The golden era of HDDs is already gone, and we still haven\u2019t seen any real solution for one of their basic problems. A\u00a0mounting system that would absorbs undesirable vibrations. The difference in noise levels can be significant. We\u2019ve created just the thing to find out whether it\u2019s even possible to get rid of those vibrations completely.<\/p>\n
It used to be simpler to partially deal with this problem with available accessory in a non-destructive way (ie, without reducing AAM). There were a few silent boxes on the market, but they are not sold anymore, and they\u2019ve never been very efficient anyway. The closed structure absorbed the noise of the disk, but the vibrations kept spreading over the whole case. These accessories used a\u00a0hard rubber or silicone, similarly to modern mounting system in better cases. We\u2019re not saying that it\u2019s totally useless, just that the effectiveness is quite low.<\/p>\n
An excellent solution was the HDD Vibration Killer from Tich\u00e9PC. You might remember two racks that were installed in a 5.25 “shaft. The vibrations were absorbed in the foam that was between the clamping parts. However, this is also not sold anymore.<\/p>\n
Mounting your HDDs with the help of some classic rubber bands gives no chance to any vibrations. Many people have always been aware of this solution, but none of the PC cases manufacturers have decided to implement something like it. But don\u2019t let that stop you from building your own homemade mounting system. For testing purposes, we\u2018ve designed simple rubber band stands, and compared the resulting noise level differences with in-case-like default situation. Tests were done in our soundproof box, the sensor of the noise level meter (Reed R8080) was 10 cm from the disk.<\/p>\n
Like always, you can find all measured values in the charts where you can see the impact on the noise level for all current WD single platter HDDs. In idle mode, only the platters were spinning, and the arm was not moving at all. The platters themselves don\u2019t cause that much noise (just +2 dBA). But look at the difference with the Gold (seeking while writing small blocks), -12 dBA, that\u2019s not bad for a\u00a0homemade feature.<\/p>\n