Right...
The background info (I guess it isn't really necessary to read this, I'll ask the question fully afterwards):
I am currently scraping together several computers to start off as the first servers for my 'business project' (a website (please don't ask for details
)). Unfortunately, money is rather an issue. However, I have managed to get two 2003 Compaq towers for an extremely good price and an eMachines (I know...
) tower for free, as the company that had it wanted a new computer, I recommended them one, so I got given the old one (it is extremely unreliable, especially the HDD. Windows had to be reinstalled twice on it due to the hard drive continually messing up. Y'know, claiming it didn't exist, claiming it needed wiping, claiming there was nothing on the HDD to boot from etc.). I had an old (2005) 80GB 7200rpm Hitachi Deskstar that used to be in my last, last computer. It is perfect. It is very quiet, and extremely reliable (touchwood) (surprising, due to my history with Hitachis HDDs...). The HDDs that came with the Compaqs were a) tiny capacity and b) one is literally about to break, the PC kept shutting down due to it and the other sounds like an army of mosquitoes (no, it's not the fan). The 200GB HDD that was in my last computer a) has some of my data on it still and b) also sounded like it was going to die soon (seriously, I heard clunking sometimes). There is a fourth computer, a friend's ex-desktop, but it has fine specs and is relatively quiet so doesn't need a new HDD.
(And yes, I need IDE, not SATA, as they are fairly old machines)
The Question:
So, the short of it is, I need recommendations for 3.5" internal IDE HDDs that are QUIET (if you haven't read the above info, look for the long bit in italics. I want ones that are really quiet at running.) that have a relatively high capacity (let's say, around 200GB) and don't cost the earth (I found a 500GB Hitachi Deskstar on eBay that's £130. That's rather out of my price range
), for server use. It would also be handy if there are a few of them available on the internet, as finding a perfect but unique one wouldn't be particularly convenient.
Once again, apologies for the longevity of the question, I just seem to get carried away over-explaining things
Thank you for reading it 
The background info (I guess it isn't really necessary to read this, I'll ask the question fully afterwards):
I am currently scraping together several computers to start off as the first servers for my 'business project' (a website (please don't ask for details
) tower for free, as the company that had it wanted a new computer, I recommended them one, so I got given the old one (it is extremely unreliable, especially the HDD. Windows had to be reinstalled twice on it due to the hard drive continually messing up. Y'know, claiming it didn't exist, claiming it needed wiping, claiming there was nothing on the HDD to boot from etc.). I had an old (2005) 80GB 7200rpm Hitachi Deskstar that used to be in my last, last computer. It is perfect. It is very quiet, and extremely reliable (touchwood) (surprising, due to my history with Hitachis HDDs...). The HDDs that came with the Compaqs were a) tiny capacity and b) one is literally about to break, the PC kept shutting down due to it and the other sounds like an army of mosquitoes (no, it's not the fan). The 200GB HDD that was in my last computer a) has some of my data on it still and b) also sounded like it was going to die soon (seriously, I heard clunking sometimes). There is a fourth computer, a friend's ex-desktop, but it has fine specs and is relatively quiet so doesn't need a new HDD.(And yes, I need IDE, not SATA, as they are fairly old machines)
The Question:
So, the short of it is, I need recommendations for 3.5" internal IDE HDDs that are QUIET (if you haven't read the above info, look for the long bit in italics. I want ones that are really quiet at running.) that have a relatively high capacity (let's say, around 200GB) and don't cost the earth (I found a 500GB Hitachi Deskstar on eBay that's £130. That's rather out of my price range
Once again, apologies for the longevity of the question, I just seem to get carried away over-explaining things
Thank you for reading it My Computer
- Computer type
- PC/Desktop
- Computer Manufacturer/Model Number
- HP Pavilion p6565uk
- OS
- Windows 7 Home Premium 64bit
- CPU
- AMD Phenom II X6 1035T @2.6GHz (hexacore) (=15.6GHz)
- Motherboard
- FOXCONN (2AA9)
- Memory
- 6GB DDR3-1333 (running at 1066)
- Graphics Card(s)
- NVIDIA/MSI GeForce GTX 770 (2GB)
- Sound Card
- Realtek HD Audio (with 5.1 surround sound always on)
- Monitor(s) Displays
- HP 2311x (secondary-workspace), Sharp LL-T1620-H (primary)
- Screen Resolution
- 1924x1080
- Hard Drives
- 480GB Crucial M500 SSD
1TB internal WD Caviar Black
3TB Seagate Barracude 7200rpm (for media storage)
4TB Seagate Desktop drive (mirrored backup)
2TB Apple AirPort Time Capsule
1TB Seagate FreeAgent Desk
500GB Seagate External Desktop Drive
- PSU
- XCase Dolphin, 700W
- Case
- Stock HP one that came with it, mid-size ATX
- Cooling
- Stock fans, they're fairly quiet.
- Keyboard
- Microsoft Wireless Keyboard 2000+ HP Media Centre Remote
- Mouse
- Microsoft Wireless Mouse 2000
- Internet Speed
- 20 Mbps down, 50 Mbps up
- Antivirus
- MSE
- Browser
- Chrome Beta
- Other Info
- Also:
- 13" Apple MacBook Air, 2013, i7 @ 1.7GHz, 8GB DDR3, 256GB SSD
- HP Deskjet 3050A
- Two HP ZV5000 laptops (the better of the two recently broke)
- A Compaq Evo D310 (has 2GB RAM and a 2.53GHz P4 but is curiously extremely slow)
- A desk fan - this weather is warm ;)
- A fair few retro consoles
- Too many cables behind the desk, probably a fire hazard.