Is my HDD failing?

[custos7]

Hi

While playing GTA 5 (mostly then) I get huge stutters. Before anyone jumps to the usual conclusions please read the following:

-I get between 70 and 144+ fps normally, when this happens it doesn't exactly drop the frames but little rapid freezes each lasting between 0.05 and 1 second. Neither CPU and GPU are over 70 Celsius when this happens.

-When these freezes happen my HDD makes a lot of noise. It mostly happens when the game is loading new areas. Animations and particles don't seem to have any effect. Once the area is loaded everything runs smoothly.

-Game didn't update/I didn't change the game options/files in any way when this started happening. This is specifically why I don't think it's related to this game specifically. I had no freezing problems and it was smooth 100~ fps before 4-5 days.

-Powering down the PC seems to be a very temporary workaround. Stutters disappear for about 10-30 minutes and slowly come back in another 10-30 minutes. Haven't tested this very well.

-The HDD started making noises about 1 year ago but until 4-5 days ago everything was fine, didn't see it coming. CrystalDiskInfo is showing all Drives to be "Good" as does the BIOS SMART command.

Please let me know if I can give any more details or if you have any diagnostic ideas.
Thanks


HDD: Corsair Force 3 SSD / WDC Black 1TB / Green 2TB
(Windows on SSD, game on WDC Black, both 5 years old - WDC Black is the loud one)
Case: Thermaltake Element T
MB : P8Z68-V PRO
CPU : i7 - 2600k
GPU : MSI Gtx 970 ME
RAM : 8GB kingston hyper 1600
Monitor: Asus VG248QE

 

[Mrcrazed]

I think you might be right, I would get a new drive quickly before your current one fails completely.

 

[SuperSoph_WD]

Hey there, custos7!

I'm really sorry to hear about your issues with the WD HDDs! Unfortunately, if the drive is making noises, it could mean that it has internal/physical damage. I'd recommend you to run WD's Data LifeGuard Diagnostics for Windows as well and check up on the health and SMART status from there as well. Running the QUICK and EXTENDED tests would most certainly help you do that: http://products.wdc.com/support/kb.ashx?id=kpKKZl

Another thing you should try is swapping the SATA cable with a different one or even try changing the SATA port on the motherboard, to see if the stutters will be present afterward as well.

Keep us posted! Hope this helps you!
SuperSoph_WD

 

[custos7]

Thank you for the feedback and advice, both of you. I'll do it the first chance I get and update results Soph.

 

[custos7]

Sorry for being late. Tests were OK but I didn't have time to check the SATA ports. Shut down the PC once more(I keep it open), since then freezes are very mild (still existing). If it goes worse I'll see to changing the SATA port and report again.