Samsung 160GB Nidec SATA -doesnt seem "that" quiet

Silencing hard drives, optical drives and other storage devices

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Tiamat
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Samsung 160GB Nidec SATA -doesnt seem "that" quiet

Post by Tiamat » Tue May 17, 2005 5:56 pm

I bought a samsung 160GB Nidec SATA from microcenter and its idle doesnt seem all that quiet to me. Am I just nitpicking? I guess I figured it would have been a great improvement over my WD Raptor 74 which is only slightly louder at idle. (Granted my WD is suspended on bungee cord)

The samsung sounds like an optical drive spinning a cd at low rpm and is very audible from 3" away. Its a smooth type spinning noise - kinda like air blowing at low flow rate through a wide pipe.

Is this what the samsung is like for others? Obviously I wasnt expecting it to be inaudible, I guess i was just hoping for less audible.

In other news, it is much quieter than my 400GB Seagate PATA which is louder than even my WD raptor!

rtsai
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Post by rtsai » Tue May 17, 2005 6:59 pm

I have a pair of SP1614C. They are my first so-called "quiet" drives. They are definitely quieter than the WD (some 120GB SATA drive) that came with my Dell. But I agree they are not inaudible. As confirmed by the recent SPCR article, they can vibrate. This is easily remedied by de-coupling them from any kind of hard mounting. I've got a SP1614N on foam (basically inaudible). The SP1614C pair is mounted in an Antec SLK3000B with soft EAR grommets and not really inaudible, but it doesn't matter as much because they are in a noisy living room.

mazurek
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Post by mazurek » Tue May 17, 2005 7:47 pm

I agree, raptor is just as good as spinpoint. the only way to go if you want a quiet pc, is notebook drive. I have a notebook drive as the primary drive, and a spinpoint as an auxilary, which is set to spin down. When it spins up, my system is no longer quiet.

Katharsis
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Post by Katharsis » Wed May 18, 2005 2:30 am

i just bought the same hard drive and would agree with rtsai. it is much quieter than my old 80gb western digital drive i replaced. not silent, but mellow and inoffensive. right now it's hard mounted and it does vibrate a bit, still less than the old drive. i'm debating right now over how i want to decouple it.

Tiamat
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Post by Tiamat » Wed May 18, 2005 3:23 am

Thanks for your replies. I was running the drive on a cardboard box i had lying around so I could effectively stick my head near it to listen.

Seems like my hdd isnt defective, at least from your opinions.

rtsai
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Post by rtsai » Wed May 18, 2005 4:31 am

rtsai wrote:I have a pair of SP1614C. They are my first so-called "quiet" drives. They are definitely quieter than the WD (some 120GB SATA drive) that came with my Dell. But I agree they are not inaudible. As confirmed by the recent SPCR article, they can vibrate. This is easily remedied by de-coupling them from any kind of hard mounting. I've got a SP1614N on foam (basically inaudible). The SP1614C pair is mounted in an Antec SLK3000B with soft EAR grommets and not really inaudible, but it doesn't matter as much because they are in a noisy living room.
I should say, since it wasn't clear, that unless they die abnormally soon (or otherwise manifest some kind of unacceptable defect), I would not hesitate to get more of them if I need more storage. They have met my expectations.

Ralf Hutter
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Post by Ralf Hutter » Wed May 18, 2005 5:57 am

Tiamat wrote:Thanks for your replies. I was running the drive on a cardboard box i had lying around so I could effectively stick my head near it to listen.
Don'tcha think that placing the drive on top of a cardboard box may possibly exacerbate it's vibration?

GUNNER
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Post by GUNNER » Wed May 18, 2005 6:55 am

I've got 3 in an Antec 3700BQE with AcoustiPack using the standard grommetted trays that come with the case. I have never heard the drives.

(My true problem may be the Panaflo I'm using as an intake fan. I may try turning it off tonight and see if I can hear the drives.)

alleycat
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Post by alleycat » Wed May 18, 2005 8:10 am

Tiamat, I also find the Samsungs (or any drive) too noisy. The only way to really silence them is with a decent enclosure - even then you will probably want to decouple it from the case. It depends how quiet the rest of the system is.

