No problemo here
I have an Imac 27" i7 with seagate 1TB ST31000528ASQ. Works perfectly, fast and silent, no clicks..
I have an Imac 27" i7 with seagate 1TB ST31000528ASQ. Works perfectly, fast and silent, no clicks..
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Do you own a 27" iMac with Seagate's ST31000528ASQ HD?
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That is so strange. Maybe it's perception. One person's too loud is another person's acceptable noise levels. lol...
I actually sold my iMac i7 w/ the 1TB drive from WDC, as I had an opportunity to make some serious $$, so I took it. The same day, I bought another 27" iMac with the i3-550 3.2GHz, because I didn't feel as though I needed anywhere close to what the i7's power incorporated. It turns out I was right and I do feel that I lucked out! Not only is the screen immaculate (it took me 3 exchanges the first time around), and I also got another WDC 1TB drive. So much for the theory that most i7's came with only WDC drives and more i3's than not didn't.
Oh well...the next iMac is coming up in the next few months with "a new display size (30"?
) and Intel's new Sandy Bridge CPU's.
I actually sold my iMac i7 w/ the 1TB drive from WDC, as I had an opportunity to make some serious $$, so I took it. The same day, I bought another 27" iMac with the i3-550 3.2GHz, because I didn't feel as though I needed anywhere close to what the i7's power incorporated. It turns out I was right and I do feel that I lucked out! Not only is the screen immaculate (it took me 3 exchanges the first time around), and I also got another WDC 1TB drive. So much for the theory that most i7's came with only WDC drives and more i3's than not didn't.
Oh well...the next iMac is coming up in the next few months with "a new display size (30"?
) and Intel's new Sandy Bridge CPU's. Seagate 1TB ST31000528AS frequently stalls
I recently replaced the original 320GB internal drive in my late 2007 2.4GHz 24 inch iMac after it failed with a Seagate 1TB ST31000528AS Barracuda, and am experiencing frequent and very annoying drive stalling for about 30 seconds in any application.
I think it may be related to the problem experienced by Seagate 1.5TB drives a few years ago -- but I'm just guessing. Other than that, the drive is quiet and fast -- when it's working.
Anybody else have this problem?
I recently replaced the original 320GB internal drive in my late 2007 2.4GHz 24 inch iMac after it failed with a Seagate 1TB ST31000528AS Barracuda, and am experiencing frequent and very annoying drive stalling for about 30 seconds in any application.
I think it may be related to the problem experienced by Seagate 1.5TB drives a few years ago -- but I'm just guessing. Other than that, the drive is quiet and fast -- when it's working.
Anybody else have this problem?
Even with headphones on I can hear it. I think the iMac's case acts like a drum, it's a low frequency rumble clump-clump. I have a feeling (hope) that Apple will release firmware to tackle the problem, which evidentially Seagate know about and have issued non-Apple firmware for which apparently we can't use.That is so strange. Maybe it's perception. One person's too loud is another person's acceptable noise levels. lol...
I actually sold my iMac i7 w/ the 1TB drive from WDC, as I had an opportunity to make some serious $$, so I took it. The same day, I bought another 27" iMac with the i3-550 3.2GHz, because I didn't feel as though I needed anywhere close to what the i7's power incorporated. It turns out I was right and I do feel that I lucked out! Not only is the screen immaculate (it took me 3 exchanges the first time around), and I also got another WDC 1TB drive. So much for the theory that most i7's came with only WDC drives and more i3's than not didn't.
Oh well...the next iMac is coming up in the next few months with "a new display size (30"?
I see that we all share the same problem...
I think that we need to start send feedbacks to apple.
I think that we need to start send feedbacks to apple.
I have a two of these exact seagate disks from mid 2009. Been using them pretty heavily for storage and they've had consistent problems for the past 6-8 months. Clicking noise starts and the drive gets extremely slow causing the system to tank.. luckily i've always been able to retrieve data without issue and they then work well for a while, but I now just retired both of them. Was using them recently just for an extra backup location but now they're failing whenever I try to use them.
First to start off, I have a seagate hard drive in my iMac. It was noisy, loud, chugged, it had the stomach grumbling. (This is in a 24" imac too).
I went to apple, told them, and they exchanged it for a new one, no questions asked. I asked specifically for a western digital hard drive, but it was only one part number so they couldn't pick and choose.
