The two top contenders seem to be Samsung Spinpoints and Maxtor DiamondMax 10s. The Seagate 7200.8s seem disappointing.
If I am correct, how do the SP1614C (160 GB SATA) and the 300 GB DiamondMax 10s compare?
The Maxtors obviously have more capacity, which would be nice. They are also seemingly much faster according to Storage Review. However, the other two factors are reliability and noise. Do people still have reliability concerns with the DiamondMax 10s? Are they noticeably audible outside the case?
I do want more capacity than 160GB, but I do not want to give up much reliability and noise.
Best quiet 120GB-500GB hard drive - February 2005
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
Best quiet 120GB-500GB hard drive - February 2005
Last edited by mfc2 on Mon Feb 28, 2005 5:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Edward Ng
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This is extremely difficult to say...
First off, this doesn't take into consideration performance demands.
Second off, this doesn't even consider 2.5" drives; you're totally missing Toshiba and Fujitsu, for example. If acoustics take significantly higher priority than capacity and performance, none of the listed drives compare.
Finally, I don't think this is completely fair; we're still unsure as to just how quiet the new FDB Caviars are; I dread ceramic bearing Caviars more than anything, but if these new FDB Caviars are as good as some people are making them out to be, they may be quite a contender. The problem is (and this is not in any way disreputing or knocking on those who've already commented on the new FDB Caviars) that no SPCR staff have heard one of the new FDB Caviars yet to confirm the offhand reports of their acoustic performance.
This is much too tough a call; you can try expanding the options on the poll, but I'd say it'll still be quite rough. I for one cannot make an honest, solid vote based upon the given choices.
-Ed
First off, this doesn't take into consideration performance demands.
Second off, this doesn't even consider 2.5" drives; you're totally missing Toshiba and Fujitsu, for example. If acoustics take significantly higher priority than capacity and performance, none of the listed drives compare.
Finally, I don't think this is completely fair; we're still unsure as to just how quiet the new FDB Caviars are; I dread ceramic bearing Caviars more than anything, but if these new FDB Caviars are as good as some people are making them out to be, they may be quite a contender. The problem is (and this is not in any way disreputing or knocking on those who've already commented on the new FDB Caviars) that no SPCR staff have heard one of the new FDB Caviars yet to confirm the offhand reports of their acoustic performance.
This is much too tough a call; you can try expanding the options on the poll, but I'd say it'll still be quite rough. I for one cannot make an honest, solid vote based upon the given choices.
-Ed
OK. So WD FDB Caviars are another option.
However, if I remember correctly, another thread indicated that the Caviars are silent up to 160GB, which is the same capacity as the Spinpoints. If I were to choose a 160GB drive it would almost certainly be a Spinpoint due to their established track record.
To clarify the performance requirements, this would be for a traditional computer, comparable to a Dell Dimension or Dell Optiplex. It would be the primary computer, not some specialized device.
In terms of noise level requirements, I have SP1614Cs (JVC) in one computer and they are fine. The slight noise they make when they are busy is quite muted and is not distracting. They are inaudible when not in heavy use. So the requirement is that the room should be silent when the computer is not being used, and when the computer is being used the noise should not be annoying. Assume the other components are silent.
However, if I remember correctly, another thread indicated that the Caviars are silent up to 160GB, which is the same capacity as the Spinpoints. If I were to choose a 160GB drive it would almost certainly be a Spinpoint due to their established track record.
To clarify the performance requirements, this would be for a traditional computer, comparable to a Dell Dimension or Dell Optiplex. It would be the primary computer, not some specialized device.
In terms of noise level requirements, I have SP1614Cs (JVC) in one computer and they are fine. The slight noise they make when they are busy is quite muted and is not distracting. They are inaudible when not in heavy use. So the requirement is that the room should be silent when the computer is not being used, and when the computer is being used the noise should not be annoying. Assume the other components are silent.
