New Seagate 7200.11 500GB (2platter) or Samsung HD501LJ?

mastabog · Post by **mastabog** » Sat Jul 07, 2007 2:41 am

Hello all,

I was looking to buy a 7200.11 500GB from Seagate, the ST3500320AS which has 2 platters (250GB/platter) and an acoustic level of 2.5 bel in idle mode.

Has anyone tested this drive and can tell how quiet it is in comparison with a Samsung T166 500GB (i.e. HD501LJ, 3 platters) or P120 (e.g. SP2504C, 2 platters)? If not, how about in comparison with the 500GB WD5000KS? or any drive from the SPCR T166 review for that matter.

I'm interested in idle noise and vibration .. i don't care about seek noise or performance. Ok, i care about temps too, but not that much (I have an 120mm blowing over the HDDs).

The Samsung HD501LJ lists 2.7 bel and Seagate 7200.11 500GB 2.5 bel but I've learnt not to trust specs a long time ago.

The SPCR review tested the HD400LJ at 20dBa in idle mode and this is also a 3 platter hdd with a listed acoustic level of 2.7, just like HD501LJ. Would it be safe to assume the HD501LJ is just as quiet in idle?

I would wait for the Samsung F1 to kick in stores but unfortunately it is a bit urgent

Thanks in advance.

Goldmember · Post by **Goldmember** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 7:42 am

Trust but verify...

The 7200.11 is an unknown drive at this point so I would be a little cautious. I also noticed the lower acoustics and lower power consumption listed in the 7200.11 data sheet. IIRC, the last really quiet Seagate drives were the Barracuda IV and V before Seagate fell off the cliff with the 7200.7 series.

Here is more technical info regarding the 7200.11 including the data sheet and product overview.

BTW, the Samsung Spinpoint F1 drives, also unknown, will likely be faster than the 7200.11. So hopefully we will see some good reviews of both drives soon.

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 7:50 am

Of those two, I would go Samsung in the blink of an eye, preferrably an established model.

Personally I prefer WD, although am still looking forward to actually owning and using one.

fresh · Post by **fresh** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 11:59 am

Personally I prefer WD, although am still looking forward to actually owning and using one.

I have the same preferences, dunno why though.... It must be a wet dream locked away in subconscious of having silent raptor.

Firetech · Post by **Firetech** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 2:05 pm

After my experience with 7200.10's (too hot & noisy) I'd like to have gone WD but went with 3 x 501Lj instead because their so damn cheap @ AU$130

fresh · Post by **fresh** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 2:35 pm

Good choice. I have one hd501lj and wouldn't change it for any other drive.

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 3:10 pm

fresh wrote:
Personally I prefer WD, although am still looking forward to actually owning and using one.
I have the same preferences, dunno why though.... It must be a wet dream locked away in subconscious of having silent raptor.

It was either Hitachi, Samsung or WD, in that order, ever since I got bitten by the silent bug... and my reasons for choosing WD are:

1) Hitachi is a wild card, no previous experience personally or through reliable proxy. Availability, support and price not good even if reviews are.
2) Friends had Samsungs fail on them. They used them rough, sure, but same guys had WDs outlast the Samsungs, same use.
3) WD concentrates on making HDDs. Their range is wider and site better than Samsung's or Hitachi's. I prefer specialists, and they are an established maker.

WD offers availability, reliability, price, information, warranties... everything. Samsung less so, and the few bad apples have left a sour taste in my conscience. I also can't suspend the drives, so any possible vibration issues I'd rather avoid. So mostly the reasons have to do with local issues, not global ones.

Firetech · Post by **Firetech** » Sat Jul 14, 2007 3:33 pm

That's fine. I thought I'd be going WD too but recently bought & fitted my folks PC with a WD 320Gb AAKS while on vacation and it was fairly noisy too but didn't have time to play with it too much before flying home.
It may all be luck of the draw, mounting style etc etc.

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 1:52 am

Yeah. Guess I'll only know after I've actually owned some.

As soon as I get the cash... 400 GB AAKS here I come.

fresh · Post by **fresh** » Sun Jul 15, 2007 3:52 am

Since this is silent pc review, I must stick to advising samsung hd501lj, cause it's really quiet compared to other drives. I wouldn't change mine for a horse, or kingdom for that matter

BIONIC_EARS · Post by **BIONIC_EARS** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 4:45 pm

I just inherited a small kingdom but I really wish I had a Samsung HD501LJ. Oh well.

