Two more half-terabyte notebook drives spin through, a 7200rpm Seagate and a 5400rpm Hitachi: Acoustics and power efficiency continue to improve.
November 5, 2009 by Lawrence Lee and Mike Chin
Product | Seagate Momentus 7200.4 ST9500420AS 7200rpm 500GB 2.5″ HDD | Hitachi Travelstar 5K500.B HTS545050B9A 5400rpm 500GB 2.5″ HDD |
Sample Supplier | Hitachi | |
Street Price | US$100~140 | US$90~100 |
Half a terabyte was the upper limit for bare notebook drives early last spring. We reviewed 5400rpm models of this capacity from Seagate and Western Digital back in March. The 500GB ceiling held through the summer, but in the last month or two, it has been breached. WD now offers 2.5″ drives at 640GB, 750GB, and 1TB capacity, although it must be noted that the latter two are not in the usual 9.5mm thick form factor, but a little thicker at 12.5mm. Seagate has portable storage devices using 2.5″ drives of higher capacities — 640GB, 750GB, 880GB and 1TB — but its bare notebook drive options remain limited to 500GB maximum. Among Seagate’s higher capacity external storage models, only the 640GB model appears to have standard thickness; like the WD bare drives, the rest are thicker. The added thickness suggests that the higher capacity has been achieved with more than the usual 2-platters, perhaps three or even four. Most notebook computers will not accept the thicker 12.5mm drives.
All this digression isn’t quite right for an intro: We’re here to examine two more 500GB notebook drives of standard physical size that will fit into any notebook. We review them more from a desktop-use perspective, as we’ve encouraged using notebook drives for achieving the lowest noise levels in PCs for many years. (See the 2004 article, Is the Silent PC Future 2.5-inches wide?) Still, readers looking for a new replacement HDD for ther laptop will find much that’s useful for them.
Until the very best of the latest generation 5400rpm and 5900rpm desktop drives appeared on the scene, the quietest notebooks had a clear edge over 3.5″ drives in terms of acoustics and vibration. Airborne acoustics of the quietest 2.5″ and 3.5″ drives are now so close that it’s hard to call; they’re both extremely quiet. For vibration, a good 2.5″ drive has an intrinsic advantage: It has much less moving mass than the latters in the 3.5″ drives, and this usually translates to less vibration-caused noise. These are generalizations, not hard and fast rules, and many exceptions abound.
The Seagate Momentus 7200.4 500GB is a 7200rpm model; we tested the 5400rpm version earlier. The higher spindle speed usually translates to higher performance, also reflected in a price that’s a bit higher than that for 5400rpm models. The Travelstar 5K500.B is our first look at a Hitachi at the 500GB capacity.
SEAGATE MOMENTUS 7200.4 500GB
The 4th iteration of Seagate’s Momentus 7200 line is available in 160GB, 250GB,
320GB, and 500GB flavors, all with 16MB of cache. The 320 and 500GB versions
are two-platter drives while the smaller 160 and 250GB varieties only have a
single spinning disk inside. As always, Seagate offers models with G-Force shock
protection, though our sample lacks that particular feature.
