Been out of the loop, what is the quietest 250gig+ HDD?

Silencing hard drives, optical drives and other storage devices

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RaNDoMMAI
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Been out of the loop, what is the quietest 250gig+ HDD?

Post by RaNDoMMAI » Sun Jun 12, 2005 7:12 am

Hey guys

looking for a new drive just for anime and mp3s and would like at least 250gigs.

I been reading some threads and it seems even western dig has quiet 320 gig HDD which is totally amazing to me since Wd has been the loudest.

Speed isnt too important but is nice.

I just want the quietest big storage drive. I might even get the 200gig samsung if it is alot quieter then the rest.

TIA
~RaNDoM

karmasalad
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Post by karmasalad » Tue Jun 14, 2005 6:31 am

I was in a similar situation last month (also looking for a drive to store mp3s and anime). Try doing a search and you'll come up with quite a few threads on this topic.

Basically, your options are the new Samsung P120 series, the Maxtor D10 line, and the WD Caviars. The Maxtors have gotten mixed reviews, the WDs have gotten mostly good reviews, and there isn't much information on the Samsungs yet.

From the information I was able to gather, I decided on a WD 3200JB due to its capacity and good word-of-mouth from a few SPCR members. I've been very happy with the purchase. Yes, WD does make quiet drives now.

In fact, I find the WD to be quieter than the Samsung NIDECs I have (80GBx1/120GBx1/160GBx2). All of the Samsungs I own exhibit a high frequency whine in idle. It's subtle, but it's noticeable. (Note, however, that I'm very sensitive to high frequency noises.)

The WD, OTOH, has a much more benign sound signature - like a very light fan or breeze. While it might have more volume than the Samsungs, it is infinitely more tolerable (for me) and easily fades into the background and becomes unnoticeable.

There have been a few members who have not been happy with their WDs though, and have complained of an excessive "white noise" like sound. I have no had such experience with mine, but it is something to note.

Anyway, I'm a WD convert now. If it weren't for the costs involved, I'd replace all my Samsungs with WDs. As it is, I'm thinking about picking up another 3200JB for the server.

Hope this helps.

winguy
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Post by winguy » Tue Jun 14, 2005 10:51 am

I was thinking between Samsung P120 SP2504C / SP2514N and Hitachi T7K250 250GB SATA/PATA. Can't really make up my mind.

hightower
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Post by hightower » Tue Jun 14, 2005 1:00 pm

There's reviews of both on tomshardware.com. To sum it up, if you plan on having your OS on the same drive, go for hitachi - very fast access times. If it's just for data, go samsung. I have the hitachi t7k250 and im very pleased with it. Seeks are much quieter than my previous seagates (7200.7/8 ) and overall I feel it's faster too. 8)

RaNDoMMAI
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Post by RaNDoMMAI » Thu Jun 16, 2005 4:34 am

thx for the replys, i have read a few past threads and i notice the same things; either samsung, maxtor D10 or the new WD. i very temped on the WD drives as they are big and rather cheap sometimes.

i'll post a update when i get a new drive. my friend just got a 300gig seagate SATA with NCQ and i wasnt too impress with it...

~RaNDoM

Mar.
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Post by Mar. » Thu Jun 16, 2005 5:41 pm

hightower wrote:There's reviews of both on tomshardware.com.
Because we know how reliable THG is.

winguy
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Post by winguy » Fri Jun 17, 2005 11:00 am

hightower wrote:There's reviews of both on tomshardware.com. To sum it up, if you plan on having your OS on the same drive, go for hitachi - very fast access times. If it's just for data, go samsung. I have the hitachi t7k250 and im very pleased with it. Seeks are much quieter than my previous seagates (7200.7/8 ) and overall I feel it's faster too. 8)
Yes I'd be using it for OS installation but I'm not impressed with 7K250 's normal seeking noise. It sounds much better with AAM enabled. I don't know about the T7K250 though. If it requires enabling AAM, the advantage of faster seeks diminishes.

What about comparing idle, normal seek and AAM seek noise between Samsung P120 and Hitachi T7K250 ? :P

mfc2
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Post by mfc2 » Sat Jun 18, 2005 11:08 am

I had been contemplating either the DiamondMax 10 300GB or the WD3200JD 320GB drives for a while now. If you read the reviews, they are both decent drives. Maxtor is a little faster, but it has less capacity and a worse track record. WD drives are slower, but they are cheaper and have a good reliability track record.

I just purchased two WD3200JD drives from Monarch for $140 each w/free shipping. The cheapest DiamondMax 10 300GB drives I could find were $180. So based on price, the choice became easy.

