The specs:
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=301

It looks like only Quiet Seek Mode differs between the drives.

Isn't the KS a 4-platter drive? How in the world can it be quieter than the AAKS? And how can the AAKS be in the same group as a Raptor, which I thought were loud (10K)?

I don't know about that, since some drives are just not destined to be in the 30's, and I don't know that that's a problem at all. Two-platter drives yes, they often can stay there, but three-platter drives and above? Their natural state seems to be in the 40's under normal conditions.

Btw: The Samsung runs HOT! So hot, that I have to include it in my watercooling system to be on the safe side. i noticed this in some of the reviews on newegg. Hopefully the WD doesn't mimic this behavior. I'll find out on Monday! Tom's hardware had the surface temp of the 501lj and the 5000ks with...

This probably isn't news to old hands at Samsung products, but I just learned that they don't do advanced replacement warranty work, so you actually have to send the defective drive back and wait for them to receive it and then send out another drive to you. WD (like everyone else that I know of) DO...

thanks for the reply. I went ahead and bought the WD drive, $123.00 at zipzoomfly with free ground shipping. Approximately 25 cents/GB. Seems pretty decent. Hopefully the idle noise will be a little lower than my 3200ks. It could just be vibration, but who knows. ZZF is on the list, don't worry, bu...

Yes, good find, though the MTBF is probably different as well, since they make a point to actually say what it is in the case of the AV line.

Wow, I completely misunderstood the situation then, perhaps misled by the utilities and the coincidence of the Maxtor being in the review. Thanks for clearing up APM. The particular 2-platter 160GB DM9+ is relatively cool running, though the 3-platter in the same family that I still have in my machi...

Thanks for the scan. Did the mag make an ultimate choice between them in the body of the article? And I sure wish they'd measured temperature as well, since I'm still trying to figure out which runs cooler. I can't exactly use the 5000KS for comparison, since it has a different number of platters, b...

This thread has more info on it:
viewtopic.php?t=38408

Sure wish that mag was online!

I had event to change the drive on my ReplayTV DVR recently, and I used a DM+9 160 that I had sitting around. The RTV I have by design keeps the drive running 24x7, so when I read this review of APM in the DM10 I wondered if it might not make sense in a DVR--which may be in use several times a day b...

That would be an interesting read, porkchop. I came across some additional data points here: http://forums.storagereview.net/index.php?s=&showtopic=23162&view=findpost&p=240138 It compares the current generations of several 320GB drives (including the WD "AA"), and I would think their relative posit...

Has anyone seen benchmarks for the 5000AAKS drive? I've been reading around comparing it with the HD501LJ, and while I have the noise angle covered, it's a mystery as to which is faster. The best information I have is on Tom's Hardware, which has numerous tables showing the HD501LJ trouncing the 500...

I concur, I have a seagate barracude 7200.10 Sata drive. It has quite a bit of hum associated with it. Seeks are loud, but still tolerable as long as the drive is suspended. The only reason I like them is for their 5 year warranty. Might this vary by size/model? I was reading the comments at the li...

I concur, I have a seagate barracude 7200.10 Sata drive. It has quite a bit of hum associated with it. Seeks are loud, but still tolerable as long as the drive is suspended. The only reason I like them is for their 5 year warranty. Might this vary by size/model? I was reading the comments at the li...

I'd be interested in your experiences with whatever you did purchase.

I noticed there's another of these front-panel devices, the Super-Flower Fan Master (SF-609), but look what happens when it's mounted into the 5.25" bay in this Antec P160 case (my Sonata uses the same rails): http://www6.tomshardware.com/howto/20040607/miditower-06.html Oh, and look at the way the ...

Thanks Ralf, I saw that, but like I mentioned I was kinda hoping to avoid making one. acaurora, an external variable control might be worth it, so that I could pick a happy medium between 5V (which is pretty darn anemic with the 4412FGL, explaining why it helps only minimally with HD temps) and 12V ...

I have the 4-pin (molex) Papst 4412FGL as the front fan in my Sonata. Up to now, I've just had it hooked to the 5V fan-only connector, but that doesn't do enough for my hot drive when the weather is warm, so I've temporarily put it on the straight 12V connector, which helps by several degrees C by c...

If you're willing to do that much major surgery for unsure results, why not just get a different case? I might have to, since the placement of the front fan in this case is a giant flaw, even with the bezel and slat mods. It does next to nothing to cool the HD's for me, so I need to find a case like...

I've had mine taped up from the beginning due to dust. I see that with the ambient temp about 30C that the PSU fan is doing about 1480rpm, which is where I've always seen it. It can't be heard unless I get down next to the PC. If I get a Papst, does it make most sense to use it for the intake fan, o...

The Papst 4412F/2GL is a great replacement for the case fan. Use this with a zalman fanmate. With slowest speed, it's nearly inaudible and there are no disturbing components in the sound. I have it in my sonata and it's by far the most quiet component in my setup, still moving enough air to keep th...

rbel, I guess there's some variability in that, since the first thing I did was carve out a larger hole in the bezel and remove the two slats, and I didn't see any difference in ambient or HD temps -- and the optical drives seem no more resistant to dust. This is with the side panel holes taped over...

Everybody keeps saying how "loud" the stock 120 fan is, but according to Antec, with the fan-only connector, it's rated at 20.4dB. How much quieter could the Pabst possibly be?! Isn't 20dB already out of earshot unless you have your ear next to the case? At full voltage, the stock Antec is rated at ...

Well, I finally did the Sorbothane Maneuver on both my vibration-happy Maxtor DM9+'s, and I'm very impressed. I still have the case itself up on 1.5" of sturdy foam so that the air vent gets all the air it can, but I probably could remove the foam and still be vibration free, though I'll keep it. Wh...

So I was over at Sorbothane.com trying to see how much of an insulator the stuff is (I assume a very good one), when I came across this: http://www.sorbothane.com/brochure_pages.php?page=3 Among other things: "Used in the electronics industry to protect hard drives from shock and vibration. Sorbotha...

Unrelated to this, I think I am going to take the advice of another thread and try to widen the air hole at the bottom of the front bezel (any particular tool needed for this?) and remove a couple of the bezel slats, or whatever they're called. It's just plastic. You can cut it with all kinds of st...

If Google is to be believed, Sorbothane's most common use is in shoe insoles.

One or more passes with an Xacto knife won't cut sorbothane?

Wow, this stuff is asphalt based, which might have something to do with the weight. The PC will be vibration free but susceptible to potholes.