Our 7200.4 sample. |
Seagate Momentus 7200.4: Key Features & Benefits (from product overview) | |
FEATURE & BRIEF | Our Comment |
Highest available notebook performance increases productivity in all environments | But at what cost? |
Sata 3Gb/s interface with Native Command Queuing (NCQ) and command ordering | Standard. NCQ isn’t really beneficial in a laptop environment. |
16-MB cache on every capacity. | Twice the standard amount. |
Green features: * Leverages Seagate laptop power management technology, delivering the lowest-power 7200-RPM laptop hard drive yet * Utilizes ramp load features that remove the head from the disk during idle periods, improving idle power consumption and adding to the durability of the drive | Head parking is not new; it does save on energy use. |
Optional G-Force Protection feature adds another layer of robustness for road warriors | Only drives with model numbers ending in “ASG” have G-Force protection. Our sample is an “AS.” |
QuietStep technology enables ultra-quiet load/unload acoustics | We’ll see what “ultra-quiet” means. |
State-of-the-art cache and on-the-fly error-correction algorithms | Okay. |
Fluid dynamic bearing motor for quiet operation | Standard on all consumer HDDs for several years. |
Support for S.M.A.R.T. drive monitoring and reporting | Okay, now they’re really reaching for extra features. |
Seagate Momentus 7200.4 500GB: Specifications (from the product manual) | |
Model Number | ST9500420AS |
Capacity | 500GB |
Cache | 16MB |
Disks / Heads | 2 / 4 |
Interface | SATA 3Gb/s |
Spindle Speed | 7,200 rpm |
Internal Transfer Rate (Maximum) | 1.23 Gb/s |
Average Seek: (Read / Write) | 11.0 / 13.0 msec |
Average Latency | 4.17 msec |
Weight | 110 grams (0.238 lb) |
Power: Idle / Seek (Typical) | 0.69W, 2.1W |
Acoustics: Idle / Seek (Typical) | 2.3 bels / 2.6 bels |
HITACHI TRAVELSTAR 5K500.B
The 5K500.B is the top of a line of models with capacities of 120, 160, 250, 320, 400 and 500GB. Hitachi markets them as “high-capacity, eco-friendly storage for notebook PCs and mobile applications.”
Our 5K500.B sample. |
Hitachi Travelstar 5K500.B: Key Features & Benefits (from product datasheet) | |
FEATURE & BRIEF | Our Comment |
Lowest power consumption in its class – 1.4W read/write power – 0.5W low power idle | Sounds good, we’ll measure. |
Sata 3Gb/s interface | Standard. |
Halogen-free for eco-friendly footprint | Nice. |
Best protection against bumps and rough handling – 400G operating shock – 1000G non-operating shock | Sounds good. |
Better soft error rate for improved reliability with Altitude-sensing Thermal Fly-height Control (TFC) | Said to be “an improved actuator latch and 4th gen perpendicular magnetic recording (PMR) head technology.” |
Quiet acoustics | We’ll check. |
Security: Bulk Data Encryption option helps safeguard data in the event of system theft or loss | Okay, but our model was not BDE equipped. |
Up to 875Mb/s media transfer rate for excellent application performance in PCMark Vantage testing | Performance differences between HDDs of the same capacity, spindle speed and cache are usually trivial. |
Enhanced Availability (EA)— optimizeed for reliable 24×7 operation | In embedding computing, for example. Our sample was not an EA model. |
Hitachi Travelstar 5K500.B: Specifications (from product datasheet) | |
Model Number | HTS545050B9A300 |
Capacity | 500GB |
Cache | 8MB |
Disks / Heads | 2 / 4 |
Interface | SATA 3Gb/s |
Spindle Speed | 5400rpm |
Media Transfer Rate (Maximum) | 875 Mb/s |
Average Seek (Read) | 12 msec |
Average Latency | 5.5 msec |
Weight (we measured) | 100 grams |
Power: Sleep, Standby, Low power idle, Active Idle, Performance Idle, Read / Write, Seek, Startup max peak | 0.1W, 0.2W, 0.5, 0.8W, 1.3W, 1.4W, 1.7W. 4.5W |
Acoustics: Idle / Seek (Typical) | 2.4 bels / 2.6 bels |
It’s interesting to note that Hitachi provides power specs for many states, including some not mentioned in the table above. Does the drive actually move into all these various power states based on usage/demand? We may try to find out… but the differences between some of the states is very small so it may be difficult as we don’t have a data logging fuction for DC power measurements.
TESTING
Our samples were tested according to our standard
hard drive testing methodology. A significant change in our testing procedure is that as of mid-2008, we’re conducting most acoustics tests in our own 10~11 dBA anechoic chamber, which results in more accurate, lower SPL readings than before, especially as the SPL approaches 20 dBA and below, which is the territory of laptop drives. Our methodology focuses specifically on
noise, and great effort is taken to ensure it is comprehensively measured
and described. Performance is covered only lightly, for reasons discussed in detail in the methodology article.
