Very Confused - Spinpoint vs Cuda V

DAS · Post by **DAS** » Sat Nov 22, 2003 12:25 pm

Ok I've done searches here, at storage review and at several other places trying to find the right balance of Performance and Quiet. The problem is some review are contradicting other. Some say Seagate V is the quietest, others the spinpoint. Some review have shown the benchmarks of both as somewhat lacking. A few have suggested that the Maxtor is fairly quiet and makes up for it by a HUGE performance boost. I am completely lost in the morass of data. One review suggetsed the WD was fairly quiet; to the samgsungs (which I discounted due to the overwhelming negative press I have read about their acoustical signature).

What I am looking for is what drive has the best performance to quiet ratio?? I have a Barracuda iV right now and it's quiet but I am needing a little more omph (to use the technical term). I don't need 10K scsi performance just a little snappier response.

I'm really looking at 120GB drives, PATA or SATA I care not - I have both connectors. The Barracuda V (if I can find it - NOT the 7200.7) the Spinpoint or the Maxtor. Can anyone help me sense of this?

breakspirit · Post by **breakspirit** » Sat Nov 22, 2003 1:06 pm

i use a spinpoint and i couldnt be happier with it. quiet, quick, cheap

TomMM · Post by **TomMM** » Sat Nov 22, 2003 1:56 pm

Good question.

The Barracuda's are highly rated for quiet, but I can't get them here (Toronto). They have been replaced in the stores by the 7200.7.

I've heard some suggestion that the Spinpoint is good, but they are also hard to get. I guess I could look harder.

StorageReview recently gave a positive review of the Hitachi Deskstar 7K250 (SATA) and said that it was very quiet and fast. See http://www.storagereview.com/articles/2 ... A80_1.html I trust StorageReview.com.

Since you also want speed, the Hitachi might be your best bet if it is available.

Tom.

Trip · Post by **Trip** » Sat Nov 22, 2003 3:36 pm

I'm sure you read this, but if you haven't:

http://www.silentpcreview.com/modules.p ... =82&page=3

Black Jack · Post by **Black Jack** » Sat Nov 22, 2003 5:24 pm

I have a Spinpoint 80GB 7200RPM (2MB cache, ATA133) and it's the quietest 7200rpm drive that i've heard.

Also it's faster than my Maxtor DiamondMax Plus D740X 7200RPM 60GB HD.

I don't have a Barracuda V to compare, but i'm sure that you won't be dissapointed with the Spinpoint, i would bet is quieter. I can't tell about performance, but if there is any difference i don't think it will be very much.

TomMM · Post by **TomMM** » Sat Nov 22, 2003 6:36 pm

No, actually I had somehow missed that article. Thanks.

From the article I would say that the Samsung would be best for my needs (cooler than the others), but alas it is not available around here, and neither is the Barracuda.

That leaves me with the Hitachi, which is also rather rare, but shows up in a few places. Here, for example, is some mail order place in Markham Ontario that sells the Hitachi drive:
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/

If anyone knows of any retail stores in the GTA that sell the Samsung or Hitachi drives than please post them here.

Thanks,
Tom.

Trip · Post by **Trip** » Sat Nov 22, 2003 6:47 pm

I use the Seagate V and while it runs fast and quiet (in a suspension) it also runs hot. 38oC right now, but about 46oC in a 5.25 slot. Those are probably close to idle temps...

I use a PIII 24.5W, SS400, and onboard Sound/Graphics so the HDD is the only temperature I have to watch.

For my purposes, a low air flow case, the Spinpoinit would be ideal. Though it's a little more expensive, it'd be worth it for me.

I've read some recent nightmares about shipping to Canada from the states. USPS is the best shipper from US to Canada was what I learned from it. Maybe you could find a US store that uses USPS?

What model are you looking for? SATA or IDE? Not that I know of a Canadian retailer.

