Which hard drives are generally the quietest

[DeadSeaSquirrels]

I was wondering if there is a general consensus on which drives are the quietest. I'm not sure on the size I'm looking for right now. I am building a machine strictly for work. So I won't have a lot on it. I might, and this is a big maybe, have my MP3s on it. Which will take all of 40 GBs or so. Everything else is open.

250GB SEEMS like it's enough, but maybe I should step up to the plate, and I'm definitely running RAID 1, so I need two.

Any suggestions? Or is this all just preference? I want performance, but my guess is that most drives will suit my needs basically equally. So quietness would be nice since it will be in my room.

 

[Marty502]

If noise really bugs you, have you considered a notebook HDD?
Nothing is quieter than those!

 

[Bonesdad]

My experience leads me to Seagate drives. All others seem to make some various buzzing or whirring I cannot detect on my seagate drives.

 

[Tiamat]

The new Western Digital Green line is the quietest you can find unless you get a slow notebook harddrive.

If it is (in)audible, these guys will know about it:

SPCR Recommended HDD

The laptop drives are listed first, the desktop drives you have to scroll down. If you want the quietest, compare the first of each category.

 

[0roo0roo]

Originally posted by: Marty502
If noise really bugs you, have you considered a notebook HDD?
Nothing is quieter than those!

mtron ssd!

 

[DeadSeaSquirrels]

cool thanks. I think I'll forgo laptop drives, I like quiet, but not with that type of sacrifice of capacity and cost.

 

[Texun]

I had a Samsung and a Seagate and the Samsung was a bit quieter. I have since replaced them with a WD 320g and found they have made significant progress in producing quiet drives. It's very quiet, but based on my limited but positive experience with Samsung I would go with a Samsung over the rest in a second. Hope this helps.

 

[0roo0roo]

mainly you also need a quiet case like the p182 type. nice and thick walled/sturdy with few baffled openings.

 

[Roguestar]

When you're installing the drives, put some small rubber spacers inbetween the drive and the drive cage to dampen the vibrations from a fast spin. Or use rubberised screws or whatever your case may have, if available.

 

[Blain]

Originally posted by: DeadSeaSquirrels
Which hard drives are generally the quietest

Any suggestions? Or is this all just preference? I want performance, but my guess is that most drives will suit my needs basically equally. So quietness would be nice since it will be in my room.

Samsung SpinPoint V60

 

[tw1164]

I just used a WD7500AAKS for my tivo. I had to enable Automatic Acoustic Management (AAM). It was quiet before I did, but it's dead silent now.

 

[ch33zw1z]

I have 3xWD 250GB KS models, I never hear them spinning...only a foot or two away.

 

[corkyg]

My full tower case is on the floor under the computer desk. All I hear are the case fans and none of the three HDDs inside. The only way I know they are running is to observe the front case LEDs.

BTW - my laptop has a 200 GB, 7200 RPM drive and it is completely silent. I have to watch the LED to tell if it is doing anything. That drive has better performance than my desktop drives.

 

[biostud]

Samsung T166 500gb
http://www.anandtech.com/stora...howdoc.aspx?i=3031&p=5

 

[Zap]

All else being equal (capacity, RPM, form factor) the quietest drive is the one that is mounted decoupled.