Question about internal and external hard drives

+1 for Acronis. I've had very good experience with several of their products.

 

What is the average time Acronis should take to clone a 50% full 500GB drive?

 

Depends on many variables like USB/eSATA, type of hard drives used, CPU used, compression rates used, kind of data used. Hard to give any answer.

 

Thanks. Got it.

 

A combo port can, in some cases, put out enough power so that you don't need to pull additional power through a second port. A cable in such a port would pull all the power it needs and also transmit data through the single connection. A Y cable would transmit data through one cable and pull power from both. In many cases, a single port can provide enough power for the drive to at least spin up or the enclosure to light up (if it has LEDs), but it won't read.

A separate power supply could just be a simple DC wall wart, but it's pretty rare on 2.5" enclosures.

 

So it kind of sounds like a Y cable would be optimal?

 

Does anyone know which would be optimal?

So far I'm leaning on getting the WD and getting an enclosure for it. Should I purchase an enclosure with a Y cable and pick myself up an ExpressCard seeing as my laptop doesn't have a native eSATA port?

 

Is it worth buying an enclosure that will support eSATA and then getting an ExpressCard for me laptop? Or should I just stick with USB 2.0

 

Whoop, never saw y our reply, it must have fallen off by the time I checked the board. If you don't have an eSATA port already, a USB solution would be simplest. Expresscard port expanders tend to stick out of the laptop like a piece of bubble yum. Pain in the butt, but wicked fast, As for which cable is better, neither. Well, single port has an edge for not eating a second slot.

 

Well if I'm using it for music transferring for the most part and putting my iTunes library on the external library and using it from there what would you recommend?

 

If you're 'manipulating' your iTunes library, then eSATA is the way to go.

If you're simply listening to it, USB will be fine.

The best solution is getting an external enclosure that has both.

 

That's a great call. Could you possibly recommend one that has both and is a good deal?

 

You really can't go wrong with any of these!

I have the Acomdata Tango enclosure and it works well.

 

I prefer the Vantec products here;

See:
Vantec ? Vantec NexStar 3 - NST-260SU-BL - 2.5'' SATA to USB 2.0 and eSATA External Hard Drive Enclosure (Midnight Blue)

 

And tilleroftheearth, what did you mean by 'manipulating' my iTunes library?

 

By 'manipulating' I mean basically 'editing' your library in any way it allows.

The eSATA connection will then be the preferred connection and depending on what iTunes allows to be done on it's database, it could be 2 to 5 times faster than USB, if not more.

 

I see. I don't think there will be too much editing. Basically I'll be transferring over my entire library to the new hard drive in the enclosure since it takes up most of my space on my current 160GB internal hard drive and play my iTunes music from the new external one.

 

So with that being said, would eSATA still be the best route to go or not. And if anything, it sounds like getting an enclosure with both USB 2.0 and eSATA connections would be best. In case I decide to use eSATA later on.

 

So I'm thinking of this:

Amazon.com: Western Digital Scorpio 2.5-Inch 500 GB SATA Internal Hard Drive WD5000BEKT (Black): Electronics

Amazon.com: Acomdata 2.5" Tango USB/eSATA Hard Drive Enclosure Kit, Obsidian Black (TNGXXXUSE-BLK): Electronics

What are your thoughts?

Note: They are both from Amazon because I have Amazon credits that I would like to use. Furthermore, if you know of a better deal on Amazon please let me know!

 

Thoughts anyone?

 

You do have eSata? otherwise a 7200rpm drive doesn't really make sense.

 

I have an Inspiron 1520. As far as I know my computer does not have eSATA. Though I know some people mentioned ExpressCard and a few other alternatives to those without eSATA.

 

So are you saying I should go with the 5200rpm WD Scorpio Black?

 

Any 5400rpm drive will do. Scorpio Black is 7200rpm.

 

So othe 7200rpm is no good for my setup eh? Are there any 5400rpm you would recommend for my situation?