Mar.
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Post by Mar. » Sat Jun 18, 2005 11:40 am

I have a WD800JB, it's not the same thing of course (diff capacity), but I can say that the WD product line has improved dramatically in the past year and a half. I haven't used a Diamondmax, but every Maxtor drive I've ever had has failed. (I think four to date)

RaNDoMMAI
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Post by RaNDoMMAI » Sun Jun 19, 2005 6:11 am

Mar. wrote:I have a WD800JB, it's not the same thing of course (diff capacity), but I can say that the WD product line has improved dramatically in the past year and a half. I haven't used a Diamondmax, but every Maxtor drive I've ever had has failed. (I think four to date)
well i have a 2 or 3 or maybe even 4 Wd drives fail on me. I have onlyone or two maxtor and never a seagate or samsung fail.

~RaNDoM

Mar.
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Post by Mar. » Sun Jun 19, 2005 10:50 am

RaNDoMMAI wrote:
Mar. wrote:I have a WD800JB, it's not the same thing of course (diff capacity), but I can say that the WD product line has improved dramatically in the past year and a half. I haven't used a Diamondmax, but every Maxtor drive I've ever had has failed. (I think four to date)
well i have a 2 or 3 or maybe even 4 Wd drives fail on me. I have onlyone or two maxtor and never a seagate or samsung fail.

~RaNDoM
Yes but, were they drives that were made in the past year and a half?

halcyon
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Post by halcyon » Sun Jun 19, 2005 12:01 pm

RaNDoMMAI wrote:
Mar. wrote: well i have a 2 or 3 or maybe even 4 Wd drives fail on me. I have onlyone or two maxtor and never a seagate or samsung fail.
~RaNDoM
[offtopic]
That is an anecdote, not statistics.

Vendor specific failure rates for a recent period has been posted in this forum (do a search).

WD has the lowest failure rate. Maxtor the highest (out of HD manufacturers).

Of course, this rate varies as new products with new technologies are introduced.

So, Caveat Emptor.
[/offtopic]

I'd also recommend WD 3200 series. I have two of those and with AAM on they are reasonably quiet (for 300GB drives) and run very cool (again for 300GB drives).

I considered all the options (IBM, Seagate, Maxtor, WD, Samsung, etc.) and I ended up with WD after a long deliberation.

metalac
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Post by metalac » Sun Jun 19, 2005 12:55 pm

I just ordered me a WD 320gb drive can't wait for it to get here, so that I can see what's going on.

Shining Arcanine
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Post by Shining Arcanine » Sun Jun 19, 2005 3:44 pm

I second the recommendation on the Western Digital hard drives. I have a WD3200JB and it is the quietest hard drive I have ever heard.

mshan
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Post by mshan » Sun Jun 19, 2005 3:53 pm

Are all currently produced WD320JB consistently silent or is there a lot of variability from sample to sample?

Also, how is vibration to chassis noise when not suspended with elastic?

dragontales
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Post by dragontales » Sun Jun 19, 2005 7:26 pm

metalac wrote:I just ordered me a WD 320gb drive can't wait for it to get here, so that I can see what's going on.
I ordered this hdd too and it should come in a few days. Hope this puppy is quiet! If it is, I'll order 1 more.

Shining Arcanine
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Post by Shining Arcanine » Mon Jun 20, 2005 1:11 am

mshan wrote:Are all currently produced WD320JB consistently silent or is there a lot of variability from sample to sample?

Also, how is vibration to chassis noise when not suspended with elastic?
I don't know about the consistency but the fact that pretty much everyone drive on these forums who buys a Western Digital is happy with it should say something.

As for the vibration, from what I understand, the Caviars vibrate much less than the Samsungs.

Arcanthis
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Post by Arcanthis » Mon Jun 20, 2005 4:50 am

I bought a Maxtor Diamondmax 10 300GB a while back. Seeks without AAM on are LOUD but with AAM on aren't too bad. However it's idle is not particularly quiet, in the HTPC case I'm putting together it's readily the loudest device. I'd love to try suspending it but that's not much of an option in this case unfortunately. I haven't tried them side by side but I suspect the 7200.7 SATA in one of my other PC's is quieter all round.

Also the seek performance according to HDTach is poor, which I have seen other buyers and some reviews comment on, with or without AAM enabled. The Maxtor also makes a "clunk" sound when powered down which is both annoying and unsettling. Think I'll have to try one of these WD's and move the Maxtor to another PC...

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