I got my iMac back with another seagate hard drive. This is where the story takes a turn for the better. The new hard drive I have is a 500GB seagate hard drive model number ST3500418ASQ so it is a different model number than the title of this thread, but the one I have is completely silent. I can't stress it enough. Under the heaviest loads, it doesn't make any noise at all. It's not my perception of what's loud and quiet either, because it literally is silent in an all silent room too. I guess some people get crappy hard drives, and some people get good ones. Again, don't settle for it if its distracting and loud, it's not suppose to do that so get it exchanged. It's worth it imho
I went to apple, told them, and they exchanged it for a new one, no questions asked. I asked specifically for a western digital hard drive, but it was only one part number so they couldn't pick and choose.
I got my iMac back with another seagate hard drive. This is where the story takes a turn for the better. The new hard drive I have is a 500GB seagate hard drive model number ST3500418ASQ so it is a different model number than the title of this thread, but the one I have is completely silent. I can't stress it enough. Under the heaviest loads, it doesn't make any noise at all. It's not my perception of what's loud and quiet either, because it literally is silent in an all silent room too. I guess some people get crappy hard drives, and some people get good ones. Again, don't settle for it if its distracting and loud, it's not suppose to do that so get it exchanged. It's worth it imho
Re a quoted post from September between an iMac user and a Seagate tech, I would be interested to hear from anyone who has flashed their Seagate drives with the revised Seagate firmware that Seagate issued to fix this apparently known problem for non Mac users of the drive, but who say that Apple use specific firmware which must be used to flash the 'Apple' Seagates. I am definitely not suggesting that anyone try this, just interested to hear from anyone who did. I live a long way from an Apple store and use public transport, also there have been a lot of posts where despairing users have had to take their Macs back home because Apple tech couldn't hear the sound, presumably because they weren't in anything approaching a silent room. My Plan B is to change out the drive for something with a larger capacity which Apple are known to use in that model. If the firmware thing is an issue, though, where would I get firmware for said replacement drive?
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I have just read through a couple of sprawling threads about this hard drive and have winced a lot of the way and felt sympathy. Having been a system builder for many years, here are my thoughts which I hope will help focus people's thoughts and provide some encouragement. If you want to cut straight to suggestions for potentially reducing noise (a small amount) without opening the case and fitting compliant mounts which isn't worth the risk or potentially voiding your warranty for, go to the bottom of this post and avoid my Seagate and Hitachi digressions.
1) As a tech I have fitted a lot of computers with Seagate drives because they are cheap and not universally poor. Some have been noisy but not necessarily unreliable, though I have read bad things about Seagate with some years patchier than others. They weren't as consistent as, say, IBM/Hitachi Desktar but some people have changed out the iMacs Seagate drive for 2GB Hitachis - and found them noisy, too. I have limited experience of 2TB drives but, from the reviews of 2 and 3TB drives I would think they would run quite hot, which though the iMac's cooling is close to genius and evidentially reliable, is not an ideal situation for constant heavy duty video work/rendering. I can see the attraction of SSD drives, though some are surprised to find they are not stone cold. Though I think it best to stick with what Apple are using with their computers (does anyone know if the likes of Apple specialists OWC flash their hard drives with Apple firmware?) my best experiences with regular beige PCs, relatively consistently so, have been with Samsung drives. That's a generalization and doesn't extend across and entire product range and I want to be especially careful what I say about replacing anything in an iMac, which is an obvious but worth stating risk, because I have no direct experience of it; it may not be a good match. If, however, you were purchasing a caddy/enclosure to house a backup drive (I'm not sure if it's still the case but I found that if said enclosure didn't have an Oxford chipset you might not be able to boot from it) you might want to check out the reviews of Samsung drives and see if the noise stats hold true to a widely reported brand generalization.
2) From what I have read your mileage may vary taking the computer back to Apple (as to any dealer). I have read stories of people with Apple Care who have, having read their Seagate's serial number to Apple techs, taken their computer back - three times. Each time, after a disrupted work flow, they have come away with computers just as noisy. It would seem to me there is a problem somewhere down the line but which can't be blamed on store employees or the store's tech department. The problem appears to run deeper and, for whatever reason, it doesn't seem to be being dealt with well. I do wonder about perspective when people criticize Apple because I find these things are true a large number of computer vendors. Apple rate better than many, from what I have read and I have mainly been impressed by their employees. Give them a call.
