Seagate Barracuda IV / V buyer's questions

hamfactorial · Post by **hamfactorial** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 11:57 am

I have some money to throw at some new storage, and I know that the Seagate Barracudas, both IV and V, are extremely quiet, though out of production. Fortunately they can still be found online from various retailers. I was thinking of getting 2 Barracuda IVs for 80 total GB of space, when I noticed an 80GB Barracuda V (SATA). I know that 2 sources at the same relative SPL will add together to roughly 3 more dBA, so it would be advantageous to have the 80GB all in a single disc with just a tiny margin of extra noise, plus the price is lower altogether.

I know that Seagate had some legal troubles with AAM and as such, the 7200.2 and 7200.8 line has some sketchy quietness characteristics. Did the Barracuda V go out of production before Seagate started discontinuing the use of AAM? I'm not sure what to think, and a number of searches on the forums left me with 30 pages of posts. I sifted through the first two pages, but do to terribly slow internet performance at my job (and bosses roaming), I can't go through them very quickly.

Can anyone give me some advice on these IV and Vs, both in PATA and SATA? I would very much appreciate it.

Shadowknight · Post by **Shadowknight** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 1:01 pm

Screw that, get the Samsung Spinpoint series, they're just as quiet, faster, have more storage capacity, and easier to locate.

hamfactorial · Post by **hamfactorial** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 1:17 pm

I wanted to do that, but I can't find any place that's willing to open up the box and confirm that I'll be getting a Nidec motor. I'm very annoyed by high pitched whine, so the risk of getting a JVC is troubling to me. The Cudas all have consistent motor properties across the line. Granted, I've never actually heard a JVC motored spinpoint, and can't locate any sound recordings of them.

Shadowknight · Post by **Shadowknight** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 1:19 pm

use the search function, I know at least one placee was mentioned that's willing to open up the hard drives and ensure you get the motor you want.

Tigr · Post by **Tigr** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 1:59 pm

Barracuda V SATA version has the acoustic management off. The seeks are really very loud. The spinning noise is rather low though. However, if you want a quiet computer, I advise you to stay away from SATA Barracudas.

[EDIT] And, if you can get Barracuda IV, get it. Those were real good.

lenny · Post by **lenny** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 2:01 pm

Someone also mentioned that the 200GB Samsung seems to all have Nidec motors.

The Barracuda IV comes in 80GB capacity as well. I just removed mine from an old system last night, and was admiring its build quality (shield over PCB, which presumably is a victim of cost cutting).

hamfactorial · Post by **hamfactorial** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 2:24 pm

In that case, the SATA barracuda V will be avoided at all costs! I did check newegg for the SP2004Cs, as reviewed earlier. By all accounts, Nidec motors come standard, plus they're native SATA and have AAM. For near $100, I don't see why I should pick anything else! I flip-flop a lot on my decisions, but it's tough when faced down the barrel of a $100 waste.

cotdt · Post by **cotdt** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 4:08 pm

all hard drives are loud. you'll still need to find a way to make them quiet.

xilencer · Post by **xilencer** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 9:24 pm

Indeed, I have a Barracuda IV 80GB (dual platter) and it has an unbearable high pitched idling, also have a Barracuda V 60GB (single platter) and it has the same noise. Overall idle sound power is about half that of a P120, but vibration is still stronger.
The Barracuda IV and V are very quiet in a soft mounted Smart Drive 2002 enclosure both idling and seeking, no high pitched noise or whine gets through. With no compromises that was truly awesome for it's time!
It's probably still the quietest 3.5" setup to this day, but the capacity and performance are showing their age. The V is faster than the IV but not any spectacular improvement, and at a cost of slightly louder seeks.
Nowadays, a Scorpio have the performance and capacity of a Barracuda IV, but with superior acoustics.

The P120 has a much more pleasant idle sound than the Barracuda IV and V, it's mostly white noise which almost completely covers the faint whine, nothing high pithed. A bare soft mounted P120 would be quiet enough in most cases.

I'd go with a P120 in a good soft mounted enclosure for quietness, capacity and performance.
If the capacity and performance is not needed, go with a Scorpio or some other quiet 2.5" drive.