Got a tip for us?
Let us know
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.
Resolved Make MacBook Pro hard drive quieter?
- Thread starter poiihy
- Start date
- Sort by reaction score
The obvious way is to replace it with a SSD. Padding it with foam will cause heat issues. A 7200 drive is usually hotter so blocking the escape of that heat is a bad idea. Is the drive properly mounted with the factory isolaters?
Yes it is mounted the way it is supposed to be.
I don't need complete silence, just muffle the noise a bit. The hard disk drive overrules the fans...
How much quieter would a 5400rpm drive be, versus speed? I have a 5400rpm 500gb Samsung drive with same capacity as this Seagate Momentus I could swap.
P.S. Stop with all the "get and SSD" crap, that is all I hear over and over again. It's getting annoying. SSDs are too expensive and I need the capacity.
Drive noise varies by drive model and some are just noisier than others. Hard to know without performing tests on each model.
SSD prices have been coming down. A 500gb Samsung 850 Evo is less than $240 from Amazon.
Even if a "quiet pad" to mount the drive internally was available, there's just not a lot of space inside the MBPro, which would seriously limit what you can do with that kind of solution, even if you could ignore heat (please don't ignore the heat!)
You COULD remove the hard drive, put it in an external case. The drive will still be noisy, and you might come up with a padded box of some kind to keep the drive in/external fan forcing air to keep the box and drive cool. Makes it a little less portable, I think, but it's a possible solution....
Change out to another drive, maybe another brand. Some drives, even the same brand and model, can be quieter (or noisier). You may get lucky and find one that fits your need for (less) noise...
In my somewhat-limited experience - simply replacing the hard drive with a new model (regardless of brand and model) may give you noticeably less noise. Like I say, sometimes you can be lucky.
And, finally, if you do get tired of the incessant noise of a spinner, you know what you can use to replace it with silence.
SSDs do continue to go down in price. You can find decent Crucials, 512 GB, for under $200 now.
I did find an article testing a variety of mostly current hard drives
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article29-page2.html
That listing points to W-D Scorpio Blue at the top of the noise list (quietest, at least in that report)
You COULD remove the hard drive, put it in an external case. The drive will still be noisy, and you might come up with a padded box of some kind to keep the drive in/external fan forcing air to keep the box and drive cool. Makes it a little less portable, I think, but it's a possible solution....
Change out to another drive, maybe another brand. Some drives, even the same brand and model, can be quieter (or noisier). You may get lucky and find one that fits your need for (less) noise...
In my somewhat-limited experience - simply replacing the hard drive with a new model (regardless of brand and model) may give you noticeably less noise. Like I say, sometimes you can be lucky.
And, finally, if you do get tired of the incessant noise of a spinner, you know what you can use to replace it with silence.
SSDs do continue to go down in price. You can find decent Crucials, 512 GB, for under $200 now.
I did find an article testing a variety of mostly current hard drives
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article29-page2.html
That listing points to W-D Scorpio Blue at the top of the noise list (quietest, at least in that report)
If your harddrive makes more noise than your fans than I would promptly back it up and find a replacement! Sounds like (excuse the pun) that it is on its way out.
No it is fine. It's a 7200rpm drive; they are often louder than the fans (when at base speed).
Your call but I can't recall any 2.5" harddrive (not matter if 5400 or 7200) that loud. But sometimes it can also be the exact frequency that is annoying, in which case changing brands can help.
Yours probably doesnt sound as loud because you are in a noisier environment (like with a fan or furnace or air conditioner).
Well in that case I'll be getting no answers as getting an SSD is out of the question.
The other answer will be to muff your ears.
I bet the OP would be thinking this:
Attachments
Your choice
That is of course your choice but that is the best answer anyone here can give you they are silent and ridiculously faster, to the point that it is a wonder that anyone uses spinning hard drives at all anymore.
$200 for 500GB is very reasonable. They last longer, are more stable less prone to breaking and are superior in every way but you stick to your guns and have a loud, annoying, slow HDD.
That is of course your choice but that is the best answer anyone here can give you they are silent and ridiculously faster, to the point that it is a wonder that anyone uses spinning hard drives at all anymore.
$200 for 500GB is very reasonable. They last longer, are more stable less prone to breaking and are superior in every way but you stick to your guns and have a loud, annoying, slow HDD.
Ugh I KNOW ALL THAT already, FORGET THE SSDS!
Is there nothing that can be done at all?
What makes the noise of the hard drive? Is it the platters dragging air with it and making a whoosh, or is it the motor bearings?
I'm surprised none has suggested this yet, but perhaps you could benefit from replacing it with a SSD?
lol =D jkjk...I couldn't resist I'm sorry.
I don't think there are any other options for you though, especially in a laptop. Maybe swapping in that 5400 rpm drive for a bit less noise at the cost of speed.
lol =D jkjk...I couldn't resist I'm sorry.
I don't think there are any other options for you though, especially in a laptop. Maybe swapping in that 5400 rpm drive for a bit less noise at the cost of speed.
It could very well be the hard drive starting to die. I have a 2011 MBP and I rarely hear the hard drive, when I do it's faint. If you end up replacing it, then you know what to upgrade to.
A stock Apple Hd 5400 rpm drive doesn't hardly make any noise at all.
Is the 7200 rpm drive stock or did you upgrade? If it is stock, has it always made constant, loud noise? If so, have you ever taken it to Apple to get checked? If it isn't stock, does the HD have any warranty left?
Is the 7200 rpm drive stock or did you upgrade? If it is stock, has it always made constant, loud noise? If so, have you ever taken it to Apple to get checked? If it isn't stock, does the HD have any warranty left?
It's a combination of the motor spinning the platters and the mechanism that makes the heads move across the platters.
Quick Google search turned up this video...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rREkzeoJz1s
I mean just the whoosh sound, not including the actuator movement. I think it is the friction with the air.
Are you really trying say that you think you can hear the movement of air inside the hard drive?
If the noise (whatever it is) annoys you, then change out the hard drive to something else.
Experiment with a different hard drive.
5400 RPM will likely be quieter, but doesn't necessarily rule out a different 7200 RPM.
And, finally (again), if you want that noise gone - you know the other choice, mentioned multiple times (because it's a good choice
)And - life is tough if you get your quiet hard drive, and discover it has been fan noise the whole time