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“Desktop” or “Portable” External HD ?

post #1 of 8
7/15/12 at 1:49pm
Thread Starter 
.
I’m shopping for a 1 TB external hard drive.

Initially, it’ll be used to back up the music on my computer; however, later on, I may end up plugging it into the *powered* USB port of my Netgear WNDR3700 router to share the stored music via the router.

Question > For my purposes, does a “Desktop” (3½”; powered by ac plug) offer any significant advantage over the much more convenient “Portable” (2½”; powered by *powered* USB ports)?

Thanks,
Dave


Fwiw, I’ve used both kinds of externals, but, just due to convenience, I’ve ended up only using the “Desktop” kind when it’s the only option; i.e., attached to my Dish Network dvr.
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post #2 of 8
7/15/12 at 3:53pm
Better ventilation on some 3.5" external HDDs. Lower price compared to 2.5" externals. For $100, you can pretty much get a 2TB 3.5" or a 1TB 2.5".
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post #3 of 8
7/15/12 at 5:16pm
Unless you need to lug it around, get the Desktop 3.5" drives.
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post #4 of 8
7/15/12 at 6:38pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Reiter View Post

Unless you need to lug it around, get the Desktop 3.5" drives.
I agree 2.5"s are great if you need it to be mobile. Having no adapter is great. But they are usually pretty slow so if it's just going to sit on a desk 3.5" is fine and price should be much better.
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post #5 of 8
7/16/12 at 10:42am
Thread Starter 
Thanks for the good input.

Gotta’ admit though that I’m still on the fence about my choice.

Because my initial purpose is backup, I probably won’t be leaving it in place all the time and, as whiteboy714 said, “Having no adapter is great.”

Do both “desktop” and “portable” types power down (or go to sleep, etc.) when left plugged-in but unused for extended periods? (I.e.: if I do end up attaching it to my router.)

As to speed: if both types are USB 3.0. would there still be a noticeable difference in speed?

Thanks again,
Dave
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post #6 of 8
7/16/12 at 10:52am
I'm a fan of 2.5" externals myself. 3.5" will be a little faster, but outside of that are usually more susceptible to heat, being moved around, yet another thing that needs to be plugged in, etc. When it comes to 3.5...an external is the last resort for space for my taste...I'd rather stick a bare drive into a system (and share it if need be). 2.5" is truely portable, can take being moved around better since they are made for laptops which surprise, get moved around frequently, can tolerate more heat despite generally producing less of it, and doesnt add yet another wall wart to the collection. Just my opinion.
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post #7 of 8
7/16/12 at 2:41pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by TheWind View Post

Do both “desktop” and “portable” types power down (or go to sleep, etc.) when left plugged-in but unused for extended periods? (I.e.: if I do end up attaching it to my router.)
As to speed: if both types are USB 3.0. would there still be a noticeable difference in speed?
Thanks again,
Dave
They should spin down as long as the device they are plugged to lets them. There was an issue with the wdtv media player where it wouldn't let the drive spin down.

As far as usb 3.0 your going to be limited by the speed of the actual drive. Not sure what type of speeds these 2.5's are doing today. I opened an external and use one as a boot drive on a spare tv. It's very slow. But for use with backup or media it shouldn't really be an issue. Backups will be slower but thats something you just set and walk away from anyways so no big deal.

I have to agree that unless there is a need for performance or something the small ones are just really convenient.
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post #8 of 8
7/16/12 at 4:34pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by C17chief View Post

I'm a fan of 2.5" externals myself. 3.5" will be a little faster, but outside of that are usually more susceptible to heat, being moved around, yet another thing that needs to be plugged in, etc. When it comes to 3.5...an external is the last resort for space for my taste...I'd rather stick a bare drive into a system (and share it if need be). 2.5" is truely portable, can take being moved around better since they are made for laptops which surprise, get moved around frequently, can tolerate more heat despite generally producing less of it, and doesnt add yet another wall wart to the collection. Just my opinion.

On this point, I completely agree. Personally, with the high capacities available for 2.5", that's what I buy now if I need an external for bulk storage/backup. They take up much less space and are a lot more convenient to use compared to 3.5" drives. I've got a couple of Western Digital My Passport 1TB and with a fairly empty drive, I got throughput of around 80-90MB/s copying a 3GB file from the Passport to an internal G.SKILL Phoenix Pro 120GB SSD (SF-1200) via USB3.
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