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MacBook Pro 7200 Drive Vibration (late 2008)

I

iPhoneyboy

macrumors member
Original poster
Jul 19, 2007
59
0
So how common is the vibration from your 7200 rpm drive? I just got my new MBP 2.8 with the 320GB/7200 rpm drive, and it vibrates the unibody all the time. I am wondering if I made a mistake by going with the faster drive. I am not sure the speed gain is worth it, if the trade off is vibration.

I have taken off the cover and can feel the vibration is coming from the drive (which has a little slight play to the mount). This not an electrical ground issue, but a mechanical vibration. Even though slight, it's somewhat annoying and it can be felt on the track pad as well.

So does everybody with a 7200 rpm drive feel the same physical vibration I am talking about?
 
I bought a seagate 320 7200rpm dive for my MBP and after I put it in I did not like the vibration either. So I took it out and put back in my 5400rpm drive. I think I might pick up a ssd drive.
 
i bought a hitachi drive 320gb 7200rpm and replaced it w/ my stock 250gb.
and Yes, i there was a significant amount of more vibration compared to the stock 5400rpm drive.

according to xbench, the difference was minimal and in bootimes/programs loadup, i really didn't notice it.. ie. it wasnt a night/day difference. it probably made everything 1 sec faster.. lol

well i actually sold my drive back up on ebay and now im back on my 250gb
its up to you whether you want to keep the 7200 or not

again:
the 7200rpm drive has way more AND noticably more vibration compared to the 5400

oh and to help you out

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/596522/

there was barely any performance gain according to xbench
..i know xbench is a limited and crappy benchmark tester but still
if the 7200 should be way greater and better than the 5400
xbench should still be able to pick it up
 
I installed a Western Digital 320 GB 7200 RPM drive in my aluminum MBP (2.4 GHz). It is silent and there is no vibration. Performance is definitely better, but I do a lot of photo editting.
 
Thanks for all the feedback. I'm coming to the conclusion that more vibration is going to be the trade off from most higher rpm drives. Either I am getting use to it, or just love the machine so much it's not a big deal. Besides, bigger, faster, newer technology drives will be right around the corner (ssd's improving and coming down in price). Plus the drive is so easy to swap out. So thanks for help! My new Glassbook Pro... I'm lovin it!
 
I installed...and then took back out a Seagate momentus 7200.3 320 GB drive because the vibration was annoying. Seems a fairly common problem accross a number of drive types.
 
i just called applecare and i had some clicking noise and vibes so they said that wasnt normal and sent me a new hdd :) 7200rpm too
 
SchneiderMan said:
i just called applecare and i had some clicking noise and vibes so they said that wasnt normal and sent me a new hdd :) 7200rpm too
Click to expand...

I don't have any clicking noise, but Applecare did call me back and say they checked with engineers and that vibration from the 7200 drives is normal. So I would be very interested in hearing your assessment of how the replacement drive feels. Please keep us updated. Thanks!
 
I had installed a WD Black Scorpio 7200 RPM drive in my mbp and I never had any vibration. Might I suggest you buy one of those? It was not very expensive and made a world of difference in gaming.
 
i also have the scorpio black with no issues. It's pretty quite, with no vibrations. But i've heard different things from other users.
 
Palm Protector

Just got off the phone with Apple support, great call. The consensus is that the 7200 drive is a vibration creator. One remedy is the Marware protector pads for the palm rest, it should absorb some of the vibrations bring it down to a tolerable level.

Will post back if it works out, ordering it today.
 
scorpio vibrations noise

joystik said:
i also have the scorpio black with no issues. It's pretty quite, with no vibrations. But i've heard different things from other users.
Click to expand...


hi joystick, hi all
my scorpio prodices a loud noise due to vibrations (I Think).
It is a particular operation to do during hardware installation?
I have followed this guide http://www.faqintosh.com/risorse/en/guides/hw/mbpro/mbphd/

How I can reduce my HD vibrations?
Please help me...
 
i guess some people are just lucky when it comes to vibs. i installed the 500GB seagate into my uni 15" and no vibration at all. can't even tell it's running.
 
Even my 5400 RPM 500GB Western Digital drive vibrates my unibody's palmrest, unlike the stock drive. Irritating, but not enough for me to send it back for another.
 
scottuf said:
i guess some people are just lucky when it comes to vibs. i installed the 500GB seagate into my uni 15" and no vibration at all. can't even tell it's running.
Click to expand...

same here mine is working great. i think most people with ones that work don't care to post or look it up.
 
little vibration here. SImilar to the feeling if you dont use the ground wire on the MBP, and run your fingers on it.

Tingly!
 
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