Has anybody tried replacing the stock rubber bands with Stretch Magic?

I disagree with the statement that Raid 0 has no beneficial effect in real-world usage scenarios. Raid 0 significantly improves my application launch times. For instance, launching firefox improved from 16 seconds to 9 seconds. (The launch time is dominated by the antivirus on-demand scanning: if I...

Why would you choose a CPU HSF because it's "sexy"? I think you've reached a new level in computer geekdom!

2 quick facts : AS8 P4 640
Zalman 7700 Cu Load 34C Idle 20C
Zalman 7700Al-Cu Load 45C Idle 32.

That cannot be correct. There must have been some other variation which affected that test. I can believe a 2-4C variance, but not 11-12C. I'd take those results with a grain of salt.

I'm looking forward to the day when you can carry your entire desktop and applications and data around on a secure credit-card and computers are simply monitors with card slots like on ATMs. Actually, I do software development for ATMs and they are nothing more than regular PCs with special periphe...

I've been running my 400GB 7200.8 (PATA) for almost a year now. No problems as of yet. Idle "whoosh" is a bit loud for my tastes, but it is bearable.

Also, be sure to monitor the extra heat being introduced -- especially if the drives are very close together.

As Bluefront has already pointed out, the SMART temps may not be very accurate. My two drives report about 15C different from each other, yet they feel about the same temperature to the touch. The first thing you should do is perform the "touch test". If the sides or bottom of the drive are too hot ...

I have been using a Seagate 7200.8 400GB for about 6 months now and it's a mixed bag. I've got it decoupled from the case with Sorbothane and the seek noise is almost inaudible. The drive does not have any whine at all, but it has a relatively loud "whoosh" that sounds like a fan. Not nearly as quie...

Is this drive available in an IDE interface? This would be a fantastic drive for my DirecTivo box and unfortunately, does not have a SATA interface.

If the drive is not too hot when you touch it, it is fine. I find about 45C the highest temp that I can touch and leave my hand on without it burning too much. Your SMART readings are obviously off.

One other argument against a RAID setup is that it adds complexity to your system. If you start having problems that need troubleshooting, there's one more level of complexity to deal with.

Some people have reported that the HS interface on their XP-90s (and XP-120s) are not completely flat. I'd bet that your XP-90 is not making good contact with the CPU due to either this problem or poor installation.

I've got just a single 400GB 7200.8 (softmounted on Sorbothane) and it's the loudest single component in my system. 4 of them has got to be pretty loud, especially if they are not suspended or soft-mounted. Not to mention that if they are mounted close together (perhaps closer than 3/4"), they will ...

I have a 7200.8 400GB model and the seek noise is not particularly loud. The problem is that there is no AAM available, so they are typically louder than competing brands that do support AAM (when enabled). The only thing that I'm disappointed in is the Idle noise, which is a fairly loud "whoosh" so...

Why do you believe that you need a Cheetah for video capture? What exactly will you be doing?

Solid-state just isn't attractive right now mo matter how you slice it. It doesn't make sense when quiet 2.5" notebook drives are available that are functionally as quiet as solid state and have much more storage capacity at a fraction of the cost. well you're forgeting the reason behind the solid-...

Solid-state just isn't attractive right now mo matter how you slice it. It doesn't make sense when quiet 2.5" notebook drives are available that are functionally as quiet as solid state and have much more storage capacity at a fraction of the cost.

...With the Tivo unit, the main problem is not the drive noise, but the drive mounting hardware. It is done in such a way in the DirectTivo (S2 unit) that even if you put in the quietest of drives, you will hear the drive seek from 18ft away, or I could. I ripped out all their drive mounting hardwa...

I'm too lazy to do a direct comparison to my other drives, but the idle noise from the 160GB WD is pretty darn quiet. I'd say about the same as my old 80GB Barracuda IV that I just installed into my wife's computer. Also, I don't hear the high "squeal" today from the unit -- really not sure what tha...

Sorry... I can't believe people here aren't more excited/chatty about this. If this is affordable by the average user (unlike BitMicro and E-systems) then this would bring truly silent storage to the masses... not just to DoD, intel agencies and companies with bottomless pockets. I also hope Bitmic...

I installed the 160GB WD yesterday in my DirecTivo. Unfortunately, I had already upgraded from the original 40GB drive to the 120GB Maxtor DM+9, so I couldn't perform the "expand" step when upgrading to the 160GB drive without losing all of my current recordings (I hadn't realized this until I read ...

If "Reliability is of utmost importance", then you probably don't want to go with RAID-0. You obviously know a bit about computers so I'll just leave it at that. As far as large drives go, the best bets right now are probably the Maxtor DM10 or the most recent Western Digital Caviar drives. There sh...

I picked up a WD Caviar WD1600JB yesterday at Circuit City for $60 (after rebate). It's not the 200GB+ drive I was hoping for, but it was cheap enough and its the largest 2-platter drive in this line. It will still be a nice extra 40GB (~37 hours) over what I'm currently using, so it definitely will...

Nice but doesn't do the job very well, the seek and write noises are way too loud, I'm beginning to dislike the drive cage more and more, so the appointment with Mr. Dremel will be very soon. Yeah, this setup won't make much of a difference for HD seek noise. First of all, the mouse pad is not thic...

Cool. I didn't realize that they had rolled out official support for it. In that case, single drive is definitely the way to go. I wish I could offer you some big drive advice, but I'm still back in the stone age with my 160's! Definitely let us know how it goes. One warning- you're going to find t...

Presumably also, ambient temperatures have been increasing as Summer approaches.

ejl10- Direct has been rolling out the 6.2 upgrade for their Series 2 units which has support for LBA48, so larger than 137GB single drives can now be used. I don't want a 2 drive system because that means more heat, a higher chance of failure, and more noise - not to mention that it is simply much ...

How do you know your hard drive temperature in a DirecTivo? I don't think my Samsung unit is reporting it. I wonder if my WD400LB drive doesn't report temperature? I only see one "System Temperature" for mine, and that is typically 45-48C for me. ilh- what is the ambient temperature for you to be g...

sfeakes- I have written in another thread about my customization with Sorbothane drive mounting and a 92mm Nexus in a new "blowhole" and it has been very effective in quieting down (and cooling) my unit. I'm pretty pleased with it, but my 120GB Maxtor DM+9 (AAM enabled) is still audible from ~8 feet...