View Full Version : Advice on Noisy HD's
Terrorsmurf
09-07-03, 04:17 AM
I just bought 2 new Seagate 7200.7 HD's 120 gigs each. I put them in raid0 w/ 16k stripe and they work fine its just that they are pretty damn loud? Is it just because they are loud or is because I have two right next to eachother? I have always used Seagate because they were reliable and quite but these ones are almost too noisy for me. If these are normally that noisy what methods can I use to decrease the noise coming from them?
bluestreakLB
09-07-03, 11:23 AM
I'm generally not a fanboy but if you can i'd return them for two SE western digitals (the 8mb cache ones). Not only are they super fast but they are super quiet.
As for your case, i dont doubt that they are already fairly loud alone (i wouldnt know as i've never used this particular drive) but with two of them there is going to be twice the noise.
Again though, if they are too loud for you and you can return them, those western digitals are simply flawless.
Terrorsmurf
09-07-03, 12:47 PM
well these have 8 mb cache as well and these are pretty quiet I just am not sure If I am doing something wrong here or need to to sound proof the drives.
FunkDaMonkMan
09-07-03, 03:01 PM
I would try mounting them with rubber groments(sp?) between the drives and the case. There was a write-up somewhere around here about that.
Highlander
09-07-03, 03:20 PM
The 120gb western Drive I got was REaLLY noisy. ended up getting one of the slientdrive enclosure thingys. Darn good buy, removed pretty much all fo teh noise, now around the same level as a seagate barra V :) (or whatever the quiet ones are lol!)
Terrorsmurf
09-07-03, 04:14 PM
what is the silent drive enclose? I have seen some articles on something like that which made the noise level lower but also increased the heat emitted. The drives run very hot w/ o a fan blowing on them like I have now so I don't know how much more heat they would take. I will take a look at rubber gromets though.
Cjwinnit
09-07-03, 04:26 PM
Western Digital SE drives are fast and have a good warranty. What they aren't is quiet. The ones you have a quiet compared to WD ;)
I would put a small amount of rubber between the drives and the case, that will absorb part of the vibration.
yep, rubber is the way to go!
Mine are suspended in rubber bands, in optical drive bays. Make sure they are completely unconnected with the case, and use good rubber bands. Preferably the round and thick type..
Get's rid of just about all the noise, and does not heat up the drive like a silent drive enclosure does.
They newer WD 120GB 8mb Cache are actually quite silent...I believe they have like a new serie of the same product.
But then again Seagate is known for their silent disks so I'm suprised that you're having soundissues with yours. Maybe you're just having a supersilent computer which makes these new drives sound loud? :P
pik4chu
09-08-03, 09:55 AM
Originally posted by Veland
yep, rubber is the way to go!
Mine are suspended in rubber bands, in optical drive bays. Make sure they are completely unconnected with the case, and use good rubber bands. Preferably the round and thick type..
Get's rid of just about all the noise, and does not heat up the drive like a silent drive enclosure does.
dont you have to worry aboud grounding? or does it not really matter with HDDs?
If you are interested in drive closures to quiet them down, here is a pretty good site:
http://www.directron.com/quietpc.html
But it sounds to me like you have everything hooked up ok, it is just the noise of the drives. A little bit of rubber as suggested above is a good idea as well.
Cjwinnit
09-08-03, 10:02 AM
Originally posted by pik4chu
dont you have to worry aboud grounding? or does it not really matter with HDDs?
From what i've been told the HDD's are grounded through the molex connection. I did worry about this and apparently this is ok...
My three drives have all been suspended in rubber for two years, still working nice and silent..
pik4chu
09-08-03, 11:48 AM
Originally posted by Veland
My three drives have all been suspended in rubber for two years, still working nice and silent..
it was more of a question of good practice rather than working or not ;)
Originally posted by Cjwinnit
Western Digital SE drives are fast and have a good warranty. What they aren't is quiet. The ones you have a quiet compared to WD ;)
I would put a small amount of rubber between the drives and the case, that will absorb part of the vibration.
I totally agree....after running mine for a year or so, they've developed quite a loud whine :(
pik4chu
09-08-03, 02:03 PM
my computer now makes a semi quiet high pitched noise/rattling.
but I think one of my 120mm fans has sucked part of the filter in. or the front bezels are rattling loose, hehe.
I sure hope its not the hard drive. all but one are less than a year old and are SE's with 3yr warranty..
there's quite a large difference between the older WD1200JBs and the newer ones in terms of noise. the new ones are much quieter, though I don't know how they compare to your drives.
I could hear the whine of my first two WD1200JBs above the fan noise (nothing louder than a case fan in the case though), but not the new (3rd) WD1200JB that I got recently. This is testing with just one drive running each time.
The new WD1200JBs are also slightly faster.
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