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External HD or Enclosure that is USB powered and AC Powered

T

tnguyen444

Junior Member
I am looking for an external portable hard drive or enclosure that is both usb (bus) powered and comes with a power (AC) supply, as I heard the ones that are just USB powered seem to have a reliability issue. It needs to support 1TB or greater.
 
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USB power is unreliable for 3.5-in external drives. It is usually OK for 2.5-in drives. Many of them use two USB ports via a "Y" cable. My choice for solid external connectivity is the independent A/C powered ones.
 
I always get enclosures, I have 3. For 2.5, there is no need for power adapter and for 3.5 you cannot do without an adapter. For 2.5 a power adapter is totally unnecessary, the newer mobo/usb have enough power to handle 2.5 drives. Unless you are using multiple USB powered devices.
 
Yes, I'm asking regarding a 2.5 drive since I need the mobility.

DesiPower - Are you sure I don't need a power adapter? I've been reading that these USB powered 2.5 hard drives have been prone to failure, which seems related to the fact that the USB iport may not be supplying enough power to the hard drive.
 
I am positive, lot of people around me use 2.5 and none of them came with power adapters.. personally, I have never heard of this issue. You can one with the Y connector, it plugs into two USB ports on the computer. Again, unless you have multiple devices connected to the computer's other USB ports you should be fine. I guess this issue may be related to older computers...
 
USB 3 carries much more power than USB 2. Obviously not an option if your computer doesn't support USB 3, but something to think about.
 
be careful no ground with that solution. you can zap your drive easily static wise and do a number on it. (laptop not plugged into anything powering drive)
 
You did mention 1GB drive, I have never personally used that high capacity. My largest one is 320GB, other are I guess 120GB and 80GB, pulled from failed LTs. The 320GB one is a WD, I have never personally used anything besides WD or Seagate, both have worked pretty well for me. Samsung also has a good reputation in the market but I personally do not like them...
Enclosure, I bought a generic one off of ebay from Chinese seller for like 8 bucks IIRC... works great!
 
I've been reading that these USB powered 2.5 hard drives have been prone to failure
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You're talking about those premade drives.

Please don't buy that junk.

Buy your own 2.5" internal drive and mount it into a 2.5" external case.

You'll be able to remove the drive for troubleshooting and not void the warranty.

You'll also probably get a better warranty depending upon the drive you purchase.

Really, do yourself and your data a favor. 🙂
 
Out of habit I guess, I've always used the 3.5" drives. Any big advantage to the 2.5" if size is not a factor? I need to build a USB3 external drive using either a standard enclosure or a docking station and had not really considered the 2.5". Are they usually more expensive than the 3.5"?
 
dryfly said:
Out of habit I guess, I've always used the 3.5" drives. Any big advantage to the 2.5" if size is not a factor? I need to build a USB3 external drive using either a standard enclosure or a docking station and had not really considered the 2.5". Are they usually more expensive than the 3.5"?
Click to expand...

Yes, they have as a rule, been more expensive. Keep in mind that the advent of SSDs makes the 2.5-in format more compelling for the future.
 
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