The Barracuda Green 2TB is an attempt by Seagate to crack the low power consumption and excellent acoustics of low power desktop drives from WD and Samsung. The Momentus 750GB on the other hand doesn’t have much to prove, coming from the same stock as the surprisingly quiet Momentus 7200.4 and XT.
March 10, 2011 by Lawrence Lee
| Product | Barracuda Green ST2000DL003 2TB 3.5″ HDD | Momentus ST9750420AS 750GB 2.5″ HDD |
| Sample Supplier | ||
| Street Price | US$80~90 | US$95 |
Today we look at a pair of new drives from Seagate that have the potential to be quiet contenders. The Barracuda Green 2TB is the latest variant of their low power/noise 5900 RPM desktop drive, which go up against 5400 RPM offerings from WD and Samsung. The Momentus 750GB has the same heritage as the surprisingly quiet Momentus 7200.4 and XT.
Incidentally, both of these drives use the new 4K advanced format. If you’ve been out of the hard drive game for awhile, there’s an informative article about the new format at bit-tech. The ramifications are only for legacy operating systems like Windows XP. One good thing about these Seagate drives is a feature called SmartAlign that takes care of all 4k issues at the hardware level so you don’t have to mess with jumpers or alignment tools to get optimal performance.
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The Momentus 750GB is a break from Seagate’s traditional naming scheme of including the rotational speed and affixing a revision number to the end of their notebook drive models. Instead of Momentus 7200.x, this latest drive is simply the Momentus 750GB. Its predecessors were surprisingly quiet for 7200 RPM drives and we expect more of the same with this one. Our sample weighed in at approximately 110 grams (similar to the Momentus XT and 5400.6 500GB) suggesting it is a two platter model. Going from 250GB to 375GB disks means a massive 50% increase in areal density, which should bode well for performance, too.
Seagate’s LP (low power) series has been around for awhile, but thus far their offerings have not matched the low noise of their main competitors, the WD Caviar Greens and Samsung EcoGreens. WD and Samsung have a distinct advantage as they have put performance on the back burner by using 5400 RPM motors. Seagate decided that 5900 RPM would provide differentiation and a performance advantage without sacrificing noise and power consumption. So far it hasn’t really worked out, particularly for their high capacity drives. Their first 2TB drive, the Barracuda LP was louder, had a higher level of vibration, and used more power than the competition.
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The new 2TB LP, dubbed the Barracuda Green, looks to buck the trend. Our sample weighed about 630 grams, compared to 4-platter Barracuda XT‘s 690 grams — it is a 3-platter drive. Furthermore, the Barracuda Green sports 64MB cache, twice as much as the old model, and uses the new SATA 6 Gb/s interface, though that feature is purely for show as mechanical hard drives can only dream of pushing that much data at once. The drive also has a new casing with a hollowed out portion around the motor supported with ribs extending out from the hub. The design reduces internal space to fit the new 3-platters configuration. Fewer platters means lower moving mass, and often, lower vibration and noise.
Specifications: Barracuda Green 2TB & Momentus 750GB | ||
| Model Number | ST2000DL003 | ST9750420AS |
| Capacity | 2TB | 750GB |
| Cache | 64B | 16MB |
| Interface | SATA 6 Gb/s | SATA 3 Gb/s |
| Rotational Speed | 5900 RPM | 7200 RPM |
| Avg. Areal Density | 422Gb/in2 | 541 Gb/in2 |
| Transfer rate (sustained) | 144 MB/s | ? |
| Average Latency | 4.16 ms | 4.2 ms |
| Power: Idle / Seek | 4.5 W / 5.8 W | 0.96 W / 2.5 W |
| Acoustics: Idle / Seek | 2.1 bels / 2.3 bels | 2.3 bels / 2.5 bels |
| Weight (typical) | 635 grams (630 grams measured) | 115 g (110 grams measured) |
| Warranty | 3 years | 3 years |
TESTING
Our samples were tested according to our standard
hard drive testing methodology. As of mid-2008, we have been conducting most acoustics tests in our own 10~11 dBA anechoic chamber, which results in more accurate, lower SPL readings than before, especially with <20 dBA@1m SPL. Our methodology focuses specifically on
noise, and great effort is taken to ensure it is comprehensively measured
and described. Performance is covered mostly with a series of timed, practical, real-world applications.
