Seagate 750GB 7200.10 drives and vibration warning

[signal64]

I recently purchased x3 750GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.10 drives.
All of them have the same info on their label:

Model #: ST3750640AS
P/N: 9BJ148-300
Date Code: 07013
Site Code: AMK

The vibration generated on two of these drives is pretty much on par with other drives I've worked with (i.e. nothing special) and the usual damping techniques work fine.

But it turns out the third drive in this batch had a serious problem.

It generated significantly more vibration (than the other two drives) and is a low reasonating type that will drive most people nuts when trying to silence their PC.

The vibration is bad enough that damping techniques just wouldn't work.

I originally thought the problem was due to my case and the combination of all the drives being on (the 3 Seagates and one Maxtor). After futzing with this for some time, I finally noticed the one drive causing the issue.

I took the Seagate drives out and tested them on the work bench.

The drive in question either had it's motor out of balance or some other defect as you can tell right off the bat that it isn't the way it should be (and obvious when compared to the other two).

I'm RMA'ing the drive, but just a bit of warning for everyone else getting these drives.

When you get them, test the drive out of the case first.
It'll save you alot of hassle later.

[continuum]

Haven't had any problems here yet, but thanks for the heads-up on the date code. We've used in the low-couple of thousand so far this year.