SPCR

The Hitachi drive has been great; I want that same level of satisfaction again (better is fine!) but that model is now OOS at most vendors since it's a year or two old.

I'm looking for a 3.5" SATA 3Gb/s drive with stats as good or better than the Hitachi I have now (Silence, Reliability, Speed, Price). I don't need a huge drive. 320GB is more than enough. The less heads/platters the better (for reliability's sake).

I'm considering the WD3200AAKS but it seems there are issues with early batches that might still be in stock at places where I'd purchase like NewEgg.

The 7200.11 review turned me off with its mention of higher vibration levels than most drives. My case sits on my desk and even with the rubber grommets my HD cage uses for seating the drives, I'd likely notice it if it's that significant.

Anything else I should take a look at while waiting a few more weeks to pick up a WD3200AAKS?

SAMSUNG SpinPoint T Series HD321KJ 320GB

I can say that my particular drive is silent enough for me. My case sits on the floor an arm's length away and to the side of the desk. I can't hear the seeks. Especially compared to the WDC WD2500KS. I can hear the seeks on the WD. Suspended in the Solo the WDC runs at 44-49 and the Samsung runs at 30-33C. No fan on them.
It is priced at Newegg for US$70.00 delivered right now. I can't comment on comparable speed or reliability.

Thanks I'll try to find some performance data for that model. I have an SP2004C Samsung and found it a bit slow and with an odd harmonic to it so I don't run it anymore, just use it for occasional data backup. I'll have to see how the model you noted compared to that one in performance and sound levels.

yacoub wrote:The Hitachi drive has been great; I want that same level of satisfaction again (better is fine!) but that model is now OOS at most vendors since it's a year or two old.

Anything else I should take a look at while waiting a few more weeks to pick up a WD3200AAKS?

My 500GB Hitachi P7K500 is at least as quiet as the WD3200AAKS, and probably better made. It has slow 18ms seek times--slower than 16ms of the WD3200AAKS. Hitachi also has a 250GB 1-platter version of the P7K500. You might also want to look into the Samsung S250 250GB 1-platter, or the 500GB WD GP.

Hitachi P7K500
WD GreenPower

I've used both of them, and it served me very well.They are quiet, low vibration, and cheap. As for popular Samsung, I had no experience since P80 days.
However, Samsung tends to vibrate greatly. You need excellent suspension to accommodate Samsung HDDs.

The only thing turning me off to the P7K500 is that I'd opt for the 250MB single platter model and they only offer that with an 8MB cache. I would like the 16MB cache.

Well just to close the loop, the 6400AAKS is on sale for $88 so I jumped on that.
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1319016

QuietOC wrote:My 500GB Hitachi P7K500 is at least as quiet as the WD3200AAKS, and probably better made. It has slow 18ms seek times--slower than 16ms of the WD3200AAKS. Hitachi also has a 250GB 1-platter version of the P7K500.

Thank you for sharing your experience. How would you compare the idle noise and vibration characteristics of your P7K500 500GB and WD3200AAKS?

Well, it's probably too late now, but the P7K500 320GB drive is on sale at newegg for $49.99 http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 6822145213