SilenX Luxurae Hard Drive Silencer

Audioaficionado · Jan 16, 2005

http://www.overclockers.com/articles1177/

Interesting product but if this is a review and not just an endorsement, where are some numbers like before and after temperature and sound measurements?

macklin01 · Jan 17, 2005

Agreed. I also would like to point out quite an inaccuracy:

In fact, before SilenX released their Luxurae HDSS, the only real way to
make hard drives quieter was to buy a new, quieter model.

Fortunately, this isn't true. The "Smart Drive" he mentioned has been on
the market for at least 3 years. Also, there have been similar DIY
methods proposed and tested, which can be found on www.silentpcreview.com.
Here are some excellent examples:

Hard Drive Silencing: Sandwiches & Suspensions
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article8-page1.html (From March 2002)

Effective Passive Hard Drive Cooling
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article22-page1.html (June 2001)

Ron's Water Cooled HDD Silencing Enclosure
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article96-page1.html (July 2003)

Still, it was interesting to see another available potential solution. -- Paul

Big Pimp Daddy · Jan 17, 2005

Hi, never posted here before, just lurked in the dark. I'm more into low noise than performance at all costs, hence my interest in the HDD silencer. It's quite hard to put across my point without it sounding like a personal attack, but here goes.
Peter Kim from silenx.com has in the past spent a lot of time in the www.silentpcreview.com forums, under several different aliases applauding the greatness of silenx products. Once the site admin discovered his ploy, he and his company were discredited. Full details are on the spcr site: http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=4551&highlight=peter+kim.
There are certain points in the Luxurae review that are blatantly false ("before SilenX released their Luxurae HDSS, the only real way to make hard drives quieter was to buy a new, quieter model."), and the sytle and syntax of the writing bring back memories of Peter Kim and his various aliases. I apologise unreservedly if I am wrong, but I strongly suspect that Tom Akita is in fact Peter Kim, owner of silenx.

Radical · Jan 17, 2005

Big Pimp Daddy said:
Hi, never posted here before, just lurked in the dark. I'm more into low noise than performance at all costs, hence my interest in the HDD silencer. It's quite hard to put across my point without it sounding like a personal attack, but here goes.
Peter Kim from silenx.com has in the past spent a lot of time in the www.silentpcreview.com forums, under several different aliases applauding the greatness of silenx products. Once the site admin discovered his ploy, he and his company were discredited. Full details are on the spcr site: http://forums.silentpcreview.com/viewtopic.php?t=4551&highlight=peter+kim.
There are certain points in the Luxurae review that are blatantly false ("before SilenX released their Luxurae HDSS, the only real way to make hard drives quieter was to buy a new, quieter model."), and the sytle and syntax of the writing bring back memories of Peter Kim and his various aliases. I apologise unreservedly if I am wrong, but I strongly suspect that Tom Akita is in fact Peter Kim, owner of silenx.

I am Tom Akita. Yes, there are a few mistakes in this article, but it still gets the point across: The Luxurae does significantly muffle HD noise. It is called a Hard Drive Silencer, and while it does not completely silence the drive, it does make it much quieter than it would be without the use of some kind of silencing mechanism.

macklin01 · Jan 17, 2005

Radical, thanks for the post and explanation. Also, I appreciate your email. (It just popped into my inbox.) I'll look forward to reading that over more.

It would be nice of you if you were to submit some of those corrections to Joe for your article. We should always strive for accuracy to the utmost of our ability.

Take care. -- Paul

Audioaficionado · Jan 17, 2005

Tom Akita aka Radical,

I'm interested in more info such as how many decibles of quieting you actually got and what your before and after under load temps were on the hard drives. I have a couple of SATA drives, one being a 10,000 RPM drive and I want some data so I can make an informed choice.

Petieyboy · Jan 18, 2005

I read this article and also thought it 'read' in a strange way... :-/

Tom Akita aka Radical,.... Why have you not answered the 'other' questions by macklin01, Big Pimp Daddy & Audioaficionado ???

It strikes me as very 'strange' that you didn't react to the posts/questions by macklin01 & Big Pimp Daddy.

The fact that you have not answered Audioaficionado's technical questions 'seems' to add weight to the queries in the posts by macklin01 & Big Pimp Daddy.

If you are 'legit' and not 'performing', why did you 'ignore' these points?

If I was totally 'above board', I'd have been moved to react to these comments in some way. (I would have wanted to 'defend'/explain myself.) The fact that you 'ignored these comments is ... not the 'expected' way.

Could you explain this and clear it up Please ?? .....

At the moment it seems like you are 'evading' some of what has been asked.....

Is this then, just an 'endosement' by a fanboy/employee ?

Can you enlighten us to your connection with the product and company you have been praising please .....

Petieyboy.

Radical · Jan 18, 2005

Petieyboy said:
I read this article and also thought it 'read' in a strange way...

Tom Akita aka Radical,.... Why have you not answered the 'other' questions by macklin01, Big Pimp Daddy & Audioaficionado ???

It strikes me as very 'strange' that you didn't react to the posts/questions by macklin01 & Big Pimp Daddy.

The fact that you have not answered Audioaficionado's technical questions 'seems' to add weight to the queries in the posts by macklin01 & Big Pimp Daddy.

If you are 'legit' and not 'performing', why did you 'ignore' these points?

If I was totally 'above board', I'd have been moved to react to these comments in some way. (I would have wanted to 'defend'/explain myself.) The fact that you 'ignored these comments is ... not the 'expected' way.

Could you explain this and clear it up Please ?? .....

At the moment it seems like you are 'evading' some of what has been asked.....

I will take some temperature readings on the weekend since I will not have time this week. Unfortunately I will not be able to take any SPL readings because I don't have the equipment to do so. Once I take the temperature readings I will send them in along with the revision to the paragraph about the history of hard drive silencers to Joe.

Petieyboy said:
Is this then, just an 'endosement' by a fanboy/employee ?

I do not work for SilenX, but I see nothing wrong with being a fan of a good product.

Petieyboy said:
Can you enlighten us to your connection with the product and company you have been praising please .....

Petieyboy.

My connection with the product? I reviewed it! My connection with the company? It sent me the product so I could review it!

-Tom

Sjaak · Jan 18, 2005

Over the past two years ive seen numerous HDD coolers / silencers pass by. Even the most cheap models are always 15$+. Im seeing zalman ones of 40$+

What on earth makes these things so expensive??

Audioaficionado · Jan 18, 2005

Radical said:
I will take some temperature readings on the weekend since I will not have time this week. Unfortunately I will not be able to take any SPL readings because I don't have the equipment to do so. Once I take the temperature readings I will send them in along with the revision to the paragraph about the history of hard drive silencers to Joe.

-Tom

Thanx I'd appreciate that :thup:

Radical · Jan 18, 2005

Sjaak said:
Over the past two years ive seen numerous HDD coolers / silencers pass by. Even the most cheap models are always 15$+. Im seeing zalman ones of 40$+

What on earth makes these things so expensive??

Can you link to the models you're referring to? I may be able to answer your question.

Sjaak · Jan 19, 2005

Radical said:
Can you link to the models you're referring to? I may be able to answer your question.

Of course. Lets see:

http://www.tweakend.nl/?ArtDetail=1001005442

Its coolermaster, so probably decent. Looks fancy as well and has alu enclosure. but 58€??? thats almost 70 dollar! and its the cheapest pricewatch link i could find, others are selling it for 80€ (95$), like here:

http://shop.freezinghardware.nl/index.asp?Pagina=00003&ItemID=1798

http://www.tweakend.nl/?ArtDetail=1001004507

Ok, its zalman but what about two alu blocks and a bunch of heatpipes? 22€ / 26$

http://www.tweakend.nl/?ArtDetail=1001002773

Thats 8,35€ / 11$ for a piece of plastic and two ugly 40mm fans

This are examples from a tweaker-oriented store, and about the lowest in the pricewatch. Others are selling the last one (plastic + two fans) for well over 15€

Sorry for sounding pessimistic, but to me the prices stated above are insane. The zalman one was priced 40€ initially, but has dropped alot since.

Radical · Jan 19, 2005

Well the Cooler Master unit looks like it's much more than just a hard drive cooler. It comes with software to monitor the transfer rates and space available in the HD, it has an LCD in the front, it has one 40mm fan built in, it monitors 4 fans, and it's made of more aluminum than the other two HD coolers that you linked to.

The Zalman is basically just a bunch of aluminum and heatpiping, so it makes sense that it's much cheaper than th Cooler Master.

Finally, the Akasa unit is made out of plastic which is cheaper than aluminum and its much smaller than the other two HD coolers. Also, the two fans on this thing are probably very irritating, as is probably the case with the single 40mm fan on the Cooler Master.

Radical · Jan 24, 2005

Alright, I sent the amendment in to Joe, here are the temperature readings:

Explanation:
Top- Sensor attached to the center of the top of the drive
Bottom- Sensor attached to the metal hub on the bottom of the drive
Side- Sensor placed between one of the side-mounted heatsinks and the drive
Front- Sensor attached to the front of the drive, which is open to air
Heatsink- Sensor placed between the fins of one of the side-mounted heatsinks
Outside- Sensor attached to the top of the outside of the entire unit

Max operating temperature for this drive is 55 degrees.

Let me know if you guys have any other questions.

Sjaak · Jan 26, 2005

Radical said:
......

am i reading that right? is the silencer heating the drive up?

Prodigious · Jan 26, 2005

Why wouldn't it? It's a drive silencer NOT a drive cooler...

Sjaak · Jan 26, 2005

I would expect it to cool as well, considering it has pretty large heatsinks on both sides of the drive. A little airflow should do.

Prodigious · Jan 26, 2005

Well then that would depend entirely on the case cooling setup. And besides, with all that foam sandwiched in there, its kinda hard to get any airflow onto the heatsinks and drive itself.

Prodigious · Jan 26, 2005

oh and wtf is this?

"My only complaint is that a faint, high pitched whine is still audible from the bearings of the hard drive, but that's easily forgivable since Western Digital hard drives are seriously loud pieces of equipment"

since when are WD drives any louder than other manufacturers? I have two raptors and they're just as quiet as any other drive.

Mr.Guvernment · Jan 26, 2005

i personally dont see how those side fins could give such cooling since when i touch my HD all of the heat is coming off the top plate - which has now been "insulated" with foam.

Would silentX be willing to send a sample - or even yourself send your over to a Ocforums admin to test?

SilenX Luxurae Hard Drive Silencer

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