HD reading/writing noise

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Mack · #1 Post by **Mack** » Thu Mar 31, 2005 3:18 pm

Hi, today I received an IBM X24 in perfect conditions. This is also my first laptop ever, so my experience with laptops are very limited.

However, the first thing to notice with this laptop is the harddrive... I can hear it VERY loud and clear when it is writing/reading. Is it supposed to be like that on a laptop harddisc? The hd is a Hitachi travelstar 30 Gb.

Also... sometimes it happens that a continous background "crunch" is appearing as a separate noise together with the usual writing/reading noise. This strange crunch noise doesnt sound natural at all...

One more thing I forgot to add regarding the hd... I hear "clicks" very often too. These clicks are as loud as the writing/reading noise. Maybe that can help someone telling if its normal or not...

This system would be quiet and very nice, if it wasnt for this harddrive...

Nebelfelsen · #2 Post by **Nebelfelsen** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 3:59 am

You can make a "drive fitness test" (sofware is for download at IBM or at Hitachi).
There is also software available to configure the accoustic management of the software (but the one I know is in German language):
http://www.heise.de/ct/ftp/projekte/ata ... naam22.zip

After starting the program, you click on the button "weiter" (which means "continue").
A Box with 3 buttons is displayed then:
"beibehalten" - don't change anything
"laut" - set harddisk to "loud" (faster)
"leise" - set harddisk to "silent" (slower)
Above these 3 buttons you see a message informing you if the accoustic management is alreade active or not (inactive).

#3 Post by **daeojkim** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 10:08 am

It is likely that the HD is one of those older version of travelstar w/ 2MB cache. They are noisy with kri-k kri-k sound. This is normal.
The newer HDs are far more silent, like the 5400 rpm 40GB HD in my T42 is dead silent compared to the one in A31p, which makes kri-k kri-k noise.

Mack · #4 Post by **Mack** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 12:28 pm

Thanks for your replies guys.

I did the drive fitness test, and the hd passed it. Will try the program you linked to, Nebel.

I checked the Everest info about the hd, and it says it´s a Hitachi Travelstar 30 Gb, IC25N030ATCS04-0, 2 Mb Cache, 4200 rpm.

Anyways, I think it sounds horrible, is very slow, and I will replace it with a new 5400 or 7200 rpm drive. Not sure which one though. I really want it to be quiet and nice, and no high pitched idling noise.

stgreek · #5 Post by **stgreek** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 1:19 pm

Mack wrote:Thanks for your replies guys. I did the drive fitness test, and the hd passed it. Will try the program you linked to, Nebel.

I checked the Everest info about the hd, and it says it´s a Hitachi Travelstar 30 Gb, IC25N030ATCS04-0, 2 Mb Cache, 4200 rpm.

Anyways, I think it sounds horrible, is very slow, and I will replace it with a new 5400 or 7200 rpm drive. Not sure which one though. I really want it to be quiet and nice, and no high pitched idling noise.

Unless you want the extra space of the 5k80 80gb drive, it is the general concensus of this forum to go with the 60gb 7k60 drive. Everyone that has tried it (myself included) has never looked back. Especially with a bit older PCs (like the X24) it will be the best hardware upgrade you can make.

Stavros

#6 Post by **daeojkim** » Tue Apr 05, 2005 4:33 pm

If you replace the HD with 7k60, which I hear that it is very quiet, it will be likely that your fan noise will be noisier than the HD noise if there is any.

Mack · #7 Post by **Mack** » Wed Apr 06, 2005 3:34 pm

It's a tough choice between the Hitachi 7k60 60 Gb and 5k100 40 Gb. But I have almost decided to go for the 5k100. Space is not so important, and since the 5k100 is a newer model, I feel it's a good choice. The 7k60 is also almost twice as expensive as the 5k100...

I have searched on the forum for the 5k100, but if there is anyone here who owns it, please tell me if you are satisfied with it or not.

