How loud is 39 dba?

[Zincq]

I read on Western Digital's website some specs on their Special Edtion Caviar 80 gig. I'm aiming for a quiet computer, so, I'm not sure how loud 39 dba (idle) is. Can someone give me some figures to compare with?

 

[ai42]

wow that sounds a bit on the high side. 39dba is around a low talking voice, perhaps a whisper. Remember it is going to be sitting inside your case so you won't hear quite as much.

nm see post below

 

[erikiksaz]

Originally posted by: ai42
wow that sounds a bit on the high side. 39dba is around a low talking voice, perhaps a whisper. Remember it is going to be sitting inside your case so you won't hear quite as much.

BTW Dba is exponential. 20dba is 2 times louder than 10dba. Also you can hear 0dba in certain frequncies.

Hmm, i could have sworn a whisper is 22dba. 39 dba should be around a Black Delta, which is unbearably loud. Case panels on or off, that will make a bit of noise. And if it were to be exponential, 20dba is NOT 2 times louder than 10dba. Either way, i'm confused. A hard drive with 39 dba? That seems odd.

 

[Tanked]

For a comparison...

High speed Delta fans can exceed 60 dba,
Panaflo fans are generally around 22 dba,
a jumbo jet at takeoff is around 100 dba (I think).

39 dba for a harddrive is loud - it'll probably make a consistant, audible whining sound.

 

[Zincq]

it's a western digital drive! I bought it today from fry's for $140 with a $40 rebate. I really do want this computer to be quiet, and so if it's going to bug me so much when it's running, I might as well return it. I was originally going to get a Seagate Barracuda, I hear those are very quiet. What enticed me to get this WD drive, is that it has a 8 MB buffer. How important is that anyway? Now I'm all mad that i might need to return this sucker :|

 

[dexvx]

Depends on what it is. Panaflos L1A fans are 50 dBA, at 1mm from the fan. I think if you're talking about standard distance, 39 dBA is 1 meter away from the source. And yes, it is quite loud.

 

[John]

39 dba for a harddrive is loud - it'll probably make a consistant, audible whining sound.

I agree 100%. I have used (2) 800JB's and a 1200JB in my other rig and sold them off immediately due to the rediculous whine they produce. Others claim they aren't loud or annoying so YMMV.

 

[ai42]

And if it were to be exponential, 20dba is NOT 2 times louder than 10dba.

Heh it is exponetnial... Hehe got the scale a bit wrong...

linky to REAL info

a jumbo jet at takeoff is around 100 dba (I think).

A jet flyover is 100dba, take off is 130dba

 

[ElFenix]

little more than 8x the watt/m^2 going from 10 to 20dBA

 

[klah]

Originally posted by: dexvx
Panaflos L1A fans are 50 dBA, at 1mm from the fan.

Can you please post a link to where you found that, I'd really like to read it, TIA.

 

[Zincq]

Thanks everyone. I'm going to get rid of this guy tomorrow - and get myself the Seagate I was originally getting.

Btw, can someone explaing to me the importance of the buffer? And why this WD had a 8 meg Buffer? Do I really need an 8 meg buffered HDD?

 

[Sunny129]

everyone who is comparing the sound of jets to the sound of loud case fans and such...keep in mind that the measure of sound in dBA increases exponentially, not linearly. in other words, 100dBA isn't really twice as loud as 50dBA...rather it is several times louder. so comparing a jet engine to a HDD isnt a very accurate comparison. i would categorize 39dBA as roughly the volume of an annoyingly loud case fan or hsf. way too loud for my taste anyway. but then again, i have a hard time imagining a HDD being this loud. in fact, this is the first time i've ever really seen a thread on the possible noice a HDD can make. usually noise threads are about case fans, CPU fans, video card fans, and, well...fans! i know some HDDs have an annoying whine to them, but a 39dBA whine? thats loud! i have a WD1200JB that i havent opened yet, but being that its the best IDE drive out, i'm willing to give it a shot. worst case i'll find a decent sound insulator case for my HDD. i hear they keep in more heat, but i dont think to the point where it could really damage the HDD.

 

[TimeKeeper]

Storage Review has decent comparison chart.
Scroll down to the bottom of this page.

18mm = .71 inch

 

[Zincq]

If you check WD website, and here's a link - goto the Dimensions and Environmental tab, you can see that the idle dba for a WD1200JB is 35 dBA (I forgot to mention that the idle dBA for the 800JB is also 35 dBA, and that the measurement is also an average). I'm also going to have a Quantum harddrive in this new comp too - pulling it out of my previous computer - and it is pretty loud. And so I wonder, even though this WD has 35 dBA idle, comparied to the sounds my Quantum makes, the Quantum will drown any noise the 800JB will make.

 

[RanDum72]

IMO, 40db is the line that you need to cross to go from 'acceptable' to 'getting loud'. It also depends on the 'quality' of the noise, whether its a high pitched sound (very irritating) or a rumble.

 

[Jhhnn]

The seagates are the quietest, while the WD's are the fastest- it's that inevitable trade-off. The WD's 8meg buffer makes that possible, smoothing out the data transfer.

It's not like the WD's scream in your ears, but they are definitely audible in quiet environments, a faint high pitched whine. Mounting them on adapters in an empty 5-1/4" bay helps some. If you want the least noise possible in a 7200 rpm drive, trade for the Seagate.....

 

[beverage]

I'd bet you'd find the WD to be a bit quieter than the 35 or 39 dBA's they tell you. I'm sure they'd rather give a safe and high estimate than a low one. Better to have pleased surprised customer, than mad ones who sue you for false advertising.

I think they probably put levels close to the highest they tested at just to be sure they can cover their own a$$.

