3200AAKS vibrates madly

Mr. NiceGuy · Post by **Mr. NiceGuy** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 2:58 am

Hello!

a year ago I purchased a 3200AAKS which bothered me with its vibration from day one,
so recently I sent it for RMA because I read everywhere about how quiet the drive is and how little vibrations it has.
When I got the new drive and connected it, the problem was still there.
I would like to mention the the drive is mounted properly, And the I also own a 2500AAKS that I can't hear.

Did anyone else had this problem with the 3200AAKS? is there any simple way fix it ?

m0002a · Post by **m0002a** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 9:57 am

Is the drive mounted on silicone grommets or suspended?

If improving the mounting does not help, I would recommend the WD 500 GB Green Power drive instead.

Mr. NiceGuy · Post by **Mr. NiceGuy** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 10:56 am

I used the rails that came with my Enermax Chakra to put the drive in the drive bay.
But still, shouldn't it be enough ?
I don't have any modding experience, so I would rather doing something "simple".
But if there aren't other options, I'll give it a try. That noise is driving me crazy.

bozar · Post by **bozar** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 11:02 pm

The stock rails are always insufficient, mount with elast suspension if seek noise seems to be the trouble or suspended Quiet Drive if it's always noisey.

m0002a · Post by **m0002a** » Mon Sep 01, 2008 11:35 pm

I don't know anything about the stock mounting of hard drives on a Enermax Chakra. IMO, suspending the drives is not necessary (and sometimes not desireable), however, a drive does at least need to be isolated with some kind of rubber or silicone materal if you want them to be quiet. By that I mean there should be no metal-to-metal (or metal to hard plastic) contact between the drive and the case (this includes isolating the screws).

Mr. NiceGuy · Post by **Mr. NiceGuy** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 1:42 am

thank you for your replies!
I've seen in a sticky thread that the Zalman ZM-2HC2 is recommended.
If I buy it will the vibration noise stop ?

porkchop · Post by **porkchop** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 1:49 am

nope.
i've got one, the rubber is too hard to be useful.

see this thread: viewtopic.php?t=8240

edit- i'm guessing the thread you were referring to was probably this one

, i've found that the techniques listed under the 'best' are really the only ways to eliminate vibrations (-at least to the point where its quiet enough for me).

Mr. NiceGuy · Post by **Mr. NiceGuy** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 2:05 am

I'm not looking for complete silence, I just want it to be as quiet as my 2500AAKS. Right now I can hear (or feel) the vibration even if there's moderate noise around me.

btw, I'm going to buy the ZM-2HC2 and not the ZM-2HC1. I've read that its better here: http://www.extremereviews.net/data.php? ... ype=review.

I also read in newegg's customer reviews that the Zalman is great with hard drives that vibrate.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductRe ... rds=&Page=

porkchop · Post by **porkchop** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 2:46 am

the difference between the c1 and c2 is minimal- i think the only difference is the number of pipes.

i have tried mounting my wd3200aaks(about a year old, 2 platter) with the c2 in an antec nsk4000, and the vibrations were clearly there, the cooling was also unimpressive- until i got a little airflow over it.

it may quiet it a little, but don't expect a big difference.

Mr. NiceGuy · Post by **Mr. NiceGuy** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 3:20 am

At least I'm not the only one who feels the 3200AAKS vibrating...
Its a little weird that your drive was still vibrating since I read everywhere that its very efficent, so I would really like to wait for more comments about the zalman.
But lets say that you're right, what other silencing mothed (besides suspension) would you recommend ?

porkchop · Post by **porkchop** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 4:42 am

ive tried sitting it on foam with success- it does run a little warmer though.

check out this old thread i started: viewtopic.php?t=41709&highlight=&sid=be ... 0647077281

Mr. NiceGuy · Post by **Mr. NiceGuy** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 6:29 am

I'm thinking of buying a 6400AAKS to simply replace the 3200AAKS.
Will I have the same problem with the 6400AAKS?
I also have some experience with the samsung 640GB that was very quiet, is it in the same level of noise in terms of vibration ?

srolesen · Post by **srolesen** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 6:07 pm

i think the aaks drives support acoustic management, if they do you could check that it is set to quiet operation.
it wich will cut down on vibration during seek and seek clicks, but not on idle vibration

Mr. NiceGuy · Post by **Mr. NiceGuy** » Tue Sep 02, 2008 8:38 pm

I tried to enable AAM, it didn't help.

Mr. NiceGuy · Post by **Mr. NiceGuy** » Thu Sep 04, 2008 10:52 pm

Please answer my question. Will I have the same problem with vibration with the 6400AAKS ?

porkchop · Post by **porkchop** » Fri Sep 05, 2008 12:24 am

try changing your topic or starting a new thread- maybe some 6400aaks owners can answer you.

Koolpc · Post by **Koolpc** » Sun Sep 07, 2008 12:26 pm

Wouldn't the Samsung ones be quieter?

Mr. NiceGuy · Post by **Mr. NiceGuy** » Mon Sep 08, 2008 2:56 am

I had a Samsung 640GB that was strangely slow (only got around 65MB/s) so I got a refund. the Samsung was nice and quiet but I think that the 6400AAKS is even quiter. However, I really dont know what is the difference in terms of vibration.