If the clanking space heater that holds your data is really bugging you, don't worry - you have unreasonably expensive options.

Starting at about $115 for 60GB, you can pick up an empty external drive enclosure and install the Solid State Drive of your choice.

In addition to being silent and cool, SSDs have no delicate moving parts (or any other kind of moving part) so it won't break if kitty bats it off the desk.

This message brought to you by the smug sense of superiority that comes with having accidentally purchased such a device and then reading a webcomic about 'lesser' external drives.

The loud klicky noise usually means the drive is about to die soon.

A Western Digital 1TB Green drive and a Rosewill USB SATA enclosure make a decent low-cost alternative for around $80. The Rosewill enclosure doesn't have a fan to whir at you, and Green-series drives tend to run quieter and cooler than normal ones. Just recently, I had that combination doing 4 consecutive hours of file copying. The enclosure got warm, but not really any warmer than the PC it was connected to.

The key seems to be to build one yourself, which turns out to be pretty easy with the instructions Rosewill gives you. It saves money and you get a better drive at the end.