Sorry I meant to write "7200.7 from Seagate". I know the Seagate IV and V are considered the quietest drives out there, but they are not available anymore. (At least not where I live.) As far as I know all IBM/Hitachi drives have AAM. I had thought about Maxtor drives, but I have been very unimpress...

I would watch out for Silentmaxx. I've been waiting months for the replacement... I try and call them but no one ever answers the phone, or return their messages.

What is the quietest HD available right now. (Other than the Samsung.) I tried out the 7200.7 from Samsung, but it wasn't very quiet at all.

From what I see, it looks like the Hitachi 7K250 with its FDB, and AAM is in the top spot. Anyone have any opinions on this?

I would watch out for Silentmaxx. I've been waiting months for the replacement... I try and call them but no one ever answers the phone, or return their messages.

His reviews are lame. If the product looks cool, he loves it. If he got it for free to keep from the manufacturer, he loves it. From the dozen reviews I've watched he has no scientific method to his testing, and his perceptions of what is "quiet" are horrid. I want to smack the man, he's an idiot. B...

I've tried PaxMate, Dynamat, AcoustiPack and PowerSnooze. The first two are basically worthless. The last two work quite well. I think I may even prefer the PS over the AP. Their foam and rubber components are virtually identical, yet with PS you get more material for 50% the cost...

I was running a Barton 2800, 9700pro, 2 HD's, 2 optical drives, and 3 fans. No buzzing and I loved it while it worked. After a few months of operation it crapped out on me for no reason. Right now I am waiting for a replacement, which should be here soon. All in all I'd recommend it, if you have the...

A touchpad would work perfectly, but you'd have to search around to find one that is seperate from a keyboard. All the one's I've seen are built in. EDIT: Oops, spoke too soon. I found some links to touch pads that make be helpful. http://www.adesso.us//product.asp?parent%5Fid=3&strDeptName=TOUCHPAD...

I don't think its ugly. Its not a sexy LL case, but its has its charms. It looks solid, tough, and purpose built.

At that last link, the page has been translated now BTW.

Yeah lenny is right. They have the top performance, and they are pretty quiet as well.

Yeah I was just reading some tech docs from t13.org and yeah it doesn't adjust the spindle RPM's at all.

I thought that I read somewhere that when AAM was at its highest setting it reduced the spindle rpm somewhat?

Oh, I already know that. 2.1 vs 2.4 bels.

Yeah I know, but those readings are all original. That reading of 41.3 is 2 years old, and is also with AAM off.

Hmm, indeed I do. I guess I forgot about my comments since they are about a month old now. Plus due to the beauties of the internet you can't perceive sarcasm and whatnot. So, sorry about the misunderstanding.

Excellent... So then I'm not losing my mind...

Yeah that order seems off. The WD drive should be near the top (loudest) and the Seagate should be at least second from the bottom while moving the Hitachi up a few. Sure the Seagate has loud seeks, but that’s where a NoVibes would be very usefull.

Thats true, but that was 2 years ago. Apparently they have standardized their testing now.

Curious about what?

Am I imagining things or did someone post a link to a review that had the 7000A-Cu going up against the Thermalright 900 and a few others, where the 7000A-Cu won for overall cooling ability and quietness?

Here's the product page with some more images. http://www.innovatek.de/contentServ/3.0/www.innovatek.de/index.php?StoryID=767 Translated, err well googlized at least. http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.innovatek.de%2FcontentServ%2F3.0%2Fwww.innovatek.de%2Findex.php%3FStoryID%3D...

While it objectively measured in at just 42.5 dB/A from a distance of 18 millimeters, the original Raptor nonetheless emitted a continuous high-pitched squeal that was glaringly obvious under our measurement test conditions. Even when placed in a case with (fairly quiet) power supply and CPU fans, ...

miker wrote:Anyone that likes that case has tapioca for brains!
In Homer-voice: Mmmm , tapioca...... *Drool*

MikeR... No need for insults... Your *opinion* is that you do not like this case, which is perfectly fine. But you have no right to insult those that do like it. So CORK it!

Well Wacom makes great tablets. They have a relatively inexpensive one called Graphire. Last I saw the Graphire2's were about $50. The new Graphire3 is about $100. But one thing to think about is that the included mouse still makes click noises, so that means you'll have to use the pen (stylus). And...

Yeah I think its a really nice case as well. Its in my top two for sure.

I was talking to this guy who does internal testing for thermalright and he was saying that he prefers heatsinks that are a combo of a copper core, and aluminium fins, over one that’s pure copper. The reason being that aluminium dissipates heat much faster than copper. So the copper core is able to ...

As for temperature stickers, I found the idea a bit odd. By the time I open the computer case, and opened the enclosure, the hard drive would have cooled substantially. Conversely, running the drives in an open Smart Drive in an open computer case isn't indicative of the real scenario. I’m not 100%...

Most defiently.
With a voltage modded fan in the reart, maybe some dampening material, and a replacment PSU, you should be good to go.

Are the two Barracuda's going to be the only HD's in the system? Also what type are they? IV's, V's?

Does anyone know if there has been a review that talks about the performance difference if you have AAM on or off?

I've always found IBM's to be pretty quiet. FDB and AAM are a winning combo. But those annoying resetting sounds are still a bother.

With the 7K250's have you noticed the reset sound at all?

Its the nature of the beast. Floppy’s are loud, and I don't really see how they could be significantly quieter. I don't even know if my next system will have one. With almost all machines having cd-rom's/cd-rw's and USB, there are much better options. Zyzzyx, if you have the option in our BIOS to di...

Bahh, that problem with rounded cables was real when they were first released. Though I am sure that some of the rounded cables available now still have these problems, many do not. With my own tests I saw about a 5% increase in performance. Not to mention the RD3XP's look sexy and really helped air...