Samsung Spinpoint SP2504C $178 or Seagate ST3300622AS $208

Silencing hard drives, optical drives and other storage devices

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b1_
Posts: 28
Joined: Fri Jul 30, 2004 9:22 pm
Location: Brisbane, Australia

Samsung Spinpoint SP2504C $178 or Seagate ST3300622AS $208

Post by b1_ » Wed Mar 29, 2006 2:46 am

Guys, my brain just locked up trying to decide which of these HDD to get? Help me out.

Samsung SpinPoint 250GB 7200RPM SATAII NCQ 8mb cache Model No: SP2504C for $178AU

or

Seagate SATAII NCQ 300GB 7200RPM 16mb Cache Model No: ST3300622AS for $208AU

I'm adding a Western Digital Raptor 74GB to this system as my OS/programs drive. One of the above drives will be my data drive.

This system will be used for rendering, modelling, photoshoping, gaming, music and websurfing. More rendering/modelling/photoshoping than gaming.

Both capacities are fine. I'm more interested in the speed and stealth qualities of each.

dfrost
Posts: 525
Joined: Mon Feb 07, 2005 11:57 pm
Location: Seattle, WA

Post by dfrost » Wed Mar 29, 2006 8:26 am

I'd suggest the Samsung Spinpoint.

In my sig system with an Samsung SP2004C and a Seagate 7200.7, both mounted with foam isolation, the Samsung has much more subdued seek noise (barely audible), and indicates a 6-7C lower temperature, which may have more to do with sensor location and calibration.

Captain John
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2006 9:21 am
Location: Raleigh, NC

Post by Captain John » Wed Mar 29, 2006 8:57 am

The Seagates exhibit a high-pitched whine that's particularly annoying. It's not very loud, but if it's the only sound coming from a system it'll drive you batty. Get the Samsung. It's not much quieter, but the profile of the noise is much easier to ignore.

-John

b1_
Posts: 28
Joined: Fri Jul 30, 2004 9:22 pm
Location: Brisbane, Australia

Post by b1_ » Thu Mar 30, 2006 1:00 am

I think that's pretty much all I needed to know but...does the seagate have any speed advantage over the Samsung at all?

I picked the Samsung initially but then noticed that the seagate has 16Mb cache compared to the Samsungs 8Mb cache. What does the extra 8Mb cache do for the Seagate?

Captain John
Posts: 27
Joined: Thu Jan 19, 2006 9:21 am
Location: Raleigh, NC

Post by Captain John » Thu Mar 30, 2006 3:49 am

I believe that they are similar in speed, but check with storagereview.com to verify that in your particular application(s).

-John

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