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Which hard drive DOESNT click with june 09 MBP?

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phoang1988

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Jul 18, 2009
8
0
Hi there. Long time lurker but first time poster here. ive read a lot of threads about clicking hard drives... most seem to talk about some stock BTO and wd scorpio hard drives clicking, but i havent found a thread where people posted hard drives that DO NOT click.

Im planning on ordering a hard drive soon... was looking at wd scorpio 500gb till i found all those clicking noise threads so now im reconsidering. I thought id start this thread to help myself and others looking at hard drives so please post if you upgraded your hard drive with on the june 09 MBP and your hdd does NOT make clicking noise. let us know what you've upgraded too.

For myself, im not really looking for more space but just something with better transfer rate... this stock 160gb is kinda slow and i know there are faster HDDs out there even though they are 5400rpm too.
 
atticus18244fsa said:
I ordered the 500GB 5400 from Apple because heat/noise/vibration was important for me. I'm happy to say it is completely silent.
Click to expand...

could you post which model you have? in case you do not know how to find out:

click apple in top left
About this mac
More Info
and go down to "Serial-ATA" under hardware
It should state the brand and model.
 
The stock 500gb @5400 rpm's from Apple are Hitachi 5K500.B I believe.

I think the WD Scorpio Blue's are either hit or miss from posts on this forum. Mine luckily (so far) doesn't have the clicking problem, and is just as quiet as the stock drive.

-Epic
 
The Seagate Momentus 7200.4 that doesn't have the built-in motion sensor.
(ST9500420AS). The model that ends with "ASG" is the one that is prone to the clicking/beeping/excessive head parking issues.
 
Epic Phail said:
The stock 500gb @5400 rpm's from Apple are Hitachi 5K500.B I believe.

I think the WD Scorpio Blue's are either hit or miss from posts on this forum. Mine luckily (so far) doesn't have the clicking problem, and is just as quiet as the stock drive.

-Epic
Click to expand...

Yes, I would go with the Hitachi since that's what Apple uses. My MBP uses a 5K500.B (160GB) and it's silent. So I can't imagine the 500GB model would be any different. The Hitachi drives get excellent reviews (just like many drives these days).
 
I replaced my hard drive with a Seagate Momentus 500GB @ 7200rpm - ST9500420AS and its been 5 months and its completely silent....(I hope I didn't jinx myself!)
Purchased from TigerDirect in February for $129

here's the stats:

Capacity: 465.76 GB
Model: ST9500420AS
Revision: 0001SDM1
Serial Number: 5VJ01GXK
Native Command Queuing: Yes
Queue Depth: 32
Removable Media: No
Detachable Drive: No
BSD Name: disk0
Mac OS 9 Drivers: No
Partition Map Type: GPT (GUID Partition Table)
S.M.A.R.T. status: Verified
Volumes:
Mac:
Capacity: 465.44 GB
Available: 370.31 GB
Writable: Yes
File System: Journaled HFS+
BSD Name: disk0s2
Mount Point: /
 
A SSD or 5400RPM drive will not click/beep.
The 320GB and 500GB 7200RPM drives are all chance. You may get the one with or without the g-force sensor that causes the beep.
 
Epic Phail said:
... Mine luckily (so far) doesn't have the clicking problem, and is just as quiet as the stock drive.

-Epic
Click to expand...

Epic, That's not quit the same thing you said earlier over here in post #80...

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/744690/

Epic Phail said:
... I'm barely able to hear the clicks that everyone talks about, but it's so faint that I don't even notice most of the time.
Click to expand...

.... perhaps yours isn't as loud as others but you already acknowledged that you WD Scorpio Blue is clicking too.
 
Epic Phail said:
I think the WD Scorpio Blue's are either hit or miss from posts on this forum. Mine luckily (so far) doesn't have the clicking problem, and is just as quiet as the stock drive.

-Epic
Click to expand...

Crap.

I was thinking of getting one too.
 
Are you all sure it's the fact that some run at 5400rpm and so if someone decides to buy the stock 500gb drive (Hitachi Travelstar) seperately (not have it installed by Apple, even though I'm in the same problem and also doubting because Apple charges quite alot), it will not click?

Is it a really noticable difference between 5400rpm and 7200rpm? (General use such as movies, gaming and odd photoshop work, nothing too intensive)

I posted the same thread-ish in buying advice asking which HDD to get xD.
SSDs are good but completely not benificial cost/size.
 
phoang1988 said:
could you post which model you have? in case you do not know how to find out:

click apple in top left
About this mac
More Info
and go down to "Serial-ATA" under hardware
It should state the brand and model.
Click to expand...

