I've tried a Seagate 320GB 7200rpm and I'm currently using a Hitachi 320GB 7200 rpm, and the both are noticeably noisier than my stock 250GB 5400rpm. It's an annoyance ONLY when I'm in very quiet environments, like my room. The Seagate was the loudest, the Hitachi is better, but it consumes more energy.
If you want performance boost, and you're sensitive to noise like me, than I would recommend you go for an SSD. Or wait a few months until they come down in price sharply. At CES SanDisk promised to some very speedy and dirt cheap SSDs to be released later this year. (I'm personally waiting for those) And if you do go with SSDs, go for trusted brands like Samsung, Intel, and probably SanDisk. There are some cheap brands out there than use slow unreliable flash chips, research reviews.