Quake3World

Anyone know about how well modern portable HDDs perform in cars? I know people install them, but don't know how well they stand up. Can they handle the shock from typical driving? Any abnormal amount of failure? I'm debating using one in my car. Anyone have insights?

bitWISE, I'm looking at you...

Get a SSD?

I don't think HDDs would generally have an issue with normal vibrations, assuming you're not going to be offroading with the drive spinning.

Desktop drives cant take the shock of driving, the "usual" life of a Desktop PATA/SATA drive is usually 6-9months. Wile a server class drive will last around double that.

if you are seriously considering this, check out a laptop drive, i've heard of people getting 3-5 years out of one for a car puter... Also, there is the SSD option for As long as it lasts...

Hmm... maybe the laptop drive is the best idea. Do the portable external drives handle shock at all?

I thought about SSD, but it's just too expensive.

The reason I'm interested is because my A4 has Audi's music interface, so I can just plug the HDD in and it registers it through the MMI. It works for mp3 players, too, but my Creative Zen is incompatible (I assume because of proprietary file hierarchy).

yep, that is what i figured..

And yea, the Small External drives ARE lappie drives.. they can usually take some good hits.

are you planning in mounting it? or just resting it someware?

OIC. I didn't realize they were basically the same. So I'd be better off with just a 2.5" drive + case, simply because it's cheaper.

Any opinions on this combo:
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid ... -R&cat=HDD
http://www.geeks.com/details.asp?invtid ... TA&cat=HDD

I'd probably just rest the drive on the little shelf that's already installed in the glove compartment.
Like this (the shelf that the iPod is resting on slides back in so it's flush with the rest):

you don't need to pay the premium (in $ or battery life) for 7200 RPM for an MP3 drive, just get 5400

edit: I see that's a recert, so it is dirt cheap, but my battery life point still stands
here's a couple good deals:
$70 320 GB ($0.22/GB) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136197
$80 400 GB ($0.20/GB) - http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822136315

i agree with fender, you wont need/use the 7200 RPM spindle speed...

but a note, just make sure that the drive wont be bobbling around in the little compartment.

I'm aiming for low price because I don't want to invest in something that might easily crap out. I've looked at the bigger drives, but honestly, I have no need for that much space.

It's only going to be for mp3s, and only those that I actually want to listen to. I can't imaging needing more than 100GB

@amidy: I'd probably wedge something in there to help hold it in place.

Oh yeah... I assume I should aim for 3.0Gb/s... or is that not necessary?

handy for the initial transfer, and if you use it to move big files to friends places...

UPDATE: Success!

I ordered a recertified 120Gb Seagate. I took note of your advice, but went with a 7200 because it was the same price as the 5400s.
I gave the drive a letter designation, then formatted it in fat32. I transferred a few songs to it, plugged it in, and it recognized it immediately. Only took about 2 seconds to initialize. I've only taken it for a short drive to the grocer, but it worked fine. I've got a 4+ hour trip tomorrow, so I'll get to see how it holds up.

Pics:
The drive and case together cost $38. I got what I paid for with the enclosure, as part of the plastic broke as I was opening it, and the usb connection was not fitted properly and made the drive sit wonky compared to the case. I still fits in the case, but just barely, and only with a tight squeeze.


Here's the AMI connection


The HDD just plugs right in...


Drive is seated in the glove compartment (still not secured -- will do that later)


Music interface; navigating through the folders:

nice

Good to see man!

its nice to see OE's actually keeping up with the aftermarket a little.

Looks awesome, but won't it overheat in there?

tidy

Nice setup you've got there. I went with SSD not only for the shock resistance but to help with boot up/down times and loading tracks from a large library.