The quietest harddrive will give you the best performance and computing power without making loud noises that would otherwise cause noise distractions.
There’s nothing more irritating than working with a noisy laptop, especially if you spend most of the hours of your day glued behind your computer.
There are two main suspects of a noisy computer. One is the fan, and the other is the harddrive.
If the problem is the harddrive, you’ll have to replace it with a quiet one. Below is a guide of the quietest hard drives on the market.
Quiet Hard Drives Brands
Western Digital-WD is an American data storage and computer hard drive manufacturer headquartered in San Jose, California. Founded in 1970, the company is popularly known for its fantastic quality and durability.
Seagate is another popular American data storage company that manufactures storage devices that are reliable, speedy and offer great value for money. The company is incorporated in Dublin, Ireland, with its headquarters in Fremont, California.
There have been controversies around Seagate drives, with Backblaze categorizing Seagate hard drives as the least reliable hard drives among the well-known hard drives manufacturers.
Perhaps Toshiba is one of the most famous hard drives brands based outside the USA. Headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, this multinational conglomerate provides diversified products and services, including social infrastructure systems, elevators, electronic components, printers, batteries, quantum cryptography etc.
What Is the Quietest Hard Drive?
The best quietest hard drive in this guide is the Seagate Barracuda comes with 7200 RPM and 6Gb/s.
With 500 GB worth of storage space, this Seagate creation is perfect for gaming computers or PC users in need of considerable storage.
Like other Seagate products, this hard drive is designed to provide improved efficiency, quick open rates, and optimal reliability.
The manufacturer includes a two-year limited warranty, so you have nothing to worry about where quality is concerned.
This product also stands out for its versatility. This feature makes it the perfect choice if you want a cost-effective upgrade that is sure to enhance your PC performance.
Whether you are a designer or video editor who uses multiple applications at once, you can be sure that this Seagate drive will offer the performance that you are looking for.
Despite its high performance, the Barracuda hard drive is relatively quiet. With 26.5decibels levels when idle and 34.7dB when active, it is safe to say that this Barracuda creation if you are looking for a quiet drive.
It is also versatile enough to match most PC applications. Whether you are into photo and music editing or PC gaming, you can be sure that this Barracuda drive will not disappoint you.
SSD vs. SSHD vs. HDD
In the past 2 decades, computer technology has advanced at such lightning speed to help in speeding up performance speed and so much more.
It’s important to note that there are performance and noise differences between solid-state drives (SSD), solid-state hybrid drives (SSHD), and hard disk drives (HDD).
SSDs are more popular than traditional hard drives as they are slim and offer faster data transfer.
An SSD doesn’t have any moving parts like the traditional HDDs. For this reason, SSDs are quieter than HDDs, and they generally last longer.
Besides SSDs being quieter than HDDs, they also offer other advantages:
- SSDs are power efficient. SSHDs are also more power-efficient than HHDs since they spin lower than the standard hard drives.
- Because of their design and lack of moving parts, SSDs are durable and can withstand high extremes of drop, shock and temperature.
Unfortunately, SSDs are quite expensive, and the storage space is exponentially smaller than traditional hard drives.
A-List of The Best Quietest Hard Drives
1. Seagate Ironwolf Pro
Yet another high performing Seagate creation backed by over 20 years of innovation. The Seagate Ironwolf Pro offers 4TB and 7200 RPM.
This drive also comes with speeds of about 214MBS and is perfect for multi-user NAS servers that require powerhouse performance.
The Ironwolf Pro promises no lag time, low power consumption, high file-sharing performance, and enhanced data protection.
Other notable features include 1.2M hours MTBF, low power consumption, and no downtime even when kept running all day and night.
The Seagate Pro is fitted with IronWolf technology to allow the automatic display of intervention, prevention, and recovery options.
The AgileArray firmware also delivers vibration tolerance making this one of the quietest hard drives even in a multi-user environment. At 26.1decibels when idle and 34.6dB when active, this drive is so smooth that you will have to listen to the computer attentively to tell that it is running.
The five-year limited warranty is a plus, and you can rest easy knowing that your hard drive will serve you well for many years.
2. Seagate ST6000AS0002 Archive Drive
The Seagate ST6000AS0002 features a flash memory size of 6TB and 5900 RPM. Cache memory size is at 128MB, and noise levels are at 33.7decibels when idle and 35.4dB when active.
With quiet acoustics and minimal vibrations, this Seagate drive is perfect if you are concerned about noise. The drive is also designed to be energy efficient while offering optimal performance.
Just like other hard drives on this list, the Seagate ST6000AS0002 is designed with durability in mind.
The drive will show minimal if any wear and tear even with every day. It is perfect if you want to expand your storage or improve your PC’s performance.
3. Western Digital IntelliPower Hard Drive
The IntelliPower drive has 1TB capacity, 64MB Cache, and 6.0Gb/s, offering optimal storage for intensive applications.
This hard drive comes with SilkStream technology that can capture up to 12 high definition video streams simultaneously.
Other outstanding features include top reliability, 24×7 operation, quiet operation, and low-temperature environment.
The average noise rating when active and idle are 28.2decibels. Thanks to the IntelliPower feature, the drive delivers reliable performance and fine balance in spin speed while ensuring that power consumption is minimal.
The WD harddrive is designed to be compatible with most AV products. You can use it for your DVR/PVR, top boxes, and video surveillance systems.
The hard drive is also an ideal choice for media centers and media servers.
