New Desktop Hard Drives: Speed Or Capacity?

Noise And Temperature

The sound level benchmarks may not always reflect one’s subjective impression of how noisy drives are. Again, single- and dual-platter drives are rather quiet, while three and four platters make more noise. Clearly, rotation speed doesn’t seem to have a real impact on noise anymore, as a 7,200 RPM drive is the quietest and the WD20EADS makes the most noise in idle mode.

Again, drives with fewer platters are also quieter. Again, the perceived noise levels may differ a bit from one person to another.

Surface Temperature

Temperatures do not vary a lot, but the drives with fewer platters and lower spindle speed are the coolest ones.