Page 1 of 1

Elastic suspension: Still getting loud seek noise?

Posted: Mon Dec 02, 2013 9:35 pm
by hall1k
Hello all,

I recently picked up a 1TB 7200RPM Seagate SSHD, as I was running out of space. My original 500GB Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 was essentially inaudible over normal background noise, but this new drive is ridiculously loud. It reminds me of the old 40GB IDE monsters that you could hear through the whole room.

I tried suspending both drives using elastic, but the noise is still there. It sounds like its seek noise, and it must be acoustic since the elastic suspension didn't help. Is there anything else I can try? I'm still within the 30 days exchange period at MemoryExpress, but its too late to get an actual refund. If I exchange it for another one, it may not be any better. Should I exchange it anyway? Is it possible that its going to fail soon if its making so much seek noise?

Re: Elastic suspension: Still getting loud seek noise?

Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2013 4:50 am
by thierry.
hi,

I'm no expert, but maybe few ideas to help.

7200rpm HDDs seem to be louder than 5400rpm Green series.

You could put this one into an noise reduction enclosure. But it will cost extra.

I guess, you took SSHD because it was cheaper SSD + HDD?
I prefer to have the SSD separate.

For the current health of your SSHD, maybe you could look into the SMART info, to see if this seek noise is the beginning of the end.

Re: Elastic suspension: Still getting loud seek noise?

Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2013 9:14 am
by CA_Steve
If it's seek noise, then an enclosure like the Scythe Quiet Drive will quiet it down a bit. The only other step to take is to upgrade to a quieter case.

Re: Elastic suspension: Still getting loud seek noise?

Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2013 4:04 pm
by hall1k
Okay, I did do the SMART tests and everything came up okay.

I did originally decide on the SSHD because I didn't want to commit to an SSD, but it turns out I'm getting a 240gb Intel 530 SSD for christmas anyway. I may just shelve the SSHD or just power it on when I need it, but it seems like a waste.

Thanks for your help.

Re: Elastic suspension: Still getting loud seek noise?

Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2013 7:00 pm
by Abula
hall1k wrote:Okay, I did do the SMART tests and everything came up okay.

I did originally decide on the SSHD because I didn't want to commit to an SSD, but it turns out I'm getting a 240gb Intel 530 SSD for christmas anyway. I may just shelve the SSHD or just power it on when I need it, but it seems like a waste.

Thanks for your help.
Sell it and get a WD green or red for storage, best combo with SSD =)

Re: Elastic suspension: Still getting loud seek noise?

Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2013 9:16 pm
by hall1k
Heh, I wish :wink:

I'd probably take a pretty big hit if I tried selling it, given that SSHDs didn't take off that well, and its not even laptop sized. My plan is to just use the 240GB as a 64GB cache for Windows (because of the limitations of Intel's SRT), and the remainder as a cache for linux. That way there's no micromanaging and it may even be more efficient. For example, if I install all of Windows on the SSD, there's a lot of libraries and assorted files that it won't ever actually use, whereas the cache only stores whatever is needed. Plus, there should almost never be any cache evictions, since the cache is bigger than the total of everything I regularly use.

Re: Elastic suspension: Still getting loud seek noise?

Posted: Tue Dec 03, 2013 9:36 pm
by xan_user
how does it sound when placed on some foam? i find suspension sometimes has its own issues when not done perfectly...

Re: Elastic suspension: Still getting loud seek noise?

Posted: Sat Dec 07, 2013 9:27 am
by Kaleid
I used to experiment for many, many hours to get the noise down and from my experience nothing beats foam, but make sure that it is thick enough to eat up the vibrations. A quiet drive on foam (and not touching anything else) is unbeatable especially with WD Greens and reds. On nights I only hear the spin ups from the greens.