3) Some people can live with the noise, though it is important to state to the doubtful that it is not a quiet chattering sound but a disconcerting bass growl. For all I know noise canceling headphones might cancel it out but that's taking things to pretty daft extremes. I mention it because those that I have tried deal well with low frequency rumbles. There are a few things that you can do to reduce noise with computers and these I would think apply, to a lesser extent, to the solidly built iMac.
a) Tower computers usually sit on the floor rather than desks and that floor is often carpeted or stone; floorboards if skinny can act as a resonant sounding board, amplifying computer vibrations and noise. A rectangular case, unlike an iMac, lends itself well to cutting large rubber bouncy balls in half and placing on top of them a slab of mahogany/slate/concrete and putting the computer on that. Provided the half balls are glued to the underside of that base it's stable and makes an appreciable difference in many cases. Alternatively you can pick up rubber mats from dollar stores that drivers use to protect the carpet in front of the drivers seat. These are frustratingly thin but if you buy a few you can cut them to size and they make quite a difference, better than cork or carpet I felt.
What is your computer seated on? Is it a strong table or well made computer desk? If you tap it with the head of a screwdriver or your knuckle does it resonate quite loudly or is the sound well damped by the hopefully solid build? If you can't change the work surface or fill its hollow pipes with concrete(!) or stuff hollow storage areas with magazines, try placing something under the base of the computer/stand like a thick sheet of rubber or, better still, something like Sorbothane. I have a huge love of Sorbothane from my running days and have cannibalized those shoe inserts to good for sound deadening end but unfortunately it isn't cheap, at all. Free is always best, right? Take a look around the house and see if there is something you can cannibalize, the denser the better but with some squeeze compliance; at the risk of stating the obvious something like polystyrene can make things worse. For the sake of stability, again apologies for laboring the obvious here, make it a little wider than the base of the computer and be sure to fix double sided sticky tape to both; the cheap stuff dries out in dry office atmospheres so don't scrimp.
b) Though I think it's reasonable to describe that using a metal case as a passive heatsink as efficiently as the iMac does is close to genius, a lot of people have expressed probably completely unnecessary concern about the temperature of their iMacs. But you could buy a room fan and point it at the back of the iMac, though not so close as to disrupt the function of the iMacs own fan through air flow turbulence. The interactions of case fans and noise is an interesting topic in itself. Though I appreciate some people will have bought iMacs because they are fed up of the tiring whir of fans, which have been proven to make some people tired, the thrumb of a fan, much as case fans in other computers, will, hopefully, distract you from your noisy Seagate or Hitachi or whatever you have fitted. If you have the fan pointing directly at the back it could just drive the hard drive noise right at you, so think side on. If that fan has multiple speed settings you might even find one that is soothing. Yes... I know... debatebly better than nothing, though, and keeping a computer cool is always a good thing.
I do have some thoughts for reducing the sound of the hard drive through fitting compliant hard drive mountings inside the iMac but, because I have no experience opening the iMac, they amount to educated speculation from having quizzed people who have worked inside them. Apple know what they are doing, the put a huge amount into the design. I may think there are many possibilities for acoustically decoupling the hard drive from the case but the RISK and effort involved, I think, would make multiple visits to the Apple store (which is not to say that's what's happening to everyone; it's rarer that people with good experiences report those on a negative thread) absolutely worthwhile/necessary. You don't want to end up with a dead iMac. Above all, and though it's easy to say, don't let it get you down, other people have had much worse experiences with other brands, as I suspect you know. Haven't had much time to use it since getting it in November but I absolutely love my new iMac!
