Silent DVD drive

Silencing hard drives, optical drives and other storage devices

Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee

vitaminc
Posts: 306
Joined: Mon Mar 27, 2006 8:11 am
Location: Silicon Valley, California

Silent DVD drive

Post by vitaminc » Mon Aug 28, 2006 11:14 am

Well, I don't think this topic is covered well on SPCR. Which DVD drive produces the least noise when they spin up?

My Pioneer DVR-111D DVD+/-RW is louder than my car engine when it spins up. :(

Techno Pride
Posts: 347
Joined: Tue Jun 03, 2003 12:57 am

Post by Techno Pride » Tue Aug 29, 2006 6:39 am

my Liteon 160P6S is more quiet than my LG H20L at 16x read speed.

However, the Liteon makes annoying mechanical grinding noises at low speeds.

DriveSpeed no workie with the LG :(

Shadowknight
Posts: 1283
Joined: Thu Aug 07, 2003 2:43 pm
Location: Charlotte, NC, USA

Post by Shadowknight » Tue Aug 29, 2006 7:46 am

I like my Plextor drive.

vitaminc
Posts: 306
Joined: Mon Mar 27, 2006 8:11 am
Location: Silicon Valley, California

Post by vitaminc » Tue Aug 29, 2006 8:41 am

Shadowknight wrote:I like my Plextor drive.
which one?

and how's the noise quality at spin in comparison to, say, PS2 or the case fans?

thanks for the help

halcyon
Patron of SPCR
Posts: 1115
Joined: Wed Mar 26, 2003 3:52 am
Location: EU

Post by halcyon » Sat Sep 02, 2006 2:11 am

All Plextor made (not branded) drives can be set to lower speeds by the use of the Plextools Pro utility (Plextor's own, only functions on Plextor drives).

Also, Pioneer drives can be set with the QuietDrive utility (Pioneer's own, only functions on Pioneer drives).

Those two are your safest bets.

NO and I mean absolutely NO dvd drive is silent or even semi-quiet at 16x DVD spin speeds. You have to throttle them down.

Exel
Posts: 90
Joined: Tue Jun 27, 2006 3:25 am
Location: Finland

Post by Exel » Fri Sep 08, 2006 2:48 am

Is there any way to silence them? The DVD drive is the worst source of noise in my P180 and I'm desperate to make it quieter by any means necessary.

nici
Posts: 3011
Joined: Thu Dec 16, 2004 8:49 am
Location: Suomi Finland Perkele

Post by nici » Fri Sep 08, 2006 2:52 am

Not really.. You could open it up and see if its possible to fit any damping there, or put bitumen or something on the skin. The only way i have thought of is getting a USB version and building a big and heavy enclosure with a lot of damping for it.. Or make a new case with room to dampen a drive properly.

xilencer
Posts: 52
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 1:20 pm

Post by xilencer » Fri Sep 08, 2006 6:36 am

Alcohol might solve your problem :)
Last edited by xilencer on Fri Sep 08, 2006 6:51 am, edited 1 time in total.

nici
Posts: 3011
Joined: Thu Dec 16, 2004 8:49 am
Location: Suomi Finland Perkele

Post by nici » Fri Sep 08, 2006 6:50 am

Are you suggesting making images..? Works for certain games i suppose, and if you first rip movies into images.. Doing that saves you some noise for frequently used stuff, but it doesn't solve the problem.

Having damping foam inside your case, and a door with damping material does make an audible difference. So for anyone who cares about drive noise a case with a door is the way to go.

xilencer
Posts: 52
Joined: Wed Feb 02, 2005 1:20 pm

Post by xilencer » Fri Sep 08, 2006 7:04 am

Yes that's what I'm suggesting. I think most have a problem when they use certain discs frequently and over long periods of time. In this case you can just dump an image on the HDD first. However if you use new discs all the time then it won't be of much help no.

arrikhan
Posts: 79
Joined: Thu Dec 29, 2005 3:51 am
Location: Australia

Post by arrikhan » Fri Sep 08, 2006 4:03 pm

Well, I don't think this topic is covered well on SPCR. Which DVD drive produces the least noise when they spin up?
What do you use your DVD drive primarily for? Is it for watching DVD's and the like ... or gaming?

My understanding is that the only major way to quiten down a DVD drive is to slow it down with Nero or similar. Otherwise, its just excessive dampening, putting a brick in front of your PC or something similar.. ..although you wouldnn't want to slow it down for gaming I suspect.

