Quiet hard drive

Yaayuh! · 27 Jan 2016 at 09:38

Looking to replace my WD 1TB Black as it's vibrating noise is quite annoying.

Has anyone experienced a nice quite drive that's worth going for? Or alternatively, noisy drives that i should avoid?

TIA

Quartz · 27 Jan 2016 at 09:44

You could get a SSD.

The other thing to do is to mount your HDD on vibration-absorbing rubber.

Armageus · 27 Jan 2016 at 09:49

Have you tried changing the Acoustic Management settings on the drive?

e.g.
http://www.ngohq.com/news/17856-how-to-disable-automatic-acoustic-management-aam.html
https://sites.google.com/site/quiethdd/

Also how is it mounted/what case have you got? Could be the case vibrating, in which case you can get rubber washers, or completely isolate the hard drive from the case e.g. with the bungee method.

Steeps · 27 Jan 2016 at 10:20

Looking at how the drive is mounted will be better in the long run as quieter drives can still cause vibrations which would be a lot louder in the wrong case. I've got a pair of WD reds that in an external caddy could be heard spinning up and seeking from the next room. Now the drives are in a 5.25in bay with egg crate foam holding them in at the sides (longer term solution, sewing elastic method sagged too much after a year) there's no noise at all.

bledd · 27 Jan 2016 at 12:02

2.5" laptop drive for data you need on the PC

SSD for Windows
SSD for Games
Hardwired NAS in another room for storage

APM · 27 Jan 2016 at 13:45

You reminded me I need some blu-tack to stop an annoying intermittent buzz my WD Black gives out due to where it is physically mounted.

Yaayuh! · 29 Jan 2016 at 07:19

May take a look at isolating the drive but if to no avail, I'll replace with a 1TB SSHD

bledd · 29 Jan 2016 at 07:49

or bungee mod it

MatsyLR · 29 Jan 2016 at 11:57

All traditional hard drives are going to be loud, they spin fast...
Only thing you can do is isolate the drive in a external enclosure, dampen the sound (bungee mod) or get a SSHD instead.

Midlife Crisis · 29 Jan 2016 at 21:19

I just made the mistake of buying a WD 3TB Black [not from here] to replace my overflowing 1 TB Toshiba and the ruddy thing is the loudest hard drive I have ever heard.
the Toshiba was totally silent

smilertoo · 29 Jan 2016 at 23:42

Blacks run at 7200, Red would be better for noise but slower.

Midlife Crisis · 30 Jan 2016 at 09:44

The black is fast but the old Toshiba was just as fast but silent silent with it. I should have saved some cash and got a 3tb Toshiba

Uaon · 30 Jan 2016 at 13:55

I am in exactly the same position as you op, I have a wd black and even in my define R5 the vibrations just drive me nuts, I have tried various noise isolation methods but nothing worked.The seek noise I could handle but those vibrations are just overbearing.

This is actually what I am considering as a replacement.

Midlife Crisis · 30 Jan 2016 at 14:05

Yes the blues are silent in my limited experience with them had a couple in the past and got one in the pc under the tv and never heard a peep out of it

Grimley · 30 Jan 2016 at 17:52

Steeps said:
(longer term solution, sewing elastic method sagged too much after a year)

Sewing elastic is no good. you need Shock cord. You can buy it by the metre in homebase (soon to be called Bunnings)

Midlife Crisis · 30 Jan 2016 at 18:57

Tried the bungee mod on my 3tb black and it was just as noisy when it was reading

Midlife Crisis · 2 Feb 2016 at 17:39

The WD Black is gone
Replaced by a 3TB Toshiba from here and not a peep out of it I do not even know its reading
Result!

APM · 2 Feb 2016 at 22:41

My WD Black has been tamed by a blob of blu tack,something to do with the drive mount door sitting a bit loose in the frame so until the next time I want to give the PC a thorough going over raising the tray by a mm or two with blu tack seems to have done the trick.

Midlife Crisis · 3 Feb 2016 at 10:00

The one I had made a ruddy racket even if it was sitting out of the case on foam, maybe it was knackered

APM · 3 Feb 2016 at 18:26

you should have cuddled it more...