A cheaper alternative for the desktop -- buy an already quiet conventional drive and place it in an enclosure:<p><a href="http://www.quietpcusa.com/Smart-Drive-Classic-Cooper-HDD-Enclosure-2002C---All-Copper-P281C44.aspx" rel="nofollow">http://www.quietpcusa.com/Smart-Drive-Classic-Cooper-HDD-Enc...</a><p>The Grow Up Japan drive enclosures are good at conducting heat, so you get the benefit of sound dampening without sacrificing longevity. Yes, I've installed one in my desktop.
I have noticed for years how my Mac laptops are very quiet. When I go into a conference with someone who has a Windows laptop you can constantly hear hear the hd making noise. It wasn't until when running vmware that my hd would make noise that I put it together. Any idea what Windows is doing?