Two forms of hard drive noise are measured:
- Airborne acoustics
- Vibration-induced noise.
These two types of noise impact the subjective
perception of hard drive noise differently depending on how and where the drive
is mounted.
Both forms of noise are evaluated objectively and
subjectively. Airborne acoustics are measured in our anechoic chamber using a lab reference
microphone and computer audio measurement system. Measurements are taken at a distance of one meter from the top
of the drive using an A-weighted filter. Vibration noise is rated on a scale
of 1-10 by comparing against our standard reference drives.
Summary of primary HDD testing tools:
- Hitachi
Feature Tool – DOS utility used primarily to check/set Automatic Acoustic
Management and for its intense seek simulation utility - HD
Tach – Low level hardware benchmark for random access read/write storage
devices - IOMeter – I/O
subsystem measurement and characterization tool for single and clustered systems.
It is used as a benchmark and troubleshooting tool - HD Tune Pro
– Benchmarking tool for storage devices - SpeedFan
– Monitor system sensors such as HDD temperature - SPCR’s Audio Audio
Recording/Analysis system using SpectraPlus
and other utilities - SPCR Anechoic Chamber
- Custom-built HDD power
measurement and Vibration test tools
A final caveat: As with most reviews, our comments
are relevant to the samples we tested. Your sample may not be identical. There
are always some sample variances, and manufacturers also make changes without
telling everyone.
Ambient conditions at time of testing were 10.5 dBA and 22°C.
Seagate label.
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PERFORMANCE
HD Tach results for Seagate Momentus 7200.4 500GB
|
According to HD Tach, the Momentus 7200.4 has an average read speed of about
85MB/s, which is 16-18MB/s better than the Hitachi 5K500.B as well as other Seagate and WD 5400rpm 500GB
notebook drives. Its read speed puts it in a class similar to the Samsung
EcoGreen 500GB and WD Green 2TB. These 3.5″ drives have much higher areal density, which seems to compensate for the lower
rotational speed. Random access times were similar as well. All this indicates that the Momentus 7200.4 500GB is a pretty speedy, especially for a notebook drive.
The Hitachi Travelstar 5K500.B 500GB was similar in performance to the other 500GB 5400rpm notebook drive, except for random access time, which was slower by 2~3ms, at least on HD Tach.
HD TACH RESULTS COMPARISON | ||
Drive | Random Access | Avg Read |
Seagate Barracuda LP 2TB | 14.9ms | 97MB/s |
Seagate Pipeline HD .2 500GB | 18.6ms | 96MB/s |
Seagate Pipeline HD .2 1TB | 15.0ms | 95MB/s |
Samsung EcoGreen F2 500GB | 16.7ms | 87MB/s |
Seagate Momentus 7200.4 500GB | 16.9ms | 85MB/s |
WD Green WD20EADS 2TB | 17.9ms | 82MB/s |
Seagate Pipeline HD 500GB | 17.7ms | 75MB/s |
WD Scorpio Blue 500GB | 16.9ms | 69MB/s |
Hitachi Travelstar 5K500.B 500GB | 20.3ms | 67MB/s |
Seagate Momentus 5400.6 500GB | 18.1ms | 67MB/s |
Notebook drives in blue. 5400/5900rpm desktop drives in green. |
HD Tune results were slightly different than HD Tach, with a bit slower transfer rate for both tested drives and a touch quicker access time for the Hitachi.
|
ACOUSTICS
Our Momentus 7200.4 sample had excellent acoustics — 14 dBA@1m at
idle, and only 15 dBA@1m during seek. The idle whirl was noticeably quieter
and less hollow-sounding than its 5400.6 brother. It did have a touch
of whine, which was only noticeable in close. Seeks were fairly muted and difficult
to detect from one meter. These results would be excellent for any 7200rpm drive,
let alone a 2.5″ variety.
At idle. The Momentus 7200.4 was very quiet. |
The Hitachi Travelstar 5K500.B 500GB also had excellent acoustics, matching the Momentus 7200.4 with 14 dBA@1m in idle and no more about about 1 dBA higher in seek.
