SPCR

I'm thinking of getting the SP2504C - 93$ CAD at NCIX.

I heard its a very quiet HD. Other than the post about that one guy with bad vibrations from it, is there any thing I should know before I go for this drive?

Or would anyone care to strongly suggest another model for one reason or another? Airborne Noise is my primary concern, followed by other noise, and finally, performance.

There's a whole section already on Recommended HDDs...

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article29-page1.html

From my own experiences I was disappointed with the P120 - I have 2 P120s (200gb and 250gb) and 1 x P80 (160gb). Seek noise for the P120 is fine but its noticeably noiser at idle than the P80 (Nidec). If I was buying a quiet 3.5" drive, I'd go for the P80.

I just got a Samsung P120 250GB yesterday and couldn't be happier. I can only hear it if I am really concentrating and even then it's really low. The seeks are pleasant too, not harsh.

perplex wrote:I just got a Samsung P120 250GB yesterday and couldn't be happier. I can only hear it if I am really concentrating and even then it's really low. The seeks are pleasant too, not harsh.

How was your drive mounted?

to davidstone28: I've read up on the Rec sections (I always do.) I just heard that the drive I'm looking at is similar to the 2004C Noisewise, maybe a tad louder. I'd prefere to deal with a _little_ more noise and get performance + 50GB extra for almost the samw price.

I bought a SP2504C from NCIX. I refer you to the thread, "Samsung 250GB Rhythmic Vibrations"

It vibrates like a mofo.

Amourek wrote:I bought a SP2504C from NCIX. I refer you to the thread, "Samsung 250GB Rhythmic Vibrations"

It vibrates like a mofo.

It's in an external enclosure hard mounted.

cloneman wrote:I'm thinking of getting the SP2504C - 93$ CAD at NCIX.

I heard its a very quiet HD. Other than the post about that one guy with bad vibrations from it, is there any thing I should know before I go for this drive?

In that rythmic vibrations thread, there's way more than just 1 guy with vibration noise, and I'm one of them. Coincidentally, I bought my SP2504C from ncix also (for $98+tax), but it was a couple months ago. The main cause of the vibration/pulsing noise was the Samsung's interaction with another HD in the case, so if the Samsung will be your ONLY hard drive in the case, then you are fine. If you are going to mount it with another HD, then buyer beware. And it seems like it doesn't affect everyone, so I hope you get lucky, but YMMV. I actually have my HDs (3 in total) suspended with elastic cord but somehow I'm still hearing the pulsing noise even though all the drives are de-coupled from the case, so maybe I got a real bad sample of a SP2504C.

I have this drive mounted in an aluminum case. When it is hard mounted directly to the drive cage, the seek noise is too loud. (Although they are quieter than the 80 gig Seagate I had been using.) After I suspended the drive using elastic, I can no longer hear any noise from the drive.

One thing to be aware of, the drive seems to run warm. I don't have any software installed to provide actual numbers, but the drive is pretty warm to the touch. I don't know if it's warm enough to cause concern, but it is definitely warmer than the Seagate. Addng a low speed fan in front of the drive cooled it off well enough.

It's printed on the motor hub, here's a picture.