Depends on the drive. This IBM I'm using came with a Toshiba 4x? 8x? 12x? that's as noisy as a "jet engine" 40x Lite-On. Meanwhile, Lite-On (they're a huge manufacturer) makes tons of different movements and firmwares, some better than others.
I recently wound up with a "52x24x52" AOpen/BenQ rebadge that's much "smoother" in operation than most things I've tried- they've probably gone to fluid-dynamic-bearings or somesuch on the motor, though heck if I know. I believe one of the buzzwords involved means "We spin the drive up to about 8x, then faster if it proves to be a sustained read."
So... it's a tossup, and as these things are now as cheap and as common as floppy movements, it'll probably continue to be. Anyone have a favorite make of floppy that's *consistently* good across all random model variations you might get paying $5 for a drive?