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:
- 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 and used to check/set Automatic Acoustic Management. - SPCR’s Audio Audio
Recording/Analysis system using SpectraPlus
and other utilities - SPCR Anechoic Chamber
- Custom-built HDD power
measurement and Vibration test tools
Performance Test System:
- AMD
Athlon II X4 630 processor – 2.8 GHz - Gigabyte
GA-MA785GM-US2H motherboard – 785G chipset - DDR2 Memory – 2 x 2GB DDR2-800
- Microsoft
Windows 7 Ultimate operating system – 64-bit
Performance Test Tools:
- Call
of Duty: World At War – PC game - Far
Cry 2 – PC game - ESET NOD32
– anti-virus scanner - ExactFile –
file integrity verification tool - TrueCrypt
– file/disk encryption tool - 3DMark06 –
3D benchmarking tool - Cyberlink PowerDVD
– Video player
Benchmark Details
- Boot: Time elapsed from pressing the power button to the desktop with all system tray icons loaded (minus the average time to get the “loading Windows” screen, 16 seconds)
- COD5: Load time for “Downfall” level.
- Far Cry 2: Load time for initial screen plus one level.
- ExactFile: Creating a MD5 check file of our entire test suite folder.
- TrueCrypt: Creating a 8GB encrypted file container.
- 3DMark06: Install time, longest interval between prompts.
- PowerDVD: Install time, longest interval between prompts.
- Small File Copy: Copy time for 1,278 files ranging from 10KB to 4MB
in size. - Large File Copy: Copy time for 4 files, 2 x 700MB and 2 x 1400MB
in size.
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.
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HD Tune Performance
While not entirely indicative of real world performance, HD Tune does give us a glimpse into a hard drive’s inner workings. Its transfer rate benchmark measures speed across the entire disk, giving us an idea of how fast it is over its entire span.
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HD Tune measured a maximum transfer speed of 140 MB/s for the Barracuda Green 2TB, putting it close to 7200 RPM drives like the Hitachi 7K1000.C 1TB and Barracuda XT 2TB. While it is hampered by the lower spindle speed, its 667GB platters give it a leg up compared to 5400 RPM models like the Samsung EcoGreen F3. The Momentus 750GB also gave a strong performance, besting the Momentus XT 500GB, Seagate’s hybrid notebook drive.
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Both drives have low access times compared to 5400 RPM drives like the WD Scorpio Blue and Samsung EcoGreen. 7200 RPM models have a clear advantage in this area.
The two drives appear to support adjustable Automatic Acoustic Management (AAM), but we couldn’t hear any difference in the range of settings. Typically a drive with its AAM set to “low noise” will be quieter because of less aggressive seeks which result in higher access times.
Real World Performance
A Windows 7 image loaded with our test suite was cloned to a 50GB partition
at the beginning of each drive and our entire
test suite was run start to finish 3 times with a reboot and defragmentation
in between runs except for the Momentus
XT (defragmentation resets optimizations made to the XT’s flash memory).
Average times were collected for comparison.
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Both drives had superior loading times compared to their 5400 RPM contemporaries, but the Barracuda Green was the faster of the two, trailing the 7200 RPM Deskstar 7K1000.C by a small margin.
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In application performance, the Barracuda Green was just a step behind 7200 RPM models, being very quick in our TrueCrypt test but taking a tumble in ExactFile. The Momentus was significantly slower in both.
Real World Performance (Continued)
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When it came to copying files to itself, the Barracuda Green pulled ahead of both the Momentus XT and WD Caviar Blue. The Momentus lagged behind once again, but still had a big lead over the 5400 RPM WD Scorpio Blue.