The 5K500.B also exhibited extremely low noise; seek noise was nearly identical. |
VIBRATION & POWER
The level of vibration was slightly lower with the Hitachi 5K500.B, which is as it should be, since it is a 5400rpm drive. The Seagate exhibited about the same level of vibration as the last couple 7200rpm notebook drives we tested, the Seagate Momentus 7200.2 160GB and the Hitachi Travelstar 7K100 100GB.
The power consumed by the Hitachi was a low 0.7W in idle. The maximum power peak in any of the testing was just 2.2W. This is the lowest measured power of any test HDD, by a very small margin over the Seagate Momentus 5400.4 500GB. The claims at other power points could not be established, because it was very difficult to identify the different states.
The Momentus was also very miserly, despite its high speed and performance. A 0.3~0.4W increase in power over the slower 5400rpm drives seems quite reasonable.
HDD Mfg date firmware version | Vibration 1-10 (10 = no vibration) | Activity State | Airborne Acoustics (dBA@1m) | Measured Power |
Seagate Momentus 7200.4 500GB ST9500420AS March 2009 firmware 0002SDM1 | 7 | Idle | 14 | 1.1 W (0.9 W heads unloaded) |
Seek | 15 | 2.5W peak | ||
Hitachi Travelstar 5K500.B 500GB Feb 2009 firmware PB4OC60G | 8 | Idle | 14 | 0.7W (0.6 W heads unloaded) |
Seek | 15 | 2.2W peak |
DRIVE COMPARISON
Our Seagate 7200.4 sample measured lower than the 5400rpm 500GB notebook drives tested in the spring. It generated slightly
less noise (1 dB) than the Scorpio Blue 500GB, but had a touch more vibration
— though you’d be hard-pressed to tell the two apart in a blind-test — we’ll
say they’re both about a 7 out of 10 on our scale. The 500GB Momentus 5400.6 from the spring vibrated noticeably less than the new Momentus 7200.4 but it was 2-3 dBA louder. The Hitachi Travelstar 5K500.B was the best of this 500GB mix, matching the airborne acoustics of the Seagate 7200.4 and vibration as low as we’ve measured on any drive.
ALL HDDS TESTED IN ANECHOIC CHAMBER | ||||
Drive Mfg date firmware version | Vibration 1-10 (10 = no vibration) | Activity State | Airborne Acoustics (dBA@1m) | Measured Power |
CURRENT REVIEW SUBJECTS | ||||
Seagate Momentus 7200.4 500GB ST9500420AS March 2009 firmware 0002SDM1 | 7 | Idle | 14 | 1.1 W (0.9 W heads unloaded) |
Seek | 15 | 2.35 W | ||
Hitachi Travelstar 5K500.B 500GB Feb 2009 firmware PB4OC60G | 8 | Idle | 14 | 0.7W (0.6 W heads unloaded) |
Seek | 15 | 2.2 W | ||
NOTEBOOK DRIVES | ||||
8 | Idle | 13 | 0.75 W | |
Seek (AAM) | 2.35 W | |||
Seek | 15 | |||
Seagate Momentus 5400.6 500GB ST9500325ASG February 2009 firmware 0001SDM1 | 8 | Idle | 16 | 0.8 W (0.65 W heads unloaded) |
Seek | 18 | 2.2 W | ||
WD Scorpio Blue 500GB WD5000BEVT September 2008 firmware 01.01A01 | 7 | Idle | 15 | 0.95 W (0.8 W heads unloaded) |
Seek (Normal) | 16 | 2.5 W | ||
