Llamma has posted some images of the two different DVD drives being offered in the Xbox 360: on the left is the newer, and quieter, Samsung drive (model #TS-H943), easily identified by its unique drive-tray and ninja-like stealth. On the right is the Hitachi (model #GDR-3120L), easily identified by the notches on its drive tray, and the ear-splitting noise it produces when it really gets going.
Are the drives being replaced across the product line, or will they continue to use the Hitachi drive as well? And what about you, dear reader, what's in your 360?
[Via Xbox-Scene]
Technical mumbo jumbo: this is not a scientific or rigorous poll and is only intended to capture the general consensus of Xbox 360 Fanboy readers. Results will be posted approximately one week after the poll is opened for votes. Sure, you probably could hack this poll if you worked at it, but it’s more fun for everyone if poll results accurately reflect the opinions of all readers, so please refrain from tampering with poll results.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
3-13-2006 @ 3:23PM
sergio said...
Man, there is a quieter drive out there?
I wish I could change mine. It is so loud. It makes me not want to play with the 360 because the driveis so loud.
thanks a lot microsoft. They should offer an upgrade.
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3-13-2006 @ 3:34PM
Balazs said...
Sergio: yeah, lol, my 360 is actually really quiet, until I start a game from the disc. but otherwise the dashboard and anything running from the hard drive is quiet.
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3-13-2006 @ 3:56PM
Simon said...
Well I have the Samsung but it isn't anywhere near what I'd call quiet. PGR3 in particular makes it very loud. I'd hate to think what the Hitachi sounds like if this is the 'quiet' model.
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3-13-2006 @ 4:15PM
frank d said...
Yeah i have the "quiet" one and it is noisy as well.
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3-13-2006 @ 4:17PM
todd said...
Agree with #3... my Samsung LOUD too, I have it sitting next to my G5 Mac and that thing def. takes over in the sound dept when on... too bad I can't put it inside the computer desk to quiet it a little, I'm afraid to heat it heat up.
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3-13-2006 @ 4:20PM
GOD said...
I have a Samsung, but I wouldn't call it quiet! Can't imagine what the Hitachi sounds like...
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3-13-2006 @ 4:23PM
X Budd said...
I HAD a Hitachi DVD Drive, but then I called up Microsoft and the replaced my drive with a Samsung!!! I personaly think that the Samsung is a lot quiter compared to the old Hitachi one!!! So I am happy!
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3-13-2006 @ 4:23PM
Hoffer said...
I've got the Samsung and it does get louder when a game spins up. I've read some people complain that it is ungodly loud. I've never felt this way. I'm wondering if these people had the Hitachi?
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3-13-2006 @ 4:43PM
JusJus said...
ANOTHER drive issue from Microsoft?? You have got to be kidding me.
My original XBox broke and was rendered unusable because of the "Thompson" drive..or something like that,, I don't even remember.
The obscene level of noise was the first thing I noticed when I fired up my 360.
Hasn't MS claimed that there have been no changes to the 360 manufacturing process? Wasn't that their way of countering the claims that first-production consoles were more prone to overheating? This makes me so mad.
XBudd -- how did you get the drive replaced? was it b/c the console broke? or were u somehow able to get them to change it??
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3-13-2006 @ 4:52PM
Andrew Bragdon said...
Damn, I have a noisy Hitachi drive! Fuck!
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3-13-2006 @ 4:55PM
duster said...
Not sure which drive I have (will have to check at home tonight), but it is very loud when it spins up with a game. I wouldn't be surprised if it's a Hitachi.
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3-13-2006 @ 5:03PM
rory g said...
i sent my xbox 360 in for repair a few weeks ago because it couldnt play a single dvd without going out of sync... grrr!
now i got the samsung dvd drive and i dont think its even much quieter... it just sounded the same to me and i had a hitachi before...
now the dvds play fine (i think) but my xbox 360 seems to have another problem of contstant texture popping and crappy draw rates like turns appearing in pgr3... and bits of the track popping up as i go around...
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3-13-2006 @ 5:06PM
Natsfan7 said...
YAY!!!!
I have the Samsung. It is a bit loud, but from what i had read on the fourms I was exspecting it to be much louder..I guess I now know why.
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3-13-2006 @ 5:14PM
matthew said...
I bought mine on March 1st and it has the newq samsung. I just ran a decible test with PGR3 running against my Mac G4 and got an almost even reading, the mac is slightly louder.
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3-13-2006 @ 5:41PM
dirtyone said...
my hitachi is loud, but nowhere as loud as the rod knocking fans, actually sounds like one of the blades is hitting something. yes it is the fans it makes the same noise whether dvd drive is open or not
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3-13-2006 @ 6:03PM
SuicideNinja said...
The easy fix is to get a surround sound system. Even the $40 analog-only one at Walmart. You shouldn't be able to hear the console. I've never noticed a noise problem.
JusJus: I wouldn't be upset about the Thompson drives. Every single "drive" that Sony put in their PS2s is a bad one (except for the latest slim PS2 v13,14+s). That's 12 revisions of a console that had low quality lasers (hence the disc-read-error lawsuit Sony lost). Thompson drives last longer than those PS2 lasers, and they are easier to replace, and they are CHEAPER than just the laser part in the (old) PS2s!
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3-13-2006 @ 8:12PM
Spartacus said...
I have the Hitachi, but I've never thought it was too loud. Sure it's louder than my PC, but my PC is insanely quiet (120mm fans in a sound insulated tower). There are many PC's, especially with 80mm fans, that make my 360 sound like a whispering breeze. And I agree with SuicideNinja, if you have ANY speakers turned on, you won't be able to hear the mechanical noise of the 360 regardless of the optical drive model.
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3-13-2006 @ 10:38PM
jaemz said...
...my 3 week old X360 has the samsung drive.
It is a little noisy, but then again it is 2 feet from me at ear level.
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3-13-2006 @ 10:59PM
Ace said...
I got the samsung drive and if you call this quiet then I wouldn't want to hear what the hatachi sounds like. Are you guys sure you didn't mix up the pictures because my 360 is anything but quiet.
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3-14-2006 @ 12:25AM
Scott said...
I have the Samsung drive and like others have posted, it's still prett loud. I sit about 8.5 feet away from my 360 and when a game is in the machine it gets loud! Compared to my computer, DVD player, or even my freaking VHS plater, this DVD drive is pretty loud!
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