Noob needs help deciding which HDD to get

wwenze · Post by **wwenze** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 7:42 am

250GB hdd: Seagate 7200.8/9 vs WD Caviar vs Hitachi vs Samsung Spinpoint vs Maxtor DM10

Reliability and noise level are of concern, I know Seagate and Samsung have good records but not sure if others have caught up. Especially when the review of 7200.9 isn't good.

Spinpoint... apparently some problem with QC? But it is cheap so I might most likely get it if my fears are proven false.
(1 250GB to replace 3 HDDs worth of precious data, better don't fail)

I hate my DM8 for being the noisiest crap in one of my rigs. And I hated DM9 for being noisy and hot, not sure how DM10 performs.

Two encounters with WD makes me wonder if WD drives are quiet as some people claim.

I'm hoping I can get something as good as Barracauda IV, so many years and no failure or increase in noise. And I know this is fat hope.
Currently tied between the cheapest Spinpoint and the most ex Seagate, but WD (also cheapest) and Hitachi (in the middle) are not too far off either.

Important questions:
Are Samsungs reliable (9.8/10 don't spoil/get noisy)?
Is WD Caviar quiet?

andyb · Post by **andyb** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 8:50 am

As far as I am concerned Seagate and Samsung are the only manufacturers that I trust, (Seagate gets the biggest thumbs up, as I have only used 1 Samsung).

Noise, Seagates are slightly noisier seeking than Samsungs especially if you are after a SATA drive as all Seagate SATA's are louder than the PATA models.

I have lost faith in Maxtor recently, I lost faith in Hitachi 12 months ago, and I am regulary reminded why I have no faith in WD (anoth duff one today, hasnt seen much usage just over 12 months old).

If performance isnt an issue you might want to wait for a review/opinion on the new 250GB 5400rpm Samsung.

Andy

PS: Back your data up anyway, all drives have the potential to fail, another HDD is the easiest and quickest way.

jaganath · Post by **jaganath** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 9:23 am

250GB hdd: Seagate 7200.8/9 vs WD Caviar vs Hitachi vs Samsung Spinpoint vs Maxtor DM10

I will be doing an amateur "review" of the PATA 250GB Samsung (SP2514N) and PATA Hitachi 160GB next week, you may find it useful in making your decision. At the moment still waiting for the drives to be delivered. I have no professional sound recording equipment, so will only be able to tell you whether one is quieter than the other.

Remember Seagates have no AAM.

Kythe · Post by **Kythe** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 11:00 am

Well, I for one have had no problem with multiple recent WD "SE" Caviar drives, and in my opinion they are very quiet, solid performers and decently priced. After having nothing but good luck with them, I'm sold. The key is to get one of the recent drives (from the last year or so), as WD went to Fluid Dynamic Bearings that are much quieter than their older drives.

The Storage Review reliability survey also has several WD drives (e.g. the WD1200JB) as above average in reliability; several Seagates are even more so.

This isn't an attempt to refute anyone else's opinion, by the way. No matter what drive you get, of course, it's always possible you'll get a lemon.

If I were you, I'd get a variety of opinions, and check out reviews both here and at Storage Review. Clearly, many here have had good luck with the Samsung Spinpoints and Seagates, as well.

http://www.storagereview.com

wwenze · Post by **wwenze** » Thu Jan 12, 2006 11:21 pm

Thanks for all your replies.

andyb: Can elaborate what you mean by duff? I have the impression that WDs are reliable.

jaganath: Thanks, looking forward to your review.

Regarding FDB, I thought all quiet drives have that? Heck, I thought all drives after 2002 have that. Even DM8 has that, and it is far from quiet. But this explains why my WD400 is louder than the rest of the rig combined, so it's currently sitting outside doing nothing. (Do you mean that andyb?)

Guess I'll be going for Samsung.

winguy · Post by **winguy** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 3:03 am

wwenze, in our stores its only between Samsung P120 and Hitachi T7K250 .

wwenze · Post by **wwenze** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 3:58 am

winguy wrote:wwenze, in our stores its only between Samsung P120 and Hitachi T7K250 .

Then I got conned by the pricelist man.

Oh well, not the first time anyway.

gbeichho · Post by **gbeichho** » Fri Jan 13, 2006 9:28 pm

I've had a couple Hitachi's in my machine for 2 years, and they have had no problems (80GB models). They run pretty cool, they vibrate more than the Seagate I have, but they have great performance. The only noise problem people complain about is the Meowing that they do periodically. It doesn't bother me, and in my P180, I can't hear it anymore.

Maxtors used to burn up my computer. I also know of 2 maxtor failures and even the recovery place couldn't recover the data due to the specifics of the maxtor design and type of failure.

I am now testing out the latest Hitachi T7K250. It is also very nice, and doesn't seem too noisy. No meowing that I've noticed so far.

The beauty of the Hitachi's is the GREAT power saving options. That alone takes the cake, especially if your computer runs idle a lot.

Kythe · Post by **Kythe** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 9:13 am

I think the bottom line is, many of the most recent hard drives are pretty quiet and reliable. There are undoubtedly exceptions, but I think you can find quiet and reliable drives from Seagate, WD, Samsung, Hitachi, and Maxtor.

If you're looking for an extremely quiet system, i would bet that, no matter what hard drive you're going to get (with the possible exception of a few notebook drives), you'll still need to suspend the drive, and maybe even use sound absorbing foam. Even the quiet "pink noise" that modern FDB drives produce can be annoying to some, and seek noise/vibration can be grating, if you're so inclined.

I'm constantly amazed, by the way, with the contrast between my most recently-purchased drives and the stock drive that came with my old Dell XPS 100 MHz system (talk about loud!).

wwenze · Post by **wwenze** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 1:56 am

Bought Samsung 5 days ago, stressed it a bit to make sure it is in good working condition.

Idle noise is impressive, seek is relatively loud but not high-pitched so can accept easily. Temperatures are cool.

The platters "screech" to a halt when powered down, that bothers me since it means friction, which means wear and tear. Is that normal on Samsung drives?

The only thing left to complain is reliability, and this babe was made in Korea.