New kit has arrived! Further issues...

[Just-Chris]

My XP-120 and Zalman HP80D arrived yesterday and has been installed. The zalman was a tricky bugger to install but I am very pleased with both. XP-120 with 120mm Papst (the quiet one) at 7V virtually silent. It keeps my hungry 3.06GHz P4 at <50C under load. The Zalman gets extremely hot on my 9800pro, but I have noticed no ill effects in games.

The problem I have is now is two further sources of noise, one is the PSU which has a temperature controlled fan. The fan starts quiet but after running the system for a moderate amount of time will speed up to quite noisy. Its an enermax 350W dual fan model. Connecting the second fan makes no difference.

The second which has been a problem for a long time now is my Seagate 'cuda V HDD. It makes this horrific whine sound when "idle". I have seen a number of theories as to what it is but non of them make any sense to me. The noise always when the disk as been idle for a while, and is periodic, say every 10 seconds or so. "whiirrrrrrrrrrrrr" then silence. Repeat. I will try to get a recording.

What action should I take?

[frankgehry]

C,

What enermax model is it? noisetaker, whisper, other? - FG

[chylld]

i think i may have a similar problem. i have 3 cuda 7200.7 drives and although they're silent inside the case, there seems to be a high-pitched 'wheeeeeeeee' sound every few seconds or so. not sure if this is the same problem (or even if this is related to the hard drives at all) but who knows.

the problem with mine is that the sound made inside the computer gets amplified through my sound system and out through my speakers!

[acaurora]

I have tested a 300 GB Seagate External HDD, and it also produces the same strange noises. It also has a harsh scraping sound when i power it off. Quite scary.

[andyb]

The Cuda noise is Seagates answer to fatigue etc.

The drives move the Accuator arms around for a few seconds every few minutes. I have 3 7200.7's they all do it, I only notice it at night when it's quiter.

I have also noticed it on Cuda 4' and 5's.

FYI, I found my 7200.7's to be a lower pitch than the Cuda 5 makes, and the 4 is barely audiable.

If it really pisses you off the Answer is a Samsung, they dont make an odd noises, and are quiter the rest of the time.

Andy

[Just-Chris]

Ive just used the hitachi tool to mess with AMM and SMART, neither has made a difference. This drive has served me well so I am loathed to ditch it. But if there is no solution to this problem then I have no choice

[burcakb]

Suspension & melamine foam (not other foam though) take the edge off that harddrive noise.

[Just-Chris]

OK, I took apart the enermax this morning to investigate possible mods. It was absolutely filthy inside which may have contributed to the fan(s) running full speed. The device has a 70mm fan on the back and an 80mm on the bottom. I removed both fans and tested them at various voltages. The 70mm fan was quite loud and really didnt push much air. The 80mm was much better, pushing more air and was quite bearable even at relatively high voltages.

Ive removed the smaller fan permanently and I am now running the 80mm fan from the PC supply rather than from the temperature controlled circuit on the PSU, using a 1K potentiometer from maplins as a "fanmate".

I am very pleased so far with this setup from a noise point of view, but I have to see whether it can provide sufficient cooling.

If this should not provied sufficient cooling its seems the enermax would accomodate a 120mm fan just by drilling some holes. The only thing is, it would have to be a 25mm deep model not a 38mm one which tend to be the quietest.

Ill put some pictures up soon. I also use a 1K pot to control the 120mm Papst on the XP120. These are very good cheap alternatives to fanmates just require some wiring.

Now to suspend this pesky harddisk!