Storage

Recommended Hard Drives

Reference|Recommended | Storage
Our reference article about HDD noise, along with a select roster of recommended quiet drives. Latest update 28 April 2010.

SPCR's Hard Drive Testing Methodology

Reference|Recommended | Storage
The HDD testing system underwent a major series of upgrades that reflects the growing sophistication of SPCR readers -- and our own increasing awareness of hard drive acoustics issues. The acoustic testing tools of careful listening and SPL measurements remain; they are enhanced with a new vibration testing methodology, as well as measurements of power draw in an effort to predict thermals.

Icy Dock Blizzard HDD Enclosure & EZ-Dock Docking Station

Storage
We examine a pair of external storage options from Icy Dock. The Blizzard is an oddly shaped, actively cooled HDD enclosure with some nifty extra features, while the EZ-Dock is a conventional but sleek looking docking station.

ADATA XPG SX300 128GB & Intel 525 Series 180GB mSATA SSDs

Storage
The ADATA XPG SX300 and Intel 525 Series brings the SandForce SF-2281 experience to the tiny mSATA form factor without missing a beat.

Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB SSD Review

Storage
The Kingston HyperX 3K 120GB gives us an opportunity to explore how capacity affects the real world performance of SandForce SSDs.

Intel 520 Series 120GB SandForce SSD

Storage
The 520 Series 120GB takes the ubiquitous LSI SandForce SF-2281 SSD controller and pairs it with Intel's vast manufacturing and engineering resources. It's backed by a lengthy 5-year warranty and Intel's reputation for reliability.

Crucial M4 64GB: Solid-State on a Budget

Storage
Through a quirk of SSD technology, the Crucial M4 64GB has limited write speeds compared to the larger M4 models. The question is whether it's still a worthwhile upgrade for users with limited storage needs and/or budget restrictions.

Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB vs. Samsung 830 Series 128GB

Storage
In a contest of high-end consumer SSDs, the SandForce-based Kingston HyperX 3K 240GB takes on Samsung 830 Series 128GB which uses Samsung's own MCX controller and Toggle NAND chips.

Corsair Force GS 240GB: SandForce with Toggle-Mode NAND

Storage
The Force GS is the cream of the crop of Corsair's Performance line of SSDs. Though based on the common SandForce SF-2281 controller, it utilizes fast Toggle-mode NAND chips to power past the competition.

Western Digital Red 3TB & 1TB Hard Drives

Storage
A WD Red is essentially a Caviar Green with TLER support, headparking disabled, 1TB platters, a three year warranty and 24-7 support. It is Western Digital's attempt at a budget Enterprise drive optimized for NAS and RAID environments.

ADATA XPG SX910 128GB Solid State Drive

Storage
The ADATA XPG SX910 SSD is yet another in a long line of andForce-based solid state drives, but it has a few extra benefits to differentiate it from the masses.

WD VelociRaptor 1TB and Scorpio Blue 500GB

Storage
WD's VelociRaptor 1TB might be the fastest hard drive in the world, but it could also be the loudest. The new Scorpio Blue 500GB is a different kind of drive, a single-platter notebook model with ultra-low acoustics.

Icy Dock 2.5"/3.5" Drive Accessories

Storage
Three storage accessories from Icy Dock distinguish themselves from the cheap generic devices flooding the market.

Hitachi Deskstar 7K3000 2TB Hard Drive

Storage
We were pleasantly surprised by the fast, quiet, and efficient nature of the 5940RPM Hitachi Deskstar 5K3000. Up this time around is the 7200RPM version, the 7K3000.

Tiché PC HDD Vibration Killer

Audio|Video|Misc | Cases|Damping | Storage
The Tiché PC HDD Vibration Killer is an aftermarket internal hard drive suspension system that is simple but effective and cost efficient.
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