Unibody MacBook Hard Drive Replacement suggestions

[tehgeekguy]

Hey everyone,

So I bought a new hdd for my 13" Aluminum MacBook yesterday to upgrade the 160GB hdd it came with. I saw what I thought was a good deal on a 320GB WD Scorpio Black, but after installing it, I notice what it seems like a lot of other owners of this hard drive have noticed, it's loud. It's not terribly loud, but it's one of those things that once you know it's there, you can't stop hearing it. I'm talking about the disk spinning and random, quiet clicks. It's not a click of death, just sounds like the disk doing it's work, even when it's idle and I've tried turning off the Energy Saver options for shutting down the hard drive when possible.

Anyways, I think I'm going to return/exchange it for a different disk, but wanted to get some opinions first. Does anybody else own this hard drive? Have you noticed the noise? I also saw the Seagate Momentus for about the same price, the only main difference I saw was it's 5400rpm vs. 7200rpm on the Scorpio, but if it's quieter, I could probably live with that. Anybody got the Momentus and have anything to say about it being loud?

I'm trying to keep the price around $100 - $150-ish, so an SSD is out of the question, as much as I'd love it If anybody has some suggestions, I'd be glad to hear them. My main thing is more space (preferably 320GB+) and not too loud. If all the reviews are about the same, I may just try and ignore the sounds the WD is making (as hard as that may be)...

 

[alexbates]

I have been using Hitachi's and have never had a problem with loudness. And if you wanted to, you could get an even larger 500GB Hitachi 5200rpm for less than $100 at OWC.

 

[natebookpro]

Had the same drive and got rid of it for the same reasons. I picked up the WD Scorpio Blue 500GB and haven't looked back. It feels every bit as fast. The only difference is that its silent, doesn't vibrate, and has an extra 180GB. Highly recommend it.

 

[tehgeekguy]

Had the same drive and got rid of it for the same reasons. I picked up the WD Scorpio Blue 500GB and haven't looked back. It feels every bit as fast. The only difference is that its silent, doesn't vibrate, and has an extra 180GB. Highly recommend it.

I was looking at the same drive, and the only thing that made me go for the black was the rpm boost.... but if it's quieter, I may have to switch over. That extra 180GB might come in handy!

 

[natebookpro]

I was looking at the same drive, and the only thing that made me go for the black was the rpm boost.... but if it's quieter, I may have to switch over. That extra 180GB might come in handy!

It really is silent and no vibrations. I ran xbench on my system with the stock drive and scored 132. Then I tried it with the Black and scored 149, stuck the Blue in and ditto 149! A couple of the tests the Black was faster and a couple the Blue was faster, but overall it seems to balance out. Just using the system, no benchmarks, I dont think id be able to tell you which of the two was in it if i didnt know.

 

[tehgeekguy]

It really is silent and no vibrations. I ran xbench on my system with the stock drive and scored 132. Then I tried it with the Black and scored 149, stuck the Blue in and ditto 149! A couple of the tests the Black was faster and a couple the Blue was faster, but overall it seems to balance out. Just using the system, no benchmarks, I dont think id be able to tell you which of the two was in it if i didnt know.

Well thanks for the heads up. I think I'm going to give it a shot tomorrow and hope that it is quieter. With what I do on this one, I don't think the rpm jump would make THAT much of a difference right now. Here's to hoping. Thanks for your input too! Very helpful!

 

[natebookpro]

Well thanks for the heads up. I think I'm going to give it a shot tomorrow and hope that it is quieter. With what I do on this one, I don't think the rpm jump would make THAT much of a difference right now. Here's to hoping. Thanks for your input too! Very helpful!

No problem! let us know how it goes.

 

[gr8tfly]

Just another data point on the WD:

I have the 320GB 7200 RPM Scorpio Black WD - It's virtually silent, except for the periodic [very light/quiet] "click". Most of the time, I don't notice it - and it only does it once in a while - sometimes, not for a long time. Not sure what it's doing, but like I said, it's hardly noticeable

However: It is SO much quieter than the Fujitsu 320 that shipped with the 17" UB. It had constant head seeking sounds. Between that, and slow performance, it didn't do the UB 17" justice. The WD is silent when seeking - the only sound is a quiet "whoosh" spindle sound and the above mentioned "click". (I say "click", but that's a much "louder" description than what it really sounds like (like almost nothing).

Anyway, I'll keep it. Eventually, it'll get replaced with a 500...

edit: oh - and it is noticeably faster

 

[tehgeekguy]

Just another data point on the WD:

I have the 320GB 7200 RPM Scorpio Black WD - It's virtually silent, except for the periodic [very light/quiet] "click". Most of the time, I don't notice it - and it only does it once in a while - sometimes, not for a long time. Not sure what it's doing, but like I said, it's hardly noticeable

However: It is SO much quieter than the Fujitsu 320 that shipped with the 17" UB. It had constant head seeking sounds. Between that, and slow performance, it didn't do the UB 17" justice. The WD is silent when seeking - the only sound is a quiet "whoosh" spindle sound and the above mentioned "click". (I say "click", but that's a much "louder" description than what it really sounds like (like almost nothing).

Anyway, I'll keep it. Eventually, it'll get replaced with a 500...

edit: oh - and it is noticeably faster

I think it's one of those things that, since I know it's there, I notice it more. I can definitely hear it running compared to the stock drive, which I can't hear make any sounds unless I get my ear right by the mb. It may just be a per-user thing, some people have "virtually silent" ones like you, others have the ones with the annoying clicking/spinning. I will admit, it's not loud, but as I said, it's something that when you know it's there, you notice it a lot more and it just annoys me. Thanks for your input though! We'll see how the Scorpio Blue goes tomorrow hopefully.