It is difficult to choose the right hard drive case for me. Therefore, I create a framework to help me compare them. It is FIPS: Fan, Interface, Power, and Solid.
Fan – Smart and Quiet
I preferred to use fan to cool my 3.5″ external hard drive. Fan-less are quiet but make me worry about the life of my hard drive which is more important to me.
If it doesn’t come with a fan, it must have a space for me to install a fax. Buffalo HD-LX2TU3 doesn’t comes with a fan as standard but OP-FAN-ALEM is available as an optional in Japan.
A big fan with smart (rotation speed change with temperature) feature is better than a small fan with fix rotation speed.
I use the Free Hard Disk Sentinel Linux Edition to monitor hard drive temperature. Here is an sample running HDDSentinel -solid in terminal.
amigo@Edge72z:~/Downloads/Resource-Temp> ./HDSentinel Hard Disk Sentinel for LINUX console 0.08 (c) 2008-2011 info@hdsentinel.com Start with -r [reportfile] to save data to report, -h for help Examining hard disk configuration ... No hard disk devices found. Please run as "root". amigo@Edge72z:~/Downloads/Resource-Temp> sudo ./HDSentinel -solid root's password: /dev/sda 35 100 1455 ST1000DX001-1CM162 Z1D6LH8B 953870 /dev/sdb ? ? ? Generic-_xD/SD/M.S. MEMORYSTICK-MG 0 /dev/sdc ? ? ? hp______v180w ? -137438953472 /dev/sdd 36 100 294 ST9320423AS 5VH405L3 305245
buildcomputers.net analyze the Safe Range of HDD Temperature and conclude from the Google paper, smaller independent studies and tech forum users:
Hard Disk Temperature Less than 25°C: Too cold 25°C to 40°C: Ideal 41°C to 50°C: Acceptable More than 50°C: Too hot
Interface – Speed and Reliable
eSATA is reliable and fast but USB are all supported on my device. Therefore, I chose USB for better compatibility.
USB 3.0 B connector feels more solid than A connector. Most people have problems accessing 2.5″ portal hard drive due to loose USB 3.0 A connector. I didn’t have the same problems with USB 2.0 A connector.
If you need the hardware encryption, please refer to Contents in Secure External HDD is Encrypted. A solid USB 3.0 B connector might be a better choice because you won’t be able to rescue your data by swapping the hard drive in another hard disk case or using a bridge.
skiis explains the USB connector quality is related to the material. He didn’t mentioned about the connector type.
Power – Brand and Current
As mentioned in Match Hard Disk Startup Current with Power Adapter Output Current, I preferred the power adapter may provide output current equal or more than the StartUp Current.
I also preferred the adapter from a professional factory because I don’t have enough knowledge to judge the quality of power output. I rely on the credit of the company.
Solid – Structure and Material
Some plastic material are easy to change due to tension. I preferred a metal material like my LevelOne NAS GNS-1001 which feels cool and solid.
According to skiiks, using metal material helps to cool your hard drive a little bit than plastic. If you may bring the heat on hard disk to the metal case with heat sink, it should improve cooling, too.
A solid case can also minimize resonance caused by hard drives.
Reference
- Buffalo HD-LX2TU3
- Buffalo OP-FAN-ALEM
- Hard Disk Sentinel: Hard Disk Sentinel Linux Edition (FREE)
- buildcomputers.net: HDD Temperature – What is a Safe Range to Avoid Hard Disk Failure?
- Failure Trends in a Large Disk Drive Population, Eduardo Pinheiro, Wolf-Dietrich Weber and Luiz Andŕe Barroso, Google Inc.{edpin,wolf,luiz}@google.com
- Wiki: Serial ATA: eSATA
- Wiki: USB
- Wiki: USB: “A” & “B” connectors
- Contents in Secure External HDD is Encrypted
- Match Hard Disk Startup Current with Power Adapter Output Current
- Wiki: Inrush current
- IHS GlobalSpec CR4: Inrush Current and StartUp Current
- Wiki: Inrush current limiter
- LevelOne NAS GNS-1001
- Mobile01: 哪個3.5吋外接盒較好呢?
- Wiki: Heat sink
- Mobile01: 外接硬碟usb界面壞掉的可能性？
- Wiki: Resonance
Amigo's Technical Notes 