Thanks.

Mack · #8 Post by **Mack** » Sat Apr 09, 2005 6:51 pm

I was so close to buy a hitachi when I stumbled across the forums at silentpcreview. Basically, gathered from that site:

Hitachi: seems silent, but always has the "clicking" noise. Provides 7200 rpm in the 7k60, but users don't report this drive as silent, specifically in idle mode.

Fujitsu: more or less always reported silent, no clicking. A little less performance.

Samsung: reported very silent, no clicking.

Western Digital: surprisingly and possibly reported as the most quiet hd, although some clicking reported, it is still unsure.

Since this is a thinkpad forum, and most thinkpads comes with hitachi, i guess I understand the dominated talk about hitachi hd's here. But the guys at silentpcreview are specialized on silent pc's, so I find the opinions on their forums very interesting. Here on thinkpad forum I have read many posts about people considering their 7k60 silent. And if this drive is silent, then I think a safe choice for supersilent would be a fujitsu.

GpsPasSion · #9 Post by **GpsPasSion** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 5:10 pm

How about the Seagate Momentus 5400 with 100Gb ?

I'll be in NYC next week any good place to pick one up locally ?

heyzeus123 · #10 Post by **heyzeus123** » Fri Apr 15, 2005 10:33 pm

Get the 5K100, you won't regret it. I have both the 40gb 5K100 and the 40gb E7K60 and here's my impression.

5K100 - quiet and fast

E7K60 - faster, but hotter. more vibration, and noisier at idle. you will FEEL the heat though the palmrest

Hope this helps,
Michael

selvan777 · #11 Post by **selvan777** » Sat Apr 16, 2005 2:39 am

I think it's just an adjustment.

Most users of desktops have the tower resting on the floor or somewhere out of the way and a fair distance from ears. Keeping in mind too the HD is housed in a fairly big enclosure which also helps muffle the sounds.

GpsPasSion · #12 Post by **GpsPasSion** » Sat Apr 16, 2005 4:29 am

Yes I had a 7K60 temporarily and didn't like its "buzz" !
I was going to get a 5K100 but in light of the limited availability so far had started looking at the Momentus 100Gb, it seems to be a good choice from another thread, but I don't think anyone's been able to compare it to a 5K100 yet.

Mack · #13 Post by **Mack** » Sat Apr 16, 2005 7:50 am

I have read some negative reports when it comes to the 5400 rpm Seagate. It doesn't seem so silent. The 5k100 seems out of stock on most places...

JHEM · #14 Post by **JHEM** » Sat Apr 16, 2005 8:22 am

heyzeus123 wrote:E7K60 - faster, but hotter. more vibration, and noisier at idle. you will FEEL the heat though the palmrest

The E7K60 is a BLADE drive and not intended for laptop use.

Get a 7K60, they're quiet, fast and no hotter than any similar HD. I've got 14 of them in personal and family systems, and almost 50 of them in client machines, and they're universally acclaimed.

There's one in the T41p I'm typing this on and yes, the right palmrest is warmer than the left, but there's nothing in the PC card slots on the left and the difference in temperature is only noticeable, not uncomfortable.

Nor can I hear the drive at all!

You cannot compare the E7K60 and the 7K60 HDs, they're different beasts.

Regards,

James

heyzeus123 · #15 Post by **heyzeus123** » Wed Apr 20, 2005 2:19 am

Here's an old posting comparing the E7K60 and the 7K60.

http://www.tabletpcbuzz.com/forum/topic ... hichpage=3

NOTE: There are 5 pages to this posting. Use the dropdown menu on the table header or the 'next' or 'previous' links to get to the other pages.

The upshot of the posting is that the 7200rpm drive are noisier and have more vibration than the 5400rpm drives. Whether you notice the extra noise or vibration depends on the laptop and the user.

HD reading/writing noise

HD reading/writing noise

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