I bought five 5000AAKS drives recently because, aside from being recommended, they were very cheap, but I might've opted for the HD501LJ now that I've seen many reports of how fast and quiet they are.

The HD501LJ seems to have everything going for it. Let's see how it holds up over time to establish Samsung's long-term reliability with performance-leading technology.

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Mon Jul 16, 2007 11:30 pm

I'm betting the AAKS drives aren't that hard to live with. Don't buy into the hype, it will never end!

fresh · Post by **fresh** » Tue Jul 17, 2007 2:51 am

It's true that one shouldn't buy into a hype. But 95% users claiming it's best drive ever for over half a year now is more than just a hype. It actually is best drive out there. So be it my humble perspective.

If you are visiting SPCR and decide to buy any other drive... well not such a silent solution anyway.

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Wed Jul 18, 2007 5:18 am

Ah, choices, choices... I can only buy one drive after all, as that is all I need. Would the 320GB models match the 500GB models soundwise? I don't like paying for what I don't need.

I also distinctly remember a number of users reporting vibration issues with several Samsung models, and those are exactly what I'm trying to get rid of... so the opinions of the masses have been considered. With WD it's been less so, they're quoted only as to make slightly more sound by volume.

pputer · Post by **pputer** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 6:49 am

Das_Saunamies wrote:
fresh wrote:
Personally I prefer WD, although am still looking forward to actually owning and using one.
I have the same preferences, dunno why though.... It must be a wet dream locked away in subconscious of having silent raptor.
It was either Hitachi, Samsung or WD, in that order, ever since I got bitten by the silent bug... and my reasons for choosing WD are:

1) Hitachi is a wild card, no previous experience personally or through reliable proxy. Availability, support and price not good even if reviews are.
2) Friends had Samsungs fail on them. They used them rough, sure, but same guys had WDs outlast the Samsungs, same use.
3) WD concentrates on making HDDs. Their range is wider and site better than Samsung's or Hitachi's. I prefer specialists, and they are an established maker.

WD offers availability, reliability, price, information, warranties... everything. Samsung less so, and the few bad apples have left a sour taste in my conscience. I also can't suspend the drives, so any possible vibration issues I'd rather avoid. So mostly the reasons have to do with local issues, not global ones.

I disagree about the Hitachi. They've had decent drives for a long while. In fact, they are among the top with respect to overall stats. They don't use up a lot of heat and emit low power wattage compared to other drives. I know people who have used them and only have positive things to say about them. I think Samsung and Hitachi have the top drives, at least for 500GB. I went with a Samsung since it was cheaper than the Hitachi at the time but the Hitachi dropped in price and is now cheaper. So, I may go with one to build my other system. I had a 120GB (Seagate) drive in my current computer and need more room. Thus, the Samsung.

WD probably improved but doesn't do well in the benchmarks finishing below the other two in most tests. I would only go with the AAKS version, though. It was on sale but I didn't choose it and it ironically went up in price and is only slightly cheaper than the Hitachi. If I need two drives, I might go with both. The Samsung is now the most expensive out of the three (at least in my area). The Samsung is usually at the top or middle in tests. I'm not sure if it really vibrates, I guess I haven't really tried to find out.

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 11:53 am

How can you disagree with my personal experience?

I have no previous experience, and no one I know has used their drives. They are not available through any local outlets from the five cities I do my business in and tech advice is scarcer than for Samsung or WD models. They are also usually the priciest choice of the three, WD and Samsung vary, with new models WD usually cheaper.

I do understand the arguments about history and undeniable results in synthetic benchmarks on various websites. But I haven't seen an alarming disparity between the top models from this trio, so in home use any single one will serve just as well as the next.

An unknown drive from a rare manufacturer is a wild card. Their site isn't much of a turn-on either, it's even more tight-lipped than Samsung's if possible. Every manufacturer should provide as much detail as Seagate does... and Seagate should provide as much silence as everyone else manages to do.

Fayd · Post by **Fayd** » Tue Jul 24, 2007 11:58 am

i have some hitachi's... but they're loud as hell.

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 1:16 am

Fayd wrote:i have some hitachi's... but they're loud as hell.

Models please?

Tamas · Post by **Tamas** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 3:31 am

Das_Saunamies wrote: Every manufacturer should provide as much detail as Seagate does... and Seagate should provide as much silence as everyone else manages to do.

