I need a *really* quiet hard drive.

[dpopiz]

people on here seem to have lots of different ideas of quiet. but what I mean is I want the quietest hard drive I can get besides flash memory "hard drives". I say no flash because I can't afford that and I need at least 20gb

two I can think of are the barracuda IV 20/40gb and that slim maxtor drive with "less parts"...can't remember the model #

 

[jfall]

seagate

 

[WobbleWobble]

Originally posted by: dpopiz
slim maxtor drive with "less parts"...can't remember the model #

Those are the Maxtor Diamondmax 8s and yes they are very quiet.

 

[Ionizer86]

Seagate Barracuda IV 40GB. Next up is the Barracuda 5's, and then the 7200.7's make a tad bit more sound.

 

[boomerang]

Second the Seagate. Can't hear ANYTHING from mine.

Ummm...third. Slipped in ahead of me.

 

[wetcat007]

Seagate

 

[PizzaDude]

Seagate Barricuda IV.

 

[CoDaBu]

my suggestion too, go with the barracuda

 

[MDE]

Seagate encased in acoustic foam if you want real silence.
EDIT: I mean that the Seagates are very quiet to begin with, but the foam would make it dead silent.

 

[zodder]

Originally posted by: PizzaDude
Seagate Barricuda IV.

I had an 80G and 40G in my machine and couldn't hear a thing. Super quiet.

 

[DaveSimmons]

If you can't find the IV, you might check www.silentpcreview.com forums for more suggestions and the main site for reviews.

The newer seagate 7200.7's are enough louder than the IVs that you might consider Samsung or Hitachi, though with Hitachi you get the weird "cricket chirp" seek a couple of times a day (that they put in to prevent sticking and the "click of death.")

 

[dpopiz]

I have a hitachi 180GXP (my favorite hd of all time) and it's quiet, but not quiet enough for this application.

 

[Dug]

Seagate V. Can't hear it even with my ear up next to it.

 

[WobbleWobble]

I personally like the DiamondMax 8 because it's a lot slimmer and because there's only 1 platter, there should be less chance of mechanical failure.

How about laptop HDDs? Many are quiet too.

 

[WobbleWobble]

dp.

 

[CraigRT]

Originally posted by: WobbleWobble

Originally posted by: dpopiz
slim maxtor drive with "less parts"...can't remember the model #

Those are the Maxtor Diamondmax 8s and yes they are very quiet.

and very unreliable... i'd go with a seagate personally.

 

[Metron]

dpopiz,

I highly commend you the Seagate 7200.7, that use only one platter, or the Seagate Barracuda V. They idle at 25 decibels, seek at 28 db, and performance seek at 31 db. Hard to beat.

You don't say IDE or SATA, but either are available at www.endpcnoise.com:
IDE, 80 Gb, $89.95
SATA, 80 Gb, Seagate Barracuda V, $99.95

If you're serious about removing the racket from your system, check out endpcnoise.com.

Metron

 

[Texun]

If I had a drive quieter than my Seagate 120g ST3120026A it would be dead.

 

[BFG10K]

Both the Barracuda VI and V drives from Seagate are dead silent. I currently have one of each in my rig and even when both of them are performing I/O I can't hear them unless I put my ear right up to the case.

 

[Chu]

Either way, don't forget rubber washers to isolate vibration. These can make a HUGE difference depending on the case, and considering they're pennies a piece at your local hardware store no reason not to spring for them. Add them to your fan mounts as well.

-Chu

 

[vegetation]

If you really want quiet over performance then look for the 2.5" Hitachi Travelstar 40GB model 5200rpm. It's the quietest drive out there on the db scale. Enclosed in a typical desktop case I bet it would be essentially silent. You'll need a 3.5 to 2.5" adapter to use in your desktop.