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i felt my friends white mb and his felt dead still...
i can feel the vibration on my wrist.. im beginning to think this is the poor shocks on the HD
i havent been able to go to an apple store and feel it but ima go check it out asap when i do ill post

Does he have a 7200rpm drive? A 5400rpm will have less vibration. I think you're getting worked up over nothing.
 
i went to the apple store and i felt the other laptops
they were 5400 rpm drives but they were SIGNIFICANTLY more still
im going to try and swap into my old 250 and see if theres a difference

oh do you guys think the tightness of the mount has to do with anything?
ie. does making it tighter make it vibrate less or more?
 
I have a 2.53 ghz model with a Hitachi 7200 320 drive. Been using it for 3 days. On day 1, I heard a whirring sound coming from the drive, which I consider normal for a 7200 drive. However, this sound seems to translate through the aluminum frame producing a very odd "feeling" vibration on my wrists, especially on the left side. Surprised, no one thought about adding some type of dampening material.

When I was at an Apple store last week, I tried the stock MBP. With a 5400 drive, there was no vibration translating through the machine housing.

I spoke to a product specialist at Apple today. From his response seems Apple has been getting similar calls. He suggested I take it to a nearby repair place to confirm the problem. If they concur, I'm to call Apple back for further resolution.
 
I have a 2.53 ghz model with a Hitachi 7200 320 drive. Been using it for 3 days. On day 1, I heard a whirring sound coming from the drive, which I consider normal for a 7200 drive. However, this sound seems to translate through the aluminum frame producing a very odd "feeling" vibration on my wrists, especially on the left side. Surprised, no one thought about adding some type of dampening material.

When I was at an Apple store last week, I tried the stock MBP. With a 5400 drive, there was no vibration translating through the machine housing.

I spoke to a product specialist at Apple today. From his response seems Apple has been getting similar calls. He suggested I take it to a nearby repair place to confirm the problem. If they concur, I'm to call Apple back for further resolution.

dang i bought the HD from a third party.. apple wont do anything to resolve my issue would they?


btw i tried putting in my old 250 stock, and the vibration was minimal and almost to none
then putting back in my 7200, i can definitely feel it.. it is not only on the right side but i can also feel on the left side of my wrist

can anyone else who actually got the BTO 7200RPM drive confirm this?
 
i installed a new hitachi 7200rpm 320gb hd in my mbp and i could feel the hd always spinning
i always felt it before w/ the stock 250gb hd too

i was wondering if it was ok cause i read somewhere that aluminum is not good at absorbing the shock at all??

It means the computer is working fine. Leave it alone, I personally do not think its somthing worth worrying about.
 
Geez, really you guys. A 7200rpm drive makes more vibration than a 5400rpm drive (which all the machines in an Apple store will have). What is rocket science about this? You get a faster drive for a little more noise and vibration. Move on.

I'd had 7200rpm drives in previous MBPs. There's nothing different about the new models. They don't transfer more or less vibration than previous models. There's nothing to fix, send it in for repair or replacement if you want, but don't expect anything different.
 
Geez, really you guys. A 7200rpm drive makes more vibration than a 5400rpm drive (which all the machines in an Apple store will have). What is rocket science about this? You get a faster drive for a little more noise and vibration.

It's not a little more noise and vibration. The vibration is distracting when typing. I sense it is amplified due to the one piece Aluminum shell. Apple could have done a better job at dampening the vibration, especially given the price of the machine.
 
It's not a little more noise and vibration. The vibration is distracting when typing. I sense it is amplified due to the one piece Aluminum shell. Apple could have done a better job at dampening the vibration, especially given the price of the machine.

+1 i feel it throught the whole body.. im just hoping this is not an issue w/ my HD
 
It's not a little more noise and vibration. The vibration is distracting when typing. I sense it is amplified due to the one piece Aluminum shell. Apple could have done a better job at dampening the vibration, especially given the price of the machine.

Really, you "sense" it is amplified? So, you have mechanical and electrical engineering degrees?

You have a right to be unhappy, but this has got to be the silliest ongoing discussion. Good luck, but I don't think this can be resolved to your satisfaction.
 
You have a right to be unhappy, but this has got to be the silliest ongoing discussion. Good luck, but I don't think this can be resolved to your satisfaction.

I'm looking for constructive feedback, or hearing from others having a similar experience. If you think the thread is "silly" then don't post.

If this is a design flaw, then so be it. However, the Apple Support product support specialist is ready to swap the machine for a new one. So there may be more to this than just "vibration".
 
I'm looking for constructive feedback, or hearing from others having a similar experience. If you think the thread is "silly" then don't post.