Tiamat
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Post by Tiamat » Wed May 18, 2005 8:26 am

Ralf Hutter wrote:
Tiamat wrote:Thanks for your replies. I was running the drive on a cardboard box i had lying around so I could effectively stick my head near it to listen.
Don'tcha think that placing the drive on top of a cardboard box may possibly exacerbate it's vibration?
The noise signature I was hearing was not vibration related. It was solely bearing/spinning "stuff" inside the drive.

I placed the drive briefly on 4 pieces of sorbothane and the noise characteristic did not alter at the slightest bit.

Chang
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Post by Chang » Wed May 18, 2005 9:54 am

There is a very big difference between a harddrive sitting outside a case and one sitting inside a case. Try putting the SP1614C on the sorbothane inside the cardboard box instead of ontop the cardboard box. Or see how loud the raptor is outside the case.

wsc
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Post by wsc » Wed May 18, 2005 2:19 pm

I've had a nidec SP1614C since november 2003, so it was one of the earlier drives. I dont know if the newer drives are different or something, but if properly decoupled with a closed case, I can't tell if the drive is on or off *unless* my head is just a few inches from the case. In open air, at a distance of 3" (who on earth can say that is their normal computing position) the drive is audible, and makes a very nice whoosh noise, its not intrusive or annoying at all. Considering I paid $130 for it over 1.5 years ago, it's decent storage capacity, and very low noise signature, I think its a great drive. Suspending the drive is mandatory if you want it to be quiet though, even soft mounting is not good enough. Anyway I hope that helps you out...

Tiamat
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Post by Tiamat » Wed May 18, 2005 2:32 pm

thanks for the responses guys. I will try to set it up on my bungee cord suspension later this weekend and see what happens.

nici
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Post by nici » Wed May 18, 2005 2:54 pm

I have a s-ata 120Gb Spinpoint nidec, whatever the model number is, and i dont find it that quiet. Its inside an enclosure inside an acoustipacked case, but its still the noisiest component in my system! Though the only other component making any noise is a 120mm nexus fan at 600rpm.. Is the p-ata SP1614N Nidec any quieter? I have one of these but i´ve never used it, dont ask me why... :roll:

rtsai
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Post by rtsai » Wed May 18, 2005 3:01 pm

nici wrote:I have a s-ata 120Gb Spinpoint nidec, whatever the model number is, and i dont find it that quiet. Its inside an enclosure inside an acoustipacked case, but its still the noisiest component in my system! Though the only other component making any noise is a 120mm nexus fan at 600rpm.. Is the p-ata SP1614N Nidec any quieter? I have one of these but i´ve never used it, dont ask me why... :roll:
I'm very happy with my SP1614N on foam. It is quieter than my 2 x SP1614C with soft grommets in a cage. But given that you already have one, I don't see why you don't just install it and see for yourself :roll:

nici
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Post by nici » Wed May 18, 2005 3:37 pm

Ill probably have to do that... :roll: its 2:40AM here, and i feel dead tired. Ill leave it for tomorrow.. The testing i mean.

Ok so i tested it now, plugged it to a molex and listened to the idle. Its not quieter than the 120Gb..

I think ill have to get something like this Asetek WaterChill thingie, and submerge the whole thing in concrete or something.. Ok now its almost three AM.. Yeah...

Image

Tiamat
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Post by Tiamat » Thu May 19, 2005 8:42 am

haha, excellent timing by Mike with the WD Raptor review!! So, it seems that the Raptor is very similar during idle to the samsung nidec! Confirms my observations!!

Viperoni
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Post by Viperoni » Thu May 19, 2005 5:34 pm

I tested a nidec SP0411N manuf: 03/2005, and it didn't seem as quiet as my nidec SP1604N... and I tested the SP0411 at work in a retail store, vs the SP1604N in a very quiet house.

rainfever
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Post by rainfever » Tue May 24, 2005 1:20 pm

nici wrote:Ok so i tested it now, plugged it to a molex and listened to the idle. Its not quieter than the 120Gb..

sooo if im not mistaken people say that after a few days the drive becomes more quiet. I am wondering if this is the case for you (you posted on the 18th)

nici
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Post by nici » Thu May 26, 2005 4:38 am

I wouldnt know, sorry, i unplugged it after a couple of minutes.. :roll: Though i assume i could plug it back in and let it idle for a few days and report back... just have to figure out where to mount the bugger, the only place i can think of in top of the enclosed drive on a piece of foam. Cant see any problem with that though so ill probably just do that.

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