Quietest Hard Drive?

[Justin218]

Well, I'm still suffering here with my IBM 60GXP which decided to start whining and I want to get a new HD. This thing is giving me a bad headache. I want it to be quiet, no less than 40GB, and 7200RPM. I think it's between the Seagate Barracude IV and the new Maxtor D740X. Opinions? Maxtors have always been good to me in the past. IBM can go bleep themselves. Never owned a Seagate

 

[ojai00]

I bought a Seagate about a month ago and, I have to say, I'm impressed. It's a lot quieter than my old Western Digital 13GB HD. Seagate has a pretty good reputation for reliability. My drive is working good so far, and I hope it continues to do so...hope I didn't jinx it Hope this helps.

 

[IgoByte]

The Maxtor D540X drives are very very quiet. I had four of them in my entertainment system, and also have them for sale cheaply in case you're interested. I'm talking about 80GB 5400RPM drives. Probably the quietest drives on the market.

 

[ST4RCUTTER]

I read something awhile ago about Fujitsu drives having some type of proprietary technology called Fluid Dynamic Bearing. Tom's hardward did an article on this almost a year ago. Seagate is also said to have very quiet drives. Here's another link to Fujitsu's product intro.

 

[veryape]

I have not owned one recently but I hear Seagate makes a pretty quiet drive these days, although the ones i've owned in the past were far from quiet.

 

[Mavrick007]

I haven't had a Seagate since my 130Meg drive but the new Barracuda IV is supposed to be very fast and quite. I would definitely consider a Seagate over a Maxtor IMHO since I've had so many Maxtors go bad(good prices in the past were hard to pass up). Seagate is supposed to be a leader in the Fluid Dynamic Drive technology too.

 

[ST4RCUTTER]

Here's a link to the Seagate drive using Fluid Dynamic Bearings. Looks pretty good. I've had zero problems with Seagate drives...I've had zero problems with Maxtor drives as well.

 

[Shmorq]

Check out storagereview.com (Hope the link works...)

When comparing the Maxtor D740X to the Seagate Barracuda IV in terms of noise, it says:

<< Again, our review sample features ball rather than fluid bearings. Even so, this D740X is quiet when idle. Though it can't quite compare to the Seagate Barracuda ATA IV (all of which ship with fluid bearings), idle noise should be undetectable in all but the quietest systems. A sample equipped with fluid bearings may exhibit an even lower noise floor. As one would expect from a drive that delivers a best-of-class access time, the D740X is relatively loud when it comes to seeks? a definite notch above what we've witnessed from today's competition. Note that one can mitigate this noise through the use of Maxtor's Acoustic Management utility. When it comes to heat, even after extended use, the drive gets only warm to the touch. >>



By the way, I have the Barracuda IV for my 'Quiet PC' and I wouldn't get any other drive. While it's not the fastest as a 7200RPM drive, it's more than worth it for the silence. It's not an exaggeration when they say the Barracuda IV is silent although the noise output does vary from unit to unit. Also, the 60 and 80 gig versions are slightly louder due to the extra platter over the 20 and 40 gig versions.

 

[Gretzky]

I have a IBM Deskstar 40 gig 7200 rpm and its very good under my opinion. I have it for a year now and I had no problems with it.

 

[SocrPlyr]

just put a 40gb seagate barracuda IV in the other day... i couldn't hear it above the fans...
i was very surprised...

my pence
Josh

 

[Oyeve]

Seagate by far. I have 18 33gig U160 drives for my main system and beleive it or not, even with all those drives spinning away, the case fan is still louder (and the case fan isnt that loud). I have also never had a failure (knock on wood) with any of my seagate HDs even after dropping one over five feet on concrete.

 

[CrazyHelloDeli]

I have two 60GXP and they arent loud at all. Sure you dont have a Jet Engine type case fan or two in there?

 

[Justin218]

<< I have two 60GXP and they arent loud at all. Sure you dont have a Jet Engine type case fan or two in there? >>

Mine wasn't loud at all either, until a few days ago, when it started making a very high pitched whine. Tried remounting and everything, it's just the drive.

 

[dbwillis]

My Seagate 30GB drive is very quite, it also runs a bit cooler than my 20GB and 80GB WD drives, they are also pretty quite, but I think the Seagate is quieter