7200rpm
For "february", I'd say Samsung SP80. Mine will arrive soon and I'll compare with my Barracuda V. I think they'll have the same noise in idle but the Samsung'll be more silent in seek mode.
By the way, I would have preferred to have a silent Seagate HD rather than a Samsung one (the latter has not so good reliability while the former the best) but I had no choice. Seagate has lost the "silent train"..
7200.8 do not have support for AAM. It's not like "you are not able" to change it, but you "CAN'T do it", because there isn't AAM support anymore...
WD Caviars are still too loud with ball bearings motors.
Hitachi's hdd are very good performer but do whine a little and have the famous "meow" random sound. I hate it
.
Maxtor's 10 and Maxline are quite good but still not the best in my opinion (I think the worst, in my opinion, just like Fujitsu
). Average noise, average performance, but I'll never buy another Maxtor... Cheap, yes, but you get what you payed for...
In the next months, the new Hitachi 7Tk250s and Caviars will probably outperform the Spinpoint drives. People who bought the new Caviar FDB versions are very happy with their noise level.. perhaps quieter than SP80s. There is also a 3 platters 320GB version that sounds the same.
I hope the new Hitachi drives will not have the "meow" sound
. I think they are great drives but I never tried one (last IBM i bought was the ultra speedy and low noise GXP120).
2,5" drives perform worse than 3,5", cost 2x, are difficult to find in the stores, need a special adapter (very few ones have sata support), have 0,25x storage, have worse reliability (2yrs vs. 3yrs average).
I think they come in handy only for special purposes: audio recording and.. hmm.. maybe internet surfing.. and laptop of course :\ . That's my opinion.. Still waiting for a 3,5" vs. 2,5" contest to un-prove it (I hope ^^ ).
Of course, we are speaking about all-around good performer drives.. If you need a drive just to see movies or download stuff from the internet, you have more choice (5400 rpm range).
For "february", I'd say Samsung SP80. Mine will arrive soon and I'll compare with my Barracuda V. I think they'll have the same noise in idle but the Samsung'll be more silent in seek mode.
By the way, I would have preferred to have a silent Seagate HD rather than a Samsung one (the latter has not so good reliability while the former the best) but I had no choice. Seagate has lost the "silent train"..
7200.8 do not have support for AAM. It's not like "you are not able" to change it, but you "CAN'T do it", because there isn't AAM support anymore...
WD Caviars are still too loud with ball bearings motors.
Hitachi's hdd are very good performer but do whine a little and have the famous "meow" random sound. I hate it
.Maxtor's 10 and Maxline are quite good but still not the best in my opinion (I think the worst, in my opinion, just like Fujitsu
). Average noise, average performance, but I'll never buy another Maxtor... Cheap, yes, but you get what you payed for...In the next months, the new Hitachi 7Tk250s and Caviars will probably outperform the Spinpoint drives. People who bought the new Caviar FDB versions are very happy with their noise level.. perhaps quieter than SP80s. There is also a 3 platters 320GB version that sounds the same.
I hope the new Hitachi drives will not have the "meow" sound
. I think they are great drives but I never tried one (last IBM i bought was the ultra speedy and low noise GXP120).2,5" drives perform worse than 3,5", cost 2x, are difficult to find in the stores, need a special adapter (very few ones have sata support), have 0,25x storage, have worse reliability (2yrs vs. 3yrs average).
I think they come in handy only for special purposes: audio recording and.. hmm.. maybe internet surfing.. and laptop of course :\ . That's my opinion.. Still waiting for a 3,5" vs. 2,5" contest to un-prove it (I hope ^^ ).
Of course, we are speaking about all-around good performer drives.. If you need a drive just to see movies or download stuff from the internet, you have more choice (5400 rpm range).
