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New Macbook Pro 2008 Penryn HDD or Fan Noise

S

santino80

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 24, 2008
9
0
Hi,

i recently bought four new MB Pros (15inch, 2,4GHz, 200 GB HDD 5400). To my regret i diagnosed a silent but annoying noise coming from the left side of the keyboard. I suppose it is either the left fan or the HDD. I regulated the fan with FanControl, same noise. Now i am very convinced it is the HDD which causes that permanent noise. Did you make same experience? Has someone further information?
 
santino80 said:
Hi,

i recently bought four new MB Pros (15inch, 2,4GHz, 200 GB HDD 5400). To my regret i diagnosed a silent but annoying noise coming from the left side of the keyboard. I suppose it is either the left fan or the HDD. I regulated the fan with FanControl, same noise. Now i am very convinced it is the HDD which causes that permanent noise. Did you make same experience? Has someone further information?
Click to expand...

I noticed on my second MBP penryn that the hitachi hard drive is quite a bit noisier than the Fujitsu on the previous one I had. If the sounds is coming from the keyboard area it's most likely the fan you're hearing. If it's coming from the left palmrest area it's the hard drive. Probably both!
 
PDE said:
I noticed on my second MBP penryn that the hitachi hard drive is quite a bit noisier than the Fujitsu on the previous one I had. If the sounds is coming from the keyboard area it's most likely the fan you're hearing. If it's coming from the left palmrest area it's the hard drive. Probably both!
Click to expand...

you're right, the Hitachi-HDD makes much more noise than the Fujitsu-HDD. Because of that i exchanged mine. But there is still this silent noise. I have already contacted Apple, awaiting an answer. Fact is the previous MB Pro (Model 3,1) was absolutely quiet.
 
santino80 said:
you're right, the Hitachi-HDD makes much more noise than the Fujitsu-HDD. Because of that i exchanged mine. But there is still this silent noise. I have already contacted Apple, awaiting an answer. Fact is the previous MB Pro (Model 3,1) was absolutely quiet.
Click to expand...

I can second that the MacBook Pro 3,1 with 160 GB Fujitsu 5400RPM HD is absolutely quiet. My previous MBP (2,2) with the 160 GB Hitachi 5400RPM HD was much more audible during HD read/write/seek, and was noticeable even during HD idle.

I just upgraded from the Fujitsu to Hitachi 200GB 7200RPM. The 7K200 is definitely not as quiet. There is a constant "fan like" noise at all times (HD idle), and read/write/seek phases make the usual "hard drive sounds" (although not jarring, and nowhere near as objectionable as the "clicking" noise made by some drives).
 
I think the only way to fix it is to replace the drive with a quiet one from Fujitsu, Seagate or Samsung....
 
has someone an idea about a silent hdd? What would you recommend SamsungSpinpoint or Western Digital Scorpio?
 
I too have the noise and have had the mac pro for a week. If this is not normal, would it be covered by applecare? Sounds like a fan to me and not a hard drive...
Should I take it in? You can defiantly hear it in a quiet room. This is my first pro, so i was not sure what to expect.
 
This is my second penryn and it is much noisier than the first one. The first one I could literally not hear unless I pressed my ear against it. This one has noisier hard drive (clicking/parking of heads and spinning - Hitachi) and the fans are noisier even when on relatively low RPM like 2000. I can live with it, but of course a more silent machine is preferable. If I ever swap the drive, I'll get something quiet and that should take care of a lot of the noise.
 
I've been told the optional 7200rpm/200gb drive in the penryn Macbook Pros is a Seagate. Can anyone confirm that?
And has anyone heard the noises referred to in this thread when using that particular drive?
Thanks!
 
I have the stock 2.4 model, with the same fan-like noise from the left side of the keyboard. How can you be sure it's HD related and not a problem with the fans themselves?
 
I think mine is fan noise and not the HD...we may be talking about tow different sounds as mine comes from the left side as well. I have an appointment on Friday with a "Genius", so we will see what they have to say.


