100GB hard drive, noisy?

[DaveinJapan]

I read on an amazon review that the 100GB hard drives (optional upgrade for the 15" PB) are noisy. Is there any truth to this?

Is this a non-issue with the 80GB?

[Demon Hunter]

They fixed it from what I heard... I have one and it isn't noisy. The Seagate was but they are using Hitachi now, I think.

[NATO]

I have the Seagate 100GB Hard Drive with my Powerbook and the computer is virtually silent. Even under heavy load, you can hardly hear the access noise, and thats in a quiet room. Occasionally you can hear the heads parking, but it's not very loud, and it doesn't happen all that often. Believe me, I am a very picky person, especially when it comes to computer equipment, but I have NO issues with the Seagate drive.

[andrewfee]

The older machines had Seagate drives that made a noise every few minutes that I can only describe as a ball bearing dropping on metal.

The newer ones have a Hitachi drive which seems to run a little bit hotter, and is slightly louder with disk access, but is quieter overall. (I often use the Powerbook at 3/4am when it's silent everywhere; normally you probably won't hear it)

Edit: My topic about the drives:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=116483

[SilentPanda]

The older machines had Seagate drives that made a noise every few minutes that I can only describe as a ball bearing dropping on metal.

I have one of these... :( at least... maybe I do... I sent my PB in for repair because of the trackpad issue and haven't actually noticed the noise since then... maybe they changed HD's out... I'll have to check when I get home!

[andrewfee]

I have one of these... :( at least... maybe I do... I sent my PB in for repair because of the trackpad issue and haven't actually noticed the noise since then... maybe they changed HD's out... I'll have to check when I get home!
Personally it didn't bother me; it ran a bit cooler, and was still very quiet. Great machine regardless imo.

[Sutekidane]

I have the 100gb Seagate drive, and it is queit in operation but noisy when the heads park, which happens more often than I'd like.

[Xenious]

I have the 100gig seagate in my IBM think pad and it is very very quiet (esp compared to the 40gig i had before). I don't hear the heads park or read or write hardly at all. It does get a bit warm though. Very nice drive.

[Demon Hunter]

Okay I looked up my HDD model and it's the Seagate... I hear the noise too, it's like this "kerplunk" sound. I think its cute. :D

[Bern]

I have a BTO PowerBook with a 100GB HDD. The HDD,by Seagate, utilises a technology called "STIR" - Seek To Increase Reliability. a technology built into the drive controller that randomly seeks when the drive is idle in order to keep the drive head from sitting in one place too long (which creates heat that can potentially harm the integrity of the media). This is a patented Seagate technology which helps to protect your HDD from excess heat. This was one of the more notable differences for me between this PowerBook and my previous Rev C model. The amount of heat that rose from the Rev C, for me, was disturbing. However my current PowerBook is considerably cooler by comparison.

The Seagate 5400rpm HDD also uses less power, similar to a 4200rpm drive. On my PowerBook I get about 4.5 hours battery life.

STIR is the sound you are hearing and nothing to worry about. I actually only hear it when I'm on the internet reading through long articles.

[Demon Hunter]

I have a BTO PowerBook with a 100GB HDD. The HDD,by Seagate, utilises a technology called "STIR" - Seek To Increase Reliability. a technology built into the drive controller that randomly seeks when the drive is idle in order to keep the drive head from sitting in one place too long (which creates heat that can potentially harm the integrity of the media). This is a patented Seagate technology which helps to protect your HDD from excess heat. This was one of the more notable differences for me between this PowerBook and my previous Rev C model. The amount of heat that rose from the Rev C, for me, was disturbing. However my current PowerBook is considerably cooler by comparison.

The Seagate 5400rpm HDD also uses less power, similar to a 4200rpm drive. On my PowerBook I get about 4.5 hours battery life.

STIR is the sound you are hearing and nothing to worry about. I actually only hear it when I'm on the internet reading through long articles.

Very cool... I suspected it was something like this, but I wasn't sure. Thanks for the info.

[fitinferno]

[The HD] is...noisy when the heads park, which happens more often than I'd like.

Hehehe, that's exactly what I think of when mine does that! It's a huge 100gb in a 12" pb, so I don't mind if it's a bit noisy...but generally, it's pretty quiet.