Quiet Please!

June 8, 2009 2:32 PM

MacFilter: Help me choose a quiet internal hard drive?

I have an iMac (24-inch Early 2008) and would like to upgrade the internal hard drive to something a little quieter.

I currently have a 500GB hard drive of which I have only used 50GB of space so really I only need a hard drive with capacity of 100GB's or more.

Can someone please reccomend which hard drive I should purchase I'd rather not spend over £100 but all suggestions are welcome.

posted by nam3d to computers & internet (8 comments total)

I have two of these 500gigs in my desktop and theyre very quiet. Im not sure what garbage apple bundled with your desktop, but generally modern hard drives are pretty quiet.
posted by damn dirty ape at 2:38 PM on June 8

http://www.silentpcreview.com/ will have the answers you seek.
posted by pharm at 2:49 PM on June 8 [1 favorite]

Mr. Ape is correct in that modern hard drives are pretty darn quiet. In general, slower spindle speeds and fluid bearings are things to look for but nothing I've bought in the last 2 years has really made any noise. I'd suggest buying from some place like Newegg that has a decent return policy.
posted by chairface at 2:56 PM on June 8

Are you sure that your noise problem is the fault of the hard drive, and not inherent in the iMac itself? A computer's case can amplify hard drive noise significantly.
posted by espire at 4:08 PM on June 8

I've found Samsung's line extremely quiet.
posted by rodgerd at 4:15 PM on June 8 [1 favorite]

Can you describe the noise?

As has already been mentioned, modern drives are generally quite quiet. It's entirely possible that your drive is failing. I'd back up your data and take your computer to an Apple store (or other repair center) to have it checked out. If it's under warranty, you may end up with a newer, quieter drive at no cost.
posted by aladfar at 4:29 PM on June 8

The hard drive in the aluminum iMacs is a pain to upgrade. The glass screen is held in place by magnets behind the screen, requiring a suction cup device to remove. Once removed, you still have the metal bezel and the LCD. Both the LCD and glass panel are very prone to smudging and collecting airborne particles. Only then are you going to be able to replace the hard drive, CAREFULLY avoiding the unshielded power supply.

Before undertaking this task, I'd make sure your drive needs to be replaced. As mentioned above by that damn dirty ape (damn you all to hell!) most modern 3.5" drives are pretty quiet. If your iMac is making excessive noise, it's possible that there's a fan or something else to consider. Aladfar has a good idea with letting a pro take a look at it.
posted by now i'm piste at 5:35 PM on June 8

There's a thread on replacing the drive in an iMac with a Solid State Drive here - this is certainly an option, and it would be A) Quiet, B) improve performance, and C) not be an issue with only 50 GB of data. Just make sure you get one with room to grow... the 120 in my MacBook Pro is getting full.
posted by GJSchaller at 12:48 PM on June 9