Single Disc 3.5" HDDs, Round One: Seagate & Hitachi

It's no secret that the quietest desktop hard drives tend to be low capacity models that use only a single platter. There's a simple reason for this: Fewer platters have fewer read/write heads, and thus produce less air turbulence. They also have less inertia and are less taxing to keep spinning.

In spite of this advantage, quality reviews of single platter drives are few and far between, SPCR included. The reason for this is... somewhat political. Review sites like SPCR depend on manufacturers to supply samples, which means we get products that they want reviewed. These usually are the flagship products that draw lots of attention and drive sales for the rest of the line. But this time around, we went on the hunt specifically for quiet, 3.5" single platter drives.