Samsung SP2504C (250GB) or Maxtor Diamondmax SB250 (250GB)

jermaink · Post by **jermaink** » Sat Jul 30, 2005 7:33 pm

I've currently own a Western Digital Raptor 74GB, however that drive failed and will be RMA'ed, so I'll get a another drive which will be used as my primary drive until the Raptor gets back, then it will be used as a secondary storage drive. I have also considered a 200GB Seagate 7200.7 though I haven't heard too many good things about them.

Maxtor DiamondMax 250GB SATA 16M
AUD $175
Very good Performance
Can be noisy, but excellent AAM implementation (how do you activate this?)

Samsung Spinpoint 250GB SP2504C (Nidec motor models aren't available in Aus...)
AUD $189
Below Average Performance
Mostly quiet drive (though Nidek models are on average quieter)

Am I correct in my general assessment? I might get the Maxtor because of it's good performance while having very good AAM implementation. Getting a 200GB Seagate 7200.7 would cost A$148.

Are there other factors I have not considered?

dynamiks · Post by **dynamiks** » Fri Aug 05, 2005 8:34 pm

Well I have a 250GB Samsung Spinpoint with a Nidec motor, and its SUPER silent. I love this drive. You can barely even hear the seeks unless you put your ear close to the case. Sitting at my desk, I can't really even hear the HD unless I am trying to listen for it.

But since you don't have the Nidec motor in Australia, I don't know how much difference the JVC is, so I guess it might be a hard decision for you to make. Me personally I don't like Maxtors, so I wouldn't get one.

jermaink · Post by **jermaink** » Sat Aug 06, 2005 7:54 am

I ended up getting the Maxtor because it was cheaper, and as only JVC motors are available in Australia, I've seen from the reviews that they do tend to be louder. I also go the Maxtor because I intend on using it as a secondary drive, and it's AAM implementation seemed good on the review. This is all compared to my Raptor, which was a bit noisy when seeking, however that drive failed after 3-4 days so it might have had other faults as well.

GLO · Post by **GLO** » Tue Aug 16, 2005 4:21 am

Considering the coolness and quietness of the Samsung 250Gb drive, would the slightly louder and faster DM10 250Gb require a fan to run marginally faster to keep the case temps a fraction lower?

In short, is it still worthwhile having the faster DM10 if you need your fans to run a bit faster? (and thus a fraction louder)?

ozdoc · Post by **ozdoc** » Tue Aug 16, 2005 4:48 am

jermaink
I'm not sure why Aussie members of this forum seem to think that only JVC motors are available on Samsung Spinpoints in Australia. I had two delivered to me yesterday (from Melbourne to Perth) - Samsung SP2004C SATA - and both were NIDEC motors. Stoked. Try scorptec.com.au They turned out to be AU$70 cheaper than getting them down the road at the local ripoff PC outlet.

jermaink · Post by **jermaink** » Tue Aug 16, 2005 6:35 am

lol. I think I was wrong about Nidec motor Spinpoints not being available in Australia. I just saw that SilentPCReview reviewed Nidec motor Spinpoints which had the suffix of 'N' - and assumed that N meant Nidec, while C meant JVC. But it appears that N means PATA while C means SATA.

I ended up getting the Maxtor for $175. But I'm annoyed because less than a week later, MSY dropped the price to $167...

GLO · Post by **GLO** » Tue Aug 16, 2005 2:12 pm

GLO wrote:Considering the coolness and quietness of the Samsung 250Gb drive, would the slightly louder and faster DM10 250Gb require a fan to run marginally faster to keep the case temps a fraction lower?

In short, is it still worthwhile having the faster DM10 if you need your fans to run a bit faster? (and thus a fraction louder)?

I wish Samsung released a 300Gb drive, i already have their SP1614C drive and love it!

I was considering the 300Gb Maxtor DM10, but just learned that SAmsung have their 250gb Sata HDD now, so i am debating which way to go now.

jermaink · Post by **jermaink** » Fri Aug 19, 2005 8:35 am

If it's going to be your primary drive, then maybe get the Maxtor. I probably did the wrong thing by getting the Maxtor, as it will end up being my secondary drive to a Raptor, and silence would be more important for a secondary drive as the primary drive will be 'doing most of the work'. Though the Raptor is currently dead, and needs to be RMA'ed.

If you live in Australia, maybe get the Samsung and we could do a trade

.

GLO · Post by **GLO** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 12:20 am

Im in Sydney, but and currently use only 1 SP1614C as the primary drive, but am considering a 2nd larger drive to store all the Movie and HDTV data.

Im curious if the 16Mb cache on the Maxtor DM10 makes much difference over the 8Mb cache on the Spinpoints.

The Maxline i thought are pretty much the same as the Diamond Max10 but with a longer warranty. All other specs are the same i think.

jermaink · Post by **jermaink** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 4:45 am

The DM10 also has the 16MB v 8MB cache over the Maxline. Thing is, the Spinpoint is a relatively slow (benchmarks, etc) HDD to use as a primary. I would only get it if silence is a priority (i.e. all your other hardware is silent), otherwise the DM10 is a faster, cheaper alternative.

What are the other sources of noise in your system?

GLO · Post by **GLO** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 5:37 am

the 60mm case fan, and the VGA fan.

jermaink · Post by **jermaink** » Sat Aug 20, 2005 7:09 am

I mean, are they noisy? Will getting an ultra quiet HDD be worthwhile?

Compare these reviews:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article258-page3.html

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article244-page3.html

I'm pretty sure that the 300GB Maxtor DM10 will be like the 250GB one, as will the 200GB Spinpoint be like the 250GB one. The main difference is that the Samsung is 2 dB quieter when idle. The Maxtor is also 1 dB louder when seeking, if AAM is activated, otherwise it will be 4 dB louder (this assumes a Nidec motor on the Spinpoint, rather than the JVC one).

Also have a look at this:

http://www.tomshardware.com/storage/200 ... nt-02.html