"c d" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: >Greetings all: I recently purchased and installed a 25GB IBM Travelstar HD >to replace the original 2GB in my Wallstreet. The 25GB is model # DARA - >225000. Specs at: > >http://www.wegenermedia.com/dara.htm > >The new drive is fast and big, but it's LOUD! I know it's not one of the >new fluid dynamic bearing models, but it's louder than the 4 year old drive >it replaced. HD spinning (no drive access) is about the same, if not >quieter, but it makes a heck of a racket when reading or writing. Can >anyone else who has installed this drive confirm that the volume level is >normal, or do I have a lemon? The new drive has a 2000 date on it which I >presume is normal.
I was surprised to read that an older drive like this was so fast, as I had the impression 5400 RPM drives had only appeared in the last year or less. So I looked it up on the Travelstar page (http://www.storage.ibm.com/hdd/support/table.htm#Travelstar) and indeed there it is, an anomaly in both size (other drives of the era were in whole 10's) and speed. Appears to have been a "supercharged" version of the DARA series (6, 12, 18GB) that were used in late Lombard and Pismo PBs. Good drives, but LOUD. As for Wegener Media's GREAT DEAL on this drive ... if you're going to spend $100, I'd suggest getting a new, quiet (if perhaps not entirely silent) 40GNX 20GB 5400RPM drive from Googlegear for the same price: http://www.googlegear.com/jsp/ProductList.jsp?ThirdCategoryCode=011006 Two weeks ago when I bought mine it was $101; now it's down to $98. Or you can get the previous 40GN 20GB model for $90; it's slower at 4200RPM, but may be quieter: my 40GN bought a year ago is silent (except when reading/writing, when it clicks unobtrusively), while the 40GNX just purchased makes a slight noise. I plan to write to IBM to ask if the latter is within spec; it seems odd that a newer fluid dynamic bearing drive would be louder than one a year old. Anyway, so far as I'm concerned, any pre-FDB drive is too noisy to live with. It seems that noise was just not an issue in drive design until 2001; the 12GB Travelstar that came stock in my Pismo makes a terrible whine. Andrew Main -- G-Books is sponsored by <http://lowendmac.com/> and... Small Dog Electronics http://www.smalldog.com | Refurbished Drives | -- Check our web site for refurbished PowerBooks | & CDRWs on Sale! | Support Low End Mac <http://lowendmac.com/lists/support.html> G-Books list info: <http://lowendmac.com/lists/g-books.html> --> AOL users, remove "mailto:"; Send list messages to: <mailto:G-Books@;mail.maclaunch.com> To unsubscribe, email: <mailto:G-Books-off@;mail.maclaunch.com> For digest mode, email: <mailto:G-Books-digest@;mail.maclaunch.com> Subscription questions: <mailto:listmom@;lemlists.com> Archive: <http://www.mail-archive.com/g-books%40mail.maclaunch.com/> Using a Mac? Free email & more at Applelinks! http://www.applelinks.com