Capacity: 465.76 GB
Model: Hitachi HTS545050B9SA02
Revision: PB4AC60Q

There you go that's the 5400 500GB that comes from Apple that I got.
 
My understanding is that only the drive that is in the 17" BTO option of 320GB 7200RPM is producing a large percentage of "clickers".

In reality, only a small percentage of hard drives have problems. The people who get these "duds" become very vocal and blow the problem out of proportion. More likely than not, you will not experience any of the problems reported for any drive you end up getting.
 
geoffreak said:
In reality, only a small percentage of hard drives have problems. The people who get these "duds" become very vocal and blow the problem out of proportion. More likely than not, you will not experience any of the problems reported for any drive you end up getting.
Click to expand...

Wrong. The WD Scorpio 500 gb drives are just fine, they are not "duds" as you put it. The problem is that there is an incompatibility with this WD drive in the '09 MBP's. They do not make head parking clicking noises in an external enclosure or in older MB/MBP's (or probably any other computer). I'm pretty sure that all '09 MBPs will experience the frequent head parking every 10 - 12 seconds and the light clicking sounds (and the shortened lifespan which will probably go along with it). Some people may not be bothered by the noise or may have a more difficult time hearing it because of their usage patterns and backround noise levels, but that doesn't mean it isn't happenning. There is overwhelming evidence of this issue in the '09 MBP.

With all of the hard drive options available why would you choose this one for your '09 MBP? As far as I know there has been 0 reports of clicking Hitachi's or Fujutsu's. It's probably not a coincidence that these are the brands that Apple is currently using OEM in the '09 MBP's!
 
If you do a search you will find someone complaining about nearly every modern 3rd party drive, regardless of size speed, or make. Unfortunately, there seems to be no rhyme or reason as to which ones click and which don't. If you are searching for a magic drive that won't click, you are wasting your time. Either take a shot at any drive, or wait for a firmware update before you buy.
 
Z06jerry said:
Wrong. The WD Scorpio 500 gb drives are just fine, they are not "duds" as you put it. The problem is that there is an incompatibility with this WD drive in the '09 MBP's.
Click to expand...

My WD 500 Scorpio Blue is silent and runs perfectly fine in my MBP 13". Now who's WRONG? That would be YOU...
 
Z06jerry said:
Epic, That's not quit the same thing you said earlier over here in post #80...

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/744690/



.... perhaps yours isn't as loud as others but you already acknowledged that you WD Scorpio Blue is clicking too.
Click to expand...
Yea I know, I thought someone would've said I contradicted myself. When I first installed it I would put my head next to the MBP and would hear the clicking. It was a very quiet click though. That's why I said I think my hearing has gotten worse because I just don't hear it anymore. Maybe the drive increases in performance over time. Who knows...

Though my only complaint still is the less frequent beach balls I get once in awhile. It lasts for about 10 seconds, but that's not what this thread is about so.. bleh.

-Epic
 
mcdj said:
My WD 500 Scorpio Blue is silent and runs perfectly fine in my MBP 13". Now who's WRONG? That would be YOU...
Click to expand...

mcdj, Congratulations with your WD Scorpio Blue in your 13" MBP!

Since the OP started this thread to help others avoid potential problems with aftermarket HDD upgrades in June '09 MBP's, I think those considering a HD upgrade would be well advised to avoid;

1. WD Scorpio Blue because many people have reported ticking sounds associated with frequent head parking during light use that can be heard in quiet environments.

2. Seagate 7200.4 because of reports of excessive vibration.

People don't seem to be complaining about Hitachi or Fujitsu drives in June 09 MBP's . Just my 2¢
 
Epic Phail said:
Though my only complaint still is the less frequent beach balls I get once in awhile. It lasts for about 10 seconds, but that's not what this thread is about so.. bleh.

-Epic
Click to expand...

I experience this last night for the first time on my 15" 2.66 uMBP. I was just browsing in Safari and the beach ball came up. I wasn't able to switch to Finder ect.

Then, with Safari quit, I was in iTunes and it happened several times again.

Is this a known issue? Something to worry about?
 
davidjearly said:
I experience this last night for the first time on my 15" 2.66 uMBP. I was just browsing in Safari and the beach ball came up. I wasn't able to switch to Finder ect.

Then, with Safari quit, I was in iTunes and it happened several times again.

Is this a known issue? Something to worry about?
Click to expand...
It might be related to the 1.7 firmware update I believe. So, if that is the case, only Apple would be able to fix the issue.

Here's the thread about it. It may help.
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/729883/

-Epic
 
I replaced the stock HDD in my June 09 15" 2.66 MBP with a 320GB, 7200RPM WD Scorpio Black and haven't heard any clicking in the month or so that I've had it. I have not applied the 1.7 firmware update.
 
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