[mythtv-users] [OT] Which hard disk to choose

[Steve Hodge]

On 8/27/06, George Roberts <gr at gr5.org> wrote:
> If you want a quiet drive you should get a Western Digital.
> According to http://www.silentpcreview.com/ Western Digital makes
> the quietest drives.

Unless you watch a lot of TV with the sound off, or your myth box is
in your bedroom, SPCR's focus on noise is a bit extreme IMHO. I know
other people feel differently, but I find a PC built with standard
components these days is plenty quiet enough for the other side of the
lounge.

> Hard drives make the most noise in your PC - even more than the fans.

You can't just make a blanket statement like that and expect to be
taken seriously. It depends on which drive (and how many, and how
they're mounted), which power supply, and what other fans you have.
Unless you have gone for a quiet power supply that will probably be
the loudest single component at 30-35db. Definitely louder than the
25-28db that is typical for HDs.

Essentially what I'm saying is that unless you're designing your whole
system specifically for minimum noise you're probably wasting your
time picking the drive on sound output. There isn't enough difference
in acoustics between most drives around now to make that the primary
consideration. Personally I've come to prefer Seagate drives, partly
for the 5 year warranty.

Steve