Am3822 said:
I have the stock 2.4 model, with the same fan-like noise from the left side of the keyboard. How can you be sure it's HD related and not a problem with the fans themselves?
Click to expand...
 
you can check if it is the fan or the hdd by regulating the fans with smcFanControl for example. If the background noise is still the same, then it is definitely the hdd.

According to the previous MB Pro 2,2 Santa Rosa, theses have a smaller HDD (mostly 120GB or 160GB), with only one magnetic disk inside the hdd. The hdd of the new MB Pros has at least two magnetic disks inside. That's the reason for the loudness.

So, still the same question: Has someone a new MB Pro with another HDD performing?
 
santino80 said:
According to the previous MB Pro 2,2 Santa Rosa, theses have a smaller HDD (mostly 120GB or 160GB), with only one magnetic disk inside the hdd. The hdd of the new MB Pros has at least two magnetic disks inside. That's the reason for the loudness.
Click to expand...

I don't think this is correct as my last Penryn MBP had a 200gb Fujitsu hdd that was silent with virtually no audible noise, while my new one has the hitachi and is noisy. They're both dual platter disks as far as I know.
 
For what it's worth, I too noticed this problem, and ended up finding this thread via Google. Once I'd read it, I checked my system and discovered I too had the Hitachi HDD.

Not a deal breaker for me, it's not too loud, but it's a little bit annoying that it's just luck how quiet your MBP is...

Still, I'm absolutely delighted with my new Mac (it's my first), so an almost inaudible whirr is a small price to play for such :apple: loveliness. :)
 
disappointingly noisy

I have a new Macbook Pro - Hitachi 7200rpm hard drive - and yes, very noisy fan-like, constantly accessing the hard drive noise! It is very disappointing, as this is a replacement model for a previous laptop which had a very faulty catch, but was absolutely silent. i have no idea what the hard drive was on that one, and am now very sad that it has been sent back to the warehouse. Is there any way we can request a certain model of hard drive for replacement machines, and if so, what do people recommend on this score?
 
LOL, why don't you people just get some ear plugs. You all are acting like it sounds like a jet. Does it HONESTLY bother you enough to try to take it back and get a different hard drive? :rolleyes:

Where exactly are you using these laptops? In a completely sealed glass box or something?
 
Van Wildonher said:
LOL, why don't you people just get some ear plugs. You all are acting like it sounds like a jet. Does it HONESTLY bother you enough to try to take it back and get a different hard drive? :rolleyes:

Where exactly are you using these laptops? In a completely sealed glass box or something?
Click to expand...

Funny!!!!!

I have a BTO MBP with a 250GB drive by Hitachi. I don't get any clicking but it will give off a hum that can draw my focus (in an OCD kinda way) sometimes. The fans are very quiet and in the back. I'm sure if its on the near left side that it's the hard drive. I was just going to wait until I can buy a 320GB drive (or larger) and replace it for a real reason some day soon. I'll try the earplugs until then.

I can't imagine Apple would replace it; it certainly is within spec if not totally silent.

PS Sometimes my head is approx 1" off the keyboard with the laptop crammed on the couch next to me. I tend to hear it then. That's not an unreasonable working position, is it?
 
Scott6666 said:
PS Sometimes my head is approx 1" off the keyboard with the laptop crammed on the couch next to me. I tend to hear it then. That's not an unreasonable working position, is it?
Click to expand...

I like to press the esc key with my left ear (it's just this weird habit I've got into). It's pretty noticeable then.
 
ummm...telling the op to get earplugs doesn't diagnose the problem, save those lame comments for facebook.

i too have this issue, it is very much a fan issue and NOT a hd issue...and yes it's very audible. i'm no audiophile or claim to have super hearing and i could clearly hear my machine from more than 10 ft away in a production/manufacturing environment. If anybody knows of a fix, please share...otherwise i'm certain this thing is gonna cost me an arm and a leg to fix. i'd open it up myself (and have with previous macbook pros 2.0 & 2.2) but those WERE for HD and Optical drive issues...this is coming from the esc key area which is where the fan is and I'm certain this is what people in here are griping about.

and yes...it IS like a jet engine, my whole machine is vibrating.
 
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