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Bruce · Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2014 9:57 am Post subject: ISO: Quiet external hard drives

I have two external hard drives, one for my audio recording sessions and the other for music and sfx libraries on one partition and archived recording sessions on the other partition, and I've been using them for at least 5 years now and should really consider replacing them.

I also have a large backup drive that's about 3 years old.

My search is for drives quiet enough to stay in the recording studio with me without building special soundproofing around them. I never hear the older drives, but the backup drive is so noisy that I just plug it in at the end of the work day instead of leaving it on all the time.

Any recommendations on brands or styles of drive for quietness?

While we're at it, any drives you recommend or dis-recommend in general?

B
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Eddie Eagle · M&M Joined: 23 Apr 2008 Posts: 2393

Hey Bruce
Happy Hols!
I recently got a Seagate 2tb USB3
backup slim bundle at costco for $90
It makes no noise and is cell phone size

dwpthe3rd · Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2014 1:24 pm Post subject:

Western Digital "My Passport" with USB 3 here. Tiny footprint. Virtually no noise whatsoever. I have Seagate as well; priced about same but WD seems a bit quieter.
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Lee Gordon · Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2014 1:34 pm Post subject:

I have a 1TB Western Digital USB drive that I got a few years ago. I think it's called a "My Book" and it is very quiet.
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kgenus · Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2014 9:30 pm Post subject:

Bruce,

I use a docking system made by StarTech (click here). It holds two internal drives in a vertical position, exposed to the air they act like heat sinks, no fan is required and they stay cool. Best solution I've found.
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Foog · Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2014 10:48 pm Post subject:

Don't have any brand recommendations, but you can't get quieter than the solid state drives and the prices are getting pretty competitive these days. Maybe there are even some post-Christmas overstock sales to keep an eye out for!
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todd ellis · Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2014 8:42 am Post subject:

+1 on the SS drives for working. Zero noise, FAST, tiny and the price is coming down every day. For storage, I have had good luck with the WD drives up to 4tb.
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Jason Huggins · Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2014 9:39 am Post subject:

I use the same as Eddie in my studio. Gotta love Costco!

Foog · Posted: Sat Dec 27, 2014 11:24 pm Post subject:

On the theme of SS drives, I wonder if anyone has tried to use a wee USB flash drive as an external drive. I just got a 64 Gig flash drive for absurdly cheap and the thought popped into my head, all crazy-like. Anyone here ever done such a thing?
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georgethetech · Posted: Sun Dec 28, 2014 8:23 pm Post subject:

+1 for going Solid State. I have a tiny USB 3 64GB flash drive in a port of my Macbook Air for extra storage. It's not as fast as the internal PCIe SSD, which is wicked quick, but it's plenty fast for audio or video use.
SSD is practical for all but large archive/backup needs where the cost gets out of hand (anything less than 256GB is reasonable). Not an issue since you can leave those noisier drives off until end of the day then let them do their job at night. Laptop size drives are passively cooled and extremely quiet, so going with the 2.5" form-factor might be a reasonable compromise.
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Foog · Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2014 6:54 pm Post subject:

I'm curious about whether it is possible (and if so, advisable) to hook up a flash drive and record directly to it. Or are they for storage/backup exclusively?
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heyguido · Posted: Tue Dec 30, 2014 10:24 pm Post subject:

Possible, yes.

I could also trade my Land Rover for a Chevette. Rolls Eyes

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vkuehn · Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2014 11:52 am Post subject:

vkuehn · Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2014 11:52 am Post subject:

Jason Huggins · Posted: Wed Dec 31, 2014 12:17 pm Post subject:

Cost per GB is still much higher on a thumb drive vs an external (spinning) drive. Both drives are using USB so whether you have a 2.0 or 3.0 port on your computer, they will both have similar transfer rates (though the thumb drive will be faster than the spinning hard drive). I think it really just comes down to cost. Would you rather pay $20 for a 64gb thumb drive or $60 for a 1.5tb silent spinning drive? Personally, I opt for the large drive so I don't have to change it all the time. A 1.5tb SSD is still $400+ and you don't really need the SSD speeds for the kind of storage we do, so would the extra $340 be worth it?

For a system drive HECK YES! It makes a system WAY faster...but for audio storage, I don't know that it is really worth the expense since both are essentially silent.