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intastella · Apr 3, 2001, 10:40 PM

I'm planning to upgrade my hard drive so I can do some more (casual) video work. Right now I'm looking at a 40 - 60 gig, 7200 rpm drive. But I am really concered with the noise (I HATE IT!). What is a good hard drive that is quiet?
Thanks

zigzag · Apr 3, 2001, 11:24 PM

Check tomshardware.com, storagereview.com, pcmagazine.com, and pcworld.com for comments on hard drive noise in recent reviews. I recently installed a 60GB Maxtor DiamondMax Plus 60 and am very happy with it.

JohnM15141 · Apr 3, 2001, 11:34 PM

While not the Fastest 7200 RPM drive around the Western Digital Caviar 40 Gig Drive is very quiet and runs cool because of the two platter design. I put one in my Cube and I cannot hear it all, even during disk read/writes. Unlike the Quantum Fireball that originally came in it, it was fairly quiet but I could hear the crunching sound during disk access. Too bad it doesn't come in 60 Gig size but then it would be real expensive! The 40 gig is on sale everywhere real cheap!

halc · Apr 4, 2001, 02:38 AM

Not knowing exactly what you consider to be loud, I must conclude that to get a hard drive that is as silent as it gets, you've got a few options (in the 40-60 Gb range):

Fujitsu MPG3409AT (40 Gb) http://www.storagereview.com/article...3409AT_sp.html

Western Digital Caviar WD400BB (40 Gb) - not totally silent http://www.storagereview.com/article...D400BB_sp.html

You might also find this thread helpful: http://www.storagereview.com/article...G3409AT_1.html

cheers,
Halc

jbell · Apr 5, 2001, 02:54 PM

Check out the IBM 75GXP Deskstars.....they have industry-leading low idle acoustics (3.1 bels). See this review article at TweakMax: http://www.tweakmax.com/html/ibm75gxp/ibm-1.cfm

zigzag · Apr 5, 2001, 03:25 PM

Originally posted by jbell:
Check out the IBM 75GXP Deskstars.....they have industry-leading low idle acoustics (3.1 bels). See this review article at TweakMax: http://www.tweakmax.com/html/ibm75gxp/ibm-1.cfm

Not meaning to be argumentative - that TweakMax review is very informative, but was done last July. More recent reviews have indicated some newer drives to be quieter than the 75GXP. For instance, see comments in the recent reviews at www.storagereview.com and www.tomshardware.com.

IBM itself has a newer line of Deskstars - the 60 series, which has been reviewed favorably at storagereview.com. You can still find the 75GXPs here and there.

Good luck - it's hard to go wrong with any of the newer drives from the major manufacturers.

[This message has been edited by zigzag (edited 04-05-2001).]

intastella · Apr 5, 2001, 05:47 PM

Thanks guys, I've looked at several articles at the sites you gave, and I still don't know what to go with.
The Fujitsu drives look pretty good but I can't find anyone that carries them. And has anyone used one of these Fujitsu's?

I have a Quantum Fireball Plus (stock) in my G4 now and I can definitely hear it. It's not loud but it sure isn't quiet. And the Fireballs in the article at storagereview.com were just slightly louder than the Fujitsu's (quietest). Is there a difference in the Fireball reviewed and the one I have? Or is this quest for a quiet drive useless?

Thanks again

Bodhi · Apr 5, 2001, 06:10 PM

The IBM 75GXP is the best drive out there. I highly reccomend it!

zigzag · Apr 5, 2001, 06:58 PM

Originally posted by intastella:
Thanks guys, I've looked at several articles at the sites you gave, and I still don't know what to go with.
The Fujitsu drives look pretty good but I can't find anyone that carries them. And has anyone used one of these Fujitsu's?

I have a Quantum Fireball Plus (stock) in my G4 now and I can definitely hear it. It's not loud but it sure isn't quiet. And the Fireballs in the article at storagereview.com were just slightly louder than the Fujitsu's (quietest). Is there a difference in the Fireball reviewed and the one I have? Or is this quest for a quiet drive useless?

Thanks again

The Fujitsus are normally only OEM products, not sold via retail. Try www.hypermicro.com.

The Fireball AS might be quieter than your Fireball, I don't know. I think Quantum offers the option of fluid bearings on drives up to 40 GB, but I don't know where to get them other than directly from Quantum.