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In timed installs of PowerDVD and 3DMark06, the Barracuda Green held its own against the competition, while the Momentus came in dead last. It had particular trouble with PowerDVD, posting one of the slowest times.
Overall Performance
To gauge the overall performance of the drives, we assigned a score of 25 to the drive that excelled most in each benchmark series (loading, application, file copying, and installation) and the rest proportionally, giving each benchmark set an equal weighting. Of the drives compared, the WD Caviar Black 2TB was the fastest, scoring close to a perfect 100.
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Despite its 5900 RPM rotational speed, the Barracuda Green 2TB’s overall performance was much closer to 7200 RPM rather than 5400 RPM drives. It was four points behind the Caviar Blue 1TB, but eight points ahead of Samsung’s EcoGreen F3 2TB.
The Momentus 750GB did pretty well in the loading and application portions of our test suite, but fell far behind in the file copy and installation categories. Its final score places it somewhere between 5400 RPM 3.5″ drives like the EcoGreen F3 and their 2.5″ contemporaries like the Scorpio Blue.
NOISE
Our Barracuda Green sample was fairly quiet, measuring 14~15 dBA@1m idle and 17~18 dBA@1m when seeking. This latest Barracuda lacked the slight electrical whine of its predecessors, giving a smooth, pleasant broadband profile.
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The Barracuda Green, idle and seeking. |
The Green’s idle whirl had hollow quality, like the single-platter 500GB Barracuda 7200.12 we reviewed a couple of years ago. Placing some weight on the top of the drive helped alleviate this, but the issue was minor compared to the 7200.12. The noise during seek was unusual in that there seemed to be two types — a faint background of soft chatter with intermittent sharp clicks.
  The Momentus 750GB, idle and seeking. |
The Momentus was quiet for a notebook drive, producing just 15 dBA@1m when idle and barely any higher during seeking activity. The acoustic quality was excellent, soft and benign, with the chatter emitted during seek so low as to be barely registered by our instruments.
Vibration & Power
| COMPARISON | ||||
| HDD Mfg date firmware version | Vibration 1-10 (10 = no vibration) | Activity State | Airborne Acoustics (dBA@1m) | Measured Power |
| WD Caviar Green 2TB WD20EARS August 2010 firmware 01.00A01 | 9 | Idle | 12~13 | 2.8 W (2.4 W heads unloaded) |
| Seek | 6.5 W | |||
| Samsung EcoGreen F4 2TB HD204UI August 2010 firmware 1AQ10001 | 7 | Idle | 13 | 4.0 W |
| Seek | 15 | 5.6 W | ||
| Seagate Barracuda LP 2TB ST32000542AS June 2009 firmware CC32 | 6 | Idle | 14 | 4.7W |
| Seek | 17 | 7.9W | ||
| Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB ST2000DL003 November 2010 firmware CC31 | 8 | Idle | 14~15 | 4.6 W |
| Seek | 17~18 | 7.3 W | ||
| Samsung EcoGreen F3 2TB HD203WI May 2010 firmware 1AN10003 | 7 | Idle | 15~16 | 4.7 W |
| Seek (AAM) | 17~18 | 6.1W | ||
| Seek | 18~19 | 6.9 W | ||
Using 4.6W at idle and 7.3W during seek, the new Barracuda Green was very slightly more energy efficient than the original LP. The noise level was about the same, still noticeably louder than the latest low power drives from rivals Western Digital and Samsung. The only significant improvement was in vibration; the tremors we felt when holding the Barracuda Green were very minor.
