[iDaver]

I'm about to outgrow the hard disk in my PowerBook and want to get an external Firewire hard drive to use most of the time as a boot drive. Since the computer is nearly silent, I want a drive that is silent too, with no fan. (I bought a LaCie drive a couple of years ago that sounds like a vacuum cleaner and I hate it.) Can anybody recommend a drive that's 160GB or more; has an external power supply and no fan?

[Cellery]

I have a 200GB LaCie d2 drive that works wonderfully. It has an external power brick and is whisper-quiet. The case is made from aluminum, and doesn't need a fan to keep things cool.

[d.fine]

LaCie Mobile 80 GB FW 400 HDD, is it on ? Not a sound comes from it .... From this same line they have 160 GB drives, I bet they're just as silent.

[Spheric Harlot]

My 250GB laCie d2 drive gives off an annoying high-pitched whistle that my friend's 160GB d2 doesn't.

Hard drives are, for a large part, hit-and-miss.

Also, the older they get, the louder.

-s*

[Rev-O]

250 gb LaCie d2 extreme, nice and quiet.
Just so ya know:
LaCie d2 = fw 400
LaCie d2 rxtreme = fw 400 & fw800
LaCie Triple Interface = fw 400 & fw 800 & usb 2.

[iDaver]

Thanks for the replies. So far no suggestions except for LaCie, which I'm likely to avoid for my next puchase. No thought was put into silence for the 80GB LaCie drive I already have. It has the most obnoxious loud fan I can imagine. I used to like LaCie products, until this one. Apologies to any LaCie stock holders out there.

[X-Ray]

I have a Compusa Mobile Disk. It is quiet with no fan. However it can get a bit warm after extended use. Here's a link:http://www.compusa.com/products/prod...=1&D=enclosure

[zubro]

http://lacie.com/products/product.htm?id=10023

Lacie pocket drive.
A friend has one. Powered by the FW. Can t be easyer. And DEAD silent.

[iDaver]

Bus powered Firewire drives like that are great. Problem is, they're no bigger in capacity than the one in my PowerBook.

[Cadaver]

I built my own drive.
I bought the mechanism I wanted and I used this case:
http://eshop.macsales.com/Catalog_It...em=OWCMEFWATA6
Very quiet. Only sound that it makes is the sound of the hard drive itself.
Do be aware that nearly any desktop sized (3.5") hard drive will make at least a bit more noise than your PowerBook or a notebook sized (2.5") HD .

[iDaver]

Originally posted by Cadaver:

I bought the mechanism I wanted and I used this case:
http://eshop.macsales.com/Catalog_It...em=OWCMEFWATA6
Very quiet. Only sound that it makes is the sound of the hard drive itself.

Thanks. I had looked at that one. It's good to hear from a satisfied owner.

I've built three bus powered Firewire drives with 2.5" disks for backup purposes at work and home. Unfortunately 2.5" disks are limited to 100GB and they're kind of pricey. Your suggestion seems like a good idea.

[SafariX]

Lacie makes very quiet drives, they seem to be a good choice AFAIK.

[Rev-O]

Originally posted by Rev-O:
250 gb LaCie d2 extreme, nice and quiet.
Just so ya know:
LaCie d2 = fw 400
LaCie d2 rxtreme = fw 400 & fw800
LaCie Triple Interface = fw 400 & fw 800 & usb 2.

No fan noise in mine because there is no fan.

[d.fine]

Big brother of the one I have, like i posted ealier its 'dead silent' : link

edit : this is the one I use very pleased with it ...

[awaspaas]

I have 2 of these stacked and they're absolutely silent (as long as you use a quiet drive! Seagate is best IMHO)



http://www.macally.com/spec/firewire...enclosure.html

[iDaver]

Ordered one of the OWC Mercury Elites yesterday and a 160GB Hitachi/IBM Deskstar to go in it. Thanks for all the suggestions, everyone.

[SafariX]

Let us know how it is. I'm interested in hearing hands-on results.

[iDaver]

Originally posted by SafariX:
Let us know how it is. I'm interested in hearing hands-on results.

Got it today. It seems like a good setup. Installation of the drive into the enclosure was pretty simple. Cloning 65GB of my stuff from the internal PowerBook drive took about an hour and a half; longer than I expected. The new drive is faster than the internal 4200 rpm drive even though it's external and connected with Firewire 400. Booting is faster; application launches are faster; slide shows of large photos are faster. The Mercury Elite enclosure seems pretty well made and the Hitachi Deskstar is quiet. My only complaint would be with the bright power/activity light on the enclosure but it's inside my desk so that's not a big deal. (It is obnoxious bright blue, when a simple LED would suffice.)

I'll probably buy another drive before too long for backup purposes. I might be inclined to get a ready-made setup since the savings wasn't that great by "building it myself." I'll have to think about it and see what else is available at that time. I must say the LaCie D2 drives are nicer looking than what I got, but looks are insignificant when the drive is inside my desk.

[Brian McHale]

Here's another plug for the LaCie D2. I've got a 160 GB FW400 drive, and the only sound it ever makes is accessing the disk itself (and I think you would get that with any drive). As has been pointed out before, these drives do not have a fan, so they are as quiet as can be.

In every way possible, I've been very happy with this drive.

[Jaeger]

Western Digital makes 'silent' external firewire drives using their FDB (Fluid Dynamic Bearing) technology. They also have a nice feature that when you press the power button, ensures data is written before shutting off.

http://www.westerndigital.com/en/pro...asp?DriveID=79
with media reader: http://www.westerndigital.com/en/pro...asp?DriveID=75