Sonata II - Weird Vibration Sound.

acyf · Post by **acyf** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 4:53 pm

Hi, I got a Sonata II, and there's some weird vibration sound coming off the side panel. It comes randomly and goes up and down. If I press against the side panel, the sound tends to go away. I was wondering if any of you, particularly those who own a Sonata II, have ever experienced something like this.

I have 2 HDDs, and I mounted them so that the connectors are facing me, simply for easy access since they are both PATA. Would it be better if I do it the other way around? Does it matter anyway?

This is so so freaking annoying! Any help will be greatly appreciated!

Felger Carbon · Post by **Felger Carbon** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 6:40 pm

The fix for your problem is some damping/mass loading of your side panel(s). Either Dynamat Extreme or sticky-back buna rubber (page 3328 of the McMaster catalog) will do; I'd recommend 1/8" buna, or thinner if you are weight-averse.

The problem is vibration from your two HDDs. They don't rotate at the same speed, so the weird sound is the beat note.

edit: image added

This is an example of a damped side panel. Most of the stuff is Dynamat Extreme; the CPU CAG is covered with 1/8" McMaster buna. Since the side panel slides in place, about 1.25" has to be left blank at the rear to avoid interference. Also, the latch mechanism has been left alone. Thre's a foot-ruler at the bottom; since this is a small case (Ever Case ECE3505) a single piece of McMaster 12" x 12" buna would suffice for this panel, and another for the opposite panel.

acyf · Post by **acyf** » Thu Jul 06, 2006 7:12 pm

But shouldn't Sonata II (~11kg) be heavy enough to suppress this kind of noise? One of the HDDs (the bootable one as usual) is rotating/vibrating more than the other one. Would it help if I put that one in the lower rack?

Those are really nice ideas, but I don't really want to spend any more on this thing since I switched from a cheap light case that didn't even cost $30 and cause me any problems.

Richard9999 · Post by **Richard9999** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 4:27 am

Why don't you decouple your HD's if HD-vibration is your problem?

See HDD vibration & noise reducing methods - ranked for more information about cheap and effective means to reduce HD-vibration.

dfrost · Post by **dfrost** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 12:17 pm

Here's a very inexpensive way(if you're in the US) to isolate the HDD's in the Sonata drive sleds.

This isolation works great with a drive that is already pretty quiet (love my Samsung SP2004C!). However, the Seagate 7200.7 SATA drive (used for backups only) can occasionally hum irritatingly even with m0002a's method. I then just open the case and wiggle/tap that drive until the hum quits.

acyf · Post by **acyf** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 1:04 pm

Well, i asked a computer technician today and he said it's pretty much useless.

How old is your Seagate drive? Do you know the cause of the hum? HDD aging? And I think m0002a's method is to reduce vibration so it's no doubt it can't take away the hum.

dfrost · Post by **dfrost** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 1:14 pm

My Seagate 7200.7is only about 18 months old - pretty disgusting if it's already failing. I don't know the cause of the hum, but it happens when the drive is idle (which it is for all except about 2 minutes/day). The hum happens maybe once/week.

Well, i asked a computer technician today and he said it's pretty much useless.

Maybe you have better computer techs, but when I ask those around here anything involving quiet computing I get useless info. Much better stuff comes from SPCR folks.

acyf · Post by **acyf** » Fri Jul 07, 2006 2:03 pm

One of my WD HDDs also hums very irritatingly, but it's been almost 3 years old, so I'd say it's getting old and that's why the hum. By the way, the hum is totally unpredictable. And like yours, once it comes, it won't stop until you tap/wiggle/slide it a little bit. To me, this is way more annoying than constant whine off any kind of fans.

Don't Seagate drives all have 5-year warranty? You might as well just ask for a replacement.

I don't know how knowledgable the computer techanican is but he clamied to have a lot of Antec cases (not P150 & P180 though) and most of them suck.