The external 2.5" USB drives sold since a while are all powered through the USB port only. USB 2.0 should deliver enough power.
You can get problems when you only get a simple no-name enclosure with a 2.5" drive that is not meant for these portable solutions.
I once did buy me a 10€ external USB case and did put in a 2.5" drive of a dead Notebook. This one didn´t spin up on all PCs until you used a double-power dual USB cable.
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Nearly all 2.5" drives can run off the 5V USB power. The only exception might be laptops that limit USB port current; some USB drives came with Y cables to tap power from a second USB port. And some have a socket to plug in a 5V adapter, but beware that the polarity of such adapters is not standardized.
nor does he ask about tradeoffs of HDD size or externally powered.
BTW most here have avoided the OPs question altogether. He had to ask again, lol
Many reviewers published HDD and interface bench marks will not give an insight into the everyday use of these external drives together with audio applications.
Its pretty simple b/c USB was developed with PCs in mind, just as Firewire was for Mac's and some early video gear. Forcing it the other way around is more problematic. For Apple OS's use Firewire.
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