I have an HTPC running Linux and have the same problem. When ever I throw a DVD full of AVI's in the drive, it revs up and is quite audible. My only solution is to avoid the drive altogether which comes back to how much HD space can I fit in my file server in the garage :)

Alternatively my question to your question would be, what type of drive do these divx/dvd players use that makes them so quiet? I have one of these and it is nowhere as loud as my PC yet it streams divx off quickly enough without being audible!

Maybe its time we need to break open these drive cases (for PC's) and find ways to deflect the sound the other way (back of PC). You have to remember, there isn't much in them but they still fit in a 5 1/4" drive bay and rattle around in a noisey case that attaches to your PC case and vibrates!

As for such things as gaming, I'd dump the DVD/CD to the HD and virtualise it if you do it often enough (as suggested earlier in the thread).


Arrikhan

alfred
Posts: 127
Joined: Sun Jul 02, 2006 8:32 pm

Post by alfred » Fri Sep 08, 2006 11:44 pm

16x dvd spinning will always be noisy. Ripping/copying cds/dvds on hard disks in a file server in the garage (using double-gigabit ethernet LAN) is basically what I'm doing too :wink: Also I use an external USB 2.0 LG drive cause I don't want a 5"1/4 device sending vibrations through the entire case. By the way, in some cases it can even have a negative acoustic effect when it's not spinning because it modifies the structural rigidity of the case.

As for consumer products -- I've yet to find one I would describe as near-inaudible. Even high-end cd/dvd players usually bother me. Not even speaking about PVRs... I'm going to mod my Sony RDR-HX710 as it's louder than any of my computers; hope I won't be destroying it in the process :?
Good quality dvd players (not recorders) can be moderately quiet when you're playing a dvd or divX at normal speed; this is because the drive is spinning real slow.

bsdie
Posts: 42
Joined: Mon Jan 24, 2005 3:57 am
Location: Lund, Sweden

Post by bsdie » Sat Sep 09, 2006 4:38 am

Im using an ASUS Quiettrack drive wich supposedly has a lower amount of noise then most regular drives. But when it spins up it still creates a ruckus. Slowing the drives down seems like a good option.

nici
Posts: 3011
Joined: Thu Dec 16, 2004 8:49 am
Location: Suomi Finland Perkele

Post by nici » Mon Sep 11, 2006 2:41 am

I have an idea. I will probably get an USB drive. Sata would work too, with a shielded cable. Anyway, they are not any more quiet by themselves, but i can make a box out of something ike 20mm MDF, line it with polyester/sand mixture, lead, vinyl barrier and damping foam. Should be pretty quiet :P Obviously with some room for air inside so the drive doesnt cook.. Possibly a fan, but that makes noise an requires a hole.

vitaminc
Posts: 306
Joined: Mon Mar 27, 2006 8:11 am
Location: Silicon Valley, California

Post by vitaminc » Mon Sep 11, 2006 9:00 am

I use DVD drives primarily for DVD playback and sometimes burning CD & DVD.

The spin up noise gets really lound compare to my DVD player or a PS2, thus my concern.

Guess I willl have to try setting up a SAMBA/MythTV server and stream the videos from garage then. :(

What are the software options for spin down the DVD drives during playback (besides nero)?

Felger Carbon
Posts: 2049
Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 11:06 am
Location: Klamath Falls, OR

Post by Felger Carbon » Mon Sep 11, 2006 10:07 am

Exel wrote:Is there any way to silence them? The DVD drive is the worst source of noise in my P180 and I'm desperate to make it quieter by any means necessary.
It seems to me that much of the "DVD" noise is like HDD seek noise - that is, the HDD doesn't make much noise at all, it's the vibration coupled into the case sheet metal that makes the noise.

I applied rubber damping material to the two 5.25" optical bay sides - a half inch of it, in two 1/4" layers - to quieten one of the bays so I could suspend a 3.5" HDD in one of the two. As an unintended benefit, my optical drive got noticeably quieter.

If you can dampen the thin case sheet metal the DVD drive is mounted in, you may get similar benefits. Use lots of rubber, it's cheap!

Image

edit: added URL for rubber
edit2: added thumbnail of rubber damping. "<--" shows 2 layers of rubber on the side of the optical drives. Also, 2 layers on the floppy, and one 3/16" layer of black buna rubber on the side of the HDD cage. Lots of damping material is good; makes it hard for things to vibrate! :D

dchrsf
Posts: 30
Joined: Sun Mar 26, 2006 5:04 am
Location: Palm Harbor, FL

Post by dchrsf » Tue Sep 12, 2006 5:48 am

Anyone have experiences with the Liteon SHM-165H6S everything DVD Burner? I just ordered to compliment my Samsung (TSST TS-H552U) which hasent been the best write quality wise.

