iMac - 750gb imac hdd noise

hudson · hudson #1 (**permalink**)

05-02-2007, 04:44 AM

Hi,

Does anyone else have experience with an imac with 750gb drive? Wanting a very quiet computer, and seeing a review at silentpcreview.com, which stated the imac was 'near silent', I bought a 24" model with the largest internal drive available.

The problem is, it's nowhere near as silent as I'd hoped. There's a definite hum, above the slight whoosh of the fans, which I think is the sound of the hard disk spinning. While not incredibly loud, it does rather dominate an otherwise quiet room when sitting a couple of feet away from the screen. This doesn't seem to tally with what I read about 'near silence', so my question is, is the 750gb option known to be louder than the imac with the 250 or 500gb drives?

mac57 · mac57 #2 (**permalink**)

05-04-2007, 04:32 PM

Welcome to Mac Forums, hudson!

I cannot comment on iMac noise levels, but I would comment that my PowerMac G5 is the second quietest computer I have ever owned. A custom build PC that came from a shop that specialized in completely silent PCs is the quietest I have ever had.

I would encourage current iMac owners with 250 GB and 500 GB drives to post back. In an otherwise quiet room, is the noise from your iMac (a) noticable and (b) loud enough to be a distraction? This will let you compare, hudson, your experience with that of folks who don't have the 750 GB model.

Stretch · Stretch #3 (**permalink**)

05-04-2007, 04:36 PM

My iMac, a 2.1GHz G5 with 250GB HD is noticable, but not loud enough to be a distraction. I have no trouble sleeping in the same room as it.

jakeroberts · jakeroberts #4 (**permalink**)

05-06-2007, 07:40 PM

Hello, I have been reading stuff all over the forums that indicate there are some screen issues with the 24" iMac. I would look into that further as I believe it might be a warranty issue.

narf1899 · narf1899 #5 (**permalink**)

05-06-2007, 08:04 PM

ive got one with a 250 and it is dead silent...seriously, not even a fan hum.

Sandwichman · Sandwichman #6 (**permalink**)

05-10-2007, 04:18 PM

Same- 250 GB (which I got by accident and didn't realize I had for a month) is totally silent as far as I can tell. (I usually listen to music, though.)

hudson · hudson #7 (**permalink**)

05-16-2007, 04:57 PM

After spending a few weeks with the mac, I can say that although perfect in almost every way, the experience is tainted by the incessant breathy hum from either the fan or disk. I'd describe it as a mite quieter than a SFF system I built last year, except that the noise comes from a worse place; right in front of my face. I don't know, maybe I am super sensitive (I doubt it), or I use it in a quieter environment than most. Just I'm working on the theory that the 750gb drive is just a less quiet model than the standard 250 or 500gb, but I've not yet found anyone with a similar set up.

Does anyone know how to query the make and model of the hard drive used in an imac system?

mac57 #2 (permalink)
Member Since: Apr 29, 2006 Location: St. Somewhere Posts: 4,553 Mac Specs: iMac 27" 3.4 GHz, 256 GB SSD, 2 TB HDD, 8 GB RAM	05-04-2007, 04:32 PM Welcome to Mac Forums, hudson! I cannot comment on iMac noise levels, but I would comment that my PowerMac G5 is the second quietest computer I have ever owned. A custom build PC that came from a shop that specialized in completely silent PCs is the quietest I have ever had. I would encourage current iMac owners with 250 GB and 500 GB drives to post back. In an otherwise quiet room, is the noise from your iMac (a) noticable and (b) loud enough to be a distraction? This will let you compare, hudson, your experience with that of folks who don't have the 750 GB model. My Macs: iMac 27" 3.4 GHz, 4 Core, Mac Pro, 3.2 GHz 8 Core, PowerMac G5 Quad, 2.5 GHz, G4 Cube, 1.2 GHz Upgrade My iStuff: 32 GB iPhone 4, 30 GB iPod Video, 16 GB iPod Touch My OS': Mac OS X Tiger, Mac OS X Snow Leopard, Mac OS X Leopard, Mac OS 8.6, openSUSE 10.3, Win XP I was on the Mac-Forums honor roll for September 2007
	QUOTE Thanks

narf1899 #5 (permalink)
Member Since: Feb 05, 2007 Posts: 465 Mac Specs: iMac 20" C2D 2.4 ghz 2gb iMac 20" C2D 2GB 256MB Graphics Macbook C2D 2GB Powermac G4 Dual 450	05-06-2007, 08:04 PM ive got one with a 250 and it is dead silent...seriously, not even a fan hum. iMac Aluminum 20" 2.4 ghz 2gb RAM 300gb HD iMac 20" Core2duo 2gb 250gb Macbook White Core2duo 2gb 80gb Powermac G4 dual 450
	QUOTE Thanks

Sandwichman #6 (permalink)
Member Since: Jul 18, 2006 Posts: 238 Mac Specs: iMac 17" Intel Core Duo, 2 GB RAM + 20" ACD	05-10-2007, 04:18 PM Same- 250 GB (which I got by accident and didn't realize I had for a month) is totally silent as far as I can tell. (I usually listen to music, though.) Sitting, waiting, wishing...
	QUOTE Thanks

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iMac - 750gb imac hdd noise

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hudson #1 (permalink)
Member Since: May 02, 2007 Posts: 2	05-02-2007, 04:44 AM Hi, Does anyone else have experience with an imac with 750gb drive? Wanting a very quiet computer, and seeing a review at silentpcreview.com, which stated the imac was 'near silent', I bought a 24" model with the largest internal drive available. The problem is, it's nowhere near as silent as I'd hoped. There's a definite hum, above the slight whoosh of the fans, which I think is the sound of the hard disk spinning. While not incredibly loud, it does rather dominate an otherwise quiet room when sitting a couple of feet away from the screen. This doesn't seem to tally with what I read about 'near silence', so my question is, is the 750gb option known to be louder than the imac with the 250 or 500gb drives?
	QUOTE Thanks

jakeroberts #4 (permalink)
Member Since: Apr 10, 2007 Posts: 313	05-06-2007, 07:40 PM Hello, I have been reading stuff all over the forums that indicate there are some screen issues with the 24" iMac. I would look into that further as I believe it might be a warranty issue.
	QUOTE Thanks

hudson #7 (permalink)
Member Since: May 02, 2007 Posts: 2	05-16-2007, 04:57 PM After spending a few weeks with the mac, I can say that although perfect in almost every way, the experience is tainted by the incessant breathy hum from either the fan or disk. I'd describe it as a mite quieter than a SFF system I built last year, except that the noise comes from a worse place; right in front of my face. I don't know, maybe I am super sensitive (I doubt it), or I use it in a quieter environment than most. Just I'm working on the theory that the 750gb drive is just a less quiet model than the standard 250 or 500gb, but I've not yet found anyone with a similar set up. Does anyone know how to query the make and model of the hard drive used in an imac system?
	QUOTE Thanks

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