Western Digital 320gb WD3200JD SATA way too whiny
Moderators: NeilBlanchard, Ralf Hutter, sthayashi, Lawrence Lee
I got this drive from Newegg (after hearing reports of broken drives from Monarch). There is no audible high pitch sound from any angle, and I've got better ears than anyone I know. There's a lot of whooshing white noise, but it's very tolerable and within my limits. It is mounted flat/horizontally in my Antec SLK-3000B with the rubber grommets.
I'm not certain yet but I think the idle noise level on this drive is far higher than on my external 200GB Seagate.
Edit: either I'm deaf or the drive is a lot quieter now. I plugged in my CPU so my computer actually boots.
I'm not certain yet but I think the idle noise level on this drive is far higher than on my external 200GB Seagate.
Edit: either I'm deaf or the drive is a lot quieter now. I plugged in my CPU so my computer actually boots.
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That is how I felt when I replaced my hard drives with my 320GB Caviar.ivan wrote:I got this drive from Newegg (after hearing reports of broken drives from Monarch). There is no audible high pitch sound from any angle, and I've got better ears than anyone I know. There's a lot of whooshing white noise, but it's very tolerable and within my limits. It is mounted flat/horizontally in my Antec SLK-3000B with the rubber grommets.
I'm not certain yet but I think the idle noise level on this drive is far higher than on my external 200GB Seagate.
Edit: either I'm deaf or the drive is a lot quieter now. I plugged in my CPU so my computer actually boots.
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UPDATE:
Okay I got my new drive today and I am testing it out right now. It seems like it is still giving out the same whine but this time the volume is much lower and less noticable. I think this softer sound is tolerable for me. I think I will find an enclosure for it for sure. So overall, I guess I am semi-satisfied with my replacement. I'm guessing these Western Digital hdd is the luck of the draw. I'm not going to do another return or replacement. It's just not worth the time, money, or effort. One thing is for sure though, I will not buy another Wester Digital drive for a long time.
Okay I got my new drive today and I am testing it out right now. It seems like it is still giving out the same whine but this time the volume is much lower and less noticable. I think this softer sound is tolerable for me. I think I will find an enclosure for it for sure. So overall, I guess I am semi-satisfied with my replacement. I'm guessing these Western Digital hdd is the luck of the draw. I'm not going to do another return or replacement. It's just not worth the time, money, or effort. One thing is for sure though, I will not buy another Wester Digital drive for a long time.
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Thanks for the update. Bad news for me though, if all the drives have this coarse whine, then I don't want another replacement. It seems the best option for me is to either sell the drive or return it in which case I'll lose $25 in restocking fees and shipping...
What's interesting is that I have a first generation of fluid bearing WD, more specifically 2500JB, made in 2003 and it has absolutely none of that whine I'm getting with 3200JD. I don't know why WD decided to change the fluid bearings if their first generation was considerably quiter than the one used in 3200JB/JD.
What's interesting is that I have a first generation of fluid bearing WD, more specifically 2500JB, made in 2003 and it has absolutely none of that whine I'm getting with 3200JD. I don't know why WD decided to change the fluid bearings if their first generation was considerably quiter than the one used in 3200JB/JD.
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I'm going to order another HDD to replace 3200JD. As soon as it comes and I transfer data to it I'll take the 3200JD out and will write down everything I can to try to identify if it's indeed a certain batch that is whiny. Although as far as I remember WD does not print spindle manufacturer like Samsung does so there is no way of identifying it.
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I took out the 3200JD today and as I suspected there are no identifying marks on the bottom of the hard drive so there is no way to tell who makes the bearings.
Personally I would not recommend any SPCRer getting new WD hard drives. The "coarse whine" as coined by the SPCR review of 2500JD is way too annoying, it can be heard all the way across the room and may fade out and reappear again within minutes which makes it even more annoying - just when you think it's gone it's back.
Personally I would not recommend any SPCRer getting new WD hard drives. The "coarse whine" as coined by the SPCR review of 2500JD is way too annoying, it can be heard all the way across the room and may fade out and reappear again within minutes which makes it even more annoying - just when you think it's gone it's back.
JazzJackRabbit wrote: http://www.silentpcreview.com/files/sou ... -26dba.mp3
Here, I linked it directly for your pleasure. Download and notice the change at 10 second mark, that's what my drive sounds all the time.
Thats exactly the kind of noise i also get from WDC 3200JB. I also noticed this sound is not always there (just on 1/3 of the drive). I noticed it when i was "low formating" drive and on the beginning the noise was there on the end it was silent and when the low format finished the noise appeared again.dragontales wrote: That is the exact noise that I am getting from my drive. It is freakin annoying.
So i guess all 3200JB has this noise? I already returned one drive and this replacement has the same kind of noise.
Quite dissapointed with WD :/. Is there any way to get rid of this noise? Dragontales did that enclosure help?
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I have a WD3200JB and it does not really whine. It emits a constant soft noise that sounds like disk on a FDB motor spinning but it is very low and it is not annoying. I am curious, though, what metal is your case made out of and is your WD3200JD hard mounted? The noise could very well be from case resonance. I have my WD3200JB suspended in my P150 case and the suspension reduced my computer's noise level to a tolerable one.
