Which will run cooler/quieter 320gb or 500gb?

P

purell

Geek Trainee
I really don't need 500gb. Just need the 320 external. But would like to know will the 320gb version run cooler/quieter than the 500? The 500gb won't be that much faster if at all right?

I have a seagate 7200.10 seagate 320gb and it runs much cooler than the 500gb samsung.

Western Digital My Book Premium ES WDG1SU5000N 500GB 7200 RPM External Hard Drive - Retail

Average Latency: 4.2ms
Average Seek Time: 8.9ms
Cache: 16MB
Dimensions: 2.2" x 6.8" x 5.6"
Features: Easy to set up, easy to use - Installation is a snap because you don't really "install" this drive, you just plug it in and it's ready to use. There is no CD to install; the included software loads from the drive the first time you plug it in. PC and
Form Factor: 3.5"
Interface: USB 2.0 / eSATA

OR

Western Digital My Book Premium ES WDG1SU3200N 320GB 7200 RPM External Hard Drive - Retail

Average Latency: 4.2ms
Average Seek Time: 8.9ms
Dimensions: 2.2" x 6.8" x 5.6"
Features: Easy to set up, easy to use - Installation is a snap because you don't really "install" this drive, you just plug it in and it's ready to use. There is no CD to install; the included software loads from the drive the first time you plug it in. PC and
Form Factor: 3.5"
Interface: USB 2.0 / eSATA
 
Welcome to hardwareforums purell :beer:

Both drives will make about the same noise, heat and operate at the same speed... when buying a hard drive you should be looking at 4 things:

  • The RPM (7200 for most desktop drive's, don't accept anything less)
  • The Manufacturer (HDD's are holding your data, you need to know its in good hands!)
  • The Capacity (ie 500GB)
  • The Cache Size (ie 16MB)

I look at drives in roughly that order...
 
The storage capacity has little or nothing to do with the noise level. The spindle speed is the biggest, and probably only real contributor. Having said that, the drive itself isn't going to make noise at all. The case the drive is in is a different story.
 
Hmmm... how about reliability then. I emailed wd to see what model drives they are putting in the case. Aren't 500gb prone to more failures?

Worse case I might buy both and see which one is better.
 
purell said:
Aren't 500gb prone to more failures?
Click to expand...
never heard that, if reliability is importatant get the Seagate or Maxtor[ot]Maxtor drives are just rebadged Seagate drives[/ot] i've also heard good things about WD & Samsung (although i've never used either of them, as for noise emmited from a drive, a 500Gb drive will probably emmit the same amount of noise as a 320Gb drive, as the usable space is directly related to density of the platters (inside the HDD) that store the data, the platters just can store more data, everything else about the HDD is the same, like this


BTW: the only moving parts in a HDD are the spinning platters and the read/write heads which move accross the platters & either read or write data
 
I can vouch for Western Digital, never had a problem with them! (even old drives i've been given)
 
purell said:
Hmmm... how about reliability then. I emailed wd to see what model drives they are putting in the case. Aren't 500gb prone to more failures?

Worse case I might buy both and see which one is better.
Click to expand...

That's news to me. Not saying your wrong, but that's information that I've not seen anything to substantiate that idea.
 
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