Hard Drive Info 3 

Before we continue with the results from the noise production measurements let's start by mentioning that the harddisks were all tested as-is, so without any settings changed in the acoustic management some of them offered. If we then take a look at noise production it is clear that the majority of hardisks tested score around the 43 dB(A) mark with only the Western Digital 1200JB being somewhat noisier at 47.1 dB(A). The only harddisks that scored significantly lower were Seagate’s ST380020A and ST380021A, better known as the Barracuda IV. The Barracuda IV actually was quite an engineering marvel as it had some of the lowest noise levels we measured and yet offered performance that was just slightly below the fastest 7200-rpm harddisks. But also the IBM 120GXP and Western Digital 800JB fared quite well in the noise department, not really whisper-quiet, but not exactly noisy either.

Upon looking at the results from the temperature measurements we can derive that the average raise in temperature is 17.5 C. The only harddisks that got significantly warmer were the 7200-rpm harddisks with large storage capacities, as expected. Especially the Maxtor D740X got pretty warm, with a rise of 22 C above ambient, although this is ‘just’ a 80GB harddisk. For example the 120GB harddisks from IBM and Western Digital didn’t get nearly as hot as the Maxtor. Overall none of the harddisks we’ve tested should run into trouble when used in a mid or mini-sized PC case. Only if the case temperature is around 45 C/ 113 F you’ll need to take extra measures such as mounting a case fan to bring the system temperature down to acceptable levels.

Conclusion

As evident from our benchmarks and the noise and heat production measurements the 80GB, Western Digital 800JB with 8MB cache and the 120GB, IBM 120GXP offer the best combination of performance, noise and heat levels. The IBM has our preference as it has the largest capacity and thus offers the best price/performance ratio.

If you're looking for a good 7200-rpm harddisk then look no further than the Western Digital WD800BB, with 2MB cache, just a tad bit slower than the WD800JB which features 8MB of cache. The surprising newcomer is the Samsung SP8004H that scores well on all fronts and certainly deserves your attention too.

Equally surprising was the performance of Western Digital’s 400AB and 800AB, both 5400-rpm harddisks showed exceptional performance on par with all but the fastest 7200-rpm harddisks. If you’re looking for an affordable, high-performance and yet silent 5400-rpm harddisk either of these will fit your needs exactly.

If you’re however looking for a harddisk that offers an impressive combination of performance and low noise then look no further than Seagate’s ST380021A Barracuda IV, it really is an engineering marvel that combines the best of both worlds. No match for the IBM or Western Digital but a fair trade-off between performance and noise level.