1) As a tech I have fitted a lot of computers with Seagate drives because they are cheap and not universally poor. Some have been noisy but not necessarily unreliable, though I have read bad things about Seagate with some years patchier than others. They weren't as consistent as, say, IBM/Hitachi Desktar but some people have changed out the iMacs Seagate drive for 2GB Hitachis - and found them noisy, too. I have limited experience of 2TB drives but, from the reviews of 2 and 3TB drives I would think they would run quite hot, which though the iMac's cooling is close to genius and evidentially reliable, is not an ideal situation for constant heavy duty video work/rendering. I can see the attraction of SSD drives, though some are surprised to find they are not stone cold. Though I think it best to stick with what Apple are using with their computers (does anyone know if the likes of Apple specialists OWC flash their hard drives with Apple firmware?) my best experiences with regular beige PCs, relatively consistently so, have been with Samsung drives. That's a generalization and doesn't extend across and entire product range and I want to be especially careful what I say about replacing anything in an iMac, which is an obvious but worth stating risk, because I have no direct experience of it; it may not be a good match. If, however, you were purchasing a caddy/enclosure to house a backup drive (I'm not sure if it's still the case but I found that if said enclosure didn't have an Oxford chipset you might not be able to boot from it) you might want to check out the reviews of Samsung drives and see if the noise stats hold true to a widely reported brand generalization.
2) From what I have read your mileage may vary taking the computer back to Apple (as to any dealer). I have read stories of people with Apple Care who have, having read their Seagate's serial number to Apple techs, taken their computer back - three times. Each time, after a disrupted work flow, they have come away with computers just as noisy. It would seem to me there is a problem somewhere down the line but which can't be blamed on store employees or the store's tech department. The problem appears to run deeper and, for whatever reason, it doesn't seem to be being dealt with well. I do wonder about perspective when people criticize Apple because I find these things are true a large number of computer vendors. Apple rate better than many, from what I have read and I have mainly been impressed by their employees. Give them a call.
3) Some people can live with the noise, though it is important to state to the doubtful that it is not a quiet chattering sound but a disconcerting bass growl. For all I know noise canceling headphones might cancel it out but that's taking things to pretty daft extremes. I mention it because those that I have tried deal well with low frequency rumbles. There are a few things that you can do to reduce noise with computers and these I would think apply, to a lesser extent, to the solidly built iMac.
a) Tower computers usually sit on the floor rather than desks and that floor is often carpeted or stone; floorboards if skinny can act as a resonant sounding board, amplifying computer vibrations and noise. A rectangular case, unlike an iMac, lends itself well to cutting large rubber bouncy balls in half and placing on top of them a slab of mahogany/slate/concrete and putting the computer on that. Provided the half balls are glued to the underside of that base it's stable and makes an appreciable difference in many cases. Alternatively you can pick up rubber mats from dollar stores that drivers use to protect the carpet in front of the drivers seat. These are frustratingly thin but if you buy a few you can cut them to size and they make quite a difference, better than cork or carpet I felt.
What is your computer seated on? Is it a strong table or well made computer desk? If you tap it with the head of a screwdriver or your knuckle does it resonate quite loudly or is the sound well damped by the hopefully solid build? If you can't change the work surface or fill its hollow pipes with concrete(!) or stuff hollow storage areas with magazines, try placing something under the base of the computer/stand like a thick sheet of rubber or, better still, something like Sorbothane. I have a huge love of Sorbothane from my running days and have cannibalized those shoe inserts to good for sound deadening end but unfortunately it isn't cheap, at all. Free is always best, right? Take a look around the house and see if there is something you can cannibalize, the denser the better but with some squeeze compliance; at the risk of stating the obvious something like polystyrene can make things worse. For the sake of stability, again apologies for laboring the obvious here, make it a little wider than the base of the computer and be sure to fix double sided sticky tape to both; the cheap stuff dries out in dry office atmospheres so don't scrimp.
b) Though I think it's reasonable to describe that using a metal case as a passive heatsink as efficiently as the iMac does is close to genius, a lot of people have expressed probably completely unnecessary concern about the temperature of their iMacs. But you could buy a room fan and point it at the back of the iMac, though not so close as to disrupt the function of the iMacs own fan through air flow turbulence. The interactions of case fans and noise is an interesting topic in itself. Though I appreciate some people will have bought iMacs because they are fed up of the tiring whir of fans, which have been proven to make some people tired, the thrumb of a fan, much as case fans in other computers, will, hopefully, distract you from your noisy Seagate or Hitachi or whatever you have fitted. If you have the fan pointing directly at the back it could just drive the hard drive noise right at you, so think side on. If that fan has multiple speed settings you might even find one that is soothing. Yes... I know... debatebly better than nothing, though, and keeping a computer cool is always a good thing.
