which silent hdd?

rocky

I'd like a hdd, >=200GB

- silent (Samsung P120 looks like it's very silent)
- not very slow (the above Samsung is kinda slow)
- SATA2 (is it compatible with SATA1? I have an Abit NF7-S motherboard with SATA, will a SATA2 hdd work on it? - probably (hopefully!) yes)

My main concern is noise, so the more silent the better.

I plan to buy from Komplett, I would not buy Maxtor (I think they are noisy). I'm wondering about Hitachi Deskstar T7K250 (used to be IBM?), is it any good?

But at the moment I'm torn between the Samsung P120S (200 or 250 GB - I thought they have 125 GB/platter, how many platters in the 200GB one? ) and WD 200 GB (WD2000JS) - got great customer reviews, especially how silent it is. My gf got a WD 80GB and you CAN NOT hear it.

Which hdd would you recommend?

Any suggestions appreciated.

angelofdeath

the barracudas are usually very quiet http://www.komplett.ie/k/ki.asp?sku=314041&cks=PRL

commited

Samsung or Seagate

Most WD's are kinda noisy I've found

alantc

Yeah, I have seagates. They're pretty good. But if you really really want silence, apparantly putting a few low RPM laptop drives into a RAID array is the way to go. And it might be worth while replacing your case (antec P180s are supposed to be good) or buying silencers which will make the drive take up a 5.25" bay, again I haven't tried them. From anything I've read on silent drives, those samsungs have always got the best ratings.

aaf

Those Samsungs are supoosed to be one fo the best drives out there. IMO, go for a 250GB one if you have the extra €20.

secret_squirrel

rocky wrote:

I'd like a hdd, >=200GB

- silent (Samsung P120 looks like it's very silent)
- not very slow (the above Samsung is kinda slow)

My main concern is noise, so the more silent the better.

My first suggestion is make up your mind! You seem conflicted.
Speed is irellevant if noise is your main concern. I suggest you check out just how much noise that 10-15% percent more speed is going to cost you. I have a single spinpoint 160Gb in my media pc which is plenty fast enough to timeshift a tv program in high quality- which less face it is about as intensive as you get unless you try to do something daft like rip a cd as well!
The samsungs are wide acknowledged as the drives for living room pc's short of a 2.5" laptop drive - which is more compromised on space.

Personally I would get a 5400 rpm samsung 250gb for maximum space and minimum noise. Speed shmeed. Speed and noise aint that compatible tbh.

Here's the marketing blurb on it. Fast enough for 4HD streams if you believe the marketing droids....

http://www.samsung.com/Products/HardDiskDrive/consumer/index.htm

homerjay540

when i get the money together i will be buying the 250GB samsung on komplett.
also, no need to worry about SATA II, your board will support it. (only interface will be at 150MBs as opposed to 300MBs, which won't make any difference in use)

conzy

If you dont want to fork out on a silent hdd, you can get an enclosure that allows you to put a 3.5" hdd in a 5.25" bay and they insulate the noise 100%, put they are no good if you;re 5.25" bays are full;)

Fabritzo

Some of the specs on komplett mention a decibel rating at the end of the list, the quietest one I found is the Maxtor DiamondMax 10 200GB SATA 8MB 7200RPM NCQ
Sound Emission 25 dB
I've bought about 3 hard drives in the past while, they don't make noise at all, the cpu fan makes more noise in my experience.

commited

Maxtors dont have the best reliability record unfortunately

Fabritzo

I forgot to mention I try to avoid them if possible. Maybe an 5400rpm would suit?

CombatCow

Id go with the samsung's , I have 2 spinpoints in my watercooled pc and there seriously quiet.:v:

CC

Ponster

Having a silent system was important foe me so I splashed out on a fanless gfx card, Zalman fan for my CPU and an Antec Phantom power supply. The loudest things I'm left with are the hard drives but both are Seagate Barracudas and I couldn't be happier

rocky

No comments on the WD ?

looks like I'll go with samsung alright.

what about the GB/platter in the 200GB one? are they different from the 250GB?

because I'm not sure that a 25% (or thereabouts ) increase in price for a 25% increase in capacity is worth it. (200GB - 99euro, 250GB - 121 euro)

blorg

I've 5 Maxtors currently, had another two in the past, and have had no problems whatsoever. They are also very very quiet indeed to my mind, quieter than two Seagate Barracudas that I also have. I am pretty sure they have a noise/speed toggle so you can prioritise quiet over performance (and it is only a slight drop anyway.)

Much greater noise problems with the fan and PSU TBH. Any modern hard drive will be able to record and play back multiple video streams anyway, if that is your intended use.

commited

I have a WD 80gb bought last year and its silly noisey.

secret_squirrel

blorg wrote:

Much greater noise problems with the fan and PSU TBH.

Disagree - my spinpoint is easily the noisiest component in my media pc. Its as much because the hard drive sound is intrusive as the volume of the thing. My pc has 1 fan, 1 quiet cpu cooler, 1 120mm cooled PSU all from quiet pc. they barely make a sound.

HungryJoey

Get a Hitachi Deskstar You won't be disapointed. Go find somereviews, They are deadly.

I got one, not one problem, getting me anothing 250 GB.

Hj