Is it decent? I know it has certain features the mfg says help with noise like SMART-X which slows down drive when only miniscule amounts of data are requested, and some internal quiet tech or somthing. Any way, Just wondering if anyone had it. Thanks.

Exel
Posts: 90
Joined: Tue Jun 27, 2006 3:25 am
Location: Finland

Post by Exel » Tue Sep 19, 2006 7:34 am

Like Felger Carbon said, I also noticed that most of the noise made by the optical drive is caused by vibration into the case. Even the P180 has a metal drive cage for the optical drives, and unlike for HDD drives there is no damping aside of the plastic drive rails that do little to reduce vibration. So I did a little do-it-yourself damping with the drive rails with the objective to reduce the vibration noise.

What I did was I took two extra pairs of the HDD silicone rubber grommets (like the ones you can see sitting here in three rows on the HDD cage) supplied with the case and cut them in half at the groove. I then inserted the thinner half between the drive rail and the DVD drive for all four screw holes. I tightened the screws only so much that the rails barely fit in back to the case.

The results are, if not spectacular, at least very noticeable. Of course I don't have any tools to scientifically measure the dB levels or the amount of vibration, but to the ear the rumbling has silenced considerably and the case vibration feels - very subjectively - about half less when touching the case near the drive. Now when the drive is going at full speed the most noise it makes is the soft whizz from the spinning and the occasional rattle when files are read.

Though it obviously wont remove the noise completely, it takes the edge out of the metallic crackle and the remaining audible noise is much more comfortable. Highly recommended for anyone with excess rubber grommets at hand. 8)

Tzupy
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 1561
Joined: Wed Jan 12, 2005 10:47 am
Location: Bucharest, Romania

Post by Tzupy » Tue Sep 19, 2006 10:04 am

So a case with rubber / silicone / polyurethane mounts for DVDs would be a good idea IMO.
Most cases are too slim to allow for DVD suspension, and I'm not sure DVDs could work properly when suspended.
If others share my opinion, let's tell Antec about that.

Mike_P
Posts: 75
Joined: Thu Jan 12, 2006 6:40 am
Location: Toronto, ONT

Post by Mike_P » Tue Sep 19, 2006 10:10 am

My Nec 3520a is loud when burning @ 8x or full speed reading.

If it's being used for DVD playback try Nero DriveSpeed.

I can use it to adjust maximum allowed speed and spin down times.

set it to like 2x or 4x for DVD and you'll be good.

Exel
Posts: 90
Joined: Tue Jun 27, 2006 3:25 am
Location: Finland

Post by Exel » Wed Sep 20, 2006 6:21 am

Tzupy wrote:So a case with rubber / silicone / polyurethane mounts for DVDs would be a good idea IMO.
Most cases are too slim to allow for DVD suspension, and I'm not sure DVDs could work properly when suspended.
If others share my opinion, let's tell Antec about that.
The rubber grommets are only a few millimiters in thickness when squished between the drive and the rail by the screws. The P180 mounting is luckily loose enough to allow that. Of course it would be even better with a thicker suspension, but I'm quite happy about even this noise reduction.

Basically all what Antec would need to do is ship a few extra rubber grommets with the case, about 2/3 thinner than the HDD ones.

Felger Carbon
Posts: 2049
Joined: Thu Dec 15, 2005 11:06 am
Location: Klamath Falls, OR

Post by Felger Carbon » Wed Sep 20, 2006 7:19 am

Exel wrote:Basically all what Antec would need to do is ship a few extra rubber grommets with the case, about 2/3 thinner than the HDD ones.
McMaster.com has a wide assortment of anti-vibration grommets on page 1245. Some are really thick, some really thin. Sold in packs of 25 for under $10. All dimensions are listed. :)

v3n
Posts: 73
Joined: Tue Feb 17, 2004 3:48 am
Location: UK

Post by v3n » Wed Sep 20, 2006 8:54 am

Mike_P wrote:My Nec 3520a is loud when burning @ 8x or full speed reading.

If it's being used for DVD playback try Nero DriveSpeed.

I can use it to adjust maximum allowed speed and spin down times.

set it to like 2x or 4x for DVD and you'll be good.
I have the same drive and it makes a noticeble annoying rattle/hum when a disk is inside and the drive is idle which in a silentish pc is the loudest noise :x

Im after a quiet DVD-Rom drive for my HTPC which doesnt have this drawback 8)

Exel
Posts: 90
Joined: Tue Jun 27, 2006 3:25 am
Location: Finland

Post by Exel » Fri Sep 22, 2006 12:32 am

v3n wrote:I have the same drive and it makes a noticeble annoying rattle/hum when a disk is inside and the drive is idle which in a silentish pc is the loudest noise :x
It's not idle, Windows just tends to spin the damn drives up for no good reason from time to time and keep it spinning even considerable lenghts of time. I don't think it is the drive's fault.
Im after a quiet DVD-Rom drive for my HTPC which doesnt have this drawback 8)
I doubt there is one. But if your case has margins of a couple of millimeters in the drive cage you might want to try what I did. Squeeze rubber grommets between the cage and the drive on the screw holes. I had a very similar situation as you describe before and it was indeed very annoying, but now I'm very happy with the silencing result I got with that simple procedure.

jamesavery22
Posts: 271
Joined: Thu Jun 24, 2004 3:19 pm

Post by jamesavery22 » Fri Oct 13, 2006 11:06 am

There any recommendations on Laptop DVD-drives?

akambe
Posts: 4
Joined: Mon Feb 05, 2007 6:06 am
Location: Sioux City, Iowa, United States
Contact:

Post by akambe » Mon Feb 05, 2007 6:17 am

jamesavery22 wrote:There any recommendations on Laptop DVD-drives?
The biggest problem with laptop optical drives (that I've noticed) is vibration of the tray when closed. To test this, when the optical drive is making noise, slightly press and hold the tray face up, down, or in. If pressing on it helps, tray vibration is the problem.

You could try adding some dampening materials to the inside edge of the tray, or, if you're lucky, your laptop is designed so the bottom of the tray can be pushed from underneath. If that's the case (as is the case with my GW Solo 1450), just sticking something underneath would help. In a pinch, I use a folded-up sheet of paper that I wedge under it. It presses the tray up, cancelling the vibration.

That said, it's a pain. And if it's difficult to dampen a desktop optical drive, it's doubly so for a laptop. Good luck!

~El~Jefe~
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 2887
Joined: Mon Feb 28, 2005 4:21 pm
Location: New York City zzzz
Contact:

Post by ~El~Jefe~ » Mon Feb 05, 2007 9:44 pm

jeez. I posted below over a week ago. no hits.

anyone have an idea what the latest quiet drive is for dvd watching? I know that samsungs start off quiet and then suck, and then fail. 4x they proved that to me.

my pioneer 109 retail version is awesome but I detect it is getting finicky on bad disks. Dvd's it is still fine, but some things I get ahve scratches and so it makes it an annoying drive now that it has had 2 years of use. I dont care about max burning speeds, just want a near silent drive like this one is. Pioneer stopped making them in america. the most recent model to mine I hear is awesome in reliability and in decibels as well. just cant find it in America. looks like australia is the only place if that?

Tzupy
*Lifetime Patron*
Posts: 1561
Joined: Wed Jan 12, 2005 10:47 am
Location: Bucharest, Romania

Post by Tzupy » Wed Feb 07, 2007 4:52 am

Your post stopped me from getting a Samsung 182D. Could you specify where those Samsungs were manufactured, Korea or China?
My secondy option to the Samsung was Pioneer 111D, now it's my first option. Anyone can tell me about it's quietness and reliability?

~El~Jefe~
Friend of SPCR
Posts: 2887
Joined: Mon Feb 28, 2005 4:21 pm
Location: New York City zzzz
Contact:

Post by ~El~Jefe~ » Wed Feb 07, 2007 9:49 am

there are different forms of pioneer drives. I havent seen that one on a shelf yet. GOod thing I stopped you from getting a samsung, they really put very little effort into quality/longevity.

I am interested in how the latest pioneers stack up to my current pioneer drive as well.

korsch
Posts: 88
Joined: Tue Jan 07, 2003 12:42 am

Post by korsch » Thu Feb 08, 2007 9:19 pm

I have had a few DVD drives over the years and currently own Pioneer DVR-111D and BenQ DW1640 burners, and an Asus DVD-E616A2 reader.

The Pioneer is an excellent all-around burner but it is unfortunately very loud as reported above. The BenQ is significantly quieter at 4x and especially 8x, and I hear the more recent BenQ models have similar acoustic qualities. I don't know how they compare with the LG and Lite-On burners although from what I hear they are probably as good or better.

The Asus E616 drive, although a reader and not a burner, is comparatively a very quiet drive for watching movies, etc. -- I suspect up there with the quietest DVD drives (which is still not terribly quiet unless forced to speed down). It is also a fantastic reader, capable of reading all kinds of damaged discs and extremely fast at ripping video and music in case that appeals to you.

Post Reply