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GUP Smart Drive Neo

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The Smart Drive Neo is an effective hard drive silencer, as it eliminated drive noise and vibration noise.The Smart Drive Neo is offered by a Japanese company called GUP, which is some sort of abbreviation for “Grow Up Japan.” This product is a noise cancellation frame, which aims to reduce hard drive noise by physically decoupling the drive through spring mounts, and also by installing the drive into a sealed enclosure; GUP calls it a “HDD silencer.” The sound proofing works extremely well, but we weren’t sure about the temperature level of the installed hard drive at first. Fortunately, the product didn’t disappoint; it combines noise canceling with effective cooling through the enclosure by providing an aluminum top plate.

The top plate has to touch the top of the hard drive to ensure reliable heat dissipation.The Smart Drive Neo is suitable only for 3.5” hard drives, as the top of the drive has to touch the cover plate of the Smart Drive Neo. When this is the case, heat dissipation is reliable, which we checked using a 10,000 RPM 74 GB WD Raptor WD740 drive—one of the hottest 3.5” hard drive models.

Inside the Smart Drive Neo you will find SATA power and data connectors, as the hard drive isn’t just screwed into the Smart Drive. Instead, GUP developed a spring mount solution to reduce vibration noise. As you can see in the photo below, the mounting mechanism is based on four springs, which hold two metal bridges. The drive has to be put on these bridges so the springs can buffer drive vibration, which in fact is hardly noticeable on the HDD silencer. The spring mechanism actually serves a double purpose, as it not only eliminates most vibration, it also ensures that the drive makes firm contact with the cover plate for cooling purposes.

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waxdart 19/05/2009 10:13
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I found the "Smart Drive Neo HDD" on scan.co.uk for £86!!!! Argh!
So ripped off we are. If it was £40, I would of had it. I can live with the bit of noise for now. I'll wrap my PC in old pants.

waxdart 19/05/2009 10:20
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Well I had a look in japan for a Smart Drive Neo HDD.
http://kakaku.com/item/05392910807/
5,850.00 JPY = 39.1732 GBP
We get 140yen to the pound right now. The average used to be 200yen to the £. So the weak pound will drive the price up; But I have to say this is a basic item that's way overpriced.

tiqa 19/05/2009 13:18
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ummmm.....guys,theres a BIG problem. 3dB are twice the spl, not 10dB. 10dB will be more than 3 times the pressure.

mi1ez 20/05/2009 10:28
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If the Smart Drive Neo HDD only takes 3.5" HDDs, the case must be about 4.5". Where would you mount it?!

skalagon 20/05/2009 16:05
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According to google you shudnt keep ur harddrives cool anyway, contrary to popular opinion harddrives kept at low temperatures in googles servers broke more than those at moderate temps, and the trend was only reversed at very very high temps. So little air exchange shouldn't be a huge concern.

Kraynor 20/05/2009 17:51
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So... how come we didn't see the results of the Neo IN the T.Rex? That would have been something to hear about (or not hear, hardy har)

orientalhero 21/05/2009 13:27
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I got a minor improvement just using silicone washers on the HDD mounting screws. 50 rings for £3 from Maplins...
The 150gb raptor is still quite noisy, but at least it's not so penetrating now.

Anonymous 21/05/2009 22:23
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The article is wrong. Log 10 means if you increase by 10db you increase the power by a factor of 10.. As someone else mentioned an increase of about 3db is a doubling of power! simple maths guys!

Anonymous 22/05/2009 13:09
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Yes. Get your science right, an increase of 3db means a doubling of spl.

Clintonio 24/05/2009 23:53
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I'm content with my HDDs enough to save the money. And I have 4.

When SSDs come though, noisy drives will be of the past. Unless you still use DVDs/ BR-DVD.

wild9 30/05/2009 21:08
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In every system I've built it's not the hard drive that's the problem..it's the PSU or CPU fan. It's like some manufacturers simply do not care.

wild9 30/05/2009 21:11
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waxdart :
I found the "Smart Drive Neo HDD" on scan.co.uk for £86!!!! Argh!So ripped off we are. If it was £40, I would of had it. I can live with the bit of noise for now. I'll wrap my PC in old pants.



LOL it's not only graphics cards, then ;) Looks like a global economy doesn't apply to certain products..

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