I had a 160GB IDE 7200.7 for more than a year. I have to say, they were very quiet (in my experience), didn't make any whining noises, and noise at seek was understandable. I needed extra space so I went with another Seagate, a 200GB SATA this time. Well, I've only had it on for a few hours, but it seems much more noticeable than the IDE version. Even when idle, it seems to spin faster every 2 seconds (I can feel stronger vibration at certain moments) and seek noise is much more pronounced. It is sharper, deeper, louder, etc. And it is also a few degrees higher than the IDE. It isn't too bad, but it isn't as good as the first one I had.
I'm not sure if this is normal or not, but I thought I'd share this. Sorry if I wasted your time.
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