[SOLVED] Noisy Seagate Barracuda Pro

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blatherscribe

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Nov 5, 2018
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Greetings,

I've just put together a new computer which I've optimized for silence. I chose a Barracuda Pro 4 TB hard drive because of the many reviews online praising it for silent operation. Yet it makes a constant noise, a scraping sound somewhat like rubbing the palms of one's hands together. It also vibrates so much it makes the entire case hum, in spite of anti-vibration mounting. Is this normal for this drive? With nothing else making noise, no fans turning at all, it's louder than my previous computer with all fans and two hard drives.

Any advice appreciated.
 
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Thanks, I'd already done that and it passed the tests. The drive seems to work, it's just weirdly noisy. I've never had a hard drive make these particular noises in twenty-odd years. It sounds more like a fan that isn't working quite right than a hard drive (but I've verified that it is the drive -- when it spins down, the sound and hum disappear; when it spins back up, they're back).

At this point my concern is that this is standard for this drive, so going through an RMA wouldn't help.
 
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Thanks, I've contacted Seagate and they said they'd RMA it. I'm just concerned that this is normal for the drive, in which case I'll want to see if I can just return it to Amazon and go back to Western Digital. I'll be tremendously disappointed if this is normal, given that I have one of their external backup drives and it is absolutely silent unless it's seeking. But that's the main reason I'm asking here, to find out whether all Barracuda Pro drives make this constant sort of sighing noise before I RMA and am thus unable to switch it for a different manufacturer.
 
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do what scout 03 said RMA and I would probably go to WD.

But where are your drive located in case bottom, middle, top ?
Are they in drive caddies?
I hate those things, they're great for SSD's, but not needed, cause you can stick them any where.
But when it comes to HDD's they are nothing but junk even if do you screw them in the caddy they'll still shift and move on you, the HDD's that is, and the hard drive screws are to short to go threw the case cage then threw the caddy to hold your HDD's secure and don't line up most of the time.


Have a good day
 
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Well I stuck my neck out there on that one anyway. I really shouldn't be giving advice to anyone I can't seem to put my own computer together.


Thanks

 
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Sorry I missed this -- didn't get an email notification. I have a Fractal Design Define R6 case. Hard drive's attached to a sort of platform. Not a caddy on rails as in previous versions, the drive is attached to a flat platform with anti-vibration spacers, which is then hooked into one end of this stack of possible drive mounts, and then thumb-screwed to the other end to fix it. It's near the bottom of the case. It seems to be mounted securely. I tightened up the screws, and that helped somewhat.
 
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Not a problem, I have a R5 so I checked out your R6 for those platforms you mentioned.

So, the anti-vibration spacers are they located in the bottom of the platform or where?

If so, does the bottom of the drive touch any metal at all?

How places or points does anti-vibration material come in contact with your drive and or any other parts of your chassis/case?

I saw where I guess the front had thumb screws?

Does the back end have some type of slot, hook, etc... on the side of the case in some kind of fashion?

Both mounting points for the platform just on one side?

There could be a cheap, homemade solution to this, less than $5.00 USD but....

If the drive is making some kind of noise right out of the box that don't seem normal, get rid of it if you can!!!


Have a good day




 
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I suggest you run the SeaTools long generic test to be sure. This drive spins at 7200 RPM's versus 5400 RPM's thus the noise level will be a bit more noticeable. Here is the manual of the drive in case you need it.
 
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The drive connects to its platform via four screws, each of which has an anti-vibration rubber or silicone washer around it. The only metal-to-metal contact is between the screws and the hard drive. The silicone washers keep the drive from touching the platform on one side, and the screws from touching the platform on the other. The case also has feet that are meant to prevent it from transmitting vibration to the surface it's on. Most of the vibration I'd noticed was my fault -- I hadn't tightened the screws fully. I was being a bit too careful. But there's still some vibration I don't like, in comparison to other drives I've had.



Thanks, I've done that and there were no errors. Amazon sent me a replacement, and it's slightly quieter, but still very loud. I really don't understand why reviews keep measuring the noise at idle at around 25 dB when these two drives are idling at 42 and 48 db. By comparison, my old WD Black 2 TB drive idles at 32 dB. I actually purchased a Barracuda Pro because it was supposed to be quieter than that.

I'm now looking at 5400 RPM drives.
 
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I'm now looking at 5400 RPM drives.
Are these drives just for storage?

What is this computer suppose to do ?

I've just put together a new computer which I've optimized for silence.
A true silent computer has no fans at all, CPU Heat Sink no Fan, PSU no Fan, GPU no Fan, no Case Fans, no HDD's
or in another room so you can't hear it.