| COMPARISON | ||||
| Drive Mfg date firmware version | Vibration 1-10 (10 = no vibration) | Activity State | Airborne Acoustics (dBA@1m) | Measured Power |
| Seagate Momentus XT 500GB ST95005620AS June 2010 firmware SD22 | 7 | Idle | 13~14 | 1.34 W (1.16 W heads unloaded) |
| Seek | 14~15 | 2.08 W | ||
| Hitachi Travelstar 5K500.B 500GB February 2009 firmware PB4OC60G | 8 | Idle | 14 | 0.7 W (0.6 W heads unloaded) |
| Seek | 15 | 2.2 W | ||
| 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 | ||
| Seagate Momentus 750GB ST9750420AS October 2010 firmware 0001SDM1 | 8 | Idle | 15 | 1.06 W (0.85 W heads unloaded) |
| Seek | 15~16 | 2.60 W | ||
| WD Scorpio Blue 500GB WD5000BEVT September 2008 firmware 01.01A01 | 7 | Idle | 15 | 0.95 W (0.8 W heads unloaded) |
| Seek | 16 | 2.5 W | ||
| 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 | ||
The Momentus 750GB managed to keep its noise level reasonable despite its high capacity and 7200 RPM spindle speed, a tad louder than its predecessor, the Momentus 7200.4. Power consumption was about the same, except the 750GB model used 0.25W more when seeking. Like the Barracuda Green, the best aspect of the drive was vibration. It matched 5400 RPM models like the Hitachi 5K500.B and Momentus 5400.6.
DRIVE COMPARISON TABLE
| NOTEBOOK HARD DRIVES | ||||
| Drive Mfg date firmware version | Vibration 1-10 (10 = no vibration) | Activity State | Airborne Acoustics (dBA@1m) | Measured Power |
| Hitachi Travelstar 5K320-250 250GB May 2009 firmware FBE0C40C | 8 | Idle | 13 | 1.08 W (0.85 W heads unloaded) |
| Seek | 13~14 | 2.15 W | ||
| Seagate Momentus XT 500GB ST95005620AS June 2010 firmware SD22 | 7 | Idle | 13~14 | 1.34 W (1.16 W heads unloaded) |
| Seek | 14~15 | 2.08 W | ||
| Hitachi Travelstar 5K500.B 500GB February 2009 firmware PB4OC60G | 8 | Idle | 14 | 0.7 W (0.6 W heads unloaded) |
| Seek | 15 | 2.2 W | ||
| 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 | ||
| Seagate Momentus 750GB ST9750420AS October 2010 firmware 0001SDM1 | 8 | Idle | 15 | 1.06 W (0.85 W heads unloaded) |
| Seek | 15~16 | 2.60 W | ||
| WD Scorpio Blue 500GB WD5000BEVT September 2008 firmware 01.01A01 | 7 | Idle | 15 | 0.95 W (0.8 W heads unloaded) |
| Seek | 16 | 2.5 W | ||
| 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 640GB WD6400BEVT September 2009 firmware 01.01A01 | 7 | Idle | 15~16 | 0.87 W (0.74 W heads unloaded) |
| Seek | 16 | 1.95 W | ||
The Momentus 750GB is middling for noise among notebook drives, and its power consumption is on the high side, as 7200 RPM models tend to be. Mounted in a laptop, it should be acoustically superior to both the Momentus XT and 7200.4 by virtue of its low vibration level.
