Good middle performing hard drive?

[cubby1223]

I love these WD green hard drives for their silence & nearly no heat output...

I don't need blazing performance, and just around 1tb capacity should do fine.

But I hate how these green drives bring the whole system performance to a screeching halt if multiple files are accessed at the same time...


Is there a good compromise drive out there? Little more heat but still silent (this is the key item I want) and I'll take even slightly above utter pathetic performance

Thanks!

 

[CurseTheSky]

I have a Samsung Spinpoint F3 1TB that's very quiet in my system. The WD Green is going to be quieter, but the F3 blows it out of the water performance wise.

Other than that, I haven't had much trouble with Western Digital Black drives either.

 

[SmCaudata]

I have two of the Samsung F3 drives. They are fast and quiet. I'd buy more if I needed the storage.

 

[Pneumothorax]

Another vote for WD black 1tb HD's. I have 2 1TB WD green EADS and 1 2TB WD green and 4 1TB WD blacks. The blacks are much faster than the greens especially for random access which brings the greens to a crawl. Not one failure yet. Meanwhile, have had 2 seagate 1tb drives die in the last few months.

 

[Cerb]

If and only if you have some kind of isolation for the drives, or a case that damps well by other means, get the Samsung. Like many other Samsungs, it vibrates rather forcefully, and that can make for plenty of noise through your computer's chassis. A case with a sturdy drive cage and silicone-type grommet mounting (even some Rosewills are getting in on that, nowadays!) should be fine, in terms of noise.

That's one of the reasons you'll fine user reviews all over the map in terms of reported noise, and one of the few downsides to Samsungs (it's been this way since at least the P40 series). If it can't make various case panels whack against each other to make noise, it'll be pretty quiet.

 

[Tsavo]

If and only if you have some kind of isolation for the drives, or a case that damps well by other means, get the Samsung. Like many other Samsungs, it vibrates rather forcefully, and that can make for plenty of noise through your computer's chassis. A case with a sturdy drive cage and silicone-type grommet mounting (even some Rosewills are getting in on that, nowadays!) should be fine, in terms of noise.

That's one of the reasons you'll fine user reviews all over the map in terms of reported noise, and one of the few downsides to Samsungs (it's been this way since at least the P40 series). If it can't make various case panels whack against each other to make noise, it'll be pretty quiet.

Odd. I've got an F3 and it has no vibration. In the same case is a WB Black that by itself has no vibration.

Both of them running at that same time and my pc has a fairly stout vibration.

 

[Cerb]

What about with the drive not mounted (in your hand, FI)? WD's Black drives certainly do vibrate as they spin.

If the case handles it fine, then no worries (most widely recommended cases on forums like this will generally be fine--even some of the cheaper Rosewills). Something with thick steel, preferably extra angled pressed and rolled sections, etc., and firmly mounted body panels, often do just as well as isolating it with rubbery bits.

So far, every one of the F3s I've used, albeit only 5, up to now, have been exactly the same--smooth, but enough vibration to cause noise in cases with more 'plain'/chincy drive cages, thin steel, loosely mounted or brittle panels, etc.--clearly more vibration than WD Blue or Black, but w/o the whine.

This would be an extreme example of a case to avoid them for, due to vibration. This one aught to be fine. This one will definitely be fine.

 

[Voo]

TR had a comparison of several 7.2k rpm drives recently:
http://techreport.com/articles.x/19330/9

Noise levels obviously also depend on the case being used, but I don't notice any differences in noise between my .11 cuda and the F3 - they're both noticeably louder than the 5.4k rpm drives though.
But I'd say it's much easier to do something against vibration than loud platters, so if it's annoying you can easily mitigate the problem with a bit of rubber.

 

[jvroig]

Is there a good compromise drive out there? Little more heat but still silent (this is the key item I want) and I'll take even slightly above utter pathetic performance

This makes me think of a WD Blue, especially when you mentioned "middle performing hard drive". Faster than green, slower than black, but still almost as silent. And current max capacity just happens to be 1TB (only greens and blacks go beyond 1TB for now)

 

[Binky]

If you like the WD Green, try the Samsung F2. Similar drive technology (5400rpm) so I'm not sure if it will perform to your expectations.

You could also try a Seagate 7200.12. Lots of people talk smack about them, but the 500GB and 1TB drives in this series are pretty fast and extremely quiet. I've got one of each and I have no issues. Just stay away from the 7200.11.

 

[jvroig]

You could also try a Seagate 7200.12. Lots of people talk smack about them, but the 500GB and 1TB drives in this series are pretty fast and extremely quiet.

Seconded. I also have a 500GB 7200.12 aside from 2 WD Blues. It's quiet, fast, and not giving me any trouble. It took me quite a while before agreeing to purchase a 7200.12 (damn 7200.11), but I can't say I regret the purchase, and in fact since then I have seriously considered getting 2 more 7200.12 drives.