I do have some thoughts for reducing the sound of the hard drive through fitting compliant hard drive mountings inside the iMac but, because I have no experience opening the iMac, they amount to educated speculation from having quizzed people who have worked inside them. Apple know what they are doing, the put a huge amount into the design. I may think there are many possibilities for acoustically decoupling the hard drive from the case but the RISK and effort involved, I think, would make multiple visits to the Apple store (which is not to say that's what's happening to everyone; it's rarer that people with good experiences report those on a negative thread) absolutely worthwhile/necessary. You don't want to end up with a dead iMac. Above all, and though it's easy to say, don't let it get you down, other people have had much worse experiences with other brands, as I suspect you know. Haven't had much time to use it since getting it in November but I absolutely love my new iMac!
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Apparently if you swap your 1TB Seagate for a store bought 1TB Seagate with the same model number but which doesn't come with the needed Apple firmware... your iMac cannot get the correct thermal data from the jumper connection and you might have fan speed problems. One user reported that 'the fan speed increases to full over a time period of 10 minutes'. Some people have fitted old iMac external temperature sensors, some have gone for a zero ohm resistor. Again, I am quoting.
I found a further post, though it it's not clear which model of iMac the user is referring to beyond that it is an 'aluminum' model, where the user bought an optical drive sensor (Apple part #922-9141) and used it in place of the original HD sensor. He says it plugs into the logic board where the old HD sensor did and that you stick the sensor onto the hard drive with adhesive that is already on said sensor. That returned the system fan's behavior back to normal.
I found a further post, though it it's not clear which model of iMac the user is referring to beyond that it is an 'aluminum' model, where the user bought an optical drive sensor (Apple part #922-9141) and used it in place of the original HD sensor. He says it plugs into the logic board where the old HD sensor did and that you stick the sensor onto the hard drive with adhesive that is already on said sensor. That returned the system fan's behavior back to normal.
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Unacceptable from Apple
I just found out that my hard drive is failing...90 days out of warranty. The problems occurred while I would have still been under warranty, but I assumed the slow performance was due to a 90% full HD, and some processor intensive applications...and not a dying hard drive. Now I'm left holding the bag for over $500. I'm also likely going to have to pay more because of a pesky screen flickering issue that is possibly due to a graphics card issue. I find this unacceptable when you spend close to $3000 on a computer! I would have bought the Applecare protection plan if I had been warned about the $h!tty track record of the Seagate drives; and also been aware of the screen flickering problems that have been occurring in a number of iMacs. But I thought to myself "Why pay roughly 15% more to insure a piece of equipment that (supposedly) sets the bar for quality". I mean, would you really think your Cadillac or BMW would have a significant failure within it's first year and three months of being driven? No, right. If that sort of scenario were to happen with cars, you'd be hearing about recalls for the defective parts. But it seems that Apple is content on shipping crap hardware that they know have problems, and don't give you any information about the failure rates of their computers and components. This is ridiculous.
Does anybody know who would be the best person to talk to at Apple customer service? I will be refusing to pay for the out of warranty service, and will likely sell me computer as is to an unsuspecting buyer (that's mean, but I'm pissed), just so Apple can take the blame for choosing to use such faulty components. Anyone want to by a 27" iMac, 2.8 GHz Quad-core i7, with 8 GB of RAM, 512 MB Radeon HD 4850 graphics, 8x double-layer Superdrive, with magic mouse and wireless keyboard...AS IS...$1800. I'm sure I could buy a really nice PC with that kind of money.
Okay...maybe I won't be such a jerk about it; but Apple is gonna hear from me!
I just found out that my hard drive is failing...90 days out of warranty. The problems occurred while I would have still been under warranty, but I assumed the slow performance was due to a 90% full HD, and some processor intensive applications...and not a dying hard drive. Now I'm left holding the bag for over $500. I'm also likely going to have to pay more because of a pesky screen flickering issue that is possibly due to a graphics card issue. I find this unacceptable when you spend close to $3000 on a computer! I would have bought the Applecare protection plan if I had been warned about the $h!tty track record of the Seagate drives; and also been aware of the screen flickering problems that have been occurring in a number of iMacs. But I thought to myself "Why pay roughly 15% more to insure a piece of equipment that (supposedly) sets the bar for quality". I mean, would you really think your Cadillac or BMW would have a significant failure within it's first year and three months of being driven? No, right. If that sort of scenario were to happen with cars, you'd be hearing about recalls for the defective parts. But it seems that Apple is content on shipping crap hardware that they know have problems, and don't give you any information about the failure rates of their computers and components. This is ridiculous.
