• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Maxtor 120GB 7200rpm 8MB fluid, NOISY?

A

AnAndAustin

Platinum Member
😱 Just upgraded from a Maxtor 60GB 5400rpm 536DX (IIRC) which is totally silent and VERY fast for a 5400 to a Maxtor 120GB 7200rpm 8MB fluid HD and was surprised firstly that the speed outside of synthetic benchmarks isn't much and secondly that it produces a LOT more noise, nothing odd or unusual just the std seek and transfer type noises which were common place before I got my 60GB HD. Is this normal? I didn't expect to hear the HD over the quiet hum of my case fan, Rad9500PRO and Enermax dual fan PSU. I'd hate to hear a WD as they don't use fluid, I would have gone for a Seagate had I known. I had heard there was a QUIET MODE which could be used / enabled on these HDs, anybody know anything as searches haven't helped?

😉 FYI I'm using a KT400 with Hyp v4.46 drivers on WinXP with ATA133 cable and the drive on its own IDE Channel, I have verified the marking relate to the correct ver of the HD and that the highest UDMA mode is working too. Any ideas or experiences? Thanx in advance!
 
"acoustic management" is what to search for, it will turn up a prgram called "AMSET" but it doesn't say that it runs on the Plus 9s.

You can alway try emailing them -- if you get a useful response please post it here.
 
I have 3 of the 8MB 120's, 2 in RAID 0 and 1 running standard. There's a slight purr if I listen for it, but its not noticeably audible. I actually returned a few RAID cards b/c they didn't have functional LED headers; I can't tell if my drives are spinning or not w/out an external LED. The loudest fan in my case is an 80mm TT SmartFan2 on a Sunbeam rheobus running at a very quiet 3300rpms (the SF2 has a lone rpm detector that runs to my mobo). You might want to contact Maxtor, as a few of the hot deal threads in which I got my drives had others with similar issues. Apparently Maxtor acknowledged there is a "loud" version out there. Good luck, and sorry its loud 🙁 Been great for me so far!!! Next upgrade will be a set of 2nd-gen SATAs in about a year.

Chiz
 
My new Maxtor DM Plus 9 120 gig w/FDB is also very loud during seeks compared to my WD 80 JB. During idle it is silent though.
 
I have the exact same drive as you and I was really surprised also at the loudness and heat produced by the drive. I have a maxtor FDB 5400 RPM 160GB drive of the 40GB platter generation and it's much quieter and cooler. I also have a maxtor max+ 8 which is 7200rpm and it's much quieter and cooler too. I know comparing the max+ 9 to these other drives is a little apples to oranges but I still don't think the difference that exists should be as great as it is. I also have a WD 7200rpm 80GB drive which is only ball bearing and it's quieter and cooler! I don't think the acoustic management software will help you becuase I think maxtor ships their drives in fairly quiet mode by default.
 
Now I'm getting cold feet about this drive. I just ordered one at a great price after debating between this and the WD. I read a review where they said the Maxtor's were just slightly quieter and temperatures about the same. But then I hear about all these loud noises and such, but I hear the same bad reports about WD as well. Makes me want to go to Seagate, but there performance isn't up to par from what I've seen.

Speed wise how do you guys feel this stacks up to the WD SE 120, that one has gotten great reviews. I can find reviews on Maxtor, but not on the 120gig model and different models vary greatly. The spec I really need is the sustained write speeds and whatever else I would need for playing instruments into it and editing sound.

Thanks!
 
😉 WD's & Maxtor's 7200-8MB HDs are about as fast as each other but the Maxtor SHOULD be significantly quieter while the WD should come with a 3 year instead of 1 year guarantee. Seagate's offering is slower than the 2 above but it is still very fast and MUCH quieter. If I could do it again I wouldn't hesitate on getting the Seagate ... even my old Maxtor 5400rpm HD is VERY good indeed. Here's some links:

http://www.extremetech.com/print_article/0,3998,a=34368,00.asp

http://www.xbitlabs.com/articles/storage/display/8mb-ide-roundup.html
 
Originally posted by: DaveSimmons
"acoustic management" is what to search for, it will turn up a prgram called "AMSET" but it doesn't say that it runs on the Plus 9s.

You can alway try emailing them -- if you get a useful response please post it here.
Click to expand...

Amset does run on the plus 9s as a matter of fact if yoiu create the utility floppy with the maxblast software it will be on the floppy,
 
What do you guys think of IBM/Hitachi? I know they had some trouble with the 60GXP and 75GXP series drives, but I hear they turned it around with the 120GXP, so now I wonder about the 180GXP. Any opinions?

