SPCR

Would it be worth it to replace a whiny 120GB WD SE drive with a Hitachi/IBM 180GXP drive to help quiet my system? or would i be better off buying a Seagate Cuba IV? any input would be much appreciated!

Here's a thread regarding the differences between B-V 7200.7's and the IBM GXPs.

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto ... ht=ibm+gxp

There is also some information in the SPCR review by MikeC comparing some of the newer "quiet" drives with the de-facto Cuda IV.

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto ... ht=ibm+gxp

IMHO, you should probably consider switching the drive if you're on the silent track b/c eventually you'll find its the most audible component. My brother has WD SE drives, I can't stand it

I used to use a WD HDD and it was the loudest HDD I ever used. I'm currently using a 120GXP and a 180GXP. Neither are silent, but both are MUCH, much quieter than the WD. The 120GXP is louder on seeks (sounds like it's crunching) -- and the 180GXP vibrates more (not relevant unless you hard-mount it to your case). I've never owned a 'modern' Seagate HDD, but I understand they are very quiet. In fact, I'm planning on going SATA for my next drive (soon) and will either get a Seagate V or 7200.7 (there won't ever be any SATA IVs ).

so i just want to confirm: the hitachi 180GXP series are MUCH quieter than my Western Digital 120 GB Special Edition drive. though not as silent as the cuda IV's, the hitachi drive would be the best choice for a quiet, powerful computing.

i guess i'm sorta a nuts over this issue as I've gone through SO many touted "silent/quiet" purchases (i.e. power supplies, dozens of fans, heatsinks), and have been burned everytime.

btw, so would the 120 GB w/ 8mb cache version of the Hitachi/IBM Desktar 180GXP be the quietest of the 8mb cache 180GXP drives? (i.e. quieter than the 180 GB version because it uses only two platters compared to the 180GB's three?) thanks for your help!!!

In a word, Yes.

Noise Wise:

WD120SE > H180GXP > SB-IV

but the 180GXP gives best performance/noise.

Here are the noise graphs from the latest tests at Storagereview (click image for link to review):





Once again, click on the images above for a further description of the noise levels for the drives above, then click on the drive you want. By using this page, you can see a list of ranked idle noise results for all modern drives reviewed by Storagereview (click idle noise from dropdown list).

thanks everyone for all of your helpfulness! i think i'm starting to feel much more confident in the 180GXP series. btw, would the 250GB Western Digital SE drive be any louder than the 120 GB WD SE one?

Probably. Generally more platters = more noise.

thanks for your reply. so it looks like the 120GB Hitachi 180GXP w/ 8mb cache is the one!

I have always used 7200rpm IBM hard drives without any
problems whatsoever.

Hadn't even considered a hard drive being a noise source
until I used my bud's system which had Western Digital drives.
Yucky!

be glad when i ship these 2 drives ive got
WD uns