# How loud are WD Caviar Blacks?



## Mygaffer

It depends on how silent you need it to be, also on which specific model. I have found them to be not too bad but everyone has a different threshold. What other components are planning on and how quiet do you expect the computer to be?


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## funkmetal

All of the Mechanical drives I have are WD Blacks (3 of them 1 500GB SATA 2, 1 1TB SATA 3 and 1 2TB SATA 3, I cant even hear them. The only think I hear in my computer are the fans. I mean I don't even hear the pump on my H100 most of the time


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## ghostrider85

if you don't have any fan in your case then you can hear it, otherwise no you can not.


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## Snuckie7

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mygaffer*
> 
> It depends on how silent you need it to be, also on which specific model. I have found them to be not too bad but everyone has a different threshold. What other components are planning on and how quiet do you expect the computer to be?


The exact model is a 1TB Caviar Black WD2002FAEX.

The rest of my rig should show up in my sig if I did this right.


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## Mygaffer

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Snuckie7*
> 
> The exact model is a 1TB Caviar Black WD2002FAEX.
> The rest of my rig should show up in my sig if I did this right.


It looks like you already have a WD black.


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## john1016

I have 3 750gb blacks and I can hear them over my fans, there not that loud but I can hear them


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## Snuckie7

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Mygaffer*
> 
> It looks like you already have a WD black.


Yes I just ordered it but it isn't too late to cancel.

But from what I've been hearing it should do fine correct?


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## ghostrider85

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Snuckie7*
> 
> Yes I just ordered it but it isn't too late to cancel.
> But from what I've been hearing it should do fine correct?


it's fine, when they say loud, they actually meant that it is louder than blues, but not annoyingly loud


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## Snuckie7

But I've seen reviews on Newegg that say they can hear the drive from across the room when it's seeking. . .although it is Newegg.


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## ghostrider85

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Snuckie7*
> 
> But I've seen reviews on Newegg that say they can hear the drive from across the room when it's seeking. . .although it is Newegg.


i don't believe those, i have two blacks and never heard em, maybe if you have an open case.


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## Snuckie7

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ghostrider85*
> 
> i don't believe those, i have two blacks and never heard em, maybe if you have an open case.


I should probably be fine with my noise dampening case then.


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## funkmetal

Yeah, like I said with my post, someone with 3 WD Black dives INCLUDING the one you have, You should be fine. I have never heard my HDD's over my fans or H100


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## dihartnell

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *funkmetal*
> 
> Yeah, like I said with my post, someone with 3 WD Black dives INCLUDING the one you have, You should be fine. I have never heard my HDD's over my fans or H100


+1. I also have WD blacks including the model ordered and I cant here them at all.


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## ericlee30

WD Black editions are very quit I have 6 1tb Black drives and I can't here any of them at all I love them. I have not once ever got a bad WD black drive very good for the money


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## chip94

The blacks are no doubt loud when seeking, specially the 750GB version. The 1 TB is not too bad, so you shouldn't be able to hear them over your fans.


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## Snuckie7

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *chip94*
> 
> The blacks are no doubt loud when seeking, specially the 750GB version. The 1 TB is not too bad, so you shouldn't be able to hear them over your fans.


Well the stock Corsair fans are all reasonably quiet, so I'll have to see if I can hear the Caviar Black when it arrives in a few days.


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## 996gt2

I have 2 x 1TB Caviar Blacks in my system and the noise is not bad at all. Just don't disable APM/AAM.


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## chip94

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Snuckie7*
> 
> Well the stock Corsair fans are all reasonably quiet, so I'll have to see if I can hear the Caviar Black when it arrives in a few days.


When I silence my case fans (CM and Corsair), I can definitely hear my RAID 0 Blue's and 640Black. Drives me crazy


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## ANDMYGUN

I know nothing on how hard drives work but I can hear my WD blacks needle read the disc, that's only when it's completely quiet


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## ericlee30

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *chip94*
> 
> When I silence my case fans (CM and Corsair), I can definitely hear my RAID 0 Blue's and 640Black. Drives me crazy


I just dont get what you guys are talking about , I just shut off all my fans to my rig and I had to stick my ear up to the side panel in order to here my 6 WD 1 tb black drives. Yes that is 6 of them and yes my hearing is just fine, I can hear really good. So I have no idea what you guy's are trying to say unless you just got bad drives. Remember people nothing in this world is perfect, anything that is electronic and made buy any body will not always make the same stuff the same. It's just how the world works. you have noisy drives I do not, you got bad ones I did not. it does not mean that the black editions are loud it just means you didnt get a perfect one


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## GigaByte

They're fairly loud for my likings but they are very fast..


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## 267267123

I can only hear mine when I first boot into Windows, and when I'm benchmarking the disk.


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## chip94

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ericlee30*
> 
> I just dont get what you guys are talking about , I just shut off all my fans to my rig and I had to stick my ear up to the side panel in order to here my 6 WD 1 tb black drives. Yes that is 6 of them and yes my *hearing is just fine, I can hear really good*. So I have no idea what you guy's are trying to say unless you just got bad drives. Remember people nothing in this world is perfect, anything that is electronic and made buy any body will not always make the same stuff the same. It's just how the world works. you have noisy drives I do not, you got bad ones I did not. it does not mean that the black editions are loud it just means you didnt get a perfect one


You sure?

I can hear them very clearly in a silent room with almost no sound. Every 7200rpm will make a considerable whine or noise.


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## ghostrider85

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *chip94*
> 
> You sure?
> I can hear them very clearly in a silent room with almost no sound. Every 7200rpm will make a considerable whine or noise.


i don't hear them either, and i have a very silent build.


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## Theloudtrout

My 500gb Black is loud as **** when its seeking ! other than that though its pretty much the same as any other 7200 rpm drive i have owned but it definitely needs rubber mounting.


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## ericlee30

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *chip94*
> 
> You sure?
> I can hear them very clearly in a silent room with almost no sound. Every 7200rpm will make a considerable whine or noise.


LOL







yes

I'm in a very quiet room as well. Last night I turned off all my fan with my Bitfenix Recon fan controller and my room and my Pc was dead silent. I had to put my ear up to my case in order to hear any of the drives make any noise a all


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## gotendbz1

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Theloudtrout*
> 
> My 500gb Black is loud as **** when its seeking ! other than that though its pretty much the same as any other 7200 rpm drive i have owned but it definitely needs rubber mounting.


this right here is your answer.


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## dafour

I find them loud,especially compared to seagate 7200.12 and those earlier samsung 500gb.I have 2 640 in raid and i'm using them in a old speaker box outside my case,with foam and dampening and you can still hear them.
Maybe its just me but the noise of a harddrive gets me nuts,every part in my system is quiet and these are the loudest.
Next i'm gonna get a SSD and dump those 2 640GB for a silent 2TB.
Blacks are fast,but not quiet to me.


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## Ergates

I can hear mine, but only when they're getting a little load. If my fans are on full, then it's harder to hear more than a few clicks.

They're a far cry from those old SCSI double height 4GB Seagate Barracuda server drives of many years ago, put it that way.


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## All3n

Basically your results will vary as much as the installations do.

I have the same 1 TB FAEX Black. When It was in the HDD bays of a Fractal R4 (Rubber isolation) it was pretty darn quiet, not annoying at all.

Since then I have removed the HDD bays completely, upper and lower. I drilled holes in the bottom of the R4 so I could mount the HDD with the same rubber isolators that came with the Fractal HDD bays/stack. It is still pretty quiet, but slightly louder then the stock setup, so it just goes to show it's it's all in the mounting and location.
It's fine in my case,(No pun intended) I can't hear it at all if there is any background noise like a furnace etc. I attribute the stock setup being slightly quieter due to it's suspension allows some noise to be absorbed into the HDD stack before it sounds off the side panels.

My previous tower was a horizontal one, home-built. Anyhow I had two vanilla Seagates mounted in a 2 x HDD stack. On the bottom of the stack was just some adhesive foam strips. (The weather stripping stuff, comes on a roll from the hardware store.)
That installation was effectively silent, because there was very little transmission of energy from the HDDs into the case. The mechanical energy dissipates as heat into foam, rather then transmitting it acoustically through the tower.

One day SDDs will make all of this irrelevant, but for the next few years or so I'm probably going to still rely on HDD for bulk storage per dollar and flat out reliability.


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## SwishaMane

I owned two 640GB Blacks, made in 2009, of which I still have one, and they are almost completely silent. Im also on a tech station build where the disks are out in the open and its quiet. Get an old 150GB WD Raptor on sata1 if you want loud,


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## chip94

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *SwishaMane*
> 
> I owned two 640GB Blacks, made in 2009, of which I still have one, and they are almost completely silent. Im also on a tech station build where the disks are out in the open and its quiet. Get an old 150GB WD Raptor on sata1 if you want loud,


The 640GB black are the most silent of the Black lot.


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## itzhoovEr

My 640 is pretty loud when seeking.


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## ericlee30

Like I said it's an Electronic, Nothing in this world is perfect some people get good ones that are silent and others get ones that are loud. All companies are like this no matter what company you go with some hhd's are better then others. why do I think WD are the best drives. There 5 year warranty would be a good start and WD as the lowest rate in DOA drives then any other company That's another good reason. Over all WD is the best for mechanical HHD's They just can't be beat.


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## almighty15

I had a couple 640Gb Caviar Blacks in RAID 0 and they were noisey as hell, I had 11 fans in my case and easily hear the drives over them.


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## $ilent

ive got two WD caviar blacks about 2 feet from me in an open space no pc case, I hear them spin up every now and then. But I also sleep with my pc running 24/7 and the sound from my Corsair quiet edition fans is louder than the hard drives.

I do have an SSD as my OS drive though; i guess if you were to be using the CB's as your OS drives then they would be much more noticable as they would be spinning up all the time.


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## Citra

They are audible under load, but by no means loud.


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## Crooksy

I have two in RAID-0 and cannot hear them over my fans. Then again, I do have a loud GPU so I would be worried if I could hear the blacks over that!


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## junkerde

the ones NOW are audible, you can hear it. I could hear it enough it overtook my old case noise, but I updgraded to a bigger cases with 2 200mm fans, and no longer hear it because of the fans. It isn't too annoying, but I will say it is audible and louder than most drives.


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## Zap

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ericlee30*
> 
> Like I said it's an Electronic, Nothing in this world is perfect some people get good ones that are silent and others get ones that are loud. All companies are like this no matter what company you go with some hhd's are better then others. why do I think WD are the best drives. There 5 year warranty would be a good start and WD as the lowest rate in DOA drives then any other company That's another good reason. Over all WD is the best for mechanical HHD's They just can't be beat.


I believe this discussion is regarding noise levels, not perceived quality or reliability.


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## All3n

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ericlee30*
> 
> Like I said it's an Electronic, Nothing in this world is perfect some people get good ones that are silent and others get ones that are loud. All companies are like this no matter what company you go with some hhd's are better then others. why do I think WD are the best drives. There 5 year warranty would be a good start and WD as the lowest rate in DOA drives then any other company That's another good reason. Over all WD is the best for mechanical HHD's They just can't be beat.


This just isn't true. HDD devices are highly precision devices. You would not be able to audibly tell the difference between one HDD and the next coming down the line, for a given model.
Any HDD with gross defects would be removed during QA, or fail quickly after purchase.


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## ericlee30

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *All3n*
> 
> This just isn't true. HDD devices are highly precision devices. You would not be able to audibly tell the difference between one HDD and the next coming down the line, for a given model.
> Any HDD with gross defects would be removed during QA, or fail quickly after purchase.


So tell me why mine are silent and I cant here them unless I stick my ear up to my case. Tell me why other people have loud ones? Tell me why some people get good ones and some people get DOA ones if they are all perfect in your opinion. If they all go down the line and are suppose to be caught before they are shipped out. If your statement was true no one would ever RMA anything or get DOA's


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## All3n

Settle down and read my explanation a few days back. Other people have noisy cases/ installations, it's not rocket science.
















I don't see how my statement prevents all RMAs based on sound alone.

When people buy new cars are some twice as loud as others? NO
If a new car is quiet does that mean it will never break down? NO

See how silly you sound?


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## ericlee30

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *All3n*
> 
> Settle down and read my explanation a few days back. Other people have noisy cases/ installations, it's not rocket science.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> I don't see how my statement prevents all RMAs based on sound alone.
> When people buy new cars are some twice as loud as others? NO
> If a new car is quiet does that mean it will never break down? NO
> See how silly you sound?


No really I don't see how silly I sound. Im completely confused about what you are saying. I don't understand how you are putting it and what you are saying
For an example, you said "when people buy new cars are some twice as loud as others? and you said No. Then why do some companies recall some models of their cars, because they're not all perfect. Not everything that comes off the shelf works as great as another product from the same company. Anything that is an electronic cannot be made perfect, that is what I am trying to say.


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## Kittencake

well my 1 tb wd black is annoyingly loud when seeking I can hear it over my fans , yet works perfectly fine


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## ericlee30

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Zap*
> 
> I believe this discussion is regarding noise levels, not perceived quality or reliability.


Good point there turbo








Some people get quiet ones and some get loud ones that is what everybody keeps debating about.
LOL im not talking about perceived quality or reliability. If you would of read all my post on here you would know what I am talking about, Some people said there drives were loud and some said theres were quiet and Im saying I have 6 WD 1TB Black drives in my rig and I can not hear any of them unless I stick my ear up to the case with the side panel on and most of the noise is vibration noise.. So I stated that some people get Bad drives that are loud and other people get quiet ones like mine. Stating that WD is not a bad company and does not make bad products over all.

Here I will Simplify it for you. Just because someone gets a noisy drive does not mean that the black Editions are bad drives Im sticking up for the company and stating that not every drive people buy will be noisy. With any electronic you are gabbling weather you will get the perfect drive. It does not matter if you go with WD, Seagate, Samsung, Maxtor.....etc. That's why this world has RMA, Nothing is perfect. This is the reason I do not like newegg reviews, Some people do not know how do review products properly. It Makes it very hard for people to buy stuff now a days, just because some people get noisy drives does not mean the company that made it is a bad company or has a bad line of products. You work in a factory at a 100 miles an hour with a dead line and a quota to make and see if you dont catch a RMA product or two on your line. Its impossible and that my friends is life


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## RX7-2nr

The first one I had was clicking badly and squealing right out of the box. Took it back to Microcenter and got the one that Ive got now. I cant hear this one at all.


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## Xaero252

The spindle motor is inaudible to most people, especially at a distance greater than three feet. The mechanical portion of the read write heads makes an audible click when seeking that is the second loudest thing in my room - next to a 3000rpm 40mm fan that I can't wait to get rid of when I upgrade by smashing it into billions of tiny pieces. That said a small amount of sound proofing makes them almost entirely inaudible .


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## All3n

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ericlee30*
> 
> Good point there turbo
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Some people get quiet ones and some get loud ones that is what everybody keeps debating about.
> LOL im not talking about perceived quality or reliability. If you would of read all my post on here you would know what I am talking about, Some people said there drives were loud and some said theres were quiet and Im saying I have 6 WD 1TB Black drives in my rig and I can not hear any of them unless I stick my ear up to the case with the side panel on and most of the noise is vibration noise.. So I stated that some people get Bad drives that are loud and other people get quiet ones like mine. Stating that WD is not a bad company and does not make bad products over all.
> Here I will Simplify it for you. Just because someone gets a noisy drive does not mean that the black Editions are bad drives Im sticking up for the company and stating that not every drive people buy will be noisy. With any electronic you are gabbling weather you will get the perfect drive. It does not matter if you go with WD, Seagate, Samsung, Maxtor.....etc. That's why this world has RMA, Nothing is perfect. This is the reason I do not like newegg reviews, Some people do not know how do review products properly. It Makes it very hard for people to buy stuff now a days, just because some people get noisy drives does not mean the company that made it is a bad company or has a bad line of products. You work in a factory at a 100 miles an hour with a dead line and a quota to make and see if you dont catch a RMA product or two on your line. Its impossible and that my friends is life


You are wrong. If I take a WD 1TB from one side of the country and compare it to a WD 1TB (Same Model) from the side of the country , they will have the same noise level within a few percent. I guarantee it, call WD or Seagate and ask them what there noise parameters are.

I don't see why you keep going on about RMAs etc, I guess you just like to argue?

Do you really think devices could vary that much in the high-tech world of computers? One HDD is silent yet the next sound like a coffee can full of rocks?

You are what is wrong with the internet.

Do an experiment yourself, take this so called noisy HDD out of the case and run it in your hand. Notice how it got quiet? Aside from a bit of direct airborne noise, all the regular "loud HDD" noises will disappear.

Now don't you have egg on your face.


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## ericlee30

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *All3n*
> 
> You are wrong. If I take a WD 1TB from one side of the country and compare it to a WD 1TB (Same Model) from the side of the country , they will have the same noise level within a few percent. I guarantee it, call WD or Seagate and ask them what there noise parameters are.
> I don't see why you keep going on about RMAs etc, I guess you just like to argue?
> Do you really think devices could vary that much in the high-tech world of computers? One HDD is silent yet the next sound like a coffee can full of rocks?
> You are what is wrong with the internet.
> Do an experiment yourself, take this so called noisy HDD out of the case and run it in your hand. Notice how it got quiet? Aside from a bit of direct airborne noise, all the regular "loud HDD" noises will disappear.
> Now don't you have egg on your face.


You are not even on the subject. And I DON'T HAVE a noisy HDD so why would I take it out of the case. You're not reading what I have written properly, I think you are what's wrong with the internet, seeing how you are trying to comment on something without thoroughly reading and then not even be on the same page or topic.Your argument is invalid, and not even what I am talking about. I really think you need to get yourself checked out







something in brain just is not clicking. That's not normal and you should seriously consider seeing a shrink or 2. Reread what I read a little slower you just might get what Im saying and if you don't get it then that your problem not mine.Happy trails weirdo LOL
Quote:


> Some people get quiet ones and some get loud ones that is what everybody keeps debating about.
> LOL im not talking about perceived quality or reliability. If you would of read all my post on here you would know what I am talking about, Some people said there drives were loud and some said theres were quiet and Im saying *I have 6 WD 1TB Black drives in my rig and I can not hear any of them unless I stick my ear up to the case with the side panel on and most of the noise is vibration noise*.. So I stated that some people get drives that are loud and other people get quiet ones like mine. Stating that WD is not a bad company and does not make bad products over all. Happy trails weirdo LOL
> 
> Here I will Simplify it for you. Just because someone gets a noisy drive does not mean that the black Editions are bad drives Im sticking up for the company and stating that not every drive people buy will be noisy. With any electronic you are gabbling weather you will get the perfect Product. It does not matter if you go with WD, Seagate, Samsung, Maxtor.....etc. That's why this world has RMA, Nothing is perfect. This is the reason I do not like newegg reviews, Some people do not know how to review products properly. It Makes it very hard for people to buy stuff now a days, just because some people get noisy drives does not mean the company that made it is a bad company or has a bad line of products. You work in a factory at a 100 miles an hour with a dead line and a quota to make and see if you dont catch a RMA product or two on your line. Its impossible and that my friends is life


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## Theloudtrout

Try to keep it civil man or the mods will lock it down.

Btw if your saying the same models of WD black drives have different noise levels. They don't trust me, you would not be able to hear the difference. If you are talking about different drives then sure they sound level can change because of physical mechanical differences in the design of the drive.

One thing to consider though is there are many different ranges of WD black drives that can make a big difference. I know from personal experience the 640 GB is by far the nosiest of the WD black range.


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## ericlee30

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Theloudtrout*
> 
> Try to keep it civil man or the mods will lock it down.


Sorry about that. The next time this guy replies I will just ignore him. I also think this is ridiculous as well sorry folks I was not trying to ruin the form and I hope no one takes it that way.


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## Zap

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ericlee30*
> 
> Some people get quiet ones and some get loud ones that is what everybody keeps debating about.


There could be reasons why we hear about different noise levels. Usually it isn't the same person going "one is noisy but the other is quiet." Why is that? Many possibilities.

1) Big difference between idling and during seeks.

2) HUGE difference in which case used and whether the case was designed to make HDDs quieter. I guarantee that putting a WD Black into a cheap $30 case where it is directly mounted would be noisy, while the exact same drive taken out and installed into a case such as the Antec Solo would render it near silent in comparison.

3) Sometimes people have noisier machines in general. Someone running air-cooled SLI in a "gaming" case with a half dozen case fans would probably never hear a HDD over all that fan racket.

4) Noise is subjective. Some people aren't bothered with a bit of it while others are. Also, type and frequency may bother some but not others. I've had people observe to me that my computer was silent, but I'm totally like, "what? don't you hear that?" Nope, they don't hear what I hear. Then again, I've done super quiet machines (Antec Solo case, passive Scythe Ninja, passive Arctic Cooling Accelero S1, Antec Phantom passive PSU) so I'm more attuned to noise than most.


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## chip94

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Theloudtrout*
> 
> Try to keep it civil man or the mods will lock it down.
> Btw if your saying the same models of WD black drives have different noise levels. They don't trust me, you would not be able to hear the difference. If you are talking about different drives then sure they sound level can change because of physical mechanical differences in the design of the drive.
> One thing to consider though is there are many different ranges of WD black drives that can make a big difference. *I know from personal experience the 640 GB is by far the nosiest of the WD black range*.


That for sure has to be a bad 640gb black.

The 640's are supposed to be the most silent one's among the lot. My 640 doesn't make that much noise as my old 750gb / 1TB black. The same reason I returned my 750GB the very day i got it.


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## All3n

+Rep for understanding


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## ericlee30

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Zap*
> 
> There could be reasons why we hear about different noise levels. Usually it isn't the same person going "one is noisy but the other is quiet." Why is that? Many possibilities.
> 1) Big difference between idling and during seeks.
> 2) HUGE difference in which case used and whether the case was designed to make HDDs quieter. I guarantee that putting a WD Black into a cheap $30 case where it is directly mounted would be noisy, while the exact same drive taken out and installed into a case such as the Antec Solo would render it near silent in comparison.
> 3) Sometimes people have noisier machines in general. Someone running air-cooled SLI in a "gaming" case with a half dozen case fans would probably never hear a HDD over all that fan racket.
> 4) Noise is subjective. Some people aren't bothered with a bit of it while others are. Also, type and frequency may bother some but not others. I've had people observe to me that my computer was silent, but I'm totally like, "what? don't you hear that?" Nope, they don't hear what I hear. Then again, I've done super quiet machines (Antec Solo case, passive Scythe Ninja, passive Arctic Cooling Accelero S1, Antec Phantom passive PSU) so I'm more attuned to noise than most.


That is what I was trying to say







thank you for saying it better for me +1 rep


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## Aparition

My x2 500GB Blacks I cannot hear in my case, 300R.
I have them as Raid and not my primary OS drive though, so all the constant reading and writing is done on my SSD. I don't hear them though if ever.


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## All3n

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *ericlee30*
> 
> That is what I was trying to say
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> thank you for saying it better for me +1 rep


I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone.


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## wutang61

It sounds like a normal hard drive. If the room is dead quiet and it's seeking you will hear it. I donno what some of these people expect.

If you not trying to hear it chances are it will just be a subtle noise coming from your pc.

My raptors are louder and they arnt even that bad.


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## ericlee30

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *All3n*
> 
> I feel like I'm in the Twilight Zone.


LOL I think we were agreeing with each other but saying it in 2 deferent ways and we were confusing eachother LOL


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## FTWRoguE

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Snuckie7*
> 
> Do you think the noise is reasonable for a build geared towards silence? Case is a Corsair 550D btw.


No if you're going for silence get a Caviar Blue mine is completely silent. The Caviar Black I have is the loudest thing in my case besides the fans.


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## jamdox

I don't like spinning platters in general, so for me the 5 year warranty trumps the noise concern. I'll be interested to know how it sounds in the 550D. Hopefully the case will block the clicks. Kind of the point...


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## xenomorph113

i have a black 1tb (maybe 1.5 years old) and it has slightly more noise then the 640 blues that i have, like maybe 1-2 dB at most. so far it has been a very solid drive, well within what i would consider "normal" noise level for a mechanical drive.

if youre looking for silence then SSD's are the best silent option, though they are much more $/Gb


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## ez12a

if you're looking for a silent HTPC build, do not get blacks.


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## ghostrider85

if you really hate it that much then get an ssd, problem solved.


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## RX7-2nr

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *All3n*
> 
> You are wrong. If I take a WD 1TB from one side of the country and compare it to a WD 1TB (Same Model) from the side of the country , they will have the same noise level within a few percent. I guarantee it, call WD or Seagate and ask them what there noise parameters are.
> I don't see why you keep going on about RMAs etc, I guess you just like to argue?
> Do you really think devices could vary that much in the high-tech world of computers? One HDD is silent yet the next sound like a coffee can full of rocks?
> You are what is wrong with the internet.
> Do an experiment yourself, take this so called noisy HDD out of the case and run it in your hand. Notice how it got quiet? Aside from a bit of direct airborne noise, all the regular "loud HDD" noises will disappear.
> Now don't you have egg on your face.


You are just simply incorrect. Very rude in your post as well as utterly incorrect in the information that you presented, great job.

Ive seen it happen myself with WD Black HDDs. The issues with loud Blacks are pretty well known. Im not exactly sure if its limited to one particular batch, but there have been a lot of issues with 00Y9A0. I returned that extremely loud HD and got another batch, and this one is silent.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1293874/wd-caviar-black-1tb-00y9a0-discussion/0_50
Details in this thread.

This is a video that I took with my phone sitting against the front of my case.

http://s23.beta.photobucket.com/user/rx7-2nr/media/hdd.mp4.html


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## All3n

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *RX7-2nr*
> 
> I returned that extremely loud HD and got another batch, and this one is silent.


So you admit you had a faulty HDD, which is not what we are talking about.

lol, I'm not going to watch your silly video.

Thanks for coming though.


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## Snuckie7

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *FTWRoguE*
> 
> No if you're going for silence get a Caviar Blue mine is completely silent. The Caviar Black I have is the loudest thing in my case besides the fans.


Dang now I feel bad. I originally ordered a Caviar Blue, but then I cancelled it when Newegg had a Black on sale. I hope the 550D can silence it well enough.


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## ericlee30

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Snuckie7*
> 
> Dang now I feel bad. I originally ordered a Caviar Blue, but then I cancelled it when Newegg had a Black on sale. I hope the 550D can silence it well enough.


I'm pretty sure your case has good anti- vibration. You should be good


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## Jaguarbamf

My Caviar Black is extremely loud. When it's seeking, it gives off a grinding noise. I can hear it over a reference cooler that's at 50% speed.
My Caviar Blue drives make very little noise in comparison.


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## RX7-2nr

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *All3n*
> 
> So you admit you had a faulty HDD, which is not what we are talking about.
> lol, I'm not going to watch your silly video.
> Thanks for coming though.


But it doesn't matter if you watch it or not. The evidence is there. This is s long-standing issue with these drives. You never know what your are going to get. I contacted WD about the noise and they basically said, "the blacks are all about performance. the heads are faster than other drives, that's why it's louder"

You are just simply incorrect, whether you care to admit it or not. I could post the emails from WD tech support, but I'm sure that wouldn't qualify as evidence either to you.

Your denial doesn't change the fact that it's an established issue.


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## Fan o' water

My Cav blacks and blues are virtually silent. WD Velociraptors were loud.


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## TheLombax

I notice the WD black drives are noticable when seeking but not really loud. Blues are quieter with their seeks but I can still hear it. 1TB Caviar Blue in my SG05 rig.


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## Aparition

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Jaguarbamf*
> 
> My Caviar Black is extremely loud. When it's seeking, it gives off a grinding noise. I can hear it over a reference cooler that's at 50% speed.
> My Caviar Blue drives make very little noise in comparison.


extremely loud like you can easily hear it from across the room? That loud of grinding noise might suggest a failing drive.
Both my Blacks which are in Raid 0 so they both spin at the same time make very little noise. I do video recording with FRAPS for hours on occasion and I cannot hear them writing or seeking when I go to edit.

My DVD write on the other hand is balls loud LOL.


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## Jaguarbamf

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aparition*
> 
> extremely loud like you can easily hear it from across the room? That loud of grinding noise might suggest a failing drive.
> Both my Blacks which are in Raid 0 so they both spin at the same time make very little noise. I do video recording with FRAPS for hours on occasion and I cannot hear them writing or seeking when I go to edit.
> My DVD write on the other hand is balls loud LOL.


I've been using the drive for about a year, and it's always done this. It passes HDD tests with near-perfect scores.
The only reason that I can't hear the HDD in my system now is because of my H60's pump. =P


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## D1G1TALD3ATH

like ghostrider85 said with any fans in your case you wont really be able to hear the caviar blacks. even with fans at 700rpm i cant hear any of my 5 caviar blacks


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## Classif13d

I agree with D1G1TALD3ATH. The new Caviar Black drives are very silent. You shouldn't worry too much.


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## PandaSPUR

Mine is almost two years old now I think. It was always loud from day one. I dont hear the rotation, but I hear the "clicking." Not the click of death or whatever thats described as. Reminds me of an older compaq desktop I had back in 2000.

Makes me want to upgrade to the new models if they really are silent, or just go straight for a SSD. Meh.


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## Art Vanelay

Mine is quite loud. They make a very audible noise that is somewhere between a click and a grind; I don't find it unpleasant at all, though.


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## Fulvin

My blue ones have been dead silent, although one emitted light high pitch whine, which was drowned in fan noice, luckily. I bet the Black's are just as quiet.
If the WD Black drives are 7200rpm disks like i think they are, then i don't think you should get them in the first place. Just get the blue and save some for SSD or something.

For the record, i have never found the grinding / rattle that HDD's make unpleasant, at least you know it's doing something.


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## PandaSPUR

I think the sound is from the movement of the head as someone previously mentioned, and not from the platter's spinning.
Thats from my experience anyway. In the same desktop I have a 2TB Samsung and 3TB WD Red, both 7200RPM and I never hear those even when I'm transferring files to/from those drives.

The noise only comes from my WD Black :|


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## Nethermir

That video about the HDD noise is surprising to me. I'm using a WD Black for over a year now and it isn't making any noise at all so I guess I got a good one.


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## Kaltenbrunner

I have a super quiet rig not in a proper case, my cavier black is sitting on bubble wrap/packaging, when it fires up from idle it hums at a low steady pitch, and is the only thing I can hear from my rig. When it's seeking I'll hear it too if the room is quiet. I can pick out the hum over loud talk radio, louder than I would need it sat next to the speakers, but I wouldn't really hear the clickidy click of seeking over the same radio, I don't think


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## 2taLL

I'll add one more for the "quiet" and satisfied list. I also have the 500D case with a WD Caviar Black WD1002FAEX. No problems at all.

When I was looking for parts for my build, i would look at the reviews. The thing I noticed after a while was that some of the statements (good or bad) weren't even for the product being advertised.

I came across several unfavorable noise posts about hard drives but it turns out the individual was making reference to a WD Blue or Red and not the Caviar Black.

Just be careful of what you read for reviews. They are only a guide!

I hope you got your HDD. I'm sure you will be happy with it!


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## Catscratch

My Caviar Black rattles the case. Not when reading/writing, the rotor vibrates soooooooooo bad, it creates Loud "MMMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmm MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMmmmmmmmmmmm" constantly.

I had to place the hdd cage sideways with a foam underneath to reduce the noise. I also have Caviar Blue, which is actually worse than Black, I bought Green which is silent. I'm using blue as external drive. My Black and Blue are 500gb thou, green is 2tb. I read bigger disks have better connection points inside so it wouldn't vibrate.


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## Art Vanelay

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *2taLL*
> 
> I'll add one more for the "quiet" and satisfied list. I also have the 500D case with a WD Caviar Black WD1002FAEX. No problems at all.


I have a WD Caviar Black WD1002FAEK-00Y9A0, and it is pretty damn loud. It's not nearly at the noise level of my WD Caviar Blue WD3200AAJS, but it does make quite a bit of noise. I do have a quiet rig, otherwise, though; I am running all Noctua a fans and a single quiet 200mm fan in the roof, so any hard drive noise is easily heard.

Strangely enough, I do not mind the noise it creates at all, though any kind of vibration, fan clicking or whining noise drives me insane.


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## Cavi Mike

"I can't hear them over my fans"

"They're not loud but I can hear them over my fans"

~more comments about fans and loud HDD's~

*facepalm*

This is the silent computing section. What part of "silent" didn't anyone understand? Blacks are loud. They're fast and loud. Hell, blues are loud. I don't hear them all the time but I have a 110volt 120mm fan in my computer and I can sometimes hear my blues over it and I can hear that fan in the next room.


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## DoktorCreepy

I can't hear the black in my sig system I can barely hear all my other fans and they are at max RPM; the loudest thing in my system is my graphics card and even that is fairly quiet at 55 percent fan speed.

My case does have sound dampening though when I take my side panel off things are a bit louder.


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## RX7-2nr

The new Black that I got when I returned the extremely loud one is not as bad. I can still hear it seeking over my fans after turning them down to 1300rpm.

The first one I had, I could hear in the other room as long as the AC wasnt on.


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## Art Vanelay

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Cavi Mike*
> 
> This is the silent computing section. What part of "silent" didn't anyone understand? Blacks are loud. They're fast and loud. Hell, blues are loud. I don't hear them all the time but I have a 110volt 120mm fan in my computer and I can sometimes hear my blues over it and I can hear that fan in the next room.


Two of the blues I have are pretty quiet. The 3200JS and 3200AAKS that I have both are pretty much silent; the 3200AAJS that I have is really loud, however.


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## Zap

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Cavi Mike*
> 
> This is the silent computing section. What part of "silent" didn't anyone understand? Blacks are loud. They're fast and loud.


According to Western Digital a Black 1TB will idle at 28dBA and seek at 33dBA. Not silent. It varies by capacity. The 500GB models all are around 30dBA seeks, so those are quieter. The larger 2TB and 4TB models are even louder at 34dBA.

In comparison a 1TB Blue seeks at 30dBA while a 1TB Green seeks at 27dBA. 1TB VelociRaptor seeks at 37dBA.

tl;dr Faster HDDs are noisier.


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## Art Vanelay

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Zap*
> 
> According to Western Digital a Black 1TB will idle at 28dBA and seek at 33dBA. Not silent. It varies by capacity. The 500GB models all are around 30dBA seeks, so those are quieter. The larger 2TB and 4TB models are even louder at 34dBA.
> 
> In comparison a 1TB Blue seeks at 30dBA while a 1TB Green seeks at 27dBA. 1TB VelociRaptor seeks at 37dBA.
> 
> tl;dr Faster HDDs are noisier.


I wonder what those 15000 RPM hard drives sound like.


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## Catscratch

I want to clarify that I didn't mind the classic HDD sound when seeking(reading/writing). *My drives vibrate*. They are supposed to have accoustic mechanisms but they vibrate pretty bad and when they touch a solid compound they go crazy. Otherwise, SMART readings show healthy.

Rattle most to least : WD5001AALS-00L3B2 BLUE (Now External) *>* WD5000AAKX-001CA0 BLACK *>* WD20EARS GREEN

PS: My Caviar Black is first gen. The others are latest.


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## vonss

Mine is quite audible and loud (like the old PATA drives) when my fans are not on high RPM's, but when they are, I can't hear it at all.
Yes, good cases with good HDD's cages and mounting mechanism do reduce the noise output, in my case, these drive is not worth the noise it produces compared to the performance it has.

Mine was made the 24 of Feb of 2012.


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## linkin93

You can definitely hear it seeking if your fans are quiet, but i use AP-15's and headphones, so it's a non-issue for me


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## Heider

Hi I found this thread after being p****d off with my brand new 2TB Western Digital black Hard Drive.

I installed the HD on my SkyHD box (Satellite Receiver) in my living room, and worked as expected (in terms of recording, playback etc), I was watching BT Sports channel and decided to put UFC to record, I crashed on the sofa while watching, I woke up at almost 2am just now (2 hours ago) by the noise the HD was making,... I could not believe how noisy this was, it sounded like a wood pecker, I mean unbelievable noise coming out of the seeking whilst it was recording UFC overnight.

I switched on the TV, to watch my recordings (Sky Planner), and as I was watching another part of it and fast forwarding, the noise was getting extremely higher than usual, I mean I could hear this from my kitchen, what's going on?!...

I'm used to WD drives all my life, and always thought they are the best, my other/previous SkyHD box had a blue 1TB drive installed, which made reasonable noise which was ok with us, but this 2TB (high performance / 7200 rpm) was killing all the joy of having a higher capacity drive in a SkyHD receiver system.

The sad part is that over the past week I've been searching shops for a bargain on the 2TB, I could not get less than £109, finally I gave up and decided to buy it,... Installed it, and here I am awake at 4am now writing onto this forum...

Very tired, I have a lot to do today, was not expecting such a high level of noise, I am thinking about taking the HD box apart to see if I might missed a lose screw or something, or if I can insert something to keep the noise down, upon a quick check, all seems to be installed correctly.

Has anyone else used the WD 2TB Black drive yet? what do you think of the noise?

Thanks
Heider


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## neo0031

WD Blacks are, very very loud. My other 7200rpm does not make sound like that. That's why I'm so glad to have switched to an SSD for OS/main drive. Re/boots with WD Blacks are hell, as with file search and virus scan and the like.


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## Heider

After the too much noise overnight, I flipped over my receiver to see if a lose screw might have been the issue (the bottom one) whilst it's recording, for some reason, the HD box decided to shut itself down as if it knew it's not on it's knees







...

I restarted my HD box, put 2 programs to record whilst watching another, noise is a lot less now!??, I don't really understand yet,... I will take the sky box apart once everyone wakes up later this morning to see if there has been any lose screws there or something,

Also just been researching now, I found some screws from Maplin which I will be visiting soon today to buy, I hope the vibration goes with these screws. (same usual HD screws but with a black vibrate-obsorbant washers) which hopefully might make the noise better.

Will keep you posted...

Cheers
Heider


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## Heider

Hi , after some changes made to my receiver, I can now confirm that it's as silent as a lamb...

What I did was the following in case anyone is interested to cut the noise on their receivers or any other living-room hardware that uses similar noisy Hard Drivers:

1) Went to Maplin (UK Shop) and bought anti-vibration screws (I think was around £2 for a 30 pack), and also bought Anti-Vibration Washers (£0.50 per pack), pretty cheap so far.
2) Took the old hard drive screws out,
3) Placed a washer between the Hard Drive and the Metal casing. on all 6 screw locations, used a match to hold the screw up whilst securing each side separately and then removed once the HD is secured in (holes are aligned).
4) Used the Anti-Vibration screws (which is a normal hard drive screw with an added little black Rubber near it's head),
5) So, to re-cap; between the HD and metal casing there is a washer, and between the screw and the metal is another washer, therefore, when the HD vibrates it would be absorbed by the washers before it gets to the metal casing since each screw is insulated from both ends. Also to note that not to tighten the screws very hard, as this would result in killing the washers.
6) Also noticed the SKyHD (the newer models) are a lot cheaper in design, not sure why they cut down on some screws for the motherboard and decided to bend the metal inwards instead, I decided to add some washers there as well,
7) Pushed the Hard Drive casing in and out (to test the forces of nature







) to ensure that no sound comes out of the vibration.
8) Packaged it all up, and now I have a really silent system.

I still think Wester Digital hard drives are the best, and would still use them, in case someone gets put off by the vibration/noise, then please follow the above procedure to enjoy a silent speedy drive.

Kind Regards
Heider


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## RX7-2nr

Good to hear. I think when you first posted this I was not using an SSD. Now that I've got the SSD the occasional crunching of this HDD is not that big a deal.


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## Noobhammer

My old noisy Caviar Black was the reason I ditched mechanical drives all together.
I'm lucky as I happen to not need more than 1tb of storage so 100% ssd based storage is a viable option.

People who are saying that they can't hear the drive over their fans are running their fans at way too high an RPM.


----------



## mk16

was like this for a month
never heard it

also had this for like 10 months
never heard it

anyone that says they can must live in a sound proof room with their volume at 15% max so their hearing is super-human.


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## marc0053

I have both a green and black 2gb version and both produce similar noise


----------



## Noobhammer

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *mk16*
> 
> anyone that says they can must live in a sound proof room with their volume at 15% max so their hearing is super-human.


I'd regard myself as having poor hearing yet it still bugged me.

You live in a night club?


----------