I would never order/buy a HDD/SSD from Amazon as well a lot of other electronics and so on, but that's just me.



have a good day







 
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It's supposed to do everything, because I can't afford to build multiple computers for every possible use. It is dead silent when under minimal load, except for the hard drive. Case fans don't spin up until the PCH temperature hits 50 C. PSU fan doesn't activate until 50% load. Video card fans don't spin until it hits 50 C. The main drive is a Samsung SSD. In normal use, only the CPU fan and hard drive move at all. The CPU fan (like the case fans) is from Noctua, and basically silent at lower RPMs. And it's all in a Fractal Design case with excellent sound dampening.

I've been trying to get PCs as quiet as possible as long as I've been building them, because I have ADD and some auditory processing issues. Right now, ONLY the hard drive is interfering with this. It's more than twice as loud as my old drive, a WD Caviar Black (which was quieter, as I understand it, than the newer WD Black-no-caviar).

As for Amazon, they had the better prices when I purchased the drive. I went with Newegg for most of it, Amazon where the price was significantly better, because I'm not nearly as rich as I'd need to be not to care. :)

Oh, and the hard drive is for file and media storage. The OS and games and programs and such work from the SSD.

All that said, does anyone have a suggestion for a truly silent hard drive? I'm currently leaning toward WD Blue, 5400 RPM.
 
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I have been working on building a computer for 4 years piecemealed together though actually the first components were bought in 2010. If I can't afford it, I don't buy it. and I can't afford much.

Something loose somewhere or a junk A$$ drive. amazon?

Skip the Blue and get a Red

Have a good day





 
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Thanks for the advice. :) Any reason for Red over Blue? There's a rather confusing tangle of reviews out there; some suggest the Blue is quieter, some the Red, some say the Blues are prone to insane noisiness, others the Reds seek like an army of gnomes hammering on things.
 
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There's a rather confusing tangle of reviews out there; Everybody got one.

Blue: 5400rpm/7200rpm, Cheaper, Shorter warranty, 3 years I think?, Sometimes slightly faster than Blacks (7200rpm that is),

Red: 5400rpm, Cost more, Longer Warranty 5 years, Stable track, made for 24/7 operation, Made with Raid in mind.

Instead get a WD Gold. Sometimes cheaper than the Reds and just as good or better, should have quite operation.


Have A Good Day 😉

 
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Thanks, I appreciate the help! :)
 
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Blatherscribe, this is a huge coincidence but I'm in exactly the same boat as you right now with my new home workstation PC. I bought a Fractal Design Define R6 case for its touted acoustic insulation properties. I have an m.2 ssd from Samsung for my system drive and corsair's silent h115i liquid cooler. After enjoying my silent new PC right next to my ears atop my desk for a month I just received and installed a Barracuda Pro 4tb drive to serve as my main storage drive. I do find the noise to be quite distracting and, worse still, I am getting a bit of vibration on the case frame. This is despite installing the HDD with those rubber grommets.

I thought it would be a good shout to get the faster drive for my RAW photo files, videos and 3D CGI assets. I'm beginning to regret the splurge as having the drive in there is hard to ignore in a silent room. I'm like you with some mild OCD and ADD.

I tried two install options on this drive. The main option of using those horizontal trays which are fixed on via thumbscrews and I also moved things to create an 'open configuration' and installed the drive vertically on the right side of the case. I thought the close proximity to the acoustic insulated panel could help. In fact the vibration sounds just became worse in that position.

At the moment I moved the PC case down under my desk and it has made a notable reduction in annoyance but I do want it on my desk. I prefer it to more easily access the ports and get inside the case when I need to. I also got the glass option and there are pretty RGB LEDs in there so I feel like I should be able to look at my shiny new toy and not have it under my desk to get dusty a lot faster.

It's irritating as it's a nice brand new drive which performs well but I am thinking of returning it and seeing if I do better with with WD blue 4tb. I at least don't expect to get the same vibrations I'm getting on the case. I am within my returns period and amazon seems like they would just accept this drive back. used, if it is within the 30 day returns period.

So, what did you do in the end? Did you return your drive and get a WD BLUE 4TB or something else? How do you find it compared to the Barracuda Pro? Open to recommendations. Thanks!
 
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my HGST 4 TB NAS drive is a 7200 RPM drive, and in a slide-in front Icy Dock bay, and, I consider it fairly quiet when under it's typical short write scenario, dragging little files to it, etc.......(But I can certainly hear it if I do even a short test within GSmartControl...)
 
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