And also, does this apply to the 320GB SE16 WD3200KS? Maybe I should just go for another Hitachi T7K250, mine has been working perfect with inaudible seeks in my P180.ihategg_b wrote:Is it only the 320 gb that whines? Anyone else with other capacity WD drives have any comments?
http://aegd.cjb.net/dexton/osorterat/Dsc00833_800.jpg
http://aegd.cjb.net/dexton/osorterat/Dsc00432_800.jpg
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ihategg_b and dexton
If you searched carefully through the forum you'd discover 250GB models also have been reported to have the same whine, hell, spcr reviewed 250GB sample had it, which you would have known if you read the thread carefully. Reading skills become a lost art it would seem. As for the other models I don't know.
If you searched carefully through the forum you'd discover 250GB models also have been reported to have the same whine, hell, spcr reviewed 250GB sample had it, which you would have known if you read the thread carefully. Reading skills become a lost art it would seem. As for the other models I don't know.
I am running a WD3200KS and a WD3200JD in the same system. The KS is slightly quieter than the JD. The seeks are very quiet and non-offensive. The idle whine sounds more like a high frequency white noise fan "whoosh". I don't think that either drive is very loud, but I could still barely hear them because the rest of my system is extremely quiet.
I am hoping to post some photos of my noise dampining improvements for these drives soon. Suspending these drives did nothing to improve the noise. I ended up using elastic straps to hold RubberMaid "Blue Ice" bags to the bottom of the drives. Much of the noise (and heat) seemed to be emanating from the bottom of the drives and this does a pretty good job of reducing the high frequency white whooshing noise while allowing the drives to remain cool.
Jason
I am hoping to post some photos of my noise dampining improvements for these drives soon. Suspending these drives did nothing to improve the noise. I ended up using elastic straps to hold RubberMaid "Blue Ice" bags to the bottom of the drives. Much of the noise (and heat) seemed to be emanating from the bottom of the drives and this does a pretty good job of reducing the high frequency white whooshing noise while allowing the drives to remain cool.
Jason
i've got 2 wd3200jb's and a wd3200ks. the ks is definately noisier, although for 7200 rpm drives they're not bad. i have them all in suspended silentmaxx enclosures. i have very low ambient and very sensitive hearing. only other moving parts are a suspended mp0402h, a nexus at 7v and a scythe at 5v. the 7200's are the only thing i can hear late at night with no other noise sources. i really need a flat with a garage i can cable to
Well tell me where to find the SPCR review of a SE16 WD2500KS and I wont bother youJazzJackRabbit wrote:ihategg_b and dexton
If you searched carefully through the forum you'd discover 250GB models also have been reported to have the same whine, hell, spcr reviewed 250GB sample had it, which you would have known if you read the thread carefully. Reading skills become a lost art it would seem. As for the other models I don't know.
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KS and JD is essentially the same thing, just different firmware and maybe pcb.dexton wrote:Well tell me where to find the SPCR review of a SE16 WD2500KS and I wont bother youJazzJackRabbit wrote:ihategg_b and dexton
If you searched carefully through the forum you'd discover 250GB models also have been reported to have the same whine, hell, spcr reviewed 250GB sample had it, which you would have known if you read the thread carefully. Reading skills become a lost art it would seem. As for the other models I don't know.
yeah also 16MB of cache of course but since the SPCR reviews of WD5000KS and WD2500JD are so different in terms of noise type/amount (WD5000KS being waaaaay better) and the 250GB drive has 1 platter less, I dont trust the old WD2500JD review. I mean, SPCR's WD5000KS couldnt have been SOOO much better than the norm. I mean its still a 4-platter drive.JazzJackRabbit wrote: KS and JD is essentially the same thing, just different firmware and maybe pcb.
I just got this 7200.10 320GB SATA with the terrible "pure tone" mentioned in SPCRs 7200.9 review. Its soooo bad and you can hear it with your head turned certain angles and the drive is in lower P180 cage with sound dampening material added. Some whine is ok, my T7K250 has a touch of whine and I dont even hear this drive in my normal sitting position. If I put my head next to the case when defragging I can hear a faint sound of seeks.
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After using it for a few days now, I must admit that the drive sometimes makes a buzzing sound. I have no idea what causes it.TomMe wrote:I can hear no whine coming from my WD2500KS. Not even when I halt the fan of my CPU heatsink, and my S12-430 is completely silent to me. Of course, the ambient noise here could be too high for me to hear.
WD part numbers are just a way of specifying the size of the drive. Two drives with the same WD part number can be vastly different--even different number of platters.dexton wrote:yeah also 16MB of cache of course but since the SPCR reviews of WD5000KS and WD2500JD are so different in terms of noise type/amount (WD5000KS being waaaaay better) and the 250GB drive has 1 platter less, I dont trust the old WD2500JD review. I mean, SPCR's WD5000KS couldnt have been SOOO much better than the norm. I mean its still a 4-platter drive.JazzJackRabbit wrote: KS and JD is essentially the same thing, just different firmware and maybe pcb.
The recent WD SE16 "KS" drives seem to be about the quietest drives out there right now, but a year or more old WD2500KS may have nothing in common with a current WD2500KS, and certainly may have nothing in common with a two year old WD2500JD.
Recent tests/user experience seems to show that WD is really improving the audible quality of their Raptor and SE16 lines. I'd recommend either of those, but, yes, there is probably a good deal of variation too.