After getting other noisy items under control, I'm now noticing the one hard drive I have left, a 1TB 3.5" WD Blue. I dont get any clacking noise at all, but there is the faintest of whine which most foilks wouldn't even notice until it turns off... and you hear the whine fade off.

Simple question, would a 2.5" black be any better? I just dont want to drop $80 and find its the same.

And yes, I know: I should have all SSD. I have a 500GB SSD but I need another 1TB of storage and cant swing the $500.

Thx

Probably not. Whine may be the noise imparted from spinning platters. Going to 2.5" with the same number of platters and same rotational speed could reduce it (as well as vibration related noise due to smaller mass). The WD Black 2.5" is 7200rpm...vs your 5400rpm and may have another platter. WD Blue 2.5" would be a better choice. Or, mess around with mounting location/foam/etc to reduce imparted noise.

Yea its definitely spinning noise. Especially noticeable in that descending whistle as the drive spins down/turns off.

The 3.5" Blue I have is actually 7.2krpm (the 1TB model is still 7200). I would think that, as you say, the 2.5" might be quieter from the lower mass etc, but then again I've come across some pretty noisy 2.5" drives in the past so I'm reticent to drop the cash on an hunch.