Black Macbook + 750gb WD Scorpio Black = Vibration?

[synth3tic]

I just replaced the old 250gb HDD in my Penryn Blackbook for a 750gb WD Scorpio Black. I am loving the capacity and speed, but it seems like there is a bit of vibration going on underneath the palm rest, which resonates out to the whole top of the case. It basically feels like the SuperDrive is loaded up and spinning.. I've tried reseating the HDD, re-tightening the torx screws, and reseating the L bracket, and the issue is still there. Is there any way to damp the vibrations?

Sorry if this topic has been brought up over and over again- I've searched around a bit, and can't seem to find a definitive answer. I found some were saying that there was a large amount of vibration, while others found their drive to be completely silent/still. I realize that it really comes down to user tolerance, and I guess I have a pretty low tolerance for this, but I was just wondering if I should expect this kind of vibration coming from a 7200rpm drive?

If anybody has previous experience with these drives, is this normal? Does this vibration stem from the design of the laptop? Or did I get a defective unit? I've never replaced a HDD on a laptop before, so coming from the dead silent and still stock HDD, this is quite surprising for me.

Thanks.

 

[DSPalpatine]

For what it's worth, I installed a Scorpio Blue 320 GB drive in my Macbook, and for the first few months, the thing vibrated like a 1977 Volkswagen Rabbit diesel with 150k on the odometer. I adjusted the torx screws, reseated the drive, and nothing helped. Finally, after a few months, the thing quieted down and the vibration stopped. Your mileage may vary...

 

[LED]

A long time ago, I put a 320 GB Scorpio Black in my Black MacBook. It vibrated the palmrest enough to annoy me. I returned the drive and got a scorpio blue (5400 rpm) which did not vibrate.

 

[Bokehlicious]

I would return it and get another one. I originally had a 320gb Scorpio Black that vibrated in my unibody Macbook. I thought nothing of it and it died about a year later. I talked to WD to get it replaced since it had a 5yr warranty and they said the hd should not vibrate much more than the 5400rpm version as vibration puts extra wear on the drive. I just got a 750gb scorpio black too... and this one is vibration free.

 

[alust2013]

Like the above post, I'd talk to WD about it. It shouldn't vibrate nearly as much as you're describing. My 320GB black vibrates just a little bit, but not much more than the stock drive.

 

[Vantage Point]

I have the same 750Gb drive as you and mine does vibrate but not so much that it is annoying especially since mine is totally silent. My 320Gb Hitachi stock drive had zero vibrations. I know it is not the way I mounted it since it vibrated strongly in the Newertech Voyager dock I used to clone it while the stock drive in the same dock was near silent. Reviews on Amazon vary from totally silent and zero vibrations to loud clicks or plenty of vibration. I concluded that the problems may lie both in the drive itself, some better than others, and the type of Mac there are installed in. I read one thread where one guy tried several brands of 7200 rpm drive and all had vibrations - in that case it was a 13" MBP but not 15 or 17" ones.

So what I am saying is some vibration is expected but a lot is irritating and it may be the drive or your MB. My guess is your drive is a bit out of spec and if it bothers you try to exchange it. If that doesn't work then you may have to get a 5400rpm 750gb drive.

 

[dmk1974]

Here's a few drives that I had tested in my 2010 MacBook Pro. I'd imagine that the same relative vibration would apply to the BlackBook. The Hitachi 7K500 is actually currently in my daughter's 2008 white MacBook and exhibits no vibration.

0=no vibration, 10=terrible vibration.


Stock 5400 RPM 250 GB HDD: 0/10
WD 7200 RPM 500 GB HDD (Scorpio Black): 10/10
WD 7200 RPM 320GB HDD (Scorpio Black): 2/10
Hitachi 7200 RPM 500 GB HDD (7K500): 0/10

 

[Vantage Point]

Yeah, Hitachi has the best reputation of little or no vibrations. They announced a travelstar 7k750 (750GB @ 7200rpm) last october stating delivery the first quarter but it never happened. Perhaps because WD bought them out. I waited several months for the Hitachi but gave up and bought the WD - better vibration reviews than the similarly speced Seagate.

 

[synth3tic]

Thanks for the replies.

While installing Windows via Bootcamp last night, I noticed that the hard drive's vibration definitely surpasses that of the SuperDrive during use. I think I will contact WD when I have some time and see if we can go about replacing this drive...

 

[synth3tic]

Well, just to finish this post up..

I ended up getting a replacement from WD. The replacement 750gb HDD vibrated significantly less, but it was still very noticeable. Perhaps the larger size of the 750gb Scorpio Black sat too snug in the hard drive bay, thus creating vibrations? Regardless... I decided to order a smaller, 500gb Scorpio Blue (5400rpm), and I am currently in the process of restoring all of my data. So far, there is no vibration, and is pretty quiet.