DESKTOP DRIVES | ||||
Drive Mfg date firmware version | Vibration 1-10 (10 = no vibration) | Activity State | Airborne Acoustics (dBA@1m) | Measured Power |
Seagate Pipeline HD .2 500GB ST3500414CS March 2009 firmware SC13 | 8 | Idle | 13 | 2.7 W |
Seek | 13~14 | 6.7 W | ||
Samsung F2 EcoGreen 500GB HD502HI February 2009 firmware 1AG01114 | 8 | Idle | 12 | 3.2 W |
Seek (AAM) | 15 | 5.3 W | ||
Seek (Normal) | 16 | 6.1 W | ||
WD Caviar Green 2TB WD20EADS February 2009 firmware 01.00A01 | 7 | Idle | 13 | 6.4 W (4.0W heads unloaded) |
Seek (AAM) | 6.5 W | |||
Seek (Normal) | 13~14 | 6.5 W | ||
Seagate Pipeline HD .2 1TB ST31000424CS April 2009 firmware SC13 | 7 | Idle | 12 | 4.3 W |
Seek | 16 | 7.3 W | ||
Seagate Pipeline HD 500GB ST3500321CS July 2008 firmware SC14 | 6 | Idle | 14 | 4.1 W |
Seek | 15 | 6.9 W | ||
Seagate Barracuda LP 2TB ST32000542AS June 2009 firmware CC32 | 6 | Idle | 14 | 4.7W |
Seek | 17 | 7.9W | ||
Seagate Pipeline HD Pro 1TB ST31000533CS September 2008 firmware SC15 | 4 | Idle | 15 | 7.1 W |
Seek | 16 | 10.1 W | ||
WD VelociRaptor WD3000GLFS 300GB, 10K RPM 15 May 2008 firmware 03.03V01 | 8 [w/o frame] | Idle | 15 | 8.2 W |
Seek (AAM) | 20 | 12.2 W | ||
Seek (Normal) | 22 | 12.2 W | ||
WD Caviar SE16 640GB WD6400AAKS February 2008 firmware 01.03B01 | 7 | Idle | 16 | 6.8 W |
Seek (AAM) | 16~17 | 8.1 W | ||
Seek (Normal) | 18~19 | 9.3 W | ||
Samsung F1 750GB HD753LJ February 2008 firmware 1AA01109 | 6 | Idle | 16 | 6.9 W |
Seek (AAM) | 18~19 | 8.9 W | ||
Seek (Normal) | 20~21 | 10.2 W | ||
Seagate 7200.11 1.5TB ST31500341AS October 2008 firmware SD17 | 4 | Idle | 17 | 8.8 W |
Seek | 19 | 10.7 W | ||
WD Caviar Black 1TB WD1001FALS July 2008 firmware 05.00K05 | 4 | Idle | 21 | 8.5 W |
Seek (AAM) | 10.9 W | |||
Seek (Normal) | 25 | 11.0 W |
AUDIO RECORDINGS
These recordings were made with a high resolution, lab quality, digital recording
system inside SPCR’s own 11
dBA ambient anechoic chamber, then converted to LAME 128kbps encoded MP3s.
We’ve listened long and hard to ensure there is no audible degradation from
the original WAV files to these MP3s. They represent a quick snapshot of what
we heard during the review.
These recordings are intended to give you an idea of how the product sounds
in actual use — one meter is a reasonable typical distance between a computer
or computer component and your ear. The recording contains stretches of ambient
noise that you can use to judge the relative loudness of the subject. Be aware
that very quiet subjects may not be audible — if we couldn’t hear it from
one meter, chances are we couldn’t record it either!
The recordings start with 5 to 10 seconds of ambient noise, then 10 second
segments of the drive in the following states: idle, seek with AAM enabled (if
applicable), and seek with AAM disabled (if applicable).
