21"/27" iMac owners what HDD do you have?

[i7QuadCoreMania]

I received my 27" i7/4gb/1TB last Friday

I would have perferred a WD Black drive but mine seems to have a Seagate Baracuda 7200.12 (I think)

The system profiler says I have:
ST31000528ASQ

my last iMac an early 2009 24" had a Hitachi.

I am looking to eventually replace the HDD with a faster one. I have a WD Velociraptor 300gb I removed from my 24" when I sold it, and running a Intel X25-M G2 in my Dell Mini 10v.

 

[OddHead]

UP, maybe this will be useful to know some more about the noise problem

 

[Sir Cecil]

Can any i5 owners with Seagate drive tell us that their drive does not exhibit higher-than-normal "chugging" sounds?
My drive is the noisiest I've ever heard on any Mac, not in terms of clicking, but by way of low-pitched, rumbling and grumbling sounds.
It would be nice to know that this is not apparent on the whole production run, but I suspect it is so widespread that changing the machine will bring no relief.
Please let us know if you've been luckier.

 

[jddar]

Can any i5 owners with Seagate drive tell us that their drive does not exhibit higher-than-normal "chugging" sounds?
My drive is the noisiest I've ever heard on any Mac, not in terms of clicking, but by way of low-pitched, rumbling and grumbling sounds.
It would be nice to know that this is not apparent on the whole production run, but I suspect it is so widespread that changing the machine will bring no relief.
Please let us know if you've been luckier.

My machine is virtually silent. I've had no "chugging" sounds. In fact, I've never had a computer this quiet. My previous computer was a Pentium 4 with a irritatingly noisy hard drive. This i5 really, really amazes me how very quiet it is--fans, hard drive, etc. I've said it in other posts, I absolutely love this computer.

 

[Alan64]

Mine's a WD. No noise (the only thing I hear are low fans, and the DVD drive when a disc goes in).

 

[Sir Cecil]

My machine is virtually silent. I've had no "chugging" sounds. In fact, I've never had a computer this quiet. My previous computer was a Pentium 4 with a irritatingly noisy hard drive. This i5 really, really amazes me how very quiet it is--fans, hard drive, etc. I've said it in other posts, I absolutely love this computer.

Is that the Seagate drive, or the WD (as in Alan's post)? We understand the WD is quieter – we're hoping there are some quiet Seagates out there too.

 

[jddar]

Is that the Seagate drive, or the WD (as in Alan's post)? We understand the WD is quieter – we're hoping there are some quiet Seagates out there too.

Like the original poster, System Profiler states my model number as ST31000528ASQ. Newegg has a hard drive listed with almost the identical model number: Seagate Barracuda 7200.12 ST31000528AS 1TB 7200 RPM 32MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 3.5" Internal Hard Drive -Bare Drive. The only difference between Newegg's and mine is the letter "Q" at the end of my model number. Are the two different? I don't know but probably not. Anyone know?
Link: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16822148433

 

[OddHead]

Mine's a WD. No noise (the only thing I hear are low fans, and the DVD drive when a disc goes in).

What a luck. But which iMac are you using, 21.5" or 27" one? And if it is the 27" model, Duo or Quad?

 

[Alan64]

What a luck. But which iMac are you using, 21.5" or 27" one? And if it is the 27" model, Duo or Quad?

27" i5 quad core, purchased the first day they came into my local Apple Store in California.

 

[Buzz Bumble]

I am looking to eventually replace the HDD with a faster one. I have a WD Velociraptor 300gb I removed from my 24" when I sold it, and running a Intel X25-M G2 in my Dell Mini 10v.

In the AppleInsider review of the 27" iMacs, they reported that the computers have temperature sensors in the hard drives and the two makes have different sensor mechanisms, so you can't just replace one drive with any old hard drive. You have to replace them with the same make of drive (i.e. replace a WD drive with a WD drive) so that it has the same temerapture sensor and doesn't cause problems with the fans.

 

[MT0227]

Can any i5 owners with Seagate drive tell us that their drive does not exhibit higher-than-normal "chugging" sounds?
My drive is the noisiest I've ever heard on any Mac, not in terms of clicking, but by way of low-pitched, rumbling and grumbling sounds.
It would be nice to know that this is not apparent on the whole production run, but I suspect it is so widespread that changing the machine will bring no relief.
Please let us know if you've been luckier.

I have the ST31000528ASQ - My i5 is virtually silent, I'll hear the HD (low pitched thumps) when launching an app like Premiere, need to have my ear close to the machine for it to be noticeable under normal operating conditions. What I mean by the latter is not in a silent, sound proof room. I concur with another poster, this could be the quietest machine I've ever operated.

 

[pinthea]

For what it's worth, I had an i5 with a 1TB Seagate -- it was very quiet but I could hear the drive's seeking and read/write noises. Others have reported that their drive is hella noisy and that it never is quiet; mine was only audible when it was doing something which was only when i was using it, it didn't act like it had a mind of its own or anything... And I woudl consider the noises reasonable and expected. But I returned it for other reasons.