External HD Question

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ajstrax
Posts: 195
Joined: Fri Jun 17, 2005 8:03 pm
Location: New York, New York

External HD Question

Post by ajstrax » Wed Nov 23, 2005 5:23 pm

Guys,

I'm looking to buy an external HD to take with me when I travel. I don't want one that I have to plug in, I'd like a usb 2.0 powered one spinning at 7200.

Then I read about using an internal HD and getting some kind of casing for it that allows it's use on laptops? Any advice on either (1) which external to buy and (2) this casing issue.

silliwilli
Posts: 46
Joined: Mon Oct 10, 2005 4:48 pm
Location: Edinburgh

Post by silliwilli » Wed Nov 23, 2005 5:40 pm

Is it possible to buy an external 7200 rpm and install ableton and all your music on there so it runs faster...

...if you have a 5400rpm in your actual laptop?

amo
Posts: 1685
Joined: Sun Jun 20, 2004 10:30 am
Location: Paris/France
Contact:

Post by amo » Wed Nov 23, 2005 5:43 pm

Hi,

I would not advice to install applications on an external hardrive. I don't think it makes a difference for the program's speed. IMO
Then you can have your projects and sound files on the external HD, if it spins faster.

Best,
amo
Live 5.0.3 - IBM Thinkpad R51 1.5ghz Centrino - 1,5 Go RAM - 7200 RPM 2nd HDD intern - RME Multiface - Windows XP Pro SP2

smart1123
Posts: 447
Joined: Thu Mar 10, 2005 10:39 pm
Location: Vancouver, Canada

Post by smart1123 » Wed Nov 23, 2005 6:17 pm

lacie makes a pocket drive that fits your needs I think. look in to buying an external enclosure that does what you want, you will probably have to go 2.5" to get something bus powered I would think. oh and seagate just released new 7200 rpm 2.5" 100 gig drives that are supposed to be the fastest on the market (according to macworld I think)

oh, check otherworld computing for enclosures.
15" TiBook 1.5 GHz 1Gig RAM, MOTU Traveller, Live 5, Reaktor 5, Alesis Micron, Yamaha EX-5, UC-33e, BCR2000, Lexicon MPX-1, Orbit, Event 20/20's

blastique
Posts: 180
Joined: Wed Nov 23, 2005 7:52 pm
Location: Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia

Post by blastique » Wed Nov 23, 2005 8:26 pm

Hello, how are you all?

Just thought i'd post my 2nd message here (1st post was in bugs & problems trying to give a helping hand) to say you guys are great and the tips on this forum have been top notch.

I'm looking forward to sharing ideas with everybody!

Anyhow, in reply to the above question, if you're using a 5400rpm hdd in your laptop, pick up a 2.5" 7200rpm and chuck that into your laptop, and use your 5400rpm in an enclosure. I think you would be wasting more potential by keeping the slower drive in your laptop and bottlenecking the 7200rpm drive sitting in the USB2.0 enclosure. I picked up a Hitachi Travelstar 7200 and put that in my hard drive, and I definately enjoy the fact that everything loads much quicker. Overall the system feels much more responsive.

When my laptop is all plugged in at home with my other hard drives, usb midi gear, and other junk running off hubs, benchmarking the 2.5" external with HD Speed gives me around 12MB/sec. When I remove all my other non-audio related gear from the hubs, including my other hard drive, the external drive provides about 18MB/sec throughput. It's a 5400rpm drive mind you. I don't think that you would gain much more by using a 7200rpm in a usb enclosure. Besides, in live 4, I have had no problems (i.e. dropouts) having 8 warped full-length tracks simultaneously playing off the external drive. (not that I play 8 full-length tracks simultaneously, it's just an example, heehee)

The 2.5" enclosure I am using is the usb2.0 version of the "Cutie" manufactured by Sarotech. I'd highly recommend it based on it's performance, and on top of that, it also comes with this funky leather holder /case that does a good job absorbing vibrations and the like as well! (You operate it while its in the case, and the case is designed so that you can easiliy access the ports, and also open it to provide more ventilation. It comes with a usb cable, as well as a second cable that you can plug into another port just in case the port you have the drive hooked too can't provide enough juice to get it spinning up and running.
milehighsounds.com | blastique.com
Ableton Certified Trainer
Malaysia

soundcloud.com/blastique

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