I'm going to buy a portable usb hard drive, one of those 2.5in types, and a hopefully silent one. Does anyone know if this one is any good: WD Passport WDXMS1600 - Hard drive - 160 GB - external - 2.5" - Hi-Speed USB - 5400 rpm link, cnet It weights 105 g Has a Fluid Dynamic Bearing (FDB) motor, I don't know if this makes much of a difference, supposely its quieter and more durable. costs $199.00AUD Though I dislike its connection method, it has one of those giant usb type B plugs that go into the device, and you have to open up some panel to get at the plug, which might wear out. or could someone recommend me one? thx

I paid significantly less for a 250GB 3.5" external.

Maybe look at 2.5" enclosures and then price out 2.5" drives to go with them; see if that's cheaper.

I like ravuyas idea. Check THIS out. Those things are dirt cheap. I don't know if newegg ships to CA though. And of course, you'd have to get a 2.5"(laptop) harddrive to go in it, but I think even then it would still be cheaper.

Moved to Hardware.

yeah the 3.5inch ones are much cheaper, but unlike 2.5inc they require a power cable, I've actually got one of those external cases.



I just checked the reviews on new egg, the hard drive seems to have bad power issues, thanks for that

I have the 100GB Passport. I like it because it fits in my pocket and will power itself entirely on the USB cable (if you're using a desktop, I'm not sure about when using it on a laptop). It's pretty much silent. I haven't had a single problem with it for the year(?) I've had it.

Like you said, the 'rubber flap' covering the USB port was annoying, so I removed it. Even so, it doesn't get very dirty even though I carry it in my pocket to work every day.

It's definitely more expensive than other external drives, but it's the one I like the best due to its size.