[Berto]

I'm in the market for a 2tb External that would meet the following requirements.

1. First and foremost has to be the reliability track record.

2. Quiet. My current External has a fan and I put it in my closet with the server, not the best for ventilation/long life but I don't wish to hear it.

3. Esata connections as this seem to be the fastest to transfer my 850gigs (growing weekly)

4. I would also pay more if it was geared towards audio, giving me better sound quality.

I think that about sums it up. Appreciate any feedback. Thx!

[skunark]

Ideally if you want a silent drive you would probably shoot for an SSD drive or secondly a mobile drive.  For 2TB though, i would probably suggest the g-technology "g-drive".  They use a heatsink instead of a fan on the g-drive models, and the third generation for the g-raid drives are also quiet but there is a fan.     G-technology drives are built for speed and the tend to be louder than most bare drives, but overall still quieter than a fan.   

[Berto]

Thx for that info, looks like a solid piece.  Also wondering about a co. called glyph. thx!

[Thump553]

I store my music on externals (currently using a 1T and 1.5TB), both USB 2.0.  My thoughts:
1)  Speed is irrelevant.  You will probably only fill the HD once, just have it run overnight or so.  You're wasting money is you use a tiny, expensive SSD for storage.
2)  Get a good brand name with a good warranty.
3)  USB 2.0 drives are being phased out now.  You should easily be able to find a Western Digital Elements 2 TB for way under $100 at Amazon, Staples (clearance for $95 recently) or Target (advertised at $85 this week).  I have one-absolutely silent, two year warranty, includes USB cable.
4)  Buy two of each hard drive and back it up.  Store the other HD either offsite or at least another part of the house.  Sync them periodically.

[Len_Dreyer]

I'd suggest getting the best internal hard drive you can find (last one I purchased was a WD Cavier Black) and mount it in a very good external case (last one I purchased was an Antec). The internal drives tend to be a lot more reliable than the inexpensive external drives which tend to be made for mainly backup purposes. I agree that you need a backup drive also.

[Martyn]

I agree with going with an internal drive in an external enclosure. You can choose the drive you want and the enclosure you want, and change either of them at any time. I have a number of Seagate ST3500418AS drives - these are only 500GB, but they are quiet and low power (i.e. cool) so I'm assuming that the 2TB equivalent would be the same.

[toddbagwell]

I use this

http://store.antec.com/Product/accessory-veris_media/mx-1/0-761345-77150-4.aspx

It holds an internal seagate 2tb drive. The fan can't be heard from more than 2-3 ft away. I can hear the disk heads seeking slightly. I'm using it as a DVR drive, it has been on for 8 months straight with no problems.

It has the esata connection you want as well.

The olny totally silent drive is an ssd, but as was mentioned there are nearly silent ways to save money.

Hope this helps.

Todd

[Len_Dreyer]

I'm using the same Antec Model as Todd.

Len

[brj]

I haven't checked drives lately, but when I do, I cross-reference between SilentPCReview for very detailed noise/thermal/power data and StorageReview for detailed performance data according to specific usage patterns (enterprise server vs. home server vs. desktop vs. laptop, etc.).

Generally, I start looking any storage search looking at Western Digital drives as they always seem to end up near the sweet spot for me (and I always consider long term reliability).  Seagate is usually not far behind.  If you're looking for low power and noise, the WD Green line (vs the Black performance oriented line) is probably where I'd start.

For mass storage, I'd avoid SSDs, as they are very expensive per GB (though stunningly fast).  That said, if you do look at SSDs, it seems as if the latest SandForce controller has upset Intel for king-of-the-heap.  Multiple drives incorporate this controller.

[Berto]

Just saw these responses. My PC won't accept another internal , I actually bought one and had to return it, was a lil pissed I didnt realize this when I bought my Dell online 2-3 yrs ago.

The Antec only goes up to 750gigs I think it said, my music is already well over 800. SSD is wayyyy tio small for my data , maybe oneday.

My current drive is a 2tb,one of the many cheap plastic jobs , that intermittently makes a weird noise after bout a 1.5yrs. Fan is noisey so its in my closet which is not great for ventilation. Prob won't last alot longer, be ok for a back-up (i pray)

I ended going with the G-technology 2tb that Skunark had reccommended , was twice as expensive as the cheapest plastic ones but it's fanless, has a 3yr warranty, aluminum case and from what I understand has great customer support.  Even w/a back-up my music is VERY important to me and if this drives lasts twice as long, then to me its worth twice as much!

I do appreciate all the feedback > Thx!

[Thump553]

Berto, just PLEASE don't forget the backup hard drive.  You can probably use one of the mass market brand name USB 2.0 externals for that.  As you probably know it probably took you days to rip all your music.  Spending $100 to have an easily accessible duplicate copy is very cheap insurance.

[Berto]

Berto, just PLEASE don't forget the backup hard drive.  You can probably use one of the mass market brand name USB 2.0 externals for that.  As you probably know it probably took you days to rip all your music.  Spending $100 to have an easily accessible duplicate copy is very cheap insurance.

Hi Thump,

              Thx for the heads up!  My old main ext drive is now my backup (aka cheap insurance). 
           
              To orig. rip all my music took more like weeks Not messing around
             
              Got the G-drive last nite. Sweet chiseled piece of aluminum. This thing is VERY quiet and the esata is VERY fast. I did'nt realize it comes Apple ready so got to test out there free customer support to make it PC compatible.  Less then a minute on hold, got a friendly american and within 5mins, I was good to go