I just picked up a 27" iMac with the 1 T HD. I can hear the hard drive any time the computer is "working". Took the first one back to the Apple store and exchanged it, thinking I had a defective machine. The replacement makes the same noise.
Anyone else having this issue? Are these things supposed to be this noisy?
Well, I threw caution to the wind today and walked into my local Apple Store to pick up a new Core i5 iMac to replace the disaster that was my 1st Core i5.
Asked them to let me unbox it in the store (after purchase, of course) to try it out so I could deal with any defects in the store. Turns out that only saved me the potential hassle of carrying it back to the store, there was no advantage in terms of customer service, as I was to find out.
The store was noisy so I couldn't evaluate it for screen whine at reduced brightness or hard drive grumble.
The system is, for lack of a better word, awesome. The only complaint I have is that the top couple of inches seem to be the most teeny tiny bit fuzzier as compared to the rest of the screen. So the Safari gray title bar seems a little 'gritty' or 'screen door' or 'moire pattern', not the smooth wonderfulness that looks if I were to move the window down a couple of inches.
I'm at a loss to explain why, and I would have preferred that they swapped it out for another one, but the smarmy store manager was completely not going to do that without a 10% restocking fee, he was a real jerk. This despite my expressed feeling that for over $2K the machine should be able to whistle dixie and should be the most fantastic clear and vibrant display I've ever seen.
What I loved was the quote "Well, since you returned your first Core i5 without a restocking fee, we'd be hard pressed to let you return/exchange this without charging you the restocking fee on this one."
How pathetic... Nice customer service there, bud...
Regardless, I put him out of my mind and came home with it and other than the weird effect I'm pleased as punch. I thought I saw a stuck pixel in the store but I'm at a loss to find it now...
I've got until Jan 9 to decide if the coarse grainy slight weirdness on only the upper part of the screen, really only noticeable with the gray window dressing of, say, a Safari screen, becomes a deal breaker or becomes something I don't notice. Time will tell.
Why is this relevant, you ask, to this thread? =)
The 1TB hard drive is dead silent. OK, I can hear it seek when it's got lots to do, but there's no stomach grumbling sounds like others have reported. And according to System Profiler, I really lucked out and got a Western Digital model WDC WD1001FALS-40U9B0. I absolutely love WD hard drives, my last i5 was a Seagate and it was noisier than this but still quite quiet as compared to some complaints I've read about here. The fans are quiet, the system doesn't feel scorching hot on the top, and the screen color seems uniform. I will consider this my birthday gift from the universe in honor of my birthday tomorrow.
Thank the lord I'm not the only one with a 'grumble hard drive' (might copyright the name).
Mainly when on the web, and in a silent environment it is a pain.
I have Apple Care, so will phone and see what they'll do. I didn't pay £2k for a resolvable problem.
Great post, thanks for the feedback.. I am really surprised that the Apple store manager was so inflexible, my Apple store let me swap out my second on the spot without even firing it up...
Congrats on the WD hard drive, feedback has been pretty consistent regarding the fact that drive is much quieter running.. The WD drives have been few and far between..
The screen issue would annoy me though, as my main reason to buy the new iMac (versus a quiet and portable MacBook Pro) is the 27" inch screen... If you realize that it bugs you, I would open a case with Apple Care.. They may be able to authorize a switch/return, but then of course you will probably end up with a Seagate drive... (-:
I got a call from someone at Apple today. They've asked me to return my iMac to them, so an engineer can check it out. Getting a replacement at the Apple store. I'll let you guys know how it goes. Hope I don't exchange it for a another noisy machine, but I'm very happy that Apple is looking into this. The noise is my only complaint about this mac.
I have a 21.5 inch iMac with a 500gb hard drive. The noise I hear appears to be coming from the right side of the iMac and it sounds like a little woodpecker. It comes and goes after it has been on for a few minutes. It drives me nuts to have a "super quiet" machine that is not super quiet.
It does not appear to be related to any computer activity because I can hear it without applications on and just sitting on the desktop.
I have already had to take one back for a stuck pixel. The Genius bar was really cool with that one. He did not even open up the box to turn it on.
I want it to be perfect--at least quiet. I certainly don't want to have it returned only to have another stuck pixel or a louder noise.
How loud is the noise for others? Mine is noticeable in a quiet room, but certainly does not sound like a grumbling stomach. It is a faint tapping noise that occurs for five seconds, then is quiet for ten seconds, repeat, etc.
What should I do?
Edit: I just checked and apparently I have a Western Digital hard drive: WDC WD50000AAKS-40V2B0, which is apparently quieter than others.
Could my noise be a fan? I am not sure where those are located on these new iMacs.
That's exactly what I had. I say had hoping my new one doesn't do that. It's not the hard drive. I can hear the hard drive working on what I think is the right side. I think the is coming from the middle right. It sounds like a loose fan hitting the edge of the casing or something.
A picture of an exposed imac. I think it's coming from the round black thing under the disk drive.
I bought a new 27" iMac Core2Duo model and I have also this Seagate drive issue - it's sooo loud!
It's my 8th mac and it's the first one that has a hard drive that is louder then iTunes 😟
My sound appears to be coming from the same exact place as you describe (both visually and textually). Today it is more of a constant tapping, whereas before today it seemed to come and go at regular intervals. I don't think it is related to the hard drive either. It does sound like it is fan--either loose or butting up against something else. It is all I hear in a quiet room with this big, beautiful display in front of me.
I have a genius appointment for this Saturday morning. I wonder how receptive they'll be since this is already my second iMac. I hope I can convince the genius to take it in the back and imagine he is in a quiet place. I also know it is a gamble to take it back since you never know what you'll have next time.
Do you think they would be open to have it unboxed there in the store to make sure all is o.k. with it? I live about an hour away from the nearest apple store. While for some, this short of a drive to one of the greatest places on earth would be a dream, it is a bit of a hassle.
The 1TB hard drive is dead silent. OK, I can hear it seek when it's got lots to do, but there's no stomach grumbling sounds like others have reported. And according to System Profiler, I really lucked out and got a Western Digital model WDC WD1001FALS-40U9B0.
Weirdest thing - I have that drive and think it's noisy! In context though - my previous 320GB WD in the 24 iMac was, as near as ****, silent - a sort of feint rumble. This one, the WD, makes a seek/write 'crunch', and is silent at idle. And the seeking sound is not intrusive, especially if anything else is happening - say, radio on quietly.
On iMac number 3. This one doesn't seem to be as noisy. Still makes more HD noise than I expected. Going to give it some time to break in, and see how it is. Maybe I'm just being to picky??
When I exchanged for this one, the genius told me that he thought this "capture" was over, so Apple obviously knows this is an issue, and is looking into it. That's good news, I guess...
Do you got any new informations, 'bout this issue?
My iMac 27" with that harddisk, is loud too, like my stomach when i am hungry... i hate that.
When i put the music on, everything is well, i cant hear the harddisk 😀
i need help, Apple, please help us.
Can i contact Apple? to get a new harddisk or something like this?
DrummerGS wrote:
Oh my God, I am freaking out. Should I order my i5 now or wait until Apple says something about these problems and have them fixed? (The screen flickering and DOA machines)
I live in El Salvador, Central America and I am having the machine sent from the States from a friend and as you may imagine, the returning may be a pain in the butt... Please help
I'd advice Drummer to have their friend check it out first prior to internationally shipping it to them so itd make the return process, if necessary easier.
I'm currently looking at replacing my 30" APple Display to pick up a 27" C2D 3.06Ghz iMac myself witht he 1TB drive.
