Second HDD - Noise Level V.Important - Momentus?

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sidepartings26

Member
Hi

I am ordering a Vortex 3 laptop. My main drive will be an Intel SSD 240GB. This is an audio laptop and will often be used near(ish) microphones so it does need to be fairly quiet.

My plan is to use the SSD as an OS drive and for current 'working on' projects and an additional HDD 'data' drive for archiving projects, software setups, pictures - non essentials; a setup I currently use and like (even with a 128GB SSD).

However, the second drive will hold large audio sample libraries which will be loaded into active projects at times and so the noise of that drive will be a factor.

I was going to go with the Seagate Momentus Xt 750GB because it's the only 6GB/S drive listed. However PC Specialist phone support said a few people have found it noisy. Online opinions are non-conclusive e.g. the only decibel stats I've found show it to be not bad http://techreport.com/review/22057/seagate-momentus-xt-750gb-hybrid-hard-drive/10.

The thing is, I don't really need the hybrid drive SSD element e.g. for booting because I will have an SSD anyway. So then I just thought get the WD Scorpio blue which is quiet 5400RPM bigger 1TB and better for battery.

The other option is to get a 480GB SSD and use backup drives connected by eSATA for various 'now and again' files given I mostly use Spotify anyway.


Any opinions? I am self employed and will be using the laptop to earn my living so cost can be stretched..

Anyone have experience of any of the mentioned drives and able to comment on noise level?

Best Wishes
Jonny
 
PCS

PCS

Administrator
Staff member
My advice would be to get the larger SSD and backup your important files online with Microsoft SkyDrive. It costs just £16 per year for 57GB, so you could buy 5 years worth on online backup for roughly the same price as a Seagate Momentus XT 750GB drive. :)
 
M

Marks

Bronze Level Poster
If you don't like the idea of keeping your data away somewhere on the internet, you could always make a small server or get a NetworkAttachedStorage hard disk and keep it in another room / cupboard and access it wirelessly/wired through the local network.
 
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sidepartings26

Member
It would actually be cheaper to have 2* 240GB rather than one 480GB (by about £50 - Intel 520s). I guess I could run them Raid 0 if I wanted then too.... I just think the 240GB is the sweet spot for price rather than another £200 for just an extra 240GB.

I have a 2TB drive for eSATA processes etc and will have a dock. It's just even with 480GB I would fill the OS drive easily because if it's there use it!

I'm leaning towards Caviar Black so it's fast-ish and quiet idle (hopefully) and then making sure I have just the samples I need on the 240GB when doing quiet stuff! For some reason I just don't like the idea of a hybrid drive. Does this make no sense given that it's the same price as the WD basically?

Thanks
 
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HonestFlames

Bronze Level Poster
I opted to use 3 drives, no optical. Two SSD's and a Seagate hybrid. I put Steam (150GB+) on the Momentus. Windows, annoyingly, keeps accessing the Momentus. The Momentus, annoyingly, spins up its physical disk even if only the SSD cache part is being accessed (at least, that is what it seems like it is doing).

It hums and vibrates with my laptop on my desk. It's almost inaudible. Almost. Still slightly irritating.

If you have the option, go with SSD instead of hybrid or 5400RPM. You likely will not regret it.
 
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sidepartings26

Member
For anyone interested I went with the Scorpio Blue. Based on this review http://www.silentpcreview.com/article1226-page5.html it is quieter and better for power consumption but most significantly the Black has an amplitude notch at 120Hz which in my experience of other drives is often audible when the soundcard out is later amplified. Also, most other reviews/forums expressed that the Blue performance was very comparable with the Black (moreso than the linked site) and of course it's 250GB more. So for a data drive primarily it's fine. Also, note audio enthusiasts, most sample library programs have a set-off option of 'load into RAM' vs DFD (direct from disk) so if you have the RAM and are using a slow-er HDD secondary drive only now and again utilise these settings....
 
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HonestFlames

Bronze Level Poster
I suppose I should mention that a slightly older WD Caviar Black 320GB in my Dell M1730 makes virtually no detectable noise whatsoever.

I've always been a fan of WD drives and their laptop drives really are excellent. Wish I'd skipped on the Momentus and just got a Caviar Black instead.
 
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