Quietest 2.5" 320-500 GB HD (reliable too)

[twinbee]

Until SSD gets a lot cheaper, I'd like to fit a 2.5" HD inside my desktop PC. A couple of reasons:

a: They're often quieter than 3.5" HDs
b: If I need to diagnose it, I can take it out and connect it to my laptop.

What's the quietest and most reliable 2.5" which has at least 320GB (maybe 500). It must have a SATA2 port, to allow for ease of connection. (I live in the UK if that makes a difference).

Any other 'gotchas' about putting a 2.5" inside a desktop case?

[syrian_gamer]

Any other 'gotchas' about putting a 2.5" inside a desktop case?

unless your hard drives are suspended (all the cool kids are doing it ) you would need to get an adapter to fit in a 3.5" bay

[Eunos]

'Need' may be slightly too strong a word, as such adaptors bring the disadvantage of transferring vibrations into the case - of course a non-issue with SSD. There's nothing wrong with sitting a 2.5" drive on a piece of foam at the bottom of the case, unless the case is to be moved in a manner that would knock the drive about. Even then, laptop drives are designed for quite a harsh environment.

My personal favourite remains the 5400rpm WD Scorpio, though I doubt there is much in it these days.

PS, it isn't too costly to purchase an external USB enclosure should you wish to diagnose either a 2.5 or 3.5" drive using a laptop.

[HFat]

PS, it isn't too costly to purchase an external USB enclosure should you wish to diagnose either a 2.5 or 3.5" drive using a laptop.

Do tell if you know of one wihch supports SMART...

Some laptops (such as most Thinkpads) support direct SATA and/or IDE 2.5'' hotplugging to a faster and full-featured interface.