Does anybody know who would be the best person to talk to at Apple customer service? I will be refusing to pay for the out of warranty service, and will likely sell me computer as is to an unsuspecting buyer (that's mean, but I'm pissed), just so Apple can take the blame for choosing to use such faulty components. Anyone want to by a 27" iMac, 2.8 GHz Quad-core i7, with 8 GB of RAM, 512 MB Radeon HD 4850 graphics, 8x double-layer Superdrive, with magic mouse and wireless keyboard...AS IS...$1800. I'm sure I could buy a really nice PC with that kind of money.
Okay...maybe I won't be such a jerk about it; but Apple is gonna hear from me!
I also didn't like the Seagate drives, so I was glad to find that I have one of the 1TB Western Digital Caviar Black high-performance drives in my "entry-level" 27" iMac which has the Dual Core i3, not the Quad.
The Seagate (ending is AS and ASQ) are obnoxiously LOUD, whereas the WDC drives are quiet as a mouse. Why is it that Apple uses so many different tpye of manufacturers for the same item? I am going to upgrade again when the new iMac comes out, which will be soon. It will have the ThunderBolt port and I also read about the possibility of a "new display size". Could it be 30"?
I might as well take it apart at the store and boot it up to see what they would have me take home. I will also take care to make sure the screen is 100% perfect!
What I have now is exactly that, everything working perfectly and not the SMALLEST issue will be tolerated in ANY future iMac or any other Mac's, for that matter.
The Seagate (ending is AS and ASQ) are obnoxiously LOUD, whereas the WDC drives are quiet as a mouse. Why is it that Apple uses so many different tpye of manufacturers for the same item? I am going to upgrade again when the new iMac comes out, which will be soon. It will have the ThunderBolt port and I also read about the possibility of a "new display size". Could it be 30"?
I might as well take it apart at the store and boot it up to see what they would have me take home. I will also take care to make sure the screen is 100% perfect!
What I have now is exactly that, everything working perfectly and not the SMALLEST issue will be tolerated in ANY future iMac or any other Mac's, for that matter.
In the same conditions, relatively idle, temp and noise (Tom's Hardware; they clearly didn't have a bad sample)
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12
ST31000528AS,1000 GB,32 MB Cache -
Temp 38 degrees C
Noise dBA 36.07
Watts (vid test) 5.39
Western Digital Caviar Black
WD1001FALS,SATA/300,1000 GB,32 MB -
Temp 43 degrees C
Noise dBA 46.67
watts (vid test) 6.79
-------------
Samsung Spinpoint F3
HD103SJ, 1000 GB, 7200rpm, 32 MB -
41.1 degrees C
Noise dBA 44.60
Watts in vid test 5.20
I include the Samsung because I fit it to most PC system builds, though am a big fan of the WD Caviar Black, also. Seagate go through good and bad production runs more so than most, I think we all know that, and I avoid them but on dBA and temp you can see why Apple would use them in hot running iMacs where quiet is sought. A pity the iMac's production line quality control isn't better but there are far worse offenders out there on that score and it might be argued that those noisy samples nevertheless, usually, pass all diagnostics... which apparently doesn't include a test to see if you can hear the hard drive rumbling away in a relatively noisy room/even with earplugs.
Seagate Barracuda 7200.12
ST31000528AS,1000 GB,32 MB Cache -
Temp 38 degrees C
Noise dBA 36.07
Watts (vid test) 5.39
Western Digital Caviar Black
WD1001FALS,SATA/300,1000 GB,32 MB -
Temp 43 degrees C
Noise dBA 46.67
watts (vid test) 6.79
-------------
Samsung Spinpoint F3
HD103SJ, 1000 GB, 7200rpm, 32 MB -
41.1 degrees C
Noise dBA 44.60
Watts in vid test 5.20
I include the Samsung because I fit it to most PC system builds, though am a big fan of the WD Caviar Black, also. Seagate go through good and bad production runs more so than most, I think we all know that, and I avoid them but on dBA and temp you can see why Apple would use them in hot running iMacs where quiet is sought. A pity the iMac's production line quality control isn't better but there are far worse offenders out there on that score and it might be argued that those noisy samples nevertheless, usually, pass all diagnostics... which apparently doesn't include a test to see if you can hear the hard drive rumbling away in a relatively noisy room/even with earplugs.
