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Do all 7200rpm drives cause a 15" Unibody to 'vibrate' unsually still?

A

ajdb9

macrumors member
Original poster
Oct 19, 2008
73
2
Hi
The vibrations caused by 7200rpm drives appeared (thanks to my MRoogling!) to be a reasonably common problem 1-2 years ago with the unibodies.
I am starting this thread to ask for current information, as I was planning on purchasing this Seagate drive to put straight in the Macbook Pro 15" I am about to order.
A few specific questions I guess:
1. Is this still a problem for 2011 15" uMBPs?
2. If so, is it still a problem with all 7200rpm drives, and therefore Apple's BTO 7200rpm drive just the same as a user-installed one?
3. Also, if so, is Seagate any worse than any other brand of 7200rpm for this? It seemed to me like more posts (1-2 years old) related to Seagate than any other, but I don't know.
Thanks so much
Alexander
 
I recently bought a 15" MacBook Pro BTO which turned out to have a very loud 7200rpm HDD, it was an abnormal sound though as it was like a very loud clicking, as if it was spinning but catching on something from the inside. This was promptly exchanged for a new one which I got last week, and no it's as quiet as a whistle.
 
I have the new BTO 7200. It doesn't make a peep or yield the slightest vibration that I have ever noticed. The only thing that I can ever feel or hear is the fans.
 
My 2011 came with a BTO 7200 RPM drive and is quieter than the 5400RPM drive that came in my Late 08 model.
 
I've got a Hitachi 7200 RPM in an optibay and I get no vibrations from that and it's pretty damn quiet even when it's on, since I use an SSD as my main boot drive.
 
My 15" 2011 MBP has a Hitachi 500GB 7200RPM drive and it's.. barely noticeable. Hell the fans make more noise.

I think the WD Scorpio Blacks might be quieter :D
 
I have a scorpio black in my late 08 mbp and I cannot feel any vibrations or hear any noise whatsoever.
 
I thought I remember reading somewhere that some laptop drives are just a hair too big for the inside of unibody MBP's...I could definitely see this causing vibrations.

You probably want to avoid this by going with a popular, tested model...as mentioned, the WD Scorpio Black series is a popular choice.
 
TxdoHawk said:
I thought I remember reading somewhere that some laptop drives are just a hair too big for the inside of unibody MBP's...I could definitely see this causing vibrations.

You probably want to avoid this by going with a popular, tested model...as mentioned, the WD Scorpio Black series is a popular choice.
Click to expand...

I am pretty sure there are two different sized laptop drives, a 12.5mm and a 9mm. Someone please correct me if I am wrong :)
 
The 7200rpm hitachi apple provides is noisy as hell, but I've only ever used it as an external HDD, although i doubt that a thin layer of aluminium would prevent the sound from coming through.
 
I dropped in a Hitachi 500gig 7200 - no vibration. BTW, I found that my battery life actually got a bit better than the 5400rpm drive.
 
7k500 Hitachi Travelstar 500GB here with zero noise or vibration problems.
You should also read up on the spindown problems some HDDs are having..

[sent from my android]
 
talmy said:
However lots of vibration from mine! I happen to have two of these -- I should try swapping them.
Click to expand...

You definitely should! I think you get some duds here and there when it comes to HDD's and a slight vibration, where the drive might be fine otherwise. I've had mine for a few months now and use my MBP around 10 hours a day and there is honestly no noticeable vibration at all.
 
I've tried every major brand of 7200 RPM drive in a 13", all of them vibrate unacceptably to me. I've not had a vibration problem in a 15" with a 7200 RPM drive.
 
My Hitachi 500gb 7200 is very quiet. I've used it in my 13 & 15 MBP's. Now the Seagate 750gb 7200 I currently have in my 15 MBP vibrates noticeably and is noisy when I use it in the middle of the night.
 
If you get the right one, it shouldn't cause any vibration. Good ones to go with are the apple approved ones. Hitachi, Toshiba and the like.
 
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