External Hard Drive (re cooling)

I am about to buy anither external hard drive, there was a good write up in FEB issue of 'Digital SLR Photography'.
I fancy the Freecom 500Gb or the Lacie 500GB, but one is heat sync and the other fan cooling.
I presume the heat sync will be quieter than the fancooler, but are there any other considerations to take in regards these differences?

All comments gratefully received.
Lilly

Hi Lilly,
I have the Lacie 500GB EHD and I believe its fan cooled. If so its very quiet, just a low hum. It's far more quiet than the fan cooler in the computer.
david

Hi David, Thanks for that, so take it you are happy with it then, no probs with it, how long you had it?

Hi Lilly.

The heatsink will indeed be quiter, and it will not wear out. One less thing to go wrong. It will need free air flow over it though.

Fans in general can fail or become louder as they get older, and they don't always do a good job of cooling anyway. I prefer fanless enclosures.

Lilly beware of Freecome, I don't think the quality is up to much.
Have you looked at Western Digital?

Personally, I'd always go for a heat sink/passively cooled backup drive.

Why?

Firstly, there is the noise issue, any fan, no matter how small or slow, produces noise, and I don't like that!

Second, there is always the risk that the fan stops working and you may not notice until the temp of the drive is dangerously high. Even if it never breaks, the fan will become choked with dust over time (and I'm sure your house is very clean!) reducing its efficiency/cooling ability.

I've got a few of the freecom units (400GB ones), and fingers crossed they have been problem free. They do get quite hot in use, but then that's the heatsink doing its job, and it's heat and hard knocks that kill hard drives, so at least the heat bit is solved.

The loudest part of the Freecom units (and any other passively cooled unit of course) is the hard drive heads seeking/writing, and the gentle thrum of the motor.

That's my 2p anyway...

Mmm.., just been surfing the Freecom reviews, looks a bit hit n miss on reviews.
Western Digital, no, any recommendations for 500GB?

Freecom don't make the actual hard drives, just the caddys that hold them. In my freecom units the majority of the drives are Samsung units, with one Western Digital.

All have been fine for nearly 3 years now...

Western Digital make external drives under the My Book brand I believe, so if you want a WD drive, then that's what to look for.

Bear in mind that any hard drive can fail unexpectedly, which is presumably why you are looking at a backup drive in the first place, and internet reports of failures do tend to consist of 'self selecting sample' type reviews. Freecom probably sell more external drive solutions than most, so it's probably also true they get a fair share of the bad press around failure on review sites.

I have a freecom drive that is 4 years old and in daily use, no problems. I was teaching in a college and responsible for procuring kit and bought 48 Lacie drives, they're stackable in a disappointing little frame that looks like it was made from an old biscuit tin, but the drives are superb. I dont remember them making any noise at all but maybe they were drowned out by the racket from the G5s.

I was looking at network drives, yesterday:

Western Digital 350GB in PC World £88
Western Digital 350GB in Staples £68
Western Digital 500GB in Tesco £88

Tesco, I think.

Western Digitals are quite lovely, here are the variations link
I myself have a small 2.5" drive that only needs a usb conection and doesn't need extra power cord or anything. They also go up to 500gb and are very portable although more expensive link

Hi Lilly,
I got my Lacie hardrive last summer so I've had it for several months, no probs at all, yet.
david

That's Freecom, and my 250Gb drive has been running 24 x 7 for the last 3 years. No quality issues here, and it is quiet. I would avoid fan cooled enclosures totally. Fans always (yes, always) fail eventually. They either block up with dust after a while and cooling becomes non-existant, and/or the bearings fail, or rather the bearing lubrication dries up, causing the bearing to fail. They then become noisy, or fail altogether.
My recommendation today would have to be the Western Digital Mybook in whichever size suits you.

I'm also looking at getting an external hard drive at the end of the month. Has anyone had any experience with the Buffalo Drivestation. Only £50 for a 500GB and they seem to get very good reviews.
link
I think it's fanless as well