Quiet SATA Drives - Samsung vs Seagate

THT · 19 Sep 2006 at 10:50

Im currently in the market for a new Hard drive - around 250GB (limited by budget as im getting 2 for RAID0)

For me quietness is important as the machine is always on downloading something or doing something in the background.

I think Ive cut the list down to 4:

Samsung T-Series HD300LJ
Samsung SpinPoint P120 Series 250GB
Seagate's Barracuda 7200.10
Seagate's Barracuda 7200.9

Reading the reviews, the Samsung T seems to be quietest but Im looking for personal opinion if you have these drives etc

wizardmaxx · 19 Sep 2006 at 11:08

The samsung might be a bit quieter, but the seagates will probably be faster. Are you going to be using the raid for the OS or as fast data setup

yak.h'cir · 19 Sep 2006 at 11:12

The seagate .10 model is really quiet (I have 2), also the 320GB model is only slightly more expensive then the 250GB...

THT · 19 Sep 2006 at 11:12

just gonna have the raid0

The slower drives shouldnt make much odds if theyre raided anyway - cos it will be quicker than it is now

You can still partition raid0 right?

wizardmaxx · 19 Sep 2006 at 11:16

yak.h'cir said:
The seagate .10 model is really quiet (I have 2), also the 320GB model is only slightly more expensive then the 250GB...

Arent the 320's those perpendicular ones. If soo should perform very well.

wizardmaxx · 19 Sep 2006 at 11:22

THT said:
just gonna have the raid0

The slower drives shouldnt make much odds if theyre raided anyway - cos it will be quicker than it is now

You can still partition raid0 right?

Your seek time won't improve much (ie windows/day to day wont be much faster) , but data transfer should be improved (ie loading up a game, copying large files to a third hdd, etc.)

Yes you can partion raid0

THT · 19 Sep 2006 at 11:43

Yeah is the writing and gaming performance which im bothered about

and the 250s are perpendicular ones too

THT · 19 Sep 2006 at 11:53

Just been doing some research (Drive Name - Idle Bels - Access Bels) :

Current Drive: 2.7 3.7
300LJ: 2.7 2.9
7200.10: 2.7 3.0
7200.9: 2.7 3.2
Samsung T: 2.5 2.8

Samsung T is queitest on paper....

smids · 19 Sep 2006 at 11:53

All 7200.10's are perpendicular i.e. the 200GB one too.

I can't believe I have to keep saying this: Seagate Perp drives > ALL other 7200rpm drives - no question.

Seagates are quiet anyway. Are you really telling me your ears are so sensitive that they can tell apart approx 2dBa or so difference between the drives? The fact it has to be measured with testing equipment ought to be enough.

wizardmaxx · 19 Sep 2006 at 11:56

My recommendation - The 7200.10 Seagates :cool:

THT · 19 Sep 2006 at 12:10

The figures were really to prove that anything i get is queiter than now

I can hear the reads now - especially at night (i live in the country little ambient noise)

smids · 19 Sep 2006 at 12:22

THT said:
The figures were really to prove that anything i get is queiter than now

I can hear the reads now - especially at night (i live in the country little ambient noise)

I too live in the country (Kent countryside

). At night it is completely dead quiet.

Honestly, the Seagates are faster, use new technology, are quiet and reliable. I cannot see sense in buying a Samsung. I own a Seagate 320GB 7200.10 and it is very quiet.

BoomAM · 19 Sep 2006 at 12:26

smids said:
...that they can tell apart approx 2dBa or so difference between the drives?...

Sound isnt a linear scale.
3dB is about the same as doubling the noise output. So imagine what 2dB is.

So without all of the marketing stuff that some people seem hooked on at the moment, what are the advantages of perpendicular drives? Because as far as i can tell, apart from capacity potential, there is none.
Any evidence to back up comments would be good, im bored at work and need something to read!

THT · 19 Sep 2006 at 12:33

smids said:
I too live in the country (Kent countryside ). At night it is completely dead quiet.

Honestly, the Seagates are faster, use new technology, are quiet and reliable. I cannot see sense in buying a Samsung. I own a Seagate 320GB 7200.10 and it is very quiet.

Do you have the Seagate in the same room as you at night?

Can you hear it?

smids · 19 Sep 2006 at 12:35

BoomAM said:
Sound isnt a linear scale.
3dB is about the same as doubling the noise output. So imagine what 2dB is.

So without all of the marketing stuff that some people seem hooked on at the moment, what are the advantages of perpendicular drives? Because as far as i can tell, apart from capacity potential, there is none.
Any evidence to back up comments would be good, im bored at work and need something to read!

All the evidence is on my HDU's but unfortunately I have no computer (in rebuild). I know sound isn't linear but can we honestly tell the difference between idle HDU sounds (unless it's a Maxtor

). Seeks are always audible but I find the seagates quiet in this respect too.

A 7200rpm Seagate 7200.10 has an average read of 65-68MB/s (as fast as a 74GB 8MB raptor) compared with about 55MB/s of most other 7200rpm drives using parallel tech. That is a big jump. The density of data is far greater improving the overall speeds. Data corruption is also less likely due to the alignment of the blocks (though this is theoretical and is my theory!

).

Yes, the seagate is sitting next to me - it is mounted externally (in a CM 4 in 3 device) so for me, it is audible, but very, very faintly. Inside a case and you can't even hear it.

wizardmaxx · 19 Sep 2006 at 12:40

smids said:
All the evidence is on my HDU's but unfortunately I have no computer (in rebuild). I know sound isn't linear but can we honestly tell the difference between idle HDU sounds (unless it's a Maxtor ). Seeks are always audible but I find the seagates quiet in this respect too.

A 7200rpm Seagate 7200.10 has an average read of 65-68MB/s (as fast as a 74GB 8MB raptor) compared with about 55MB/s of most other 7200rpm drives using parallel tech. That is a big jump. The density of data is far greater improving the overall speeds. Data corruption is also less likely due to the alignment of the blocks (though this is theoretical and is my theory! ).

Yes, the seagate is sitting next to me - it is mounted externally (in a CM 4 in 3 device) so for me, it is audible, but very, very faintly. Inside a case and you can't even hear it.

When you get set up post some hd-tach pics of that 7200.10

smids · 19 Sep 2006 at 12:47

wizardmaxx said:
When you get set up post some hd-tach pics of that 7200.10

Give me a month to fund it! I need a CPU and motherboard and I only just graduated and am currently unemployed (though applying)

.

wizardmaxx · 19 Sep 2006 at 12:51

Send it to me, i'll look after it for u until you ready to set up :cool:

BoomAM · 19 Sep 2006 at 13:04

smids said:
...snip...

No offence, but someones opinion isnt exactely concrete evidence as to a drives properties.
The jump in performance can be down to any number of variables. And although the drives reading/writing technique is the likely cause of the jump, its not a dead cert that it is.

smids · 19 Sep 2006 at 13:09

BoomAM said:
No offence, but someones opinion isnt exactely concrete evidence as to a drives properties.
The jump in performance can be down to any number of variables. And although the drives reading/writing technique is the likely cause of the jump, its not a dead cert that it is.

Rather than ask me constantly, why not try a place like storagereview.

It is a known fact that the new technology is the reason for performance increase. Look up some reviews of the 7200.10 and then question me. I have extensively read up on this - and theoretically everything I have said is correct.

Data density is a key source of HDU performance given that the 7200 rpm spindle speed is now a standard. Cache is of lower benefit, then you have things like TCQ, NCQ etc. The Seagate uses 180GB platters, more than all other 7200rpm drives (which use 133GB and 100GB platters). Perpendicular technology is what made this possible.