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acaurora
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New ones don't have this. Firmware patch.MiKeLezZ wrote: Hitachi's hdd are very good performer but do whine a little and have the famous "meow" random sound. I hate it
I have really bad experiences with the DM10s. The one I tried rumbled a lot, and didn't provide much performance boost over the DM9s. However, these were both conducted in the OneTouch I and OneTouch IIs (search for more details).MiKeLezZ wrote: Maxtor's 10 and Maxline are quite good but still not the best in my opinion (I think the worst, in my opinion, just like Fujitsu
Actually the drives perform quite the same, according to my informal tests. I have tested several 2.5" drives, all through USB, and they perform very much on par with normal 3.5" drives connected via USB. Of course, because of the factors of USB (much slower, different controllers, etc), that is a considerable factor, BUT think about this: 2.5" HDDs are beginning to emerge in the 100 GB range, and with the coming of Seagate's 7200.1 Momentus 100 GB, that definately will be something to look out for. Again, i have not tested 2.5" drives on SATA/IDE, but I would have to say that I think they aren't that much different than a normal 7200 RPM 3.5".MiKeLezZ wrote: 2,5" drives perform worse than 3,5", cost 2x, are difficult to find in the stores, need a special adapter (very few ones have sata support), have 0,25x storage, have worse reliability (2yrs vs. 3yrs average).
I think they come in handy only for special purposes: audio recording and.. hmm.. maybe internet surfing.. and laptop of course :\ . That's my opinion.. Still waiting for a 3,5" vs. 2,5" contest to un-prove it (I hope ^^ ).
Of course, we are speaking about all-around good performer drives.. If you need a drive just to see movies or download stuff from the internet, you have more choice (5400 rpm range).
I didn't vote, because it's impossible to answer at this time
Nobody has comparatively measured Samsung P80, WD3200JB, DM10 and 7K500.
Also, my answer would depend on what is the desired size of the HD?
Nobody has comparatively measured Samsung P80, WD3200JB, DM10 and 7K500.
Also, my answer would depend on what is the desired size of the HD?
Last edited by halcyon on Sun Feb 27, 2005 1:53 am, edited 2 times in total.
According to the Western Digital website the Fluid Dynamic Bearings (FDB) drirves also have a feature called Time-limited error recovery (TLER):
"improves compatibility with RAID adapters; prevents drive fallout caused by the extended hard drive error-recovery processes common to desktop hard drives."
Then later, they say:
"IMPORTANT: Because of the time-limited error recovery feature, this product is intended for server applications and is not recommended for use in desktop systems."
Does anyone know why it is not recommended for desktop systems? Is there a problem using it in desktop systems, or is it simply over-kill?
Here is a link:
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=89
"improves compatibility with RAID adapters; prevents drive fallout caused by the extended hard drive error-recovery processes common to desktop hard drives."
Then later, they say:
"IMPORTANT: Because of the time-limited error recovery feature, this product is intended for server applications and is not recommended for use in desktop systems."
Does anyone know why it is not recommended for desktop systems? Is there a problem using it in desktop systems, or is it simply over-kill?
Here is a link:
http://www.wdc.com/en/products/Products.asp?DriveID=89
For the Samsung drives one has to get the Nidec motors, and this can be difficult to determine. So, for me, this makes the WD*JD drives seem like a better option.
A 120GB WD JD is available here for CDN$115
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku= ... %20Digital
A 120GB WD JD is available here for CDN$115
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku= ... %20Digital
There is a not so extensive performance test in the article "Notebook HDDs: Hitachi 5K80 80G & Samsung MP0402H 40G" on the main site. Even if this test is no performance contest and not thorough enough to be used as a proof it could be seen as an indication that the performance difference isn't that very huge between a 2.5" disk and a 3.5" disk.MiKeLezZ wrote:Still waiting for a 3,5" vs. 2,5" contest to un-prove it (I hope ^^ ).
Their specifications say it idles at 35dBA.TomMM wrote:A 120GB WD JD is available here for CDN$115
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku= ... %20Digital
It is not a performance testTephras wrote:There is a not so extensive performance test in the article "Notebook HDDs: Hitachi 5K80 80G & Samsung MP0402H 40G" on the main site. Even if this test is no performance contest and not thorough enough to be used as a proof it could be seen as an indication that the performance difference isn't that very huge between a 2.5" disk and a 3.5" disk.MiKeLezZ wrote:Still waiting for a 3,5" vs. 2,5" contest to un-prove it (I hope ^^ ).
