Sticking Sound Proof Foam on a HDD

Maxx_Power

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Not necessarily. What are you trying to achieve ? Bear in mind that the #1 failure cause of HDDs is heat. The read heads begin to degrade rapidly at internal temperatures of about 45 degrees Celsius. A lot of HDDs are already operating at about 40 degrees Celsius without any insulation (sound).
 

Maxx_Power

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If you have a good case, it'll feature thick steel panels and silicon grommets for the HDD mounting so that the vibration and noise isn't transmitted through the chassis of the case AND whatever noise that there is in the case decays rapidly because there are no resonances.

If you have to add damping/acoustic absorption materials to the case, I would strongly discourage applying it to individual components. Just about every PC component I know requires a free-flow environment to passively cool the critical components. HDDs are particularly sensitive to temperatures. Add the acoustic treatment to the case panels instead. Heavy case damping materials are meant to cure vibration, rattle and low frequency issues, while acoustic absorption foams are meant to do the same for higher frequencies.

HOWEVER, good acoustic absorption materials are expensive, and can cost nearly as much as a good quiet case (like the Antec Solo series, or the Fractal Design quiet cases). Recently the Solo I (an excellently quiet full ATX case, see www.silentpcreview.com) was being cleared out everywhere and the going prices were about 50 bucks. Most packs of acoustic treatment for PCs (good ones that actually works, not just a thin light foam) costs more than this.

 
Thanks. I'm putting something together with a Phantom 410, the foam is some BeQuiet stuff. I never expected it to do a great deal on a case with a massive air vent in the door, but it must do something. I was going to get a Fractal R4 but I was worried about temps.
 

Maxx_Power

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Good luck then!

For what it is worth, the Solo II is a really nice case, and the new P280. I actually really like the Solo I. Couldn't hear my hard drives unless I bring my ears close to it when it sits on the floor. The P280, if it is anything like the P1xx series, should be dead quiet for HDDs.