The Notebook Review forums were hosted by TechTarget, who shut down them down on January 31, 2022. This static read-only archive was pulled by NBR forum users between January 20 and January 31, 2022, in an effort to make sure that the valuable technical information that had been posted on the forums is preserved. For current discussions, many NBR forum users moved over to NotebookTalk.net after the shutdown.
Problems? See this thread at archive.org.

    Quiet&Cool HDD: Samsung or WD?

    Discussion in 'Hardware Components and Aftermarket Upgrades' started by zunnat, Feb 8, 2009.

  1. zunnat

    zunnat Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    2
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Hi everybody,

    I have a Dell Inspiron 1318 which came with a Seagate Momentus 5400.4 (st9250827as). It produces a noise level like a fan working low capacity (operating and also non-operating), and I believe it also makes the laptop fan work sometimes even when it's not needed, so I decided to buy another HDD.

    I would like to buy either a 250gb or a 320gb HDD which works quiet and also cool (temperature). I would appreciate if anybody told me which one would be better in terms of the noise level and temperature: Samsung or WD (considering the given capacities)?

    (Intel Core 2 Duo 2.16ghz, 4gb ram, Windows Vista Home Premium)

    Thank you very much...
     
    zunnat, Feb 8, 2009
    #1
  2. Specialista

    Specialista Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    21
    Messages:
    92
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    WD3200BEVT is the quietest -- practically silent. It also runs cool.
     
    Specialista, Feb 8, 2009
    #2
  3. John Ratsey

    John Ratsey Moderately inquisitive Super Moderator

    Reputations:
    7,197
    Messages:
    28,841
    Likes Received:
    2,166
    Trophy Points:
    581
    The Samsung HDDs used to be among the coolest and quietest but other manufacturers have improved during the past year or so.

    You can compare the idle and maximum power consumptions at Tom's Hardware. Lower power = less heat.

    I'm currently using a WD5000BEVT and it is almost inaudible as well as having relatively power power consumption.

    John
     
    John Ratsey, Feb 8, 2009
    #3
  4. Michel.K

    Michel.K 167WAISIQ

    Reputations:
    353
    Messages:
    1,216
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    55
    Go for WD!
     
    Michel.K, Feb 8, 2009
    #4
  5. zunnat

    zunnat Newbie

    Reputations:
    0
    Messages:
    2
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    5
    Thank you all guys,

    I appreciate it. I was thinking that what makes my fan work harder could be the power consumption, so it's relevant as well i guess.

    However, in Tomshardware ( http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/wd-toshiba-join-club,1776-7.html), it shows that WD3200BEVT almost has the most energy consumption. What do you think about that?
     
    zunnat, Feb 8, 2009
    #5
  6. demonhotrod

    demonhotrod Notebook Evangelist

    Reputations:
    15
    Messages:
    619
    Likes Received:
    16
    Trophy Points:
    31
    John may I ask, where did you get your WD5000BEVT from?
    I'm in the market from one, thanks
     
    demonhotrod, Feb 8, 2009
    #6
  7. Specialista

    Specialista Notebook Geek

    Reputations:
    21
    Messages:
    92
    Likes Received:
    0
    Trophy Points:
    15
    This is true but I do not find this to make much difference in battery life, heat or fan run time.

    I think the algorithms that make the WD more silent also involve more parking and activating of the heads, which means more power consumption. I value silence above all else, so am willing to accept this.

    If you absolutely must have low power consumption and can tolerate slightly higher noise, then go for the Hitachi 5K320, which is also about $10-15 cheaper than WD3200 in most stores.

     
    Specialista, Feb 8, 2009
    #7