[Tfug] USB drives

[Bexley Hall]

--- On Sat, 5/16/09, johngalt1 <johngalt1 at uswest.net> wrote:

> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Harry McGregor"
> 
> > If you want the most flexibility, buy a drive and an
> > enclosure separately.
> 
> It seems the answers are pretty much the same as the last
> time Don asked this question.

Back then, I was primarily concerned with the enclosure and
its interface.  Now, I am more concerned about the medium
itself as well as *its* performance.
 
> I still agree with Harry that cooling is a very important
> issue.

Cooling is ALWAYS important.  10C = 50% lifespan (as a rule
of thumb)
 
> The way I put it is; it depends on your duty cycle. If you
> constantly hitting the drive, it will overheat in most of
> the add-on POS cheapo enclosures. (even if you are giving
> the enclosure a walgreens style blow job) You see, most of
> the enclosures don't have a way to vent air through the
> case. You must count on heat from the drive to conduct
> through the case. The Walgreens fan helps out quite a bit.

Ah, OK.  So the case is actually working *against* you.
(increasing thermal resistance).

So, if the trend is towards 2.5" media, as a temporary
use, I could mount it in a ventilated 3.5" enclosure
and then deal with adequate ventilation when the
drive is later repurposed.