What harddrive to buy NOW?

El_Duderino · Post by **El_Duderino** » Sun Jan 05, 2003 9:53 am

Hi, after following this forum (and reading the reviews on this site), I seem to have come to the conclusion that there is no consensus on which harddrive to get (?).

I have decided to get rid of my noisy-as-heck WD 40 Gig, and to go for a Seagate. Barracuda IVs and Vs are the main options, and although I'm slightly reluctant to go from 40 to 40 gigs of space, I have heard that the 40 gig IVs are far and away the most silent ones. Is this true? Which is better (=more silent) out of the 60/80 gig drives?

I know this is FAQ material, but I'd be grateful for any help.

Thanks!

cold c · Post by **cold c** » Mon Jan 06, 2003 12:48 am

Hi, I haven't tried the Barracuda V myself but the 60 GB model is a single platter drive so it should be quieter than the 80 GB Barracuda V.

It would also be nice to hear from someone who can do a direct comparison between the 40 GB Barracuda IV and the 60 GB Barracuda V (both single platter). As a general rule, try to stick to the single platter drives.

If I needed to buy right now I would get the 60 GB Barracuda V.

Macguyver · Post by **Macguyver** » Mon Jan 06, 2003 5:56 am

El_Duderino,

I have a cuda v 80gb and it's pretty quiet. It is more expensive
then say a WD or Maxtor but after reading several reviews on the
drive I saved up some cash and waited for a sale. Bestbuy seems
to offer a rebate every other month or so on the Seagate line. Also
check their website for any rebate info.
I've been happy with the performance of the drive. I also have
a 80gb Maxtor and it's louder then the Seagate.

hjembaek · Post by **hjembaek** » Sat Jan 11, 2003 8:11 am

Hi there

I currently own a Seagate Baracude IV 40GB - and I love it. It is almost inaudible in my current system. It is not the speediest of drives - but I can really live with that

My next system (built to be near-silent) will clearly consist of a Seagate Baracuda V 160GB (8MB cache). Although this drive is not on the market yet - it will be soon.

StorageReview has promised a review of the drive, in the near future. See the news section "New Barracudas":
http://www.storagereview.com/

Alicey · Post by **Alicey** » Sat Jan 11, 2003 9:58 am

Are you looking just to make your PC quieter, or also to upgrade the space too? It would seem a little odd to replace a drive solely to make it quieter unless you have money to burn. I have a 40gb Barracuda IV, and I literally can't hear it over ambient noise, so I think the noise increase even from an 80gb IV would be perfectly acceptable. The Barracuda V seems to give off half the noise of the IV, so I'd imagine even an 80gb one would still have some slack to be quieter than the IV, plus give you more space, plus (very) slightly more performance.

Personally I'd also wait for the Barracuda V with 8mb if I had the time and money, but you sound like you want it now so...

Post by **MikeC** » Sat Jan 11, 2003 10:32 am

The Barracuda V seems to give off half the noise of the IV,

Alicey, check your facts -- they're ~the same. I see nothing wrong, personally, with swapping a new HD to get reduced noise. The cost of new HDD is not that serious anymore. A 40G cuda for ~$80 or less. The whine of HDD is about the most annoying sound in a PC -- if you've get rid of small diameter screaming fans. The difference between a 'cuda & every other drive I've heard (far from all, but many) is still dramatic, especially in whine noise. Cuda hardly has any.

Alicey · Post by **Alicey** » Sat Jan 11, 2003 12:27 pm

Storagereview says 80gb Barracuda IV gave 41.3dBA, 120gb V gave 37.8, a 3.5dBA difference. I've been led to believe that a 3dBA difference is half as loud to human perceptions, maybe that was wrong or I wasn't paying attention, I don't know. Or I'm getting my various Bel units confused, which is the most likely answer.

They only reviewed the 80gb and not the 40, so I can't talk about the difference between the 40 and 120, however in terms of high-capacity storage I'd definitely give the nod to the V. I don't have any figures of my own to stand on, but I have a vast amount of faith in Storage Review.

And like I said, upgrading for purely sonic reasons is great if you can afford it, but not everyone can.

Post by **MikeC** » Sat Jan 11, 2003 12:49 pm

Alicey, as much as I also think very highly of SR (the entire Recommended Drive section is pretty much based on SR!!), I have to side with Seagate when it comes to noise measurements.

All the HDD makers use highly sophisticated noise testing facilities and they have standardized as an industry on SOUND POWER as their reference -- this is the most precise way of expressing noise. Seagate's own specs suggest that the V may be a bit noisier than the IV -- either that or they have moved to a slightly more conservative expression of their spec to accommodate for larger sample variances? In other words, maybe most 1 platter B-V still do 2 Bels (the 1-platter B-IV spec) but they now specify 2.4 Bels (1-platter B-V spec) because a few of them actually get to 2.4?

I have not had the chance yet to compare the 2 side by side (2 single or 2 double platter versions of the IV and V) but have read enough commentary by those who have to believe the difference is not very significant. In any case, if there IS a difference, Seagate themselves say the old one is quieter.

3.5 dBA, btw, represents an audible difference. A 1 dBA difference is only just audible, 2 usually, 3 more so. Most people hear 10 dBA as a double or halving of sound level. If you get caught up with power vs sould pressure level differences, this discussion could go on ad nauseum, so let not go there.

There are lots of other resources dedicated to just sound issues.

Alicey · Post by **Alicey** » Sat Jan 11, 2003 6:36 pm

Ah, I didn't know the official spec said they were the same, in that case, egg on my face! I have no idea where that 3dB sound-halving thing came from, I've only recently come to realise that there are ways to rate sound other than the "I can kinda hear it" to "FOR THE LOVE OF GOSH MAKE IT STOP" scale.

Oh well hehe

pingu666 · Post by **pingu666** » Sun Jan 12, 2003 11:14 am

i think (remmbering from c*t thread) that the idle noise is less or sumin
i think 3db is ment tobe doubling or sumin, tho it does vary :/
im after a 80-120+ hd thats quiet, and a dvd/cdrom drive too

frequencies · Post by **frequencies** » Mon Jan 13, 2003 4:23 pm

Reply from Seagate sales

"Hello Michael,

The latest Seagate entry into the high-performance, high-capacity desktop storage market will surely turn heads when it debuts in PCs and entry servers in July. The upcoming new Barracuda 7200.7 drive packs 80 Gbytes of storage on a single platter, features the industry's only native Serial ATA interface and is imbued with speed that will give competitors a run for their money. New Barracuda 7200.7 Plus models at 120 Gbytes and 160 Gbytes will feature an 8-Mbyte cache for breakneck performance, as well as a three-year warranty.

These drives are 6 months away so don't make any immediate plans. Thank you for your inquiry. We appreciate your consideration of Seagate products for your storage solutions.

Richard D.
Disc Presales"

Dru · Post by **Dru** » Mon Jan 13, 2003 5:45 pm

6 months is a "long" time in the computer industry. What are the competitors going to have in 6 months?

pingu666 · Post by **pingu666** » Tue Jan 14, 2003 1:10 pm

indeed, nice to get a reply tho.

What harddrive to buy NOW?

What harddrive to buy NOW?

Go for the Seagate Baracuda IV or V