Whats the quietest 200-320 GB HDD with 16 MB cache?

Silencing hard drives, optical drives and other storage devices

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee

Post Reply
MatewPauls
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:29 am

Whats the quietest 200-320 GB HDD with 16 MB cache?

Post by MatewPauls » Fri Jul 28, 2006 4:33 am

Hello, i need new hdd of 200-320 GB capicity and 16 MB buffer, it also must support temperature pooling from progs like "HDD Temperature" and "EVEREST".

At first I considered
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST3300622AS 300GB 7200rpm 16MB NCQ SATA 3Gb/s
or
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB 7200rpm 16MB NCQ SATA 3Gb/s.

But since learning that some random models may have "loud seeks" clicking etc, i guess i rather to go with something else cuz i considering building quiet pc in future.
Currently my pc work at around 45-48 db so i guess HDD of up to 30 db at seek is fine for me, but i looking for quietest one.

MatewPauls
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:29 am

Post by MatewPauls » Fri Jul 28, 2006 5:53 am

Ok got some more models, which one is quietest?

Western Digital Caviar WD3200KS 320GB 7200rpm 16MB SATA 3Gb/s
Western Digital Caviar WD3200YS 320GB 7200rpm 16MB SATA 3Gb/s RAID
Maxtor DiamondMax 10 6L300S0 300GB 7200rpm 16MB SATA/150
Seagate Barracuda 7200.9 ST3300622AS 300GB 7200rpm 16MB NCQ SATA 3Gb/s
Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 ST3320620AS 320GB 7200rpm 16MB NCQ SATA 3Gb/s

Also should i stay away from Samsung HDD's?

MatewPauls
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:29 am

Post by MatewPauls » Fri Jul 28, 2006 7:10 am

Can someone answer i want to buy faster

Howard
Posts: 275
Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2006 5:33 pm

Post by Howard » Fri Jul 28, 2006 7:17 am

Why do you need 16MB cache?

Tibors
Patron of SPCR
Posts: 2674
Joined: Sun Jul 04, 2004 6:07 am
Location: Houten, The Netherlands, Europe

Post by Tibors » Fri Jul 28, 2006 7:36 am

If you are really in such a hurry, then it is faster to search for yourself than to wait for someone else to answer.

Recommended Hard Drives

The WD (but in 500GB size) is the only one in your list and that list.

Then use the search function above and look for comments in the forums about the WD3200KS. (29 hits so not much reading.)

MatewPauls
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:29 am

Post by MatewPauls » Fri Jul 28, 2006 8:09 am

16 MB should be faster than 8 GB cache or its not like that on practice?
Tibors wrote:If you are really in such a hurry, then it is faster to search for yourself than to wait for someone else to answer.

Recommended Hard Drives

The WD (but in 500GB size) is the only one in your list and that list.

Then use the search function above and look for comments in the forums about the WD3200KS. (29 hits so not much reading.)
Will 320GB version preform at same noise level as 500GB version (though its same family of hard drives)?

NeilBlanchard
Moderator
Posts: 7681
Joined: Mon Dec 09, 2002 7:11 pm
Location: Maynard, MA, Eaarth
Contact:

Post by NeilBlanchard » Fri Jul 28, 2006 8:41 am

Hello & welcome to SPCR,

The 320GB has fewer platters, and therefore might be quieter. On the Western Digital models -- they make revisions without changing the model number, so you will want to confirm that it is the new quieter version.

JazzJackRabbit
Posts: 1386
Joined: Fri Jun 18, 2004 6:53 pm

Post by JazzJackRabbit » Fri Jul 28, 2006 9:00 am

MatewPauls wrote:Can someone answer i want to buy faster
Man, and people say I am rude... :roll: I'd like to say a couple of words to you, but I better not.

MatewPauls
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:29 am

Post by MatewPauls » Fri Jul 28, 2006 9:32 am

NeilBlanchard wrote:Hello & welcome to SPCR,

The 320GB has fewer platters, and therefore might be quieter. On the Western Digital models -- they make revisions without changing the model number, so you will want to confirm that it is the new quieter version.
I should look for revision number "-00MNB0" (taken from 500gb review) after model number e.g. "WD3200KS-00MNB0" or this revison numbers differ between different capicitys of this drive?

Thanks for your understanding JazzJackRabbit, i hope you enjoy posting in this topic, cheers.

MatewPauls
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:29 am

Post by MatewPauls » Fri Jul 28, 2006 1:11 pm

Oh heh i dont know why they tell about this part numbers there is date of manufacture right below it.
Image

mshan
Posts: 413
Joined: Sun Nov 02, 2003 2:26 pm

Post by mshan » Fri Jul 28, 2006 1:36 pm


shunx
Posts: 341
Joined: Sun Oct 06, 2002 1:20 pm
Location: Vancouver

Post by shunx » Sun Jul 30, 2006 7:06 pm

For harddrives of these sizes, are there specific brands whose products are always significantly louder than others such as Seagate? Over the last few years I've bought only Seagate and Samsung drives and am unfamiliar with the rest.

MatewPauls
Posts: 10
Joined: Fri Jul 28, 2006 3:29 am

Post by MatewPauls » Mon Jul 31, 2006 12:31 pm

Guess not, seagate barracuda 7 was considered quiet, now barracudas 10 considered loud, but who knows situation may change in few years, so there is no such thing i guess.

dhanson865
Posts: 2198
Joined: Thu Feb 10, 2005 11:20 am
Location: TN, USA

Post by dhanson865 » Sat Aug 05, 2006 8:14 am

mshan wrote:FWIW, Anandtech's review:

http://www.anandtech.com/storage/showdo ... i=2803&p=1
You mean the one were they supposedly measured noise from 5mm?

SweeJ
Posts: 7
Joined: Sun Apr 10, 2005 1:15 am

Post by SweeJ » Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:27 pm

BTW, if one is trying to minimize space utilization and reduce heat & noise, would it be worth just paying a bit more to get the WD5000KS? I mean, it's only a bit more expensive than 2 WD2500KS and 1 extra external HD enclosure?

Do you think it's worth the premium of price for less heat, power and space? Perhaps you get more performance from an extra platter as well?

:?:

Howard
Posts: 275
Joined: Wed Feb 08, 2006 5:33 pm

Post by Howard » Sun Aug 06, 2006 6:38 pm

Speed is speed. If an HD with 2MB of cache performed better than one with 16MB of cache, the 2MB model is what you should get.

Cache size is even less important than peak engine power (in a car) for determining performance.

uni1313
Posts: 8
Joined: Sun May 08, 2005 2:19 am
Location: Belgium

Post by uni1313 » Thu Aug 10, 2006 1:36 am

I have the 300 Gb seagate hdd with 16 mb cache and can confirm that this is a loud hdd. My entire Lian-Li PC 6070 vibrates when the hdd seeks or loads something. I had to put it in a Scythe hdd silencer to silence the thing. I can't be compared with my ancient seagate 40 gb hdd, this one was really silent.

I fear most big hdd are loud these days.

Catapult
Posts: 11
Joined: Sat Aug 12, 2006 7:40 am

Post by Catapult » Sat Aug 12, 2006 2:34 pm

I have a few questions....
Is it still possible to enable AAM on the new maxline III sata2?
How does the 250GB 7200.10 compare to a maxline III sata2 in terms of "seek" noise?

Post Reply