Western Digital and Acoustic Management

[ljvk61]

I am considering purchasing the WD2500JBRTL.

Any opinions, success/horror stories about its noise level before and after using some acoustic management software? I have found and plaan on using ATAAC as the AC management software.

[stichnot]

I am considering purchasing the WD2500JBRTL.

Any opinions, success/horror stories about its noise level before and after using some acoustic management software? I have found and plaan on using ATAAC as the AC management software.
I believe I have exactly that drive. I used acoustic management software pointed to in this post (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=2553898&&#post2553898). I think it's actually quieter than the original Weaknees 160GB 5400rpm Maxtor drive that it replaced. It's in the bedroom, and sometimes in the past I would hear the Maxtor grinding away at night, but that hasn't happened with the WDC drive.

Without acoustic management, the seeks were much louder, at least with the cover off. I can't really say how bad it is, since I didn't risk my wife's wrath by letting it stay acoustically unmanaged through the night. :)

[ljvk61]

Thanks for the information and the link. I'll probably buy the WD drive and if it doesn't pan out in the Tivo, I'll swap it with the Maxtor 250GB in the PC.

If and when I go this route, I'll report my results.

[Jamie]

I believe I have exactly that drive. I used acoustic management software pointed to in this post (http://www.tivocommunity.com/tivo-vb/showthread.php?p=2553898&&#post2553898). I think it's actually quieter than the original Weaknees 160GB 5400rpm Maxtor drive that it replaced. It's in the bedroom, and sometimes in the past I would hear the Maxtor grinding away at night, but that hasn't happened with the WDC drive.

Without acoustic management, the seeks were much louder, at least with the cover off. I can't really say how bad it is, since I didn't risk my wife's wrath by letting it stay acoustically unmanaged through the night. :)There's a review of the FDB WD drives at silentpcreview (http://www.silentpcreview.com/article246-page1.html). Seems they are much quieter than older WD drives, but still have some noise issues. Of course, the review is based on a single sample, so YMMV.

[ljvk61]

Well I picked up the above stated model from Sam's Club for $118. The drive is dated April 2005, so according to the link Jamie provided, should be an FDB equipped drive.

I turned on Acoustic Management using ATAAC. It is running relatively quiet, but not as quiet as I would like. Seek noise is a tad louder than fan noise. This one is being used in a bedroom environment, so any noise is noticeable. To give you something you can use to compare, the furnace/AC fan will mask the noise of the tivo. This may be better suited to a unit sitting in the living room.

There may or may not be better units out there, but I can hardly afford to go out, buy and test them all. Would I buy another one? Probably.