There's no such thing as a silent drive. It's a mechanical device. The best you can hope for is a mild hum, with occasional clicks during searches. My experience is that some are slightly louder than others, and some seem to be higher-pitched than others. I have one of the new Maxtors, said in the reviews to be one of the quietest, and I can hear it. It emits a mild, medium-pitched hum, and I hear it click maybe a few times a day. I prefer this to the high-pitched whine that the drive in my iMac had. I don't notice it at all if I have music or TV on, and it's still better than a fan. You just can't expect perfect silence.

After considering all of the recent reviews, I went with the Maxtor for a balance of quiet and speed. But you really can't go wrong with any of the major manufacturers.

[This message has been edited by zigzag (edited 04-05-2001).]

Kevlar · Apr 6, 2001, 02:47 AM

Well I've bought 2 Fujitsu HD's so far and I think there great. I have a 13.6 gig 7200 and a 20.4 gig 7200 both of which are in my G4.

intastella · Apr 6, 2001, 05:35 AM

Well anyone know of any other places to buy Fujitsu drives? Hypermicro only carries one LVD SCSI model.

Thanks

Jean-Luc · Apr 6, 2001, 09:46 AM

I just bought a G4/500 DP and it came with an IBM Deskstar 40 GB. It is by far the quietest drive I've ever "heard". In fact I'm planning to get another Deskstar (75 GB) as a second drive.

Jean-Luc

petek · Apr 6, 2001, 10:16 PM

I just installed an IBM 45 GB Deskstar in my beige G3 and the only thing I hear is the power supply fan. I had a Maxtor DiamondMax Plus before and it was only just audible. Both are fast and quiet, but at least with my beige, need Hard Disk SpeedTools drivers to work properly (Apple Drive Setup 2.0.3 drivers wouldn't warm restart on the Maxtor).

davidflas · Apr 6, 2001, 10:24 PM

I put a Maxtor 7200 RPM 30 GB drive in my father's G3/266 and its all but inaudible. Its also way faster than the stock 6GB unit which is now a secondary drive in my G4/466. I have considered removing it lately because its so loud.

------------------
"It is better to have a bottle in front of me than a frontal labotomy" Tom TBone-existential blues

Corinthian · Apr 6, 2001, 10:51 PM

Hello:
As many of our boardmates said, both IBM and Maxtor are by far the best hard drive producers in the market. When I first got my G4-400 last year, I added an IBM 30G@7200rpm hard drive to my Mac. But I have a Quamtum Fireball pre-installed in my Mac and the performance is not very god indeed. It would be good to use Quamtum's SCSI hard drives but never IDE ones.
The same as my boardmates, I would recommend IBM 60G@7200rpm hard drive because of its cheap price, high stability and quietness. I am curently considering adding it to my Mac because space is runin gout in my 30G hard drive. If you think portablility is important, then Quamtum's Firewire 80G external hard drive is the best choice.
One thing to note, there are two specification of IBM 60G hard drives on the market. They are 4x15G and 3x20G. It is better to ask the dealer whcih spec do they have, I just know 3x20Gs are made in Hungary, but don't know the lace of origin of the remaining one.
Hope this can help
We are 3 goals ahead of the weakest team in European Championship, Leeds fans to La Coruna defeat at Ellen Road, Leeds.

zigzag · Apr 7, 2001, 12:06 AM

Originally posted by Corinthian:
One thing to note, there are two specification of IBM 60G hard drives on the market. They are 4x15G and 3x20G. It is better to ask the dealer whcih spec do they have, I just know 3x20Gs are made in Hungary, but don't know the lace of origin of the remaining one.

The 4x15 (4 platters of 15 GB each) is the old 75GXP model. The 3x20 (3 platters of 20 GB each) is the new 60 series. All of the manufacturers have gone to 20 GB platters - they get more data on each platter, and there are fewer parts to worry about.

intastella · Apr 8, 2001, 11:40 PM

Well guys, I got a Maxtor 40 gig, 7200 rpm drive. As for the noise, I can't really hear it churning or clicking, I actually didn't hear anything while I coppied 5.5 gigs of video to it

But there is a pulsing vibration that is amplified by the G4 case. But so far it seems like a great drive.

Thanks alot everyone that posted.
inta