 

The 7200rpm will be bottlenecked by USB. Better save your money and get a 5400rpm drive. It doesn't matter much what you pick. Pick a brand you like. WD and Hitachi have good reputations.

I use a WD Blue 640GB in an enclosure. It works fine.

 

And that 640 is 5400rpm?

 

WD Scorpio Blue = 5400 RPM
WD Scorpio Black = 7200 RPM

 

What do you think between the two:

Amazon.com: Western Digital Scorpio Blue 500 GB Bulk/OEM Hard Drive 2.5 Inch, 8 MB Cache, 5400 RPM SATA II WD5000BEVT: Computer & Accessories

Amazon.com: Western Digital 640 GB 5400rpm SATA2 8 MB 2.5-Inch Notebook Hard Drive WD6400BEVT (Scorpio Blue): Computer & Accessories

 

The 500GB Blue is highly recommended.

 

Either one is fine. It's not like you're going to notice any speed difference.

 

Got it. And in terms of enclosures i'm assuming as long as it's 2.5'' it should be fine?

I noticed this one for cheap that people bought with the WD blue.

Amazon.com: 2.5" USB 2.0 SATA Hard Drive HDD Case Enclosure - Silver: Electronics

 

Yes looks fine and nice price too.

 

Great, then it looks like this will be the one I purchase. Just one last question.

If I do decide later to install this hard drive into my laptop (which I was planning to at some point), will it be compatible with my inspiron 1520? Is there some way of knowing whether it will or will not?

 

If you're planning to use it as a boot/OS/program drive, get a 7200 version.

I recommend the Seagate XT Hybrid 500GB or the Scorpio Black 750GB models.

 

So if I plan to use it as an external only I should get a 5400rpm because I'll be using it through a USB 2.0. Though, if I use it to replace my current 160GB 5400rpm hard drive I should get a 7200rpm hard drive?

 

Yes, correct.

The current 7200 RPM drives are as power efficient as older 5400 RPM drives but much, much more responsive when used as the O/S drive.

Even through USB 2.0 in an external enclosure, I still feel the difference a 7200 RPM drive makes - not in raw throughput - but again, how 'responsive' it is compared to a slower spinner.

The 500GB Scorpio Blue is the last 5400 RPM drive I'll ever use (late 2009?): the 640GB version is even (much) slower when used as an O/S + Program drive and the 500GB Blue is already 40% slower than a 7200 RPM Hitachi 7K500.

No comparison really: get a 7200 RPM Scorpio Black 750GB or an XT Hybrid 500GB and be ready for whatever use you put the drive to.

 

For use in an enclosure the Blue 500GB will be a little more responsive, the Blue 640GB will be a little faster with file copies.

Agreed.

I guess there might be a single platter version of the 750GB Black also. Cheaper, quieter and a little faster.

 

So even if I use a 7200rpm hard drive as an external one through the USB 2.0 port for the time being until i switch it into my laptop it will still be fine?

In terms of best bang for you buck ($ for GB) 7200rpm drive, what would you guys recommend?

What do you mean by a single platter version?

 

Most bang for the buck is WD5000BEKT for about $65.

You can ignore my comment about the single platter version, I don't think it exists.

 

Awesome and would this be a suitable enclosure (like i mentioned it will only be in an enclosure for a little while until I take the time to clone my current HDD to the new one).

Amazon.com: Vantec NexStar TX 2.5-Inch SATA to USB 2.0 External Hard Drive Enclosure: Electronics

 

I'll let you make the judgement if that's suitable. I trust your capabilities

 

Thanks guys. Especially Phil and tilleroftheearth for all your help and patience with me. I very much appreciate it. I have just purchased the WD5000BEKT along with that Vantec enclsoure. I think I made a good decision that I am comfortable with thanks to you guys!

 

It's probably been said by now but here goes....

It sounds like you'll be changing your laptop for a new one in the not so distant future. As a result I would invest in a USB 3.0 external HDD now which you can carry over to your new laptop in due course.

The above is especially true if your current laptop uses a IDE/PATA HDD, in which case there's no chance of using it in your new laptop.