Hard disk noisy or is it just me used to SSD's ?

Flanno · 4 Jul 2013 at 21:41

Recently added a 3tb seagate and when I boot up, you can hear the drive powering up (not surprising over the side mesh on the haf-x m), but then there is a constant motor noise. Same on the 1tb seagate I tried but not as loud. So now I have to make the drive sleep after a couple of minutes to quieten the machine down. Although occasionally windows will wake it up, which is annoying.

It's not case vibration as I have done the bungee mod and even had the drive outside the case. The motor is just very noticeable. The drive is not even reading or writing, just idling there. When windows puts the drive to sleep it powers down and of course is silent.

I wonder were drives always this noisy, and is it just me being used to SSD's the last year or so. Also, my megaflow fans idle under 300rpm and my Phanteks cooler's 2 fan's and additional corsair fans I have, idle around 500rpm so my case is extremely quiet, and any noise will leak out through the mesh. I guess I have answered my own question. Still a little worried my 3tb could be a dud. Passed all the seagate tools tests though. Should the drive motor be noticeable if everything else is dead silent ?

Also, is there any good 5.25" internal caddy which has good sound dampening properties but can also run the likes of a seagate 3tb drive with no active cooling ?

WuMyster · 4 Jul 2013 at 22:37

Thats not normal. I run many different HDDs and I can hear them when they start up but after two or three seconds, they become silent. No motor sounds etc. Mine are inaudible when reading and writing.
I just got out a spare HDD and ran it through a USB dock and that is completely silent. PC was off and room was dead silent.
I wouldnt be particularly worries but make some backups just incase it is a dud.
Im running a few Seagates actually.

Flanno · 4 Jul 2013 at 22:47

Thanks. Maybe I am overreacting a bit.
I have a 1tb and 3tb seagate here now, plus a couple of samsungs. I am going to run them outside the case and have a listen.

If your drives are inaudible reading and writing I assume you have them buried deep inside your case, and they are on foam or suspended by elastic ? Or could the rest of your systems noises be drowning out the HD noise ? You see I have to consider my case when idling is almost dead slient. If I had case fans running at anything over 600rpm I reckon i would not hear the hd motor at all. It's just when the drive went to sleep I was shocked at how silent the case became again. I guess noise is a relative thing.

Now off to listen some drives.

WuMyster · 4 Jul 2013 at 22:49

How far are you from the HDD(s)?

Flanno · 4 Jul 2013 at 22:55

Thats a good question. Case is on low shelf under desk to my right, so maybe a few feet away. The case has a mesh panel, so the noise from the HD is going to leak out from the drive tray.

WuMyster · 5 Jul 2013 at 00:51

Id say if it was under a desk, even out on the floor, it shouldnt be audible. Especially over your PSU fan etc.
Dont think its anything to worry about though.

Flanno · 5 Jul 2013 at 03:51

Tried a seagate 1tb (2 platter), seagate 3tb (3 platters), samsung 1tb F3, and wd green 1tb. all have motor noise when they power up. clearly audible outside case and inside. my psu fan does not even turn on unless gaming and you cant even hear the case fans unless a foot away so i guess the drive is going to be audible. Will likely look into a hd enclosure. might even change case.

WuMyster · 5 Jul 2013 at 10:09

Oh. When they power up mine are audible as well but once that's over, they return to being inaudible. Are yours still audible after powering up?

Flanno · 6 Jul 2013 at 17:34

Yes. they are audible. you can hear the motors because they are mechanical drives. I have tried 5 different drives now even a wd green which is known for being quiet. I think its because rest of case is virtually silent when system is idling....ssd's silent, psu fan off, case fans running at 300rpm, cpu fans at 500rpm, gpu fan virtually silent. Therefore the motor noise escapes from the side mesh of the case. If the components were not almost silent the motor noise from the drives would blend in. In fact I know this because I put the drives back into the rigs they came from and you can't here them over the other components.

I will buy either a Scythe Himuro or Grow Up Japan Classic drive enclosure and that will eliminate the noise I think. Will likely look into case that isn't so open too. Perhaps the Fortress FT02 with solid sidepanel. Still need very good cooling so ruling out cases like the Nanoxia.

WuMyster · 6 Jul 2013 at 19:06

Yeah, its probably our ear hearing thresholds and also the fact that your fans are ridiculously low.
I was going to suggest a Scythe Himuro actually but thought it may have been an expensive fix for your situation.

wazza300 · 6 Jul 2013 at 19:33

id rate seagates the noisiest drives out there tbh

Flanno · 6 Jul 2013 at 22:04

WuMyster said:
Yeah, its probably our ear hearing thresholds and also the fact that your fans are ridiculously low.
I was going to suggest a Scythe Himuro actually but thought it may have been an expensive fix for your situation.

Might try the himuro. Around 1/3 price of the GUP enclosures.

I thought the motor profile on the seagates were a little more annoying then the wd drive I tried but in fairness in an enclosure it should be grand. Also, read on the SPCR forums that the 4tb 5900rpm seagate has a very decent motor profile. Might look into that as replacement.