It sounds to me like users are reporting that the WD's with the FDB are very quiet.ilh wrote:Their specifications say it idles at 35dBA.TomMM wrote:A 120GB WD JD is available here for CDN$115
http://ncix.com/products/index.php?sku= ... %20Digital
But maybe I have the wrong drive? Do the JD drives have the FDB? Or perhaps it is only the BB (PATA) and the RAID drives that have the FDB.
I'm looking for some SATA, non RAID, drives, so this would be annoying.
You need to look for the WD drives with the new black tops. It's been posted about before. I believe Dell is using these drives in some of their newer PCs, vs the Seagates I've seen in them before.
From my experience, the WD have a very slight high pitched whine. It's definately less intrusive and annoying than older WD drives. I put it about on par with the JVC Samsung I've used before (I have a feeling both Samsung and WD use the same JVC motor).
The seeks on the WD drive are so amazingly quiet compared to my 7200.7, that I'm considering switching to 2x160GB WD from my 2x120GB 7200.7's.
One other thing to take into consideration is that the 160GB WD's cost around $106 Canadian, vs about $140 for a Samsung.
From my experience, the WD have a very slight high pitched whine. It's definately less intrusive and annoying than older WD drives. I put it about on par with the JVC Samsung I've used before (I have a feeling both Samsung and WD use the same JVC motor).
The seeks on the WD drive are so amazingly quiet compared to my 7200.7, that I'm considering switching to 2x160GB WD from my 2x120GB 7200.7's.
One other thing to take into consideration is that the 160GB WD's cost around $106 Canadian, vs about $140 for a Samsung.
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Shining Arcanine
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The difference is the interface. The JD series has a SATA interface with a bridge chip while the JB series has an IDE interface.TomMM wrote:Hum, I was talking about 'JD' and you are talking about 'JB'. What's the difference? Can you give me a link to what you are referring to?JVM wrote:The WD Caviar SE JB drives do have FDB according to their website.
MiKeLezZ wrote:It is not a performance testTephras wrote:There is a not so extensive performance test in the article "Notebook HDDs: Hitachi 5K80 80G & Samsung MP0402H 40G" on the main site. Even if this test is no performance contest and not thorough enough to be used as a proof it could be seen as an indication that the performance difference isn't that very huge between a 2.5" disk and a 3.5" disk.MiKeLezZ wrote:Still waiting for a 3,5" vs. 2,5" contest to un-prove it (I hope ^^ ).
No, that's right, it's not a performance test. That's why I posted with some revervations.
I have the two-platter Caviar SE JB 160 GB drive and I don't hear any whine at all. In fact, that was the thing I was most concerned about because of WD's reputation. There is no whine coming from my drive either idling or seeking.zoob wrote:You need to look for the WD drives with the new black tops. It's been posted about before. I believe Dell is using these drives in some of their newer PCs, vs the Seagates I've seen in them before.
From my experience, the WD have a very slight high pitched whine. It's definately less intrusive and annoying than older WD drives. I put it about on par with the JVC Samsung I've used before (I have a feeling both Samsung and WD use the same JVC motor).
The seeks on the WD drive are so amazingly quiet compared to my 7200.7, that I'm considering switching to 2x160GB WD from my 2x120GB 7200.7's.
One other thing to take into consideration is that the 160GB WD's cost around $106 Canadian, vs about $140 for a Samsung.
