so, i have this case:

http://www.lc-power.de/index.php?id=273&L=1

and my hdd is vibrating quite a lot, to the point i can feel the vibrations in my desk and hands, even after i put some foam under the case. i am looking for a way to reduce the vibrations to a minimum, but i am not sure what are my options:

1) i can't (at least i think i can't) remove my hdd cage, so elastic suspension is out?

2) rubber grommets maybe wouldn't help all that much, and i am not sure if they can even fit in this case

3) i would like to try the soft foam under hdd method, but there are small "bulges" on the inside of the cage (that help keep the hdd in place) that stop me from doing so

am i correct in assuming these three methods are not possible with my case? and is there any other way that doesn't include spending more money on my pc?

i know this is my first post, but i really don't know who else to ask

That is a horrible case indeed (pun intended). Well, if you can feel the vibrations there is seriously something wrong. You should uncouple the HDD, but I guess the HDD cages themselves are also riveted to the case, a very light one as well with cheap thin sides. What HDD do you use?

Apart from uncoupling, there is only upgrading to a better HDD like the WD Caviar Green OR a new case with proper HDD cages.

Don't use the HDD cage. Suspend the HDDs with elastic cord in the 5.25" bays.

Check this sticky for inspiration
- viewtopic.php?f=7&t=19147

or suspend hdd's on their edge in the 3.5 bays.

not a very good one either:

http://www.amazon.com/Toshiba-3-5-Inch- ... B00B6A8VFY

i am not quite sure about the terminology, i thought the hdd cage itself is a 5.25 bay? can someone explain, in layman's terms, where the 3.5 and 5.25 bays are?

It's (kind of) the width of the bay, either three and a half or five and a quarter inches.

To make it easy to put together a computer the measurements for stuff is standardized. A desktop HDD is 3.5" wide and fits in the 3.5" bay of the case. A DVD reader is 5.25" wide and fits in the 5.25" bay of the case.

Notebook HDDs are usually 2.5" etc.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drive_bay

actually bay sizes refer to the size of the original platter or disc size inside the housing, so...

5.25 are 5.75" wide
3.5 bay is 4"
2.5 is 2.75"

if you dont plan on moving the case, or maybe just as a test... put the drive on some foam strips on the bottom of the case. use strips so air can still circulate underneath the drive.

Okay you should try to upgrade in the near future. You live in the US? A new Western Digital Caviar Green is available starting at 50$, and you can buy a used one without any problems!
Also you can get a used Fractal Define R4 or earlier (R3) case for less than 50$.

Both will greatly improve HDD noise issues, also they have a high build quality and will virtually last forever.

i don't plan on that, and this option appeals to me more than actual suspension, but as i said, there are some small thin bulges on the inside of the hdd cage, about 1-2 mm wide, that stop me from moving the hdd all the way down. i am not sure what's the correct term for them. even if i took the screws out, the drive would still rest atop those bulges. maybe i could straighten them out with a hammer or something, or just try to take the screws out and see what happens?

eastern europe, actually, i am guessing pc parts are probably a lot more expensive here. that aside, i bought this pc (hdd included) a couple months ago, and i don't think my budget could support splurging out for a new hdd, that's why i am looking for alternative solutions...

Sharkoon REX8 Economy is a different case, which sports 5,25" on the whole front. You could suspend your HDDs in this one.

http://geizhals.de/sharkoon-rex8-econom ... at&hloc=de

This isn't the best case and it sure has some shortcomings, but it seems to be had for a low price, at least in germany.

Buying a new case is a complete waste of money if all you want is the HDD noise going away.
You should consider putting your HDD in that upper cage, above the horizontal fan mount. If you have some sanitary silicone at home you could improvise pads(5 mm thick should do it) that you can seat your HDD on. It's a great material for dampening vibration and seek noise.

it's not really the noise that's the problem (my hearing is not the best), but the vibration. it's mostly nonexistant during the day, but i can definitely feel it during the night, maybe it's temperature dependent.

anyway, i can't really put it in the upper cage without some serious cable management, and that's well beyond my area of computer expertise i'd prefer to move it to the bottom of the lower cage, but i need a way to deal with these "bulges".

The PSU is up there so what do you need? Longer SATA-cables? Vibration/sound is all the same here; the vibrations causes the sound. Suspending the drives gets rid of the vibration.

Forget about the HDD cage. Unless you suspend the HDDs on their edge like xan_user suggest, there's not enough room there for a suspended drive.

It might help if you tell us more about your system. The obvious solutions are suspension in the 5.25" bay or perhaps foam bricks on the bottom of the case. But if you have a couple of ODDs and a bunch of expansion cards that might be difficult.

i am aware of the vibration/sound connection, just saying only the former is really a problem for me well, here is how it looks:



this was a couple months ago, i've since bought a hyper tx3 and moved the hdd to the middle slot of the cage (that helped reduce the noise/vibrations somewhat). i feel like there's too many cables around for me to move it the hdd all the way up there, right?

a completely unrelated question, but maybe someone here knows: if my pc beeps twice on startup and i have an ami bios, this site:

http://www.computerhope.com/beep.htm

says that's either normal or a parity circuit failure. what's the difference between that normal double beep and a "problematic" one? the system itself works perfectly fine, i am not really noticing anything out of the ordinary.

You have lots of space for all kind of solutions. To many cables around? If you can change the CPU cooler, then you should be qualified for some cable management work.

You could use foam to isolate the vibrations and place the HDD under the graphics card. A foam brick could be used or something a bit more fancy like this perhaps.



An excellent commercial solution is the NoVibes. You place the 3.5" HDD in between the rubber cords and mount the thing in a 5.25" bay.



You can do the same thing with only elastic cord.



Or if you want to leave the HDD where it is, just turn it on it's side.

intriguing! say i used the foam brick, how would i keep the hdd in place? i know it's a noobish question, but does the hdd move when it's working?