Silent external disks

[b0redom]

Hi,
I just got a new iMac which is silent. I'm looking for an external drive with:

Firewire-800
RAID-1
1.5-2TB in size
As quiet as possible

Can anyone recommend one? I've looked at the MyBooks etc, but I can't find reviews with which one is the quietest.

I have a hardware RAID-5 storage array, and whilst that's very good, it's also very noisy.

Cheers...

[peterb]

LaCie and Freecom seem to be the two more common Firewire drives. I would have recommended something like an Akasa enclosure and a Samsung drive - the drive is quiet, and the enclosure fanless - but no firewire!

[Prismatic]

I'm using a Samsung drive in an icybox. While it is fanless the HD sits snugly against the casing and so any vibrations are transferred to whatever it's sitting on. It seemed to be attuned to the natural frequency of my desk so I put it on a piece of foam but you can still hear the usual HD noises which can be noticable when it's next to a quiet computer.

Could you perhaps relocated the storage array or place some kind of barrier between you and it? Or make it a big foamy house to live in?

[b0redom]

@peterb - That's what I have for my MacMini media centre. It's OK, but I'd prefer firewire for faster disk access as it'll be being used for VMWare appliances etc.

@Prismatic - You are kidding right? Cover something with a big fan for cooling in foam? Way to start a fire Unfortunately there's nowhere I can really put the disk array. It was in a cupboard under the stairs, but tended to overheat in the summer.

Looks like I'll have to just plump for one of the Lacie/Freecom ones and hope.....

[peterb]

I did a quick Google and came up with this

Firewire External Hard Drive Enclosures and Cases

About half way down the page - not cheap though.

Edit - specific info here

Shop21: iPod Accessories, iTrips, Digital Audio, Video, Storage & Cables

It isn't fanless, and it only implies that SATA is supported (unless I missed something with a quick look) - but it might be worth giving the company a call.

The mfrs website

WiebeTech Micro Storage Solutions - SilverSATA™ Series - External FireWire and USB SATA hard drive Enclosure

Silver Sata 2 FH has firewire and SATA support.

[M0nkeyb0Y]

what about this - I can't find out how noisy it is, but everything else is ticked.

I found my Yes box fan too noisey and changed it for a 'silent' 40mm version and held it in place using silicon barbs. *Almost* inaudible, apart from the clunks of the hdd.

I hope this helps anyway

EDIT: Oh - and it's on Today Only