Thanks
 
😀 Thanx for the tips on AMSET guys. It works but I haven't had time to fully bm it yet. There are 3 modes, OFF (Loud+top perf), FAST (Quieter+good perf) and QUIET (Quietest). There is a noticable diff in noise levels between OFF & FAST but the HD is still clearly audible, on QUIET however the HD is totally silent. As for the perf hits I've only used SiSoft Sandra at the mo and the results from 1 run were OFF=30,000 FAST=20,000 QUIET=20,000. So I'm currently running QUIET mode, I'll do a little more testing when I get chance as I hope I don't need to take a 30% perf hit to reduce noise. It surprised me how far perf dropped in FAST mode but was pleasently surprised by both the perf and noise level of QUIET mode. Of course it is important to rem Sandra is synthetic so other bms will be more telling, WinXPpro+NAV2003+ZAP still loads in 30 secs even in QUIET mode. FWIW my Maxtor 5400rpm 60GB HD registered 13,000 in Sandra but it sure felt MUCH faster.

🙁 I wouldn't touch IBM HDs now even if they were solid and half the price. I'd suggest sticking to WD for speed+3year, Maxtor for speed+quieter and Seagate for 'silence' and still decent speed ... I really don;t see why it's worth bothering with any other manu at the mo.
 
AnAndAustin,

Thanks for the excellent info ! After you have had time to try out your system in everyday use in the "quiet" mode I'd appreciate hearing your opnion about the speed in this mode.

TIA
 
😉 No problemo. Had a VERY busy day today but should get some chance to to run some tests Thu or Fri. TBH the HD is SO incredibly quiet in QUIET mode I doubt I'll revery back to any other mode even if I have to take a 30% perf hit (although I hope I won't). At the same time it does make me wonder if I'd have been better served with a Seagate or even a mature 5400rpm HD like I was using previously (only larger of course). Oh, well, we'll see what the tests show...
 
Seems like the decision on what drive to get gets harder and harder. Some people say certain drives are loud, while others say that they are quiet, even Seagate users, which are supposed to be the quietest mention noise as a problem. The same goes for reliabilty, I hear such extremes, although Seagate seems to be on top in that deptartment. And performance meaures vary wildly from review site to site and people on here. I thought this 120 DM+9 was supposed to be fast, but the original post here says it's kinda slow? I guess I can handle loud seek noises as long as there is no high pitched idle noises, anyone have that problem with these Maxtor's or Seagates? I've heard a number of times that the WD's suffer from it so I'm not going to go that route. I've been reading up on silentpcreview.com that seek noise can be greatly reduced on any drive with a specialized HD holder or a case designed to stop it, like on a couple of Antec's.
 
Just to throw this in there... I just bought a diamond max plus 9 80gb drive and it is quiet! I dont even hear it and had to make sure the led came on to make sure it worked.
 
Thanks, that's good to know. Maybe I'll just try the DM+9 120gig, since it's already on it's way and I only paid 115 for it. I just hope it's not a case of some are loud and some aren't, because I don't like buying products with lousy quality control, even if I get a good one. My other option is the new Seagate SATA drive, which is supposed to have great write times, which is what I need for adui work, but it's like 180, plus 12 for the power adapter.
 
Make sure your Maxtors have J in the serial numbers. Those are all fluid ball bearing units made in Japan. The Ultra 8's don't appear to be made in Japan.

I'm sticking to the 3 2's on 7200 40's I have. My son has the 5400 60mb and it's transfer rate is actually faster than my 7200. Side by side I saw little difference and it runs a bit cooler. Still, I'm happy with the maxtors.

2 mb units are great beit 5400 or 7200.
 
Alright... it must be that some are shipped in fast mode, and some in quiet mode, cause at first mine would have loud clicking noise at seek time, now I can't hear a thing in quiet mode.... not a single noise.. this is great.
 
Alright... it must be that some are shipped in fast mode, and some in quiet mode, cause at first mine would have loud clicking noise at seek time, now I can't hear a thing in quiet mode.... not a single noise.. this is great.
 
Keep in mind that setting your drive to quiet mode KILLS performance like RAID kills roaches. Isn't that something? 😛

Quaxtor drives were always loud on seeks. A lot of the FDB's have noticeable whine as well.

-DAK-
 
my seagate is effectively silent wether idle or during heavy work. its very probably a single platter though and maybe i got lucky with it, there's only so close to perfect you can get a ball bearing, and when its being spun on 120 times a second I'd imagine even the very slight engineering tolerances allowed could result in a variety of noise levels.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top