Thinkpads Forum

Hi,
I currently have a T400 (6475-R1G) with a 160GB 5400RPM HD which is currently near silent in operation (quietest Thinkpad I have owned). I am thinking of upgrading to a bigger (and possibly faster) HD but am concerned about increase in noise.
Current shortlist of drives are:
320GB Hitachi TRAVELSTAR 7K320, 7200rpm, 16MB Cache
320GB Seagate ST9320320AS Momentus 3Gb/s, 5400 rpm, 8MB Cache
320GB WD WD3200BEVT 5400rpm 8MB Cache Scorpio Blue

Does anyone have experience of any of the above and if any will provide the silence I seek (no pun intended!)?

Thanks in advance!

my TP is T500 with a 320G 'WDC WD3200BEVS-08VAT2' harddrive!

i think it's quiet enough for me, except som little hum which can be easily ignored if you don't pay attention to it during the late night.

I have a 14" T400 and have used HIT 7k320 160Gb and Seagate 7200.3 320 Gb at one point. To me their noise level is comparable and definitely acceptable. I can hear them but that's because the fan on the T400 is so quiet that I honestly can't tell whether it's on or not. With Seagate I do hear clicking sound when the drive is reading/writing, more so than Hitachi. Having said that, I am using Seagate as my main drive in the last couple of months, and put the Hitachi in a external case, as the clicking doesn't bother me at all.

5400 would probably be better but I think all the current generation 7200 are "good enough".

Can't wait to get a ssd in it then it would be completely quiet.

Thanks for the replies - was leaning toward the Hitachi so will probably order one of those.
cheers.

Hard drive noise can be a bit hit or miss. You can have two drives of the same make/model, one noisy, the other not. If for some reason the drive you get is noisy, exchange it for another. I'd go with a 7200RPM for the better performance. I've had good luck with Seagates of late, but that could be luck of the Irish.

umern wrote:<snip>I am thinking of upgrading to a bigger (and possibly faster) HD but am concerned about increase in noise. Current shortlist of drives are: 320GB Hitachi TRAVELSTAR 7K320, 7200rpm, 16MB Cache <snip>

I have two of these Travelstars in my T60, and two WD Scorpio Black 320GB 7200rpm 16GB Cache WD3200BJKT drives in my T60p. I find the WD drives to be so quiet that I must put my ear to the machine to hear them. They run fast and cool, I could not be happier. In fact I plan to install two of these in my new W500, as they are the best drives I've had in a long time.

Cheers...

Thanks for all the replies - ordered the Travelstar yesterday and will report some feedback here once installed.
Cheers!

Ive tried the Travelstar 5K320 and it was noisy, like a fan-like noise, didn't like it at all. I'm thinking on getting a 250GB 5K500.B single platter, my 80GB is also dead silent. I've tried the WD3200BEVT and WD3200BEKT, I own the latter , its speedy but right now is on a enclosure, the Blue just tested it. I think it's more logical to expect a silent disk if it's single platter, maybe to the OP your 160GB drive was a 5K320-160 (single platter) hence the low accoustics.