x20 and hard drive noise

[ice]

I have heard that there would be a problems wiht x20 and original 20GB hard drive. They said that it is usually making much noise after few years. And I have heard one doing so. It was terrible! But is it normal? Or just a rare case? Should I keep away from that hard drive if I buy used x20?

[bhtooefr]

Here's what I know, owning an X21 that came with a 20GB HDD.

The thing was DEAD silent, except on seeking, where it was a little on the noisy side. I don't know whether the "noisy HDD causing a problem" complaints have to do with the seek noise or operating noise.

If the operating noise is noisy, RUN FAR, FAR AWAY. Unless you were going to replace the hard drive, anyway (after maxing out the RAM, it's the next best performance upgrade for the X20/21, to go to a faster HDD).

I personally recommend the HDD I've got in here, a Samsung Spinpoint M MP0402H. It's a 40GB, 5400RPM drive. Operating noise is audible - it sounds like a slow desktop PC fan. Seek noise was quieter than the stock drive.

I DID have to replace my drive due to failure, but that's only because it suffered physical damage (the laptop case being kicked, with the laptop in there).

Edit: Just so you know, the X20, X21, and i1620 are all the same basic laptop. The X20 and i1620 differ in build quality (better on the X20), the X20 and X21 differ in processor speeds (faster on the X21).

So, anything that applies to either the X21 or i1620, except for build quality complaints on the i1620, apply to your X20.