4. WD Red Pro NAS Internal Drive
The WD Pro in an 8TB drive that supports from 1-24 bays and boasts 3D Active Balance-plus technology for enhanced reliability.
With adequate error recovery controls thanks to the NASware 3.0 technology and extended drive testing, it is easy to establish that the drive will offer the shock protection and reliable operation you are looking for.
The multi-axis shock sensor can automatically detect any shock events, and the fly height technology ensures that the read-write functions adjust accordingly so that your data is well protected.
If you deal with a lot of media, the WS Red Pro will serve you well. You can expect solid speed with no downtime even when the drive is running 24/7.
The drive is generally quiet with noise levels of 30.3decibels when idle and 33.4dB when active. With all these features, it is safe to conclude that this is an exceptional drive perfect if you are looking for a capable, cool running and quiet hard drive.
It helps that the manufacturer offers a 5-year limited warranty, so you are guaranteed quality and reliability.
Quietest Hard Drive Buyer Guide
Storage Space
Storage space is a primary factor to consider. What are your storage needs in the present and near future?
It is essential to choose a hard drive with enough space to fit your files.
While a storage upgrade is always an option, you need a drive you don’t have to worry about filling always.
Rotational Speed
A high performing Hard Drive is an asset. It makes no sense having a noiseless hard drive that doesn’t deliver in performance.
Hard drives are available in 1000, 4200, 5400, and 7300 revolutions per minute. The performance for data handling increases with the number of revolutions.
For example, the 7300 RPM hard drive will offer better performance than the 4200 RPM option.
It is important to note that more revolutions translate to increased noise. If you want the 7300 revolutions per minute hard drive, check if it has technology designed to cancel the noise.
Warranty
The number of years in the warranty can give you a rough estimate of the duration the manufacturer expects the hard drive to last.
Seagate and Western Digital offer the highest warranty in the market. With 5 years in the warranty, you are guaranteed that the quality is perfect.
Check the things covered in the warranty and the process for getting a replacement in case the hard drive doesn’t perform as promised.
The Manufacturer
Buying from a reputable brand is always a wise move. You are guaranteed performance in the present and future.
Go through customer reviews and check what experts have to say about the hard drive you want to buy.
You may have to pay more for a good brand, but such products turn out to be much cheaper in the long run.
Steps to Take After Buying the Quietest Harddrive
Inspect the Package
The hard drive should be well cushioned mostly with plastic boxes. This prevents damage when the package is in transit.
After opening the package, check for any visible damage and return immediately if you find any.
Clean Your Hands
Do not touch the hard drive with dirty hands as a greasy mark will damage it. Wash your hands and wipe them dry before opening the package. You can also wear gloves.
Format Drive after Installation
After successfully installing the drive, run it several times to ensure that all sections are well-formatted.
Be on the lookout for storage issues and ensure they are resolved before you start using the hard drive.
If there are failed reads, among other errors on the hard drive and take steps to resolve them immediately.
Solid State Drive (SSD) Makes Squealing Noise
Portable systems equipped with solid-state drives produce an audible squealing noise when the system is under light use or in idle mode.
This sound is normal.
To help save energy, when the CPU is idle, it enters a low power mode known as C-State. The purpose of lower power mode is to reduce power usage in the CPU.
In some cases, the high frequency squealing/ buzzing sound can be heard from your system and appears to change with SSD load, processor activity, or when a USD device is attached.
The noise originates from the processor’s power circuit, and it’s only heard when the processor is in sleep/ clock-stopped mode- C3 power state.
The noise is produced by processors’ power circuits and results from a phenomenon known as Piezoelectric Effect. When a predefined voltage is applied to the SSDs, they begin producing sounds in the range of 15-20, a range within human hearing.
This noise is normally from the system and is not an indicator of a problem or failure. If your system BIOS has C-state mode, disable it to eliminate this problem.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Are Toshiba Drives Noisy?
The newer modern high-capacity Toshiba 3.5” drives are noisy. However, they are more heavy-duty than their Western Digital and Seagate competitors. Because of their rugged design and heavy-duty performance- designed like enterprise drives, it’s no surprise that they are noisy.
However, this doesn’t mean that all Toshiba drives are noisy. For example, Toshiba OCZ TR200 Series is a good example of Toshiba SSDs that are extremely quiet.
Should A Hard Drive Be Silent?
Hard drives should be silent although they produce some operational noise that shouldn’t be bothersome.
In general, hard drives make low-pitched whining, clicking or whirring noises, especially when booting up or storing or accessing data. These sounds are perfectly normal and shouldn’t be a cause for concern unless these noises occur all through when the PC is switched on.
Final thoughts on the Quietest Harddrive
The quietest harddrive is the Seagate Barracuda comes with 7200 RPM and 6Gb/s. it operates at 26.5 decibels when idle and 34.7 decibels when active.
However, if you’re looking for other alternative brands, you can consider other hard disk drives recommended in this guide.
Don’t forget to follow the steps recommended here after buying your harddrive.
Meet Mike O’Connor, (a DIY enthusiast), living in Cincinnati, a city ranked as the noisiest in the USA.
As a work from home dad, I have a first hand experience of how noise can truly affect your well being.
Soundproofing isn’t something that should be taken as a hobby, it should be a skill that every homeowner should be equipped with.
Most of the work documented on this blog comes from purely first hand experience, and the products recommended work as indicated.
Correction: There’s no such thing as ‘7300RPM’ HDDs. You can only find 7200RPM Hard drives in the market.
Sorry that must have been a typo. Thank you for helping keep this blog updated.