Fast system drive, Raptor quiet enough?

anders128 · Post by **anders128** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 11:03 am

I'm looking for a fast hard drive to use as my system drive. A Raptor is the fastest solution, right? Will it be quiet enough mounted in my P180? If not, are there any good alternatives?

Blacktree · Post by **Blacktree** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 11:32 am

I wouldn't consider the WD Raptor as a quiet drive. The spindle noise is audible (a low hum), and the seek noise is harsh.

I had two 74GB Raptors in a RAID0 array, and the seek noise reminded me of a coffee grinder. I eventually grew tired of it, and replaced them with a WD Caviar 160GB drive.

The ironic part is that my computer's performance hasn't changed much since replacing the Raptors. It takes about 2-3 seconds extra to boot WinXP, and a second or two extra to load levels in computer games. To me, that's not a big deal.

DrCR · Post by **DrCR** » Thu Aug 09, 2007 12:13 pm

I'm using a WD 120GB JB, but I'm using a HD501LJ as a storage drive and have purchased a few for my employer.

HD501LJ
http://storagereview.com/HD501LJ.sr

nutball · Post by **nutball** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 12:27 am

What Blacktree said. Raptors are neither quiet, nor particularly fast. Given that they're also expensive that's three good reasons to avoid them.

Das_Saunamies · Post by **Das_Saunamies** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 10:51 am

Any established WD, Samsung or Hitachi model will do fine as a system drive. A Raptor as a system drive goes to waste as it fills up and is accessed by all the basic infrastructure, instead of acting as a task-dedicated unit.

If you've got a top-notch system and are after the very last drops of performance, get a Raptor or Raptors in RAID for it. In case you value your hard-earned money I'd rather steer clear, and for silence I'd get something else(Samsung probably, I'm happy with WD AAKS but it's "only" quiet).

yahui168 · Post by **yahui168** » Fri Aug 10, 2007 1:58 pm

I have a 150GB raptor in a Smart Drive 2002C in a Silverstone SG03. The idle noise has been eliminated but the seek noise is still quite audible.
Although the SG03 case is not a good quiet case, I believe you can still hear the seek noise if the smart drive is in a P182. I will be switching to a P182 in a couple of months so I'll report back.

In terms of performance, it will depend on the type of work you do on your computer. I uncompress a lot of large files and having a fast hard drive really helps.

I don't think having a raid raptor will improve performance though. According to Anandtech, a raid raptor setup will do very well in benchmarks but show little if any improvements in applications.

http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdo ... =2101&p=11