Seagate Barracuda 7200.10's Acoustic Profiles

[Oscar]

So, 400GB and 320GB models are actually noisier than 750GB and 500GB models ?

According to Seagate's representative of whom I obtained the product manual from, these are the correct specifications to refer to despite the discrepancies with the information already published on the company's website.

[Goldmember]

Wow, that is really strange. Did your rep give any explanation as to why the 400 and 320 are louder?

Thanks for the info.

[Oscar]

Nope, but I specifically asked him to verify this since the Product Overview on their website says that "400GB and below" models are supposed to be quieter, and his reply was that the numbers in the Product Manual are the correct ones.

I saw your Antec Solo thread the other day, by the way. Good stuff over there, too :)

[whoatethepies]

Perhaps its something to do with the new perpendicular recording thing they've got going on? I don't really understand it myself, but I guess it could reduce noise.

[Oscar]

All Barracuda 7200.10 models use perpendicular recording, I think...

[Goldmember]

Nope, but I specifically asked him to verify this since the Product Overview on their website says that "400GB and below" models are supposed to be quieter, and his reply was that the numbers in the Product Manual are the correct ones.

I saw your Antec Solo thread the other day, by the way. Good stuff over there, too

Well, your rep just destroyed my theory that 2 platter drives are automatically quieter than 3 or 4 platter drives in the same drive series . I may still give the 320GB 7200.10 a shot as the price seems to be falling like a rock.

Thanks for the compliment. Beauty, eh?

Perhaps its something to do with the new perpendicular recording thing they've got going on? I don't really understand it myself, but I guess it could reduce noise.

All of the 7200.10s feature perpendicular recording as do the new low-profile 7200.9 models. IMO, PMR shouldn't affect noise unless the heads have to work harder to "seek" the data. In theory, PMR drives should be quieter since there is less distance to travel.

PMR is likely causing the increase in temps of the 7200.10 though. Some of the reviews showed a big jump in temps over the 7200.9 series.

The difference in noise might be caused by Seagate using different motors or assemblies for the 2 and 4 platter models? Another theory on my part.

[andyb]

I have a 250GB 7200.10 SATA in front of me, and have been playing with is this morning.

As I dont have the 750GB that I have listened to before with me (its not my drive), I can only work on memory.

My memory tells me that the 750GB was louder whilst seeking, much louder.

Idle is impossible to test in my environment, as its loud here.

Comparing it directly to a PATA 80GB 7200.9, the .9 PATA wins hands down on seeks, however the volume of the seeks on the 7200.10 drops a lot when i pick the drive up (Andy Suspension - Patent Pending).

Its not really nasty to listen to, and would mostly dissapear in a P150 or P180.

I am about to look through the forums for the 400GB Samsung, I am sure someone has it.

Either way, I will need yet another drive in the future, and that is on my shortlist, and is £30 cheaper than the Seagate 400GB.

http://www.overclockers.co.uk/acatalog/ ... _SATA.html
http://www.samsung.com/Products/HardDis ... ifications


Andy

[winguy]

Has anyone directly compared a 250GB and 320GB, or we really cannot hear any difference during operation?

And has anyone directly compared a 7200.10 SATA and PATA of the same capacity? Is "quiet seek" really quieter than "performance seek", or in reality the PATA model is equally loud despite having slower seeks?

[Oscar]

Seagate has posted Barracuda 7200.10's PATA and SATA product manuals onto its official website.


Barracuda 7200.10 PATA




Barracuda 7200.10 SATA




winguy > As you can see, 7200.10 PATA 320GB models generate louder idling and seeking noises than PATA 250GB models. There doesn't seem to be a be-all-end-all rule of thumb between the noise levels of the two interfaces, however, and therefore one will likely be better off comparing model to model directly instead.

[winguy]

If you look at the Drive specifications summary for the individual SATA models, they have exactly the same acoustics as the respective PATA models. However, the SATA table shows otherwise. So which is correct?

[Oscar]

The numbers in the product manuals are correct.

http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewto ... 345#272345

[riddles]

well, 39 dB does seem to be a bit high i guess.

while anadtech did discuss this a bit, and we had posts here and at SR forums the question is, how come some people say that the drive is quiet vs ones who say it is loud. could it be the case? and the drive just makes that much of a vibration nose that can be easily dampened?

or are those 39 dB numbers the pure seek times of the motor revving up with no way to dampen it?

[winguy]

The numbers in the product manuals are correct.

I meant the figures in "Drive specifications summary" for the individial SATA models (14-27 of 64) and the "FDB motor acoustics" table (36 of 64) do not tally.

[Oscar]

The numbers listed under the "2.10 Acoustics" section (where the "FDB motor acoustics" table is located) are the actual measured values. If one were to look up the Configuration and Specifications page of ST3320620AS (Barracuda 7200.10 320GB, Serial ATA NCQ) in Seagate's Technical Library, for instance, it would show that ST3320620AS has an idling noise level of 2.8 bels and a seeking noise level of 3.9 bels, which would match the values listed in the FDB motor acoustics table shown above.