Great review... I am building an HTPC with the smallest form-factor I can... my requirements are as follows: * playback encoded 1080p MKV content * digital audio output via SPDIF * HDMI video output (or DVI) My only question about this board is about the SPDIF... is the 3.5mm jack on the back SPDIF?...

I am running 2xWD10EADS in RAID1 on a DNS-323 and get this awful non-stop seek/grinding noise... it keeps me up at night, that's how loud it is... and it doesn't stop!

I don't think I can enable AAM because it's setup in RAID1... any ideas?

The thread that discusses this more in-depth is here: http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=40952 Although I found out from a German Asus forum that AI Quiet interferes with AAM, when I personally called and spoke to the Asus technician, he said there is no way that it would interfere...

Feature tool doesn't work for me... I get an "Unauthorized Operation" and weird DOS characters whenever I click the "I Agree" button.

How frustrating.

Yikes... Tried Hitachi Feature Tool Boot CD, and when I booted off CD, I got weird DOS characters and an "illegal operation". It froze and I had to reboot... Has anyone used the HFT with the WD5000KS drives before? I had to set my SATA controller to AHCI mode for the Feature tool on the Boot CD to ...

Maybe it's your BIOS doing the trick as changing AAM is OK but reseting the system will make any changes lost. While motherboard/controller may mask some features altogether, BIOS may also set some values upon reboot. I this FTOOL user guide warns of some BIOSes doing this. I suggest booting to BIO...

Yikes... Tried Hitachi Feature Tool Boot CD, and when I booted off CD, I got weird DOS characters and an "illegal operation". It froze and I had to reboot...

Has anyone used the HFT with the WD5000KS drives before?

i had issues using the Hitachi feature tool initially. I tried it on it's own, and it never worked. Then I downloaded the Ultimate Boot disc, and used the same hitatchi feature tool with it, and it worked like a charm. Maybe something to try? I'll try this out... I remember I booted off a floppy or...

It most likely is a problem with the SATA controller, I know others have had the same problems, but I don't remember what boards they used. Others have hypothesized that it may be a factory-set default that cannot be changed on OEM drives. Did you buy yours retail or OEM packaged? My drives are OEM...

Updated to latest (11/2007) ICH7 drivers - still the same problem.

This is a carry-on from the discussion happening in this thread: http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=38126&start=30 My specs are listed in my signature. Essentially, this issue centres around the inability to enable AAM on my two Western Digital WD5000KS SATA2 Hard Drives. I have an...

lol

On another note - anyone want to trade my P5H Deluxe for one that actually supports AAM!?

I own the P5W DH and I can confirm that AAM does not work... I can't confirm that it has AI Quiet though until I get home from work.

Has anyone tried enabling AAM on a non-Asus board and then connecting the drives to the Asus board with AI Quiet?

Does the AAM setting "stick"?

Most Asus boards don't support AAM...

viewtopic.php?t=38126&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

I'm stuck - can't find another system to test these drives on... Plus, I'm getting no response from the ocforums.com or asus.com forums either!

...and ironically (apparently) "A.I. Quiet" at fault. I may be grabbing air here as I have no experience with this board, but I'm wondering if enabling it in another system (non Asus "A.I. Quiet" board) and then moving back to yours, would work...? Great idea... I just have to find someone else's s...

Wow - that's a huge feature flaw from Asus no?

I wonder if anyone with an Asus motherboard has successfully enabled AAM?

Wow, from another thread in German: I today an answer from Asus received: Quotation: we received a definite statement of the colleagues in Taiwan. Unfortunately it is not possible to implement that AAM correctly, since it does not get along with our A.I.Quiet. Best regards/Yours sincerely Technical ...

jhhoffma wrote:slaman,

Where did you get these drives?

I wonder, is it possible that the drives are OEM-locked to 256-AAM for performance reasons?

I wonder - these are both OEM drives that I bought from an independent dealer from a forum...

Quite possible that this is an issue with my motherboard according to what NoizEnvader posted? Thanks for the link - I'll sift through it. Here are my specs: Intel Core2 Duo E6400 2.13GHz CPU w/ Scythe MINE Rev. B CPU Cooler, 2 x 1GB Corsair XMS2 6400 TWIN2X1024-6400C4 RAM, Asus P5W-DH Motherboard, ...

Hmm... Tried disconnecting one of the drives and same problem. Everytime I click "Enable", it resets back to 254... even though it's already been enabled. I traded my Seagate drives specifically for this feature - what a disappointment if I can't get it working! I also tried to install the Intel App...

Sorry all - fixed the image... will keep that in mind the next time I post a screenshot - just reload.

As for the AAC setting, I'll disconnect one drive right now and try it.

No need to save, just click on enable or move the slider to the left until you see 128 in current and enabled (and a green dot next to it) in the top right corner, then just close. Yes, I've successfully enabled AAM with HDDScan on mine. See, when I load up the program, I see the following: http://...

I'm pleasantly surprised by the WD5000KS, myself. Quick question.... I used the Hitachi Feature Tool to enable AAC for my WD5000KS drives - and reduced it to the minimum 128... but when I go back into the Feature Tool, it shows 254 as the setting. It's as if the settings aren't "sticking"... any id...

Quick question.... I used the Hitachi Feature Tool to enable AAC for my WD5000KS drives - and reduced it to the minimum 128... but when I go back into the Feature Tool, it shows 254 as the setting. It's as if the settings aren't "sticking"... any ideas? Is there a way to check if the AAC is enabled ...

I'll tell you right now - NOT the Seagate... I just replaced my Barracudas with two WD5000KS drives and couldn't be happier.

This is in terms of seek noise.

I'd like to know this as well since I just bought a WD5000KS...

Apparently, the Seagate drives don't support AAM - correct?

I have finally gotten the drives I need, but I am at a loss as to where I can find this elastic material to do the suspension trick. I had a Seagate SATAII 500GB HD and the seek/access noises were far too loud... it is the loudest thing in my system. It's not vibrational, because even holding the dr...

I have a 500GB Seagate .9 drive, and the seek noises are really annoying... The idle noises are fine, but at night, when I'm sleeping, the seek noises keep me up... I've placed it on the bottom of my case on top of foam earplugs to reduce vibrational noise, but even if I'm holding the drive in my ha...