ext hd 2.5 or 3.5

[jayantadak]

Hi,

I am expecting my WD TV LIVE in the next week.I am also getting a Seagate 500 gb external hard disc as a storage device for my movies. Can you suggest as to which external hard disc should I go for, I mean the plug and play (2.5) or the powered external hard disc (3.5).

Thanks and regards

JAYANT.

 

[j_garcia]

If you are going to take the external with you and hook it up to other devices, I prefer the 2 1/2 (and they are obviously smaller) - the only thing is, the device you connect it to has to have sufficient voltage to power it. A powered 3 1/2 is good if it is just going to sit there for the most part and if taking it with you, it means you need an extra spot to plug in.

 

[emorphien]

The powered 3.5 will probably be a bit quicker and will offer more GB/$ compared to a 2.5" portable drive under normal circumstances. I've found in the past not all USB ports provide enough power for a 2.5" drive which is why some of the externals or the enclosures you buy to put a bare drive in came with a USB cable that split in to two so that it could take power from two USB ports. No idea if the drives are efficient enough now so that isn't an issue or not. The USB spec doesn't require an individual port to provide enough power and that was an issue in the past.

I just got a Seagate 2.5" 250gb that comes with a cable that only uses one USB port. Works fine so far although I don't know if it'll work on every computer/USB port I hook it in to or not.