Maxtor the all-round answer?

Mal3 · Post by **Mal3** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 2:46 am

I'm currently selecting components for my next system and had planned to get a Western Digital SE 120Gb HDD w/8Mb buffer. However I've been hearing noise complaints from all over.

They may be very fast (and cheap!), but surely I can find a suitable compromise? The Seagate Barracudas seem pretty tame and I'm not willing to give up so much performance.

The Hitatchi(IBM) Deskstars seem good all-rounders. At least they seem pretty fast and I can get them at nice prices, but the "Deathstar" moniker has put me off. I'll only be running the system with one HDD for the time being and I don't want to take too much chance with my data.

How is Maxtor's noise reputation? Surely they are better than the Western Digitals? They may not be quite as fast and they cost a bit more, but is there a noise difference to justify getting a Maxtor? I'd might go for a 80 Gb over a 120 to save a bit since I'm not much of a storage hog, but no sense giving it up unless I gain something in return...

Oh, I got an old ATA60 20Gb Maxtor in my current comp, I don't think I've noticed it's sound for quite some while. Granted, the fans are loud AND ineffective but still...

GamingGod · Post by **GamingGod** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 7:01 am

That is the question right now for me too. Ive been waiting for a fast and quiet hardrive to come out. Right now the only ones I know of are the ibm 180gxp, the samsung SP1604N and the maxtor diamondmax 9+. But its hard to get a straight answer on what the better choice would be. Mike did a review a while back that might be helpful to you. http://www.silentpcreview.com/modules.p ... =82&page=1

Mal3 · Post by **Mal3** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 10:31 am

Thanks. I'm having trouble locating Samsung disks where I am and as I stated the reliability issue is scaring me away from the Deskstar and the performance away from the Seagate.

GamingGod · Post by **GamingGod** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 11:16 am

I feel your pain man. Im finally going to be building my gaming rig soon (I Hope). I think im going to either use a 180gxp or the dm9+. Performance is my main concern but Id like for it to be as quiet as possible also.

McF · Post by **McF** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 11:45 am

well, I dunno if anything has changed, but the 40 GB maxtor that I have (the new series, 7200) isnt that quiet. it is actually the noisiest part in my "work" pc (palomino 1700).

Lockheed · Post by **Lockheed** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 12:14 pm

Post removed

cowsclaw · Post by **cowsclaw** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 3:22 pm

i hated my 80gb 8mb cache fluid bearings maxtor. it was so loud when i transferred large files. i love my seagate barracuda v. when i transfer the same types of large files, its VERY quiet. i dont notice any performance decreases really.

oogabooga · Post by **oogabooga** » Tue Jun 24, 2003 3:37 pm

For those of you worrying about HD performance for gaming etc, I don't think you are going to notice a difference between an IBM HD and a Cuda. I know that the benchmarks will say one thing, but those are under stressing conditions. A game doesn't exactly stress an HD! I'm able to watch some pretty high bitrate MPEG2 files without any problems on my 7200.7. I think that I'd only notice the difference if I was constantly transferring large files, say over 100MB....[/b]

Mal3 · Post by **Mal3** » Wed Jun 25, 2003 12:36 am

Good advice all, I really appreciate it. I'll be collaring my buddy with the WD drive for a listen and also to evaluate his fans and Samsung CD burner. Will hopefully learn something.

Regarding the Seagate vs. others performance I think I'd rather err on the side of performance, hence my looking at the Maxtor.

pingu666 · Post by **pingu666** » Wed Jun 25, 2003 1:31 am

maxtors have a loud seak, seagate sounds like its underwater
my 160gig dm9+ is ok, it sounds like a fan, there is no idle whine tho, it makes odd noises on spinup, but otherwise its ok.
my seagate is silent apart from seaks

its also suspened

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Wed Jun 25, 2003 5:19 am

oogabooga wrote:For those of you worrying about HD performance for gaming etc, I don't think you are going to notice a difference between an IBM HD and a Cuda. I know that the benchmarks will say one thing, but those are under stressing conditions. A game doesn't exactly stress an HD! I'm able to watch some pretty high bitrate MPEG2 files without any problems on my 7200.7. I think that I'd only notice the difference if I was constantly transferring large files, say over 100MB....[/b]

Bingo. He's got it exactly correct.

al bundy · Post by **al bundy** » Wed Jun 25, 2003 5:25 pm

Lockheed wrote:...seek noises never really bothered me. What gets to me is the high pitched whine...

I feel exactly the same way. Seek noise is much easier to muffle then that dang high pitched idle whine that every 7200rpm drive (even the BIV) exhibits within a quiet rig.

I'm thinking of trying some newer 5400rpm drives soon, for heat and idle whine noise comparison. Maybe somebody here can comment on the idle whine from a Maxtor DiamondMax 16 or Fireball 3 drive?