- Seagate Momentus 7200.4 500GB ST9500420AS — Idle: 14 / Seek:
15 dBA@1m— One
Meter - Hitachi Travelstar 5K500.B 500GB
— Idle: 14 / Seek: 15 dBA@1m— One
Meter
Comparatives:
- Samsung F2 EcoGreen 500GB HD502HI — Idle: 12 / Seek (AAM):
15 / Seek (Normal): 16 dBA@1m— One
Meter - Seagate Pipeline HD .2 1TB ST31000424CS — Idle: 12 / Seek:
16 dBA@1m— One
Meter - Western Digital Caviar Green 2TB WD20EADS — Idle: 13 / Seek
(AAM): 13 / Seek (Normal): 13~14 dBA@1m— One
Meter - Seagate Pipeline HD .2 500GB ST3500414CS — Idle: 13 / Seek:
13~14 dBA@1m— One
Meter - Seagate Pipeline HD 500GB ST3500321CS— Idle: 14 / Seek: 15
dBA@1m— One
Meter - Seagate Barracuda LP 2TB ST32000542AS — Idle: 14 / Seek:
17 dBA@1m— One
Meter - Seagate Pipeline HD Pro 1TB ST31000533CS — Idle: 15 / Seek:
16 dBA@1m— One
Meter - Western Digital Caviar Blue 640GB WD6400AAKS — Idle: 16 /
Seek (AAM): 16~17 / Seek (Normal): 18~19 dBA@1m— One
Meter - Samsung F1 750GB HD753LJ — Idle: 16 / Seek (AAM): 18~19
/ Seek (Normal): 20~21 dBA@1m— One
Meter - Seagate 7200.11 1.5TB ST31500341AS — Idle: 17 / Seek: 19
dBA@1m— One
Meter - Seagate 7200.11 1TB ST31000340AS — Idle: 18 / Seek: 19 dBA@1m—
One
Meter - Western Digital Caviar Black 1TB WD1001FALS — Idle: 21 /
Seek (AAM): 21 / Seek (Normal): 25 dBA@1m— One
Meter
CONCLUSIONS
Seagate Momentus 7200.4 500GB – We’re at a loss to explain how this 7200rpm drive can be quieter
than the 5400rpm Momentus 500GB with the same number of platters that we reviewed in the spring. Perhaps one or both of our samples are atypical —
it’s hard to say one way or the other without a few more samples of both models. Regardless, our Seagate
Momentus 7200.4 500GB sample was surprisingly quiet, beating out the 5400.6
by 2~3 dBA@1m. It does vibrate a bit more though, making its overall acoustics
similar to the WD Scorpio Blue 500GB. In a laptop, this difference may indirectly
make it noisier than the 5400.6.
The 7200.4 performs
well, in league with some of the “green” desktop drives with reduced
rotational speeds. It’s a bit slower than most 7200rpm desktop drives, but the difference is not big. It also uses very little power, only marginally more than a 5400rpm 2.5″ drive.
As we reported a few days ago, inside a Scythe Quiet Drive 2.5, it is a cheap silent alternative to a solid state drive. Slower, for sure, but higher capacity than you could get from any SSD for even 10 times the price.
Travelstar 5K500.B 500GB – Hitachi’s half terabyte 5400rpm notebook drive is a nice addition to the available options for consumers. It’s very quiet, matching the Momentus 7200.4 500GB sample vibrates very little, and is very modest in its power consumption. It beats out the other two 500GB 5400rpm notebook drives we’ve tested, the WD Scorpio Blue and the Momentus 5400.6, for both acoustics and power. Performance is similar, except for random access, which is a touch slower. We doubt the random access speed difference will be noticed in actual use, especially in a notebook computer.
The Hitachi Travelstar 5K500.B 500GB and the Seagate Momentus 7200.4 500GB are both fine hard drives, whether used in a desktop PC or a portable, and can be confidently recommended, especially for any computer user who seeks to minimize noise.
Hitachi Travelstar 5K500.B 500GB and Seagate Momentus 7200.4 500GB
are both Recommended by SPCR
Many thanks Seagate
and Hitachi for the product samples.
* * *
SPCR Articles of Related Interest:
SPCR’s Hard Drive Testing
Methodology
SPCR’s Recommended Hard Drives
5900rpm
Seagate Hard Drives: Barracuda LP, Pipeline HD .2
Samsung
F2 EcoGreen HD502HI: Silent 500GB 3.5″ HDD
WD
Caviar Green 2TB & Seagate Pipeline HD 500GB
Momentus
5400.6 & Scorpio Blue: Seagate & WD 2.5″ HDDs at 500GB
Seagate Pipeline HD Pro 1TB
Hard Drive
Scythe Quiet Drive 2.5
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