I'm looking for a HD for the HTPC I'm building my brother. I'm aiming to only install one HD (for now at least), so I want to get a 7200RPM drive so that he doesn't get fed up waiting for it to boot when he wants to watch something (no, I can't afford an SSD!), as is the case with my Samsung HD103UJ F1 1TB.

The Samsung F1 750GB or 1TB were great as far as noise goes and the WD Blue 1TB probably was as well I think, as well as being a bit faster, but neither are readily available any more.

So I think I'm just going to have to accept that I have to get a smaller drive. The 500GB Western Digital WD5000AAKX Caviar Blue is available for around £30, and if I look really hard I can find some places still selling the WD6400AAKS, for about £40. I can get the 1TB Western Digital WD10EALX Caviar Blue for about £46, but apparently AAM has been disabled on that for some reason and it might have an annoying hum. I recall there was some problem with WD drives causing Win7 to BSOD as well. The Samsung HD204UI 2TB F4 is only 5400RPM but is only £54, so that's a possibility (as are any 5400RPM drives) if it won't be noticeably slower than a 7200RPM drive in this PC (see below), although if I'm spending that much I might be better off getting him two 500GB drives for £60 (maybe two Samsung F2 or F3s, or one of each), which, although 1TB less than the F4, might speed things up by allowing me to put the temp/swap files on the second drive, and having two drives will certainly speed up compressing video files, extracting large RARs, etc.

Just to complicate matters, whichever drive I get has to be able to be set to SATA 1.5 (either by jumper or software overlay) as the HTPC motherboard only supports that speed (yes, I'm building my brother's HTPC with my castoffs!)

I explored the option of using a 2.5 drive and it is quiet and cool. it can also fit in many silencer case. Seems Seagate has a 1TB version that is 7200rpm. Perhaps that will fit your need.

I just did a quick search and the Seagate 2.5" 1TB seems to go for about £150, so way above my budget. I'm looking to spend £40-60.

How about Samsung F3 1TB?
I have one in my PC, had a F1 1TB in past also, the F3 is more-or-less as good noise wise and possibly faster, don't think you'd be disapointed with it.
BT Shop currently at £39.99 + £1.50 postage, but widely available elsewhere too.

Edit - just re-read your post more carefully! 1.5 Gbps Jumper Settings Phew!

Seb

Thanks for the recommend, that might be a good option and £40 is a good price.

I think it's best if I can stick to getting one drive for now, rather than two 500GB's (even though that would have the advantages I mentioned) as two drives are bound to create more noise in total, not to mention requiring more suspension, etc.

He can always add another drive later if need be.

Having searched the forum, it seems that the 1TB F3 might have a rather annoying whine, as well as reliability issues, so I'm in two minds now whether to just get a 500GB F3 instead (and maybe a secondary 500GB F2, or something else, for extra storage)

No whine here from either of my Samsung F3 1TB drives. Good and solid, just wish they came in 2TB configurations... not sold on the idea of using Green drives in my main rig, due to their constant head parking and lacklustre performance.

I don't know what the pricing would be for the capacity you are looking for.... but if you get a velociraptor and remove it from the 5.25" cradle... it is booth quiet and fast. They are available from 150G to 600G.

See: See what SPCR has to say about it
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article29-page2.html

That's good to know. In that case, I think I'll take a chance on an F3 1TB and keep my fingers crossed, as it's certainly the best option for me if it's OK.

Nice drive, but waay above my budget.