Any experience with DiamondMaxPlus 16 as a quiet drive?

gksam · Post by **gksam** » Fri Dec 12, 2003 1:05 pm

Hello, just wondering if anybody ever heard or had experience with the Maxtor DiamondMaxPlus16.

http://www.maxtor.com/en/products/ata/d ... /index.htm

It seems good for a file server application (i.e. hardware RAID 5). Currently I am running 4x80gig Barracuda IV as an array in an SLK3700 with the 120mm fan blowing at them. Drive temps are decent (40ish tops), but, they are kind of noisy (esp 4 of them running at the same time). I was thinking with 5400 rpm drives, they may be quieter, and cooler. However, my experience with Maxtor drives is that they do not seem as quiet as the Cuda IV (when comparing both at 7200rpm) -- so I am not sure what the effect will be if we had a fluid bearing 5400 rpm drive.

Does anybody have any insight into this?

Thanks[/url]

Post by **MikeC** » Fri Dec 12, 2003 3:44 pm

Maxtor's own acoustic spec: 2.4 bel idle, 3.6 bel seek.

That's a pretty loud seek. Why not deal with something people have reported positively about? (Including me) Samsung SP1604 or SP1614 160G HDD. It's well priced, known to be quiet (with very small difference between idle & seek), runs cool, performs much faster than 'cuda IVs and 2 will replace your 4 'cudas.

Also, with 2 you can suspend them in a SLK3700 using Aphono's technique if you pull the HDD cage out.

gksam · Post by **gksam** » Fri Dec 12, 2003 4:59 pm

Thanks for the insight MikeC. I was hoping to have something quieter than the Cuda IV's. I actually run a hardware raid 5, so I would require a minimum of 3 drives.

The Samsungs have been on my consideration list -- and I will probably end up going with those when I want to upgrade capacity. I was just hoping there was something quieter out there. There are a total of 5 CUDA IV drives in that server of mine (1 is for boot), and added together, its all quite loud

I'll experiment with suspension and see what I can do -- since the 5 1/4" bays are all empty... and.. I don't mind removing the drive cage if need be.

Cheers

DryFire · Post by **DryFire** » Fri Dec 12, 2003 6:07 pm

they are not quite. I have a maxtor in my box. It's loud as hell during seeks, but when idle it's almost inaudible.

al bundy · Post by **al bundy** » Sat Dec 13, 2003 2:53 am

DryFire wrote:they are not quite. I have a maxtor in my box. It's loud as hell during seeks, but when idle it's almost inaudible.

DryFire, is your Maxtor drive a DiamondMax 16 model?

ez2remember · Post by **ez2remember** » Sat Dec 13, 2003 3:55 am

gksam wrote: I'll experiment with suspension and see what I can do -- since the 5 1/4" bays are all empty... and.. I don't mind removing the drive cage if need be.

Certainly do that, with 4x Cuda IV, I'm not suprised it makes a bit of noise. Decoupling with suspension will make a big difference...

Jan Kivar · Post by **Jan Kivar** » Sat Dec 13, 2003 12:30 pm

Another drive to consider is the V80 series from Samsung. They are 5400 rpm also. I think the noise levels are similar to P80. I haven't heard one though...

P80 is the better option, speed-wise. 5400 rpm drive is sluggish for OS drive. It's suited better for data storage, but 5400 rpm drives aren't much cheaper than 7200 rpm ones.

Cheers,

Jan