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Edward Ng
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That's exactly why I say it's difficult to pick an absolute best; I found minimal performance loss using a 4200rpm, 2.5" drive for my ultra silent rig, which basically only has to deal with Windows, IE/FireFox, Outlook 2003, foobar2000 and AIM. The MHT2080AT is quieter than SP1614N/C by several magnitudes and is almost impossible to overheat; I've got mine stuck inside a SilentDrive in dead stagnant air. Considering the substantial acoustics and thermal gains and minimal performance sacrifice (the only time you really notice is during Windows boot, and I never shut this machine down). By my standards, MHT2080AT is a still better drive for silent computing--much better.atomidude wrote:the best for quiet computing has to be the Samsung 160GB SATA.
not only quiet, but is also fast and reliable. using one for 8 months now, suspended, without cooling fan. never had a problem, temperature never above 42C. my xtreme rig, fand deprived, has only one fan to cool it all
On the other hand I feel wholly uncomfortable making an actual claim that MHT2080AT is the best; why? Because firstly there probably faster and quieter 2.5" drives of similar or greater capacity (100GB) and secondly because there are plenty of applications where the performance difference would be far more inherent (for example Photoshop cache drive or database server--two applications where I can totally understand a need for silent computing as well). I don't see how anyone else can generalize that any one drive is the best, period. The best for their own particular application or need, sure, but not the best...
Everyone's demands are different and there's no single best drive for all situations and users.
-Ed
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madman2003
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There are two very different roles for hard drives, namely:
1: Operating System, Software, Documents, etc
For that a quiet (40 GB, maybe a bit larger) 2,5" drive is probably the best choice.
2: Storage, Games, etc
For that a larger 3,5" drive is better suited.
You at least have to consider the two types for a "which is best" list.
1: Operating System, Software, Documents, etc
For that a quiet (40 GB, maybe a bit larger) 2,5" drive is probably the best choice.
2: Storage, Games, etc
For that a larger 3,5" drive is better suited.
You at least have to consider the two types for a "which is best" list.
Have to say that my favorite drive is my fujitsu mht2040. Its just so amazingly quite, generates so little heat and almost no vibration in comparison to any Samsung spinpoint (of which I have 5).
Notebook drives are now about £1 a gigabyte which is about the price 3.5" drives were a year ago (well maybe 15 months). Anyhow the cost is not that great if you don't need more than 80G storage.
Of course they're not really practical for terabyte dvd,tv and music storage.
As to performance, buy more memory and leave your machine on
24/7 - most of the time you won't notice
Notebook drives are now about £1 a gigabyte which is about the price 3.5" drives were a year ago (well maybe 15 months). Anyhow the cost is not that great if you don't need more than 80G storage.
Of course they're not really practical for terabyte dvd,tv and music storage.
As to performance, buy more memory and leave your machine on
24/7 - most of the time you won't notice(this is meant as a response to Edward Ng's post)
I thought that the OP (original poster) made his intentions clear:
He is looking for the quietest drive within the 3.5" desktop PATA/SATA harddrive category.
This seems like a reasonable question to me and it is one that many who come to this forum might be looking for an answer to.
Yes, people might also want to consider a 2.5" hard drive, but those are different: they are usually quieter, small, and a fair bit more expensive. So it is a different category.
I thought that the OP (original poster) made his intentions clear:
He is looking for the quietest drive within the 3.5" desktop PATA/SATA harddrive category.
This seems like a reasonable question to me and it is one that many who come to this forum might be looking for an answer to.
Yes, people might also want to consider a 2.5" hard drive, but those are different: they are usually quieter, small, and a fair bit more expensive. So it is a different category.
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Edward Ng
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Then I ask for one simple change:TomMM wrote:(this is meant as a response to Edward Ng's post)
I thought that the OP (original poster) made his intentions clear:
He is looking for the quietest drive within the 3.5" desktop PATA/SATA harddrive category.
This seems like a reasonable question to me and it is one that many who come to this forum might be looking for an answer to.
Yes, people might also want to consider a 2.5" hard drive, but those are different: they are usually quieter, small, and a fair bit more expensive. So it is a different category.
Please change the title of the thread to read, 'Best Quiet 3.5" Drive - February 2005'
-Ed