 

[thorin]

Here's a general guide:

10 Whisper (Barely Audible)
20 Watch Ticking
30 Quiet Conversation (Faintly Heard)
40 Suburban Street [No Traffic]
50 Quiet Office (Moderate)
60 Normal Conversation
70 Noisy Restaurant or Office (Loud)
85 Average Street Traffic (Very Loud)
90 CO2 Pellet Gun @ 1ft Distance from ear (Very Loud)
100 Jackhammer or Loud Rock Concert (Extremely Loud/Risk Of Injury)
120 Jet Aircraft Taking Off (Physical Pain)

Under the decibel scale, when the sound level increases by 3 dB, the actual sound energy doubles. This means that half of the sound energy must be eliminated to reduce the sound level by 3 dB. With a 6 dB increase, sound quadruples. The ear does not perceive changes in the sound level in the same degree that sound energy increases. Most people would barely notice a 3 dB change. A 6 dB change is clearly noticeable, while a 10 dB increase would be perceived by the ear as doubling the loudness. This difference between the ear's perception and the amount of sound energy actually produced is critically important. It means that 90% of a given sound energy must be eliminated before most people will judge a sound half as loud.

Thorin

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: thorin
Here's a general guide:

10 Whisper (Barely Audible)
20 Watch Ticking
30 Quiet Conversation (Faintly Heard)
40 Suburban Street [No Traffic]
50 Quiet Office (Moderate)
60 Normal Conversation
70 Noisy Restaurant or Office (Loud)
85 Average Street Traffic (Very Loud)
90 CO2 Pellet Gun @ 1ft Distance from ear (Very Loud)
100 Jackhammer or Loud Rock Concert (Extremely Loud/Risk Of Injury)
120 Jet Aircraft Taking Off (Physical Pain)

My scale is different?!?
10 Mime/hand
20 Church girl
30 30 years married
40 20 years married
50 10 years married
60 5 years married
70 3 years married
85 first 3 years
90 honeymoon
100 Club chick/one nite stand
120 Her dad catching you

 

[MrDudeMan]

what the hell are you guys talking about? i have a western digital drive and i cant hear it at all. i have seen 5 western digital special editions in the last month and all of them have been completely silent. ive used them in RAID and they were completely silent. if you can hear those drives, you must have it glued to your ear and/or you are lying. any new drive is barely audible, and inaudible once inside the case (almost), but never have i heard an IDE drive that was even CLOSE to too loud that wasnt old and dying. you guys are just way too picky "omg it was whining at 2.1 DBA, my sound sensors picked it up so i had to get rid of it even though i breathe louder"

im not ranting and im not whining, but these kinds of posts are just plain stupid. and for everyones information, 39dba is not loud, its close, but its not loud. 45+ is annoying, but tolerable. if you cant tolerate a fan, im sorry, but that is pathetic. there is also no way a panaflo is 50dba at 1mm...

 

[mcveigh]

I didn't see any post that the decibel scale is LOGARITHMIC THAT'S WHY IT'S MORE DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND

 

[dexvx]

Originally posted by: klah

Originally posted by: dexvx
Panaflos L1A fans are 50 dBA, at 1mm from the fan.

Can you please post a link to where you found that, I'd really like to read it, TIA.

]Link. These are at 1mm, keep that in mind. Standard measurement is at 1m, and at 1m, a L1A panaflo is 21 dBA (80mm 12V DC model). It also highly depends on the TYPE of sound the fan makes. Panaflos just happen to make an acceptable soothing sound which is tolerable even at louder volumes (30+ dBA). But one more thing to remember is the sound insulation. Most people dont have caseless computers, so the enclosure can deflect or absorb some sound. Usually manufacturer ratings (I think) are at 1 meter in an open environment.

im not ranting and im not whining, but these kinds of posts are just plain stupid. and for everyones information, 39dba is not loud, its close, but its not loud. 45+ is annoying, but tolerable. if you cant tolerate a fan, im sorry, but that is pathetic. there is also no way a panaflo is 50dba at 1mm...

That statement is purely ignorant. To a deaf person, 100 dBA doesnt mean jack because hes freaking deaf. Some people who used 60 dBA delta's all their life find a 45 dBA Delta to be very quiet whereas others who worked around Dell Dimensions (I'm guessing 20 dBA) find a 30 dBA PanaFlo to be obnoxious. If you *think* 45 dBA is the breaking point, thats in your perception. To me, 30 dBA is the breaking point, and I will not accept anything louder unless it is to annoy my roommate.

And sorry, just because it has the word "Panaflo" doesnt mean its quiet by default. There are H1A PanaFlos that operate at 40+ dBA at 1m away. Most people, when mentioning panaflos, mean the L1A 80mm model. But even that at 1mm away can reach 50dBA easily. Because sound pressure tapes off logarithmically by distance.

"omg it was whining at 2.1 DBA, my sound sensors picked it up so i had to get rid of it even though i breathe louder"

In order to pick up a sound pressure of 2.1 dBA, you need the most advanced sound equipment on the face of the earth. Also dBA, is NOT loudness, its defined as sound pressure.

 

[Sunny129]

Originally posted by: mcveigh
I didn't see any post that the decibel scale is LOGARITHMIC THAT'S WHY IT'S MORE DIFFICULT TO UNDERSTAND

well i did mention that its exponential, and a logarithm is essentially an exponent...i guess i was trying to say the same thing you are, but its hard to explain without showing the mathematics.

 

[Rafael]

For each 10 dba the sound double. So 20 dba will be twice louder than 10 dba, but 30 dba will be twice louder than 20 dba. And there it goes the scale. As far as I know.
But 39 dba might be a little bit loud for a HDD. It's the same noise from some 80mm YSTech and Sunon fans.

Raf

 

[GrumpyMan]

I must be going deaf then, I have to put my ear up to my WD Sp Ed to hear it at all.