I don't like that kind of hdd manufacturers where the applied platter number in a specific model is secret. This is especially unconfortable when you would like to buy a midcapacity 2 platter quiet (low vibration) drive.

Seagate not gives information about platter numbers.** I've to correct myself, they now provide infos about platter numbers, when I last wanted to buy a Seagate (long time ago

) , they not provided these informations.**
WD also not specifiy how many platters they use in a drive, there are series which made from 3 and also 2 platters.

Hitachi gives exact platter information about every drive.
This is the specification page of T7K500 series:
http://www.hitachigst.com/tech/techlib. ... tar_T7K500
documentation page of T7K500 series:
http://www.hitachigst.com/tech/techlib. ... tar_T7K500
I think this is a very well detailed documentation about this hdd with lots of information in every aspect:
http://www.hitachigst.com/tech/techlib. ... 500_sp.pdf

So I'll be glad if every manufacturer including Seagate/WD/Samsung would give so much information about a hard drive like Hitachi.
I like WD but for my money I want to know more infos about the drives.

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Wed Jul 25, 2007 5:28 am

You're right! Hitachi lists most of what I need to know in the .pdf, including the platter count, so I have to correct myself too.

So that just leaves Samsung and WD the culprits, although WD does provide more of the two. User feedback is go!

And Seagate has always listed the most information, and provided it in handy text files instead of flashy .pdf marketing ploys. Sad to see that tradition die.

leftheaded · Post by **leftheaded** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 2:12 pm

so, these ST3500320AS are available and out in the market now. anyone used one? on paper these seem to be the fastest & quietest 500GB drives now. i wonder how they are performing on both fronts?

STR: 105 MB/s
Noise: 2.5 bels idle, 2.8 seek
Power: 8 watts idle, 11 operating
datasheet for reference

andyb · Post by **andyb** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 4:28 pm

Quite a few personal reviews of Seagate drives mention a high pitched whine, it might just be a seagate thing or I might have missed the same complaints from other manufacturers.

If you want a safe bet get the Samsung, if you want a risk get the Seagate, the choice is yours.

Andy

bobov · Post by **bobov** » Wed Nov 14, 2007 11:52 pm

I have a 7200.11 500GB from newegg. It's very good. It's as quiet as HD501LJ at idle. Seek noise also much better than 7200.10, about the same as HD501LJ. They are fast. 12.5ms seek time, ~87MB average reading speed according to HDTach.

They runs very cool, ~29/30C at idle/write in my P180B lower chamber.

valheru · Post by **valheru** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 5:34 am

I have the 7200.11 500GB ST3500320AS and mine is also very quiet. The only drives i've got handy for comparison are a Samsung SP2504C (250GB) and a Maxtor Maxline III 250GB. Its way quieter than either of those drives, and has hardly any vibration. Seeks are also very soft - not the loud clicking noise of previous seagates i've heard.

Kaleid · Post by **Kaleid** » Thu Nov 15, 2007 9:09 am

I just started to have a clicking noise in my about 0.5 year old 501LJ.

Had to delete one file, seems one part of that area is unusable.

Will run a bunch of tests on the harddrive to determine if I can do something about it, but it looks like it's a warranty matter.

Luckily it seems to work in all other areas atm, so I'm currently backuping everything really important (awfully time consuming).

May switch back to Seagate's again, never had one fail on me. Good news is that .11 seems to be quieter model than the all too noisy .10. Performance is not top notch but it's alright.

Hopefully SPCR can review the 500, 750 and/or 1TB model.

psionic · Post by **psionic** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 6:23 pm

If anyone's interested, I have a ST3500320AS 500GB (now about 3 months old) and must say that Seagate has made massive improvements since the 7200.9 series.

Subjectively, it is quieter at idle than my Western Digital Caviar SE16 WD5000KS, which is still fairly high on the SCPR recommended 3.5" hard drive list. However, the seeks are a little harsh and as far as I'm aware, Seagate's do not have user-configurable AAM settings. It is extremely fast for a desktop hard drive, see the comparison below.

Interestingly enough, the old WD 500GB manages to pull off a much nicer burst, despite having half the cache. It almost seems like the Seagate is stuck in SATA-150 mode. Note to self: check for renegade jumper setting on the Seagate ST3500320AS.

Kaleid · Post by **Kaleid** » Wed Mar 12, 2008 6:35 pm

Yeah, it probably is in SATA 150 mode. Remove that jumper..