How bad are Western Digital drives??

rbmcgee · Post by **rbmcgee** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 5:46 pm

Western Digital is running some pretty cheap deals on some pretty large drives (80g and 160g). I know these are nowhere near as quiet as our favorite Samsungs and Seagates, but, how loud are they?

Any experience?

DryFire · Post by **DryFire** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 6:47 pm

Yes they are loud. I got a 120gb wd for $40 from CC. Every once in a while it's very quiet but most of the time it makes a noise like 2 pieces metal rubbing each other.

It might just be vibration, when i hold it in my hand i hear nothing. I want to try isolating it, might do it soon.

HammerSandwich · Post by **HammerSandwich** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 7:24 pm

This is going to be SPCR sacrilege... My 800JB isn't a quiet drive, but it's also not bad isolated. I have the drive on 1/2" Sorbothane in the HD cage at the rear of my Chenbro Genie, and it doesn't particularly bother me. At $20 after MIR, an 800JB would make a decent utility/backup drive at least.

rbmcgee · Post by **rbmcgee** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 7:37 pm

Hammer, that's what I'm thinking. It doesn't have to be silent, it just has to be non-obnoxious. I've got a rain check and am considering whether to exercise it.

darknight · Post by **darknight** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 7:52 pm

fyi, the only 2 platter drive by wd is the 80 and 160 (i know 160 for sure). everything else uses 3 platters so that might make some difference since noise is a factor. I suspended my wd160jb and the only time i can here it idle is when i open the case door (atleast i think its my hdd)

angerboy · Post by **angerboy** » Fri Jan 30, 2004 10:38 pm

Sounds like someone else is waiting for the OfficeMax $20 after rebate 80GB drive to arrive, too.

maxxymus · Post by **maxxymus** » Sat Jan 31, 2004 2:36 am

When isolated, they are silent like hell. I have one inside my case and I cant hear it (WD80gb 8mb)

dan · Post by **dan** » Wed Feb 04, 2004 3:28 pm

has a loud high pitch whine even on silent mode.

i plan to get either the 7200.7 or the sp80

Pete · Post by **Pete** » Wed Feb 04, 2004 5:42 pm

I'll never buy another one, at any price. The 40GB drive I had was extremely loud and died (cause unknown) on me at the ripe old age of 6 months.

HammerSandwich · Post by **HammerSandwich** » Wed Feb 04, 2004 6:59 pm

dan wrote:has a loud high pitch whine even on silent mode.

That idle noise is pretty loud, but it's attenuated tremendously by my case. If the HD cage were directly behind a front-facing intake, I might be bothered more.

SometimesWarrior · Post by **SometimesWarrior** » Wed Feb 04, 2004 8:27 pm

My roommate's 120GB Special Edition (WD1200JB) is whiny even when placed on something soft at the bottom of the case. The faint whine can be heard from across the room when the case is closed, and the computer isn't even particularly quiet. When bolted into the case, the drive is loud, and can be made out from across the apartment. However, his older 60GB Western Digital is much louder.

To contrast, my 160GB Samsung Spinpoint p80 can only be heard in a quiet room, and from across the room in the dead of night. It has no whine to speak of, and the smooth-sounding noise it does produce at idle is unobtrusive. It's kinda-sorta suspended, and I never notice any seek noise. The case sits on the floor next to me.

trpltongue · Post by **trpltongue** » Fri Feb 06, 2004 12:43 pm

I have both a 250GB 7200rpm 8mb cache and 2 120GB 7200rpm 8mb cache. I have them isolated using simple rubber grommets (Sonata case) and they are totally silent from 3ft. The ONLY sound I hear is from my stock CPU cooler.

I will note though, that my friend had his die within a couple of weeks, but that can be said of all HD manufacturers.

Russ

rbmcgee · Post by **rbmcgee** » Sat Feb 07, 2004 8:11 pm

Well I popped for the CompUSA 160g WD drive. I couldn't help myself.

Although it didn't go in my silent machine, it is pretty quiet, much more so than I had expected. It is grommetted and really can't be heard when the case is closed.

Not as quiet as my favorites (120g Seagates and 160g Samsung), but for the price, a good acquisition My $.02.

mieses · Post by **mieses** » Sat Feb 07, 2004 10:00 pm

based on experience, i'm convinced that western digital drives (both scsi and ide) crash far more often than seagates or ibm(hitachi) drives. i refuse to buy them any more. but my experience is limited to a small sample.

Keitaro · Post by **Keitaro** » Sat Feb 07, 2004 10:38 pm

What about maxtor drives? They seem pretty quiet

Enko · Post by **Enko** » Sat Feb 14, 2004 10:35 am

i got a wd 120 gb 8 mb cache and a 250 gb 8 mb cache. currently they're the only noice coming from my computer .. .

its louder than my two roommates computer and one of them has a jet 4 heatsink. i know its the hard drive because i unplugged them and turned the comp on. no noice except for a little bit of fan noise which isn't audible except from within 18" of my case with the door open.

How bad are Western Digital drives??

How bad are Western Digital drives??

wd60bb

Re: wd60bb