| 5,400 ~ 5,900 RPM DESKTOP HARD DRIVES | ||||
| Drive Mfg date firmware version | Vibration 1-10 (10 = no vibration) | Activity State | Airborne Acoustics (dBA@1m) | Measured Power |
| Samsung EcoGreen F2 500GB HD502HI February 2009 firmware 1AG01114 | 8 | Idle | 12 | 3.2 W |
| Seek (AAM) | 15 | 5.3 W | ||
| Seek | 16 | 6.1 W | ||
| Seagate Pipeline HD .2 1TB ST31000424CS April 2009 firmware SC13 | 7 | Idle | 12 | 4.3 W |
| Seek | 16 | 7.3 W | ||
| WD Caviar Green 2TB WD20EARS August 2010 firmware 01.00A01 | 9 | Idle | 12~13 | 2.8 W (2.4 W heads unloaded) |
| Seek | 6.5 W | |||
| WD Caviar Green 1.5TB WD15EARS March 2010 firmware 80.00A80 | 7 | Idle | 13 | 4.4 W (2.7 W heads unloaded) |
| Seek | 5.8 W | |||
| WD Caviar Green 1.5TB WD15EADS November 2009 firmware 01.00A01 | 9 | Idle | 13 | 4.5 W (2.8 W heads unloaded) |
| Seek (AAM) | 14 | 5.8 W | ||
| Seek | ||||
| Seagate Pipeline HD .2 500GB ST3500414CS March 2009 firmware SC13 | 8 | Idle | 13 | 2.7 W |
| Seek | 14 | 6.7 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 | 13~14 | 6.5 W | ||
| Samsung EcoGreen F4 2TB HD204UI August 2010 firmware 1AQ10001 | 7 | Idle | 13 | 4.0 W |
| Seek | 15 | 5.6 W | ||
| WD Caviar Green 2TB WD20EVDS November 2009 firmware 0.100A01 | 8~9 | Idle | 13~14 | 3.9 W |
| Seek | 6.5 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 | ||
| WD Caviar Green 3TB WD30EZRS September 2010 firmware 01.00A01 | 8 | Idle | 14~15 | 4.1 W (3.7W heads unloaded) |
| Seek | 7.5W | |||
| Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB ST2000DL003 November 2010 firmware CC31 | 8 | Idle | 14~15 | 4.6 W |
| Seek | 17~18 | 7.3 W | ||
| Samsung EcoGreen F3 2TB HD203WI May 2010 firmware 1AN10003 | 7 | Idle | 15~16 | 4.7 W |
| Seek (AAM) | 17~18 | 6.1W | ||
| Seek | 18~19 | 6.9 W | ||
| 7,200 RPM DESKTOP HARD DRIVES | ||||
| Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.C 1TB HDS721010CLA332 February 2010 firmware JP4OA39C | 5 | Idle | 13 | 4.6 W |
| Seek (AAM) | 15~16 | 6.4 W | ||
| Seek | 17 | 9.6 W | ||
| WD Caviar Blue 1TB WD10EALS August 2010 firmware 05.01D05 | 7 | Idle | 14 | 5.2 W |
| Seek (AAM) | 16~17 | 6.6 W | ||
| Seek | 20 | 8.2 W | ||
| Seagate Pipeline HD Pro 1TB ST31000533CS September 2008 firmware SC15 | 4 | Idle | 15 | 7.1 W |
| Seek | 16 | 10.1 W | ||
| Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 500GB ST3500418AS September 2009 firmware CC37 | 8 | Idle | 18 | 4.7 W |
| Seek | 19~20 | 7.9W | ||
| WD Caviar Black 2TB WD2001FASS August 2010 firmware 01.00101 | 6 | Idle | 16 | 6.3 W |
| Seek | 21~23 | 10.5 W | ||
| Seagate Barracuda XT 2TB ST32000651AS May 2010 firmware CC13 | 7~8 | Idle | 17 | 7.0 W |
| Seek | 18~19 | 7.9 W | ||
| Seagate Barracuda 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 | 25 | 11.0 W | ||
From a noise perspective, the Barracuda Green 2TB is outclassed by pretty much every low power desktop drive on the market. It was only quieter than the Samsung EcoGreen F3, now replaced by the quieter and cheaper EcoGreen F4. Some quiet lower capacity 7200 RPM hard drives like the Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.C 1TB can rival its noise. When hard-mounted, its low vibration level probably gives it enough of an edge to compete with the EcoGreen F4, but it can’t touch the Caviar Green WD20EARS which boasts both low airborne acoustics and almost nonexistent vibration.
The WD20EARS is also more energy efficient, using 61% of the power consumed by the Barracuda Green. When the Caviar Green parks its heads, it uses even less power, 52% of the Barracuda’s draw.
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. Note: Keep in mind that the seek noise here is unnaturally, artifically elevated using an AAM test utility. In normal use, such intense seek noise usually does not happen.
- Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB ST2000DL003 — Idle: 14~15 / Seek:
17~18 dBA@1m - Seagate Momentus 750GB ST9750420AS — Idle: 15
/ Seek: 15~16 dBA@1m
Notebook Hard Drive Comparatives:
- Hitachi
Travelstar 5K500.B 500GB — Idle: 14 / Seek: 15 dBA@1m - Seagate
Momentus 5400.6 500GB ST9500325ASG — Idle: 16 / Seek: 18 dBA@1m - Seagate
Momentus 7200.4 500GB ST9500420AS — Idle: 14 / Seek: 15 dBA@1m - Seagate
Momentus XT 500GB ST95005620AS — Idle: 13~14 / Seek: 14~15
dBA@1m - WD
Scorpio Blue 500GB WD5000BEVT— Idle: 15 / Seek: 16 dBA@1m - WD
Scorpio Blue 640GB WD6400BEVT— Idle: 15~16 / Seek: 16 dBA@1m
Desktop 5,400~5,900 RPM Hard Drive Comparatives:
- Samsung
F2 EcoGreen 500GB HD502HI — Idle: 12 / Seek (AAM): 15 / Seek
(Normal): 16 dBA@1m - Samsung
F3 EcoGreen 2TB HD203WI — Idle: 16 / Seek: 18~19 dBA@1m - Samsung
EcoGreen F4 2TB HD204UI — Idle: 13 / Seek: 15 dBA@1m - Seagate
Pipeline HD 500GB ST3500321CS — Idle: 14 / Seek: 15
dBA@1 - Seagate
Pipeline HD .2 500GB ST3500414CS — Idle: 13 / Seek: 13~14
dBA@1m - Seagate
Pipeline HD .2 1TB ST31000424CS — Idle: 12 / Seek: 16 dBA@1m - Seagate
Barracuda LP 2TB ST32000542AS — Idle: 15 / Seek: 17 dBA@1m - Western
Digital Caviar Green 1.5TB WD15EADS — Idle: 13 / Seek (AAM/Normal):
14 dBA@1m - Western
Digital Caviar Green 2TB WD20EADS — Idle: 13 / Seek (AAM):
13 / Seek: 13~14 dBA@1m
CONCLUSIONS
Seagate Barracuda Green 2TB
The Barracuda Green 2TB is a compromise between low power 5400 RPM drives and standard 7200 RPM models. Impressively, it performs closer to the latter despite its 5900 RPM rotational speed, but there is a tradeoff. The Barracuda Green is one of the loudest low power drives on the market and isn’t as energy efficient as its 5400 RPM competition. It is quieter than any 7200 RPM drives, but a serious SPCR aficionado might not want it in his main desktop PC. In a home server located in a less-frequented room, however, its noise would be perfectly acceptable even for SPCR. Price-wise, it is close enough to the 5400 RPM drives to be competitive.
Seagate Momentus 750GB
The Momentus 750GB has average airborne acoustics for a notebook drive, but like the Barracuda Green, it has a very low level of vibration. This means that when mounted in a laptop, it should be one of the quietest drives on the market, SSDs aside. It is substantially faster than 5400 RPM 2.5″ notebook drives, and has the highest capacity currently available for a standard 9.5 mm height drive. Quiet, fast, and big, the Momentus 750GB seems to have everything going for it.
There are several other 750GB notebook drives available, but the only 7200 RPM model is the WD Scorpio Black. We can’t attest to its noise level, but we doubt it is as quiet or quieter than the Momentus given our past experience with Scorpio Blacks. Furthermore, the Momentus retails for just under $100, a little less than the Scorpio, and not much more than 5400 RPM models of the same capacity. All in all, the Momentus 750GB is an excellent value drive for a laptop.
Many thanks to Seagate and the Barracuda Green 2TB and Momentus 750GB
samples.
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SPCR Articles of Related Interest:
Hitachi Deskstar 7K1000.C 1TB vs. WD Caviar Blue 1TB
New high areal density 2-and-3 TB Greens from WD
Consumer SSD Battle: WD, Kingston, OCZ, Intel
WD Caviar Black 2TB & VelociRaptor 600GB
Samsung EcoGreen F4 &
Seagate Barracuda XT 2TB Hard Drives
Seagate Momentus XT: The Best of Both Worlds?
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