Are 2.5" hard drives quieter than 3.5"?

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Netherspark

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Feb 11, 2016
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I'm not talking about the read & write sounds, I'm mainly referring to simply the sound of the discs spinning.

I need a replacement storage drive, and so far I've tried a Seagate Barracuda and a WD Blue. Both have been very audible, even loud just spinning idle. So now I'm wondering if a 2.5" drive will be quieter?

Please do not tell me to "get an SSD"... I need a large storage drive, not a system drive.
 
Solution
The Paladin
1. if your going to have storage data drives and "HDD" bother your ears, you can try to use those "anti vibration gromets/pads" to use duyring installation of the drive, its reduce a tremendous amount of sound..
REF: http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/accessories/discontinued-products/anti-vibration/noise-kit

2. consider using NAS drives for your long term storage they last longer have longer warrantees and are designed to run quieter.
REF: https://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=nas+hard+drive&ignorear=0&N=-1&isNodeId=1

3. Consider to run your Storage in a two Drive Raid. to protect your data in case of failure of either drive, and running it as a NAS enclosure running on...
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10tacle

10tacle

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Maybe. It depends on the model and speed and if it's designed for low power laptop use. For example, I have a Seagate hybrid 750GB 5400RPM drive and it's much quieter than my 7200RPM 2TB Western Digital Black 3.5" desktop drive when accessing files. Of course it goes without saying that both get blown away by my SSD when it comes to sound.

 
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Ralston18

Ralston18

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Quiet is both subjective and objective.

Drive A may be quieter than Drive B in one environment (desktop case) but acoustics, mounting, vibrations could reverse the perceived noise level in another environment.

And the manufacturer's all run their sound testing in ideal environments. Just to get a marketing edge without false advertising per se.

Take a close look at how the drive(s) will be mounted. May not take much effort or anything special to dampen the noise down no matter which drive is chosen.
 
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Aeacus

Aeacus

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Short answer: Yes.

Long answer:
In general, 2.5" HDDs output 19dB(A) to 21 dB(A) while 3.5" HDDs output 21dB(A) to 23 dB(A) from 1 meter distance. 2 to 3 decibels can make a world of difference if your PC is specifically constructed for silent use (e.g home recording studio). But as said above by Ralston18, you may nullify the noise advantage of 2.5" HDD by just mounting it in a such way where it's vibrations are amplified through sound.
 
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The Paladin

The Paladin

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1. if your going to have storage data drives and "HDD" bother your ears, you can try to use those "anti vibration gromets/pads" to use duyring installation of the drive, its reduce a tremendous amount of sound..
REF: http://www.fractal-design.com/home/product/accessories/discontinued-products/anti-vibration/noise-kit

2. consider using NAS drives for your long term storage they last longer have longer warrantees and are designed to run quieter.
REF: https://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.aspx?Submit=ENE&DEPA=0&Order=BESTMATCH&Description=nas+hard+drive&ignorear=0&N=-1&isNodeId=1

3. Consider to run your Storage in a two Drive Raid. to protect your data in case of failure of either drive, and running it as a NAS enclosure running on your network, you also protect your data against computer failure to take your data out with it.
ref: https://www.techadvisor.co.uk/test-centre/storage/best-nas-drives-for-2018-3217608/
 
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Solution
failboat

failboat

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Sound has a lot to do with rpm, but that doesn't mean a slow one is quiet.

Seq read/write aren't really impacted by RPM, it's mainly latency. If you're writing large files to it like media or backups then the latency probably isn't an issue.

My HGST 3.5'' 4TB megascales are silent. My 3.5'' SAS 15k drives are not, but they aren't bad. Damaged off centered drives are loud. Poorly mounted drives are loud, which is probably the most common and the case is the reason. High RPM small fans are loud. My 2U server with 2.5'' fans sounds like a space ship taking off when I power it on.
 
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failboat

failboat

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Spinning down when idle is common. it probably still has some power to stay mounted.
 
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The Paladin

The Paladin

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I set my HDDs to power down when idle. Are NAS drives going have any issues with that, given they're designed to run 24/7?
Click to expand...

I have 3 WD NAS Drives 1TB, 2TB,and 6TB and all three have the options "spin down" on, when not in use for 10 mins, they go in a "sleep mode" so only the network interface is active awaiting to turn the rest of the drive on for data access/transfer request.


I have 5400 & 7200 drives, and I cannot hear them in my case, and 2 of 3 Nas drive reside on my desk and I cannot hear them either, so you must have either a truly silent room, or you have very finely tuned ear to that "spin sound.." of course my computer is in a main room with another computer and I can barely notice my computer fans (unless I am gaming).
 
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