If this is a design flaw, then so be it. However, the Apple Support product support specialist is ready to swap the machine for a new one. So there may be more to this than just "vibration".

They are willing to swap to make you a happy customer. There is always a possibility that your machine was incorrectly assembled or has a defective part.

However, in general a 7200rpm drive will always have more vibration or noise. I'm pointing out that the new design is no better or worse in regards to this than earlier designs. But users new to the the faster HD frequently seem to have this reaction that there is something "wrong" even when there isn't. That's feedback you can use or ignore. Keep in mind that that a different machine can have other problems (dead pixels, assembly flaws). If your machine is flawless except for the vibration, I'd think hard about swapping it first.
 
They are willing to swap to make you a happy customer. There is always a possibility that your machine was incorrectly assembled or has a defective part. Keep in mind that that a different machine can have other problems (dead pixels, assembly flaws). If your machine is flawless except for the vibration, I'd think hard about swapping it first.

Thanks...that's the kind of constructive feedback I'm looking for. :)

I'm really don't want to get into a machine swapping process. However, if a remedy exists to dampen the vibration, then I'll go down that road. Who knows, Apple may actually make a design change somewhere along the line.
 
I actually have two machines, one is a stock 2.53GHz that I put a Seagate 7200rpm drive in. The vibration difference between it and the stock Hitachi 5400rpm drive is very noticeable. But it's not more than the previous model MBP that had a Hitachi 7200rpm in it. In changing the drives there are bolts that attach to the drive and these mount into rubber mounts in the MBP. It's reasonably well done, so I don't think you are going to get much more vibration damping than this.
 
Thinking about a bit more... wouldn't there be significantly more vibration transferred to the top case in the new MBP vs. the old design?

1) The drive mounts on the top case vs. the earlier model where it mounts on the bottom
2) The earlier model has a plastic bushing to further isolate vibration from the topcase.
3) The top case is more rigid which would make it a better conductor of energy, OTOH is may be thicker to better dampen so it could be a wash...
 
Thinking about a bit more... wouldn't there be significantly more vibration transferred to the top case in the new MBP vs. the old design?

1) The drive mounts on the top case vs. the earlier model where it mounts on the bottom
2) The earlier model has a plastic bushing to further isolate vibration from the topcase.
3) The top case is more rigid which would make it a better conductor of energy, OTOH is may be thicker to better dampen so it could be a wash...

1.) Yes to some extent. Note also the new design has the drive under the right palm, the old under the left palm.
2.) The new one has a rubber/plastic bushing also. I don't see any real difference here.
3.) To some extent, but both new and old design are rigid enough that the difference is small. The old one wasn't made out of tinfoil or anything.
 
I actually have two machines, one is a stock 2.53GHz that I put a Seagate 7200rpm drive in. The vibration difference between it and the stock Hitachi 5400rpm drive is very noticeable. But it's not more than the previous model MBP that had a Hitachi 7200rpm in it. In changing the drives there are bolts that attach to the drive and these mount into rubber mounts in the MBP. It's reasonably well done, so I don't think you are going to get much more vibration damping than this.

so are you saying that the 7200RPM drives will significantly cause more vibrations no matter what the model (late08, or older models)? cuase if what i think ur saying is true
then ill be happy cause then id have a perfect MBP w/ only design flaws :)
 
Really, you "sense" it is amplified? So, you have mechanical and electrical engineering degrees?

By your reasoning, someone would have to be a vision scientist to see that the sun is brighter than an orange...

Anyway, I've heard conflicting reports about this vibration. Some think it's substantial, others disagree - the fact is, we have no way to objectively substantiate these claims.

My MBP suffered from a similar vibration that resonated throughout the case. It was also perceptible on the back of the screen and on the top of the keys. After the vibration, a squeaky button, loose battery cover, and incompetent "support", I opted to return the computer instead of exchange it. Until Apple gets its sh*t together, the OS and design simply isn't worth the $1000 markup.

It would be best to track down a few people with the new MBP and 7200rpm drive, and do a direct comparison. That's really the only way to definitively know if your drive is defective, or if it's a minor flaw in the unibody design.

Either way, I hope things work out for you.
 
so are you saying that the 7200RPM drives will significantly cause more vibrations no matter what the model (late08, or older models)? cuase if what i think ur saying is true
then ill be happy cause then id have a perfect MBP w/ only design flaws :)

Every 7200rpm drive causes more vibration than a 5400rpm. How much is a subjective thing, but if you compare yours with a stock 5400rpm it will vibrate more even if it's "perfect".
 
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