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I am on my fifth iMac, the first three of which all had the Seagate Barracuda (two of their respective model numbers ended in "...ASQ" and one ended in "....AS") and my current and the one before that had the WD1001FALS-40Y6A0. I researched some online as to what the 40Y6A0 might mean and haven't been able to come up with anything other than the fact that Apple uses them in some of its iMac's.
The Seagate in a 21.5" iMac: loud, but not horrible; two of the Seagate in the 27" iMac: chainsaw-like
The WD Caviar Black: Both in 27" models and both barely audible...and FAST! Could it be that they're faster than the Seagate's?
The Seagate in a 21.5" iMac: loud, but not horrible; two of the Seagate in the 27" iMac: chainsaw-like
The WD Caviar Black: Both in 27" models and both barely audible...and FAST! Could it be that they're faster than the Seagate's?
The Seagate benchmarks well enough and when you get a decent production run is a much better drive than it gets credit for but, depending on requirements, the excellent WD Caviar Black and the Samsung better it in most if not quite all areas.
I have found a few posts where people, when fitting SSD drives, tried tightening the screws on the hard drive a bit, which reduced the bass thrumb/bump a bit. Worth a try for those rash enough to open their iMacs.
Speaking of which, looking at some of the eSATA threads I half heartedly thought about externalizing the Apple-firmware-locked Seagate via SATA/temp/power extensions leads, cutting those in half to channel the wires through the memory area before soldering back together, then housing the Seagate in a silent case with fan. No firmware/temperature hacks. 100% reversible without cutting the iMac. I ruled it out because aside from requiring buying a memory slot cover to modify, in my opinion the trailing eSata cable takes away from the iMac's clean lines and all those wires would affect airflow.
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My second ST31000528ASQ on my imac i7 has failed S.M.A.R.T. It's still under warranty but I'm not to excited about having 2 replacements in less then 2 years.
My drive is still quiet and fast.
+1. This November will be two years and going strong.
Mine is making clicking sound.
I just got an 2010 refurbished Imac 27" i7 with seagate 1TB ST31000528AS. Drive is making clicking (stomach growling) sounds on boot up and whenever i open applications, which is very annoying. I am sending it back to Apple.
I just got an 2010 refurbished Imac 27" i7 with seagate 1TB ST31000528AS. Drive is making clicking (stomach growling) sounds on boot up and whenever i open applications, which is very annoying. I am sending it back to Apple.
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The early 1T drives from Seagate seemed (to me) to have a rather high failure rate. We lost two drives, one within weeks of installation. There was a firmware update for some of their drives. I read that the only way to flash the drive was to take the drive out and hook it to a Windoze box and blow the update that way. And then will the Mac BIOS have issues with a flashed drive.
In regards to the noise, Seagate drives do seem to be somewhat noisier than their competition. I've taken apart enough old drives to wonder why they would be so much, or trend to be so much noisier than a Western Digital drive. Which brings me to the 'quality' question. When I look at all of the drives that I've had problems with, there seems to be a higher number of Seagate drives HOWEVER we also run into more Seagate drives than WD or other brands.
Are the 'enterprise' class drives quieter or more reliable than the Best Buy/local commodity drives? Is Apple using cheesier drives to save money?
In regards to the noise, Seagate drives do seem to be somewhat noisier than their competition. I've taken apart enough old drives to wonder why they would be so much, or trend to be so much noisier than a Western Digital drive. Which brings me to the 'quality' question. When I look at all of the drives that I've had problems with, there seems to be a higher number of Seagate drives HOWEVER we also run into more Seagate drives than WD or other brands.
Are the 'enterprise' class drives quieter or more reliable than the Best Buy/local commodity drives? Is Apple using cheesier drives to save money?
I just got an 2010 refurbished Imac 27" i7 with seagate 1TB ST31000528AS. Drive is making clicking (stomach growling) sounds on boot up and whenever i open applications, which is very annoying. I am sending it back to Apple.
I wonder if this could be fragmentation or a drive that constantly resets... Does OS X do any kind of defrag automatically?
