How dangerous is Bass & Hard Drive nearby each other?

dude

Diamond Member
Oct 16, 1999
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How bad and dangerous is it if I have a Logitech Z560 about 2.5 feet from my computer case? It's seperated by the desk (one of it's panels). I touch my case and it does vibrate when the bass hits. So far, it has not caused any problems for my 120GB WD Special Ed. hard drive.

I'm just worried about it going bad on me, like a head crash or something ;) That would suck big time.

Think putting a pillow, cardboard boxes, or some kind of padding will help it not vibrate so much? Or is it useless cuz the sound waves are gonna vibrate it anyways? Of course, the port of the speakers is facing away from the computer case and the speaker itself is facing towards me/front of desk.

 

dude

Diamond Member
Oct 16, 1999
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Nobody likes throwing fish at their computers? :p

Music is mostly trance, techno, hard house, drum & bass, jungle, etc... so there's LOTS of bass.
 

SHoddyCOmp

Platinum Member
Apr 1, 2002
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I was wondering the same thing what will happen when i do anything like that with my new Promedia 5.1's i got yesterday. You cant really not face the speakers at it at all as it has 2 opposing 8's (Cant build the computer till wednesday anyway when my tower, keyboard and mouse gets here :()
 

TuffGuy

Diamond Member
Jul 6, 2000
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Originally posted by: notfred
Imagine this:

they design computer speakers to be used... *gasp* near a computer!
Not exactly. The effects of a *powerful* woofer near a computer would be similar to kicking the computer repeatedly. I'm not sure how sensitive hard drives are.
 

dude

Diamond Member
Oct 16, 1999
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Dude, u notfred, obviously.

Anyways, hard drives are meant to spin fast (I've got four 7200rpm drives) and the heads float about a quarter the thickness of a human hair from the hard drive platter. That's what I call a close shave. hhahaa haha whatever. Anyways...
My speakers are loud. If I turn it up about halfway, the whole house can hear and feel it (3 story house). Windows rattle. My cell phone and keys on the desk vibrate and move all over the place. That is bad for hard drives. But so far, it has not been a problem and I'm wondering just how many people do this also.

Basically, seeing if it isn't as bad as I thought or worse than I thought.

<U>Imagine this:</U> Your hard drive heads hopping, skipping, jumping, and grinding on the platter surface!
 

dude

Diamond Member
Oct 16, 1999
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Originally posted by: notfred
Imagine this: they design computer speakers to be used... *gasp* near a computer!

Dude, think like this. You ever been inside my car where the subwoofers are so damn loud that when you sit back, you whole body vibrates, your eye sight is shaking, the car's body frame is rattling, the neighborhood's windows rattle when i drive by, and after about 3 minutes inside, you are dizzy and disoreinted and ready to vomit because your body lost it's sense of up and down?

Well, these computer speakers aren't nearly that powerful but it does rattle things.
 

Hubris

Platinum Member
Jul 14, 2001
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Originally posted by: dude
Originally posted by: notfred
Imagine this: they design computer speakers to be used... *gasp* near a computer!

Dude, think like this. You ever been inside my car where the subwoofers are so damn loud that when you sit back, you whole body vibrates, your eye sight is shaking, the car's body frame is rattling, the neighborhood's windows rattle when i drive by, and after about 3 minutes inside, you are dizzy and disoreinted and ready to vomit because your body lost it's sense of up and down?

Well, these <STRONG><EM>computer speakers</EM></STRONG> aren't nearly that powerful but it does rattle things.

Why do you ask a question and then argue with someone who gives you an answer (sort of)? :confused:
 

Lucky

Lifer
Nov 26, 2000
13,126
1
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Originally posted by: Hubris
Originally posted by: dude
Originally posted by: notfred
Imagine this: they design computer speakers to be used... *gasp* near a computer!

Dude, think like this. You ever been inside my car where the subwoofers are so damn loud that when you sit back, you whole body vibrates, your eye sight is shaking, the car's body frame is rattling, the neighborhood's windows rattle when i drive by, and after about 3 minutes inside, you are dizzy and disoreinted and ready to vomit because your body lost it's sense of up and down?

Well, these <STRONG><EM>computer speakers</EM></STRONG> aren't nearly that powerful but it does rattle things.

Why do you ask a question and then argue with someone who gives you an answer (sort of)? :confused:



er, yeah. if you know they are that bad and can rattle thing 3 floors away, why ask if its safe to use 2.5 feet away?:confused:
 

Oscar1613

Golden Member
Jan 31, 2001
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i think the logitech manual says 20 inches... but i assume thats if its not pointed directly at it with reasonable bass:p
 

beer

Lifer
Jun 27, 2000
11,169
1
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Originally posted by: dude
Dude, u notfred, obviously.

Anyways, hard drives are meant to spin fast (I've got four 7200rpm drives) and the heads float about a quarter the thickness of a human hair from the hard drive platter. That's what I call a close shave. hhahaa haha whatever. Anyways...
My speakers are loud. If I turn it