Make a hard drive quieter?

[Seminole]

I want my new rig to be really quiet, but I'm not going to fully switch to SSDs. I was wondering if you could maybe put something on a part of a hard drive to make the spinning sound quieter?

[Hackentosher]

3 minutes ago, Seminole said:

I want my new rig to be really quiet, but I'm not going to fully switch to SSDs. I was wondering if you could maybe put something on a part of a hard drive to make the spinning sound quieter?

You could potentially wrap it in softcell foam, but I would be a bit worried about it overheating. The best thing to do is just put it in a drive cage that is insulated with rubber grommets/o-rings.

[Seminole]

8 minutes ago, Hackentosher said:

You could potentially wrap it in softcell foam, but I would be a bit worried about it overheating. The best thing to do is just put it in a drive cage that is insulated with rubber grommets/o-rings.

Do you know if they sell those? Like to squeeze into a 5.25" bay? I've been trying to find something like that but just can't

[Hackentosher]

1 minute ago, Seminole said:

Do you know if they sell those? Like to squeeze into a 5.25" bay? I've been trying to find something like that but just can't

I know Kyle at AwesomeSauceNetwork had one in his old computer.

[Naeaes]

2 minutes ago, Seminole said:

Do you know if they sell those? Like to squeeze into a 5.25" bay? I've been trying to find something like that but just can't

Scythe Himuro is among the best ones I've witnessed.

[mikat]

https://www.arctic.ac/eu_en/arctic-hc01-tc.html

maybe?

[Captain_WD]

3 hours ago, Seminole said:

~snip~

Hey there

 

My two cents on this:
If your storage drive is making excessive noises this may be an indication that it has problems. I would first try moving it around the case and make sure it is well seated in its place and no screws are loose. I'd try it with other cables on other ports and see if the results are the same. Often moving the drive around or fixing it properly in its place fixes noise issues. 

 

If that doesn't help I'd check the drive's health and make sure it is safe to store your data. A good S.M.A.R.T. check with a tool from the manufacturer should give you this answer. What's the drive's brand and model? WD Data Lifeguard Diagnostic tool is the recommended one for WD drives.

 

Try the drive on other computers too and see if the sounds persist and it's not your case that is resonating with the drive, thus causing the noises.

 

Captain_WD.

[BrightCandle]

There are three types of noise that come from hard drives and whether you can deal with them really depends on which it is:

 

1) Vibration noise that is transferred into the case. This you can solve by using rubber gromets where the drive connects or suspending it in rubber connectors. Basically you isolate it from the case some how so the vibration isn't to metal. A lot of quality cases come with these types of connections already and in other cases you may find it difficult to do.

 

2) Head movement noise - Clicking when you use the drive. Not a lot you can do about this, its inherent to the design and they all make an amount of head noise although it varies enormously from model to model in my experience.

 

3) Spinning noise - This is the constant whine/hum of a drive with the platter spinning. Not all drives make this but some do. There isn't a thing you can do about this type of noise.

 

So basically you can solve the vibration related issue (which you can test by just removing the drive and holding it in your hand) but not the other sources. Wrapping drives in cooling/sound proofing can work but when you start adding up the cost it might not be worth it compared to the substantial other benefits of an SSD, they are quiet and dont rely on spinning rust!

 

 

[Ali777]

You can try the Suspensions method 

http://www.silentpcreview.com/article8-page2.html

 

This is how I did it