Firewire. That said, still plenty fast enough to watch full motion video from them, and for overnight backups, ect...
 
Big-TDI-Guy said:
Best advice: From experience here, get a "kit" and put it together yourself.
Click to expand...

I completely agree with this. Fact is, the only brands of external hard drives in which you will know what brand of mechanism is inside are Maxtor, Seagate and Western Digital. All other brands don't actually make the mechanisms themselves. This means that a particular LaCie drive, for example, may include different brands of mechanisms, in which there will be audible differences.

Hard drive reviews seem to indicate that the Western Digital Caviars are the quietest mechanisms on the market at the moment. I have a Seagate Barracuda 7200.10, which is definitely louder than my older Hitachi 7k80. The Samsung Spinpoint mechanisms are also known for their quietness and moderate performance.

Another thing to keep in mind is that smaller hard drives within a product line tend to be quieter than larger ones. This is due to less moving parts within the drive itself. The extent of which this is true, I don't know.

Also, remember to use a fanless enclosure. I personally recommend Macally and Acomdata, both of which have superior construction in my opinion.
 
I've got two LaCie d2 drives (160GB & 250GB) that I'm very happy with. If your new Mac has a FW800 port, look for a FW800 drive. It is lightning fast. I use my 160GB for Time Machine and it works well. Actually I've got a 60GB partition that I use for a complete backup of my iBook and a 100GB partition for Time Machine, for my iMac. It currently has 34GB free. I'll be interested to see how Time Machine works, as it fills up the drive.

BTW some smaller drives are indeed self-powered, either by FW or by USB-2. There are lots of choices out there and most are priced similarly.
 
Great topic. I just bought an Iomega Ultra Max Plus and it make a lot of noise. This beast is seriously competing for decibels with my vacuum cleaner. And that's only a slight exaggeration. :D

I'm going to bring it back to the store and make a fuss. It's just too noisy.
 
ClassicBean said:
I'm in the same boat as the OP. What's more, I don't like the idea of leaving something powered on all the time. So my question is this:

If an external drive is firewire, does that mean it's self-powered?

Or do I need to look for a specific self-powered drive that doesn't require it to be plugged in? Basically, I want something that I can just keep plugged into my iMac - much like an iPod - and not have it externally powered.

Advice is welcome and appreciated.
Click to expand...

OWC Mercury drives are for you. I am using a WD 320 GB HDD in mine, and it is constantly plugged in, just UNPLUG it when you boot, YES IT IS SELF POWERED, no brick required
 
Big-TDI-Guy said:
Best advice: From experience here, get a "kit" and put it together yourself.

Get a FANLESS enclosure - aluminum is good because it dissipates heat, is nice and sturdy, and tends to shut drives up nice and good.

Make sure this enclosure has "vibration protection" or AKA Elastomer Mounts.

Get a NICE QUALITY drive - I'd say a Seagate Barracuda line. (any of the Seagate drives with 5 year warranty)

Most of the hi-end / hi warranty drives, have better spindle and platter balancing. They also tend to have larger caches - which reduce wiper arm chatter a bit.

Faster drives WILL be noisier - but most 7200 RPM drives from Seagate are nice and quiet these days. (though a 5400 RPM could be somewhat quieter) Just no 10K RPM drives. ;)

Depending on speed requirements - a external network drive (or NAS) may be of service. I've got one in my basement - so I hear NOTHING from it. (though it's real purpose is in case of fire / theft - I have a copy stuffed away elsewhere) But they are VERY SLOW compared to USB or Firewire. That said, still plenty fast enough to watch full motion video from them, and for overnight backups, ect...
Click to expand...


I'd agree build your own, there is really nothing to it, I recently set up a 4 bay NAS drive so before buying 4 1TB HDD's I did a bit or research and opted to by the samsung F3's (not the f1's!!) great reviews and I have no probs, slight noise spiining up and spinning down but thats it

review here:

http://www.bit-tech.net/hardware/storage/2009/10/06/samsung-spinpoint-f3-1tb-review/10
 
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