Originally posted by: Tsunami982
Originally posted by: Gerbil333
How loud are these drives?
I have a 74gb Raptor, and it's the quietest drive I have when idling. My Seagates are louder; they emit a very annoying high pitched noise.
I want a second drive for storage, and I want it to be idle silently.
i think there is something wrong with your seagates... mine are inaudible idling and barely audible when accessing. the WD 80's are definitely louder than any of the seagates i have (3 80's, 2 120's, 2 200's... not all in one computer of course).
Nope, they're not faulty. It's my ears. If you read carefully, you'll find some people who hear what I hear. Half the people I know can't hear the sound even when I ask them to listen for it, including the family members who uses the drives. The other half only heard it after I pointed it out and said they likely wouldn't have ever noticed had I not said anything.
To me, the noise is VERY apparent and bothersome. SilentPCReview best describes what I and a small number of others can distinguish:
High frequency noise: Probably considered the most annoying of all hard drive noises, most drives of 7200 rpm spindle speed or faster are characterized by this whine, typically at 8~16 kHz. Even trace amounts can be very annoying because of its psychoacoustic impact and its high directionality: A simple movement of the head can cause the highly directional sound to come in and out of audibility, causing a dynamic stuttering effect that drives some people nuts.
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The "high directionality" is what bothers me. With my head positioned in certain spots at the computer desk, I can't hear a thing. If I move my head 1cm, the noise is piercingly loud! I think everyone will agree that sitting completely still while computing isn't practical.
Anyway, the sound is also affected by case design. My
Seagate 40gb 2mb cache, which I've had for roughly two years, is in a small case that isolates the hard drive very well. It's practically silent. Due to the design of the case, I can't hear this drive unless I go looking for the noise.
My
Seagate 120gb 8mb cache drive, which I've had for about a year, is much louder. However, the case is very open. There are huge air vents in the front of the tower (a Cheiftec Dragon--click the link in my sig. for pics), and it lets out a lot of sound. Thus, I can hear every sound that comes out of that machine. I imagine if I swapped the 120gb and 40gb Seagates between the two cases, the 40gb drive would be loud, and the 120gb would be silent.
To support that theory, up until a few months ago, I had a
WD400JB in my main computer, which uses the same Chieftec Dragon case. Idle noise was very noticeable, but it wasn?t the high pitched kind; it sounded rougher I suppose, with a deeper resonance. It wasn?t annoying, though it was noise, so it wasn?t pleasing either. Anyway, after upgrading to a WD 74gb Raptor, I put the WD400JB in my junk computer. That machine uses a small case with a fairly isolated hd cage. Now the WD40JB is significantly quieter. I don?t notice its idle noise much, and seek noise has reduced quite a bit as well.
Seek noise on the 40gb Seagate is almost inaudible. The only time?s I?ve heard it seek have been during defragging and while loading HL2 (the game can consume up to 950MBs in certain instances). The 120gb drive seems to be louder, but again, the case is likely the reason for that.
I stand by my claim that my WD 74gb Raptor is quietest drive I?ve personally owned
when idling. I?ll admit that the
Samsung 120gb 8mb cache SATA hd I used in a machine I built for a friend was the quietest drive I?ve ever used, but I didn?t own that
. That thing is SILENT. I literally could not hear a peep out of it, even while loading games or something that would allow me to hear a miniscule amount of seek noise on my Seagates. My Raptor?s idle noise comes close; I can only hear it idle if I take the case panel off and put my hear within about 3 inches of the drive. Thus, I?m very happy with it. Idle noise is what bothers me. I don?t mind seek noise at all, and that?s a good thing, because the Raptor seeks louder than anything I?ve ever had. However, it would be quieter in a better case, such as the Sonata. If I hold the case, much of the seek noise can be alleviated?the Raptor simply moves with so much force and speed that it?s shaking the entire case!
Ok, I digress. Gotta get some sleep.
Cliffs: No, my Seagates aren?t faulty. I?ve had one for over 1 year, and another for 2 years, and they work great. It?s my ears (refer to SilentPCReview link above). Also, I?m talking purely about idle noise. Seek noise is a completely different story, and I couldn?t care less about seek noise.
BACK to my question: If at all possible, could someone compare the idle noise of these $60 WD800JD's to a WD Raptor or a Samsung drive? I want it quiet. Try and avoid bias, please. I've noticed a lot of biased hd user reviews. For instance, I've used two WD400JBs, neither of which have been anywhere near silent, yet user reviews claim "QUIET and FAST, BEST hd EVER!!!!111!". Come on, fanboys, fess up!
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