DAS · Post by **DAS** » Sat Nov 22, 2003 8:53 pm

Ok thats some good information. Thanks a bunch to everyone who posted. I appreciate the input. But has anyone used the MAxtor 120GB DM9 drives?? Some of the articles I'm reading suggest that with AAM enabled via the hitachi utility that it is a quiet as a Barracude V and the performance is superiour to both the Seagate and/or Samsung? Could anyone comment on the performance aspect??

Paul Beattie · Post by **Paul Beattie** » Sat Nov 22, 2003 10:21 pm

TomMM wrote:No, actually I had somehow missed that article. Thanks.

From the article I would say that the Samsung would be best for my needs (cooler than the others), but alas it is not available around here, and neither is the Barracuda.

That leaves me with the Hitachi, which is also rather rare, but shows up in a few places. Here, for example, is some mail order place in Markham Ontario that sells the Hitachi drive:
http://www.tigerdirect.ca/

If anyone knows of any retail stores in the GTA that sell the Samsung or Hitachi drives than please post them here.

Thanks,
Tom.

In case they can still get them for you, I bought Barracuda V 60Gb (ST360015A) drives from these retailers (they ordered them for me):
www.accmaxsystem.com (Markham - in August)
www.controlpanel.ca (Newmarket - in September)

Trip · Post by **Trip** » Sun Nov 23, 2003 3:00 am

I got my Cuda V from www.mwave.com

They have the SP1614N/KIT (not sure which Samsung drive that is)

mwave is more expensive, but is very reliable from what I have heard.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Sun Nov 23, 2003 6:43 am

DAS wrote:Ok I've done searches here, at storage review and at several other places trying to find the right balance of Performance and Quiet. The problem is some review are contradicting other. Some say Seagate V is the quietest, others the spinpoint.

I've had both. The Spinpoints are definitely quieter than the cuda V's. They're a little quieter at idle and way quieter on seeks, even if AAM is enabled on the cuda V. The Samsungs also run about 8+°C cooler than the cuda V's. Performance is sort of a toss-up, I can't tell any real difference. Samsungs have a 3 year warranty, cuda V's ?, I don't know.

harry · Post by **harry** » Sun Nov 23, 2003 8:56 am

I have Samsung 1203N, Hitachi 180Gxp, Maxtor DM9, & Seagate 7200.7.
All are 120GB & have 8MB cache, except for Samsung which has 2MB cache. In my opinion the Samsung is the quietest drive I've ever had & the Hitachi close 2nd. Performancewise they are pretty much the same in realtime use, with Seagate being probably a touch slower. Also, the 2 Seagates I have run the hottest of the bunch & they buzz constantly for a few seconds every minute which is very irritating.

Denman76 · Post by **Denman76** » Sun Nov 23, 2003 2:09 pm

I have the Seagate 80 GB 7200.7 PATA (1st drive buzzing sound—2nd replacement drive buzzing sound) with firmware 3.06 and I am very disappointed with the “buzzing” noise as mentioned in other posts. The drive is quiet when it does not buzz every couple of minutes. I use a work around to solve the buzzing, but I think Seagate should solve this problem. I set MBM 5 to write to a sys log every five seconds on the Seagate drive. This prevents the buzzing from the write heads and does not harm performance. I am putting my Seagate purchases on the back burner until a new series arrives. I just ordered the Samsung 160GB SP1614N for delivery this Wednesday and I will report my findings.
I was also considering the new Hitachi 7K250 series, which has received good reviews for performance and noise against the Maxtor DM9 and WD drives.

animal113 · Post by **animal113** » Sun Nov 23, 2003 8:52 pm

Just picked up the Samsung SP0802N here:

http://www.pccanada.com/inventory.asp?cat=harddrives

It's not listed on this page but they have them in stock. Probably best to call first, some of the models listed on this page are no longer available in the store (ie. the 40G Barracuda IV and the 120G Barracuda V are not there, the only Barracuda's they have are the louder 7200.7 versions).

They're in Etobicoke on Lakeshore just West of Kipling.

Good Luck !

Very Confused - Spinpoint vs Cuda V

Very Confused - Spinpoint vs Cuda V

Re: Very Confused - Spinpoint vs Cuda V