The Remora is IMO rather quiet. I do agree on the overflow box being big, and I have a hard time keeping my water level at the right level to make it actually "skim the surface". But, I only empty it every couple of weeks, before it get's full, and I keep it at it's lowest level (which is the level it collects the wettest...gunk). But that is some "SMELLY" stuff when I do empty it. When I see that stuff, I can't imagine not having some type of protein skimmer.
Pete, if your $60 skimmer works good, that is great. Nothing wrong with saving some money. And My first skimmer was like $90, but it was a combo filter and skimmer, and was terrible. You also got it off the internet, so it was probably less expensive. I've never been good at saving money......