Homemade external HDD in a book

zabst94 · Feb 11, 2016

I've got an old HDD 2.5inch SATA lying around, and I thought I'd turn it into a nice hard cover book external HDD, but I'm not sure on the power supply for the HDD.

One of the options is a double USB adapter, USB 3.0 for power and data, and the 2.0 for power only, but the whole adapter is 18cm long, which is a "-".

The second option is a adapter which uses external wall plug for power, but again the price is double than the double USB adapter.

What do you think, could I use the external HDD (7200rpm) via a USB 3.0 connection with higher data speed than my laptop's HDD (5400rpm)? And what power supply should I chose?

SuperSoph_WD · Feb 11, 2016

Hey there, zabst94!

The fact that the HDD is 2.5" means that you won't need an additional power supply and you can power it up only through the USB hubs. Of course, having a USB 3.0 enclosure for it is a better option than the 2.0 one. There are multiple options for you to choose from online resellers.
As for the comparison: Despite that the 2.5" HDD is 7,200 RPM, the fact that it is connected through USB could deliver slightly different performance. I'd advise you to check this thread from the community for a detailed explanation about this.

Hope this was helpful. Keep me posted if you have more questions!

SuperSoph_WD

zabst94 · Feb 11, 2016

SuperSoph_WD :

Hello there!

Thank you for the fast response. Now I see I complicated the question too much.

What was I going for (in your second answer) was: As far as I know the 2.5' SATA 7200rpm connected through the USB 3.0 should deliver a read/write speed higher than a 5400rpm HDD. But having in fact that my OS is installed on the 5400 one, I'm afraid this could bottleneck the speed.

Cheers!

hang-the-9 · Feb 15, 2016

Why bother worrying about the speed being too fast, if it is, it is. Will still work fine as an external hard drive.
If you are enclosing the drive in a book, make sure you have a few spaces for air flow to keep the drive cooled.

zabst94 · Feb 15, 2016

hang-the-9 :

Completely forgot about heat and cooling the HDD. Thanks for the reminder.

Do you think some empty space/ a few holes in the book will suffice, or should try some wiring with a small fan?

jsmithepa · Feb 15, 2016

zabst94 :

If you don't already know, Windows doesn't like to boot from an external.

hang-the-9 · Feb 15, 2016

zabst94 :

So here is where that 7200 rpm thing may get you, faster drive = more heat. You should not need a fan, just a few mm of space and a few vent holes to the outside would be OK, but you may get a better result with a fan, and fitting one on a book may be fun to play with. Here is a fan that will run off USB you can attach https://jet.com/product/detail/c9fd440f05ec430282d97470908933cd?jcmp=pla:ggl:electronics_a3:electronics_accessories_computer_components_computer_system_cooling_parts_a3_other :na: