# How to silent a 3.5 mechanical hard drive without breaking the bank?



## Aesthethc

use the bungee cord method by supsending it with a bunch of bungee cords ! Can be done with your existing hard drive cage


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## Zap

Quote:


> Originally Posted by *Aesthethc*
> 
> use the bungee cord method by supsending it with a bunch of bungee cords ! Can be done with your existing hard drive cage


This. HDDs these days use fluid bearings so you really won't hear the spinning of the HDD on its own so you don't need to silence that. What you DO need is to keep the HDD from touching the metal of your case, which is what the bungee cord method does. This keeps vibrational noise and seek noise from becoming airborne noise though using your case as essentially a speaker cone.


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## MisterX1969

I have a Zallman HD 160 case for my main rig right now and it has a cage that has rubber grommets and is padded, and its connected to the case through really long standoffs,it seems to isolate the vibration quite well, my rig with 2 hds and 1 CPU fan (zallman performa 10x) its 18Db in total very quiet. you can see the arrangement here. The standoffs are about 1.25"

http://www.pcper.com/reviews/Cases-and-Cooling/Zalman-HD160-HTPC-Enclosure-and-460W-Power-Supply-Review/Interior-Details


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## mr soft

I´ve tried a few mad methods to quieten down HDs









With foam
http://www.overclock.net/t/606295/foam-hd-silencer-costs-nothing-to-make/0_20
With cork
http://www.overclock.net/t/606978/cork-hd-silencer-free-to-make/0_20

While they do lower the case vibrations they don´t quieten the initial spin up and seek/write head activity.
I´m using an aluminium enclosure at the moment and will keep it until I can afford a 1tb SSD.

Not sure where your located but there´s a cheaper one on Amazon.
http://www.amazon.com/Connectland-CL-VEN-525HD-Cooler-Aluminum-5-25-Inch/dp/B0028Y4DJA


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## GetToTheChopaa

90$ for an HDD silencer?!!! A WD Blue 1TB is ~60$ and I can guarantee you will not hear it. I've never heard mine!


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## one80

I use the Nexus Double Twin for mine (4x HDDs). Cuts out the vibration really well, and allows good circulation around the drives also.


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## DaveLT

All I did was mount my HDD on some low density foam meant for shock and noise absorption ... For 1 HDDs this works fine. Don't try on a HDD cage though ... It turned it into HD foam in no time. (HD = high density)


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## MisterX1969

this one claims 95% noise reduction and cooling for $30

*Logisys HS102SL Hard drive silencer box* - Silver (search it) comes in silver and blue - makes a 3.5" take up a whole 5.25" bay though

Was thinking of these for myself as I will soon need to silent 4 HDDS in a new open air system

*SilenX Luxurae HD Silencing Solution* - (search it) only $10 claims 3 to 8 DB reduction IDK really haven't tested either


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## claes

I know it's a little late, but suspension is the way to go:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article8-page2.html
http://www.silentpcreview.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=7&t=19147&start=420


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