replace 2,5" HDD in notebook - toshiba better than sams

VERiON · Post by **VERiON** » Thu Mar 03, 2005 12:47 am

I have rather old notebook IBM T23 - PIII 1.13 GHz for web/e-mais/IM @ winXP.

It is really hot at the bottom. There are 2 hot spots: the CPU area and HDD area. I can force CPU to run 733Mhz max so I can lower cpu heat, but the HDD area is about 45-50 'C hot., which is really unplesant with notebook sitting on your laps.

So I want to replace my notebook HDD with a new one, hoping that the new one will be quieter an cooler (i can use replaced HDD in my home server and make it server system HDD).

I found MikeC post
http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=14611

"Even slow 4200rpm drives weren't that quiet as recently as 2.5 years ago (the age of the last notebook I bought). But there's been a transformation in notebook drives over the past year or two, and they are quieter and faster than ever."

Because my notebook HDD surely fits in "before transformation in notebook drives" category - replacing it coud make a real difference.

I've checked recommended section, (http://www.silentpcreview.com/Sections+ ... id-29.html) and I think I have to choose between 4200RPM/8mb Toshiba MK4025GAS and 5400RPM/8mb Samsung MP0402H 40G.

Samsung seems to be a better choice... for a silent desktop with HDD suspension.

But I think that for hard mounted notebook HDD the better choice is Toshiba, since it is slower 4200RPM drive -> possily quieter and little cooler then 5400RPM Samsung. The downside is that i will take little preformance hit (compared to Samsung) but it will be still faster than my old drive (i hope).

____

I'm planning to add 512MB memory stick (i have 256mb now) and turn swap file off and maybe make ram disk for Firefox browser cache. It will also limit access to hdd and help a little bit in cool/quiet department

____

bobkoure · Post by **bobkoure** » Mon Mar 14, 2005 2:37 pm

I've put a couple of Fujitsu 40G 4200RPM (MHT20 series) in "Compact Drive" devices (basically USB 2 enclosures that have batteries and can read different kinds of memory cards). I built one for myself - and a friend liked it so much (and was on his way overseas) that I just sold him mine for replacement cost and built another.
They aren't dead silent, but I have to put the enclosure within an inch of my ear to hear the drive. The disk is hard mounted in the enclosure, so this might be comparable to a notebook mount.
Last Friday I ordered a MHT2080 - an 80G disk in this same series to go in my Dell C400, but I haven't received it, so I can't report on noise. I'm hoping it's about the same as the 40s (Bel numbers on Fujitsu's pages were the same). The current drive in the C400 is an IBM Travelstar 4200RPM, which is not as quiet as the Fujitsu (at least I don't think so). Beats me how other "modern" notebook drives might compare...

VERiON · Post by **VERiON** » Wed Mar 23, 2005 11:15 am

bobkoure wrote:They aren't dead silent, but I have to put the enclosure within an inch of my ear to hear the drive. The disk is hard mounted in the enclosure, so this might be comparable to a notebook mount.

good to hear that

bobkoure wrote:The current drive in the C400 is an IBM Travelstar 4200RPM, which is not as quiet as the Fujitsu

My notebook hdd is also IBM Travelstar 4200RPM. I already decided to swap it for Fujitsu.