Samsung announced today the new SpinPoint S166 Series of ultra silent and high-speed hard disk drives.

The 3.5 inch Samsung SilentPoint S166 HDDs come in 80GB and 160GB sizes starting this month.

Samsung upgraded their proprietary SilentSeek and NoiseGuard technologies to accelerate operational speed while reducing noise.
Benchmarking tests on sound power have shown that competing hard drives (80GB and 160GB models) generate on average 2.8 bel (1 bel = 10 decibels) in idle mode and 3.2 bel in seek mode, while Samsung’s S166 series generate just 2.4 bel and 2.75 bel respectively. This significant fifteen percent noise-level reduction makes the drives ideal for use in office computers, as well as in home consumer electronics such as DVR/ PVRs, or any other hard drive equipped products intended for use in a quiet environment.

The S166 Series has a spin speed of 7,200rpm and provides an 8MB buffer. The Series features the SATA 3.0Gbps interface and includes Native Command Queuing (NCQ). The drives are also available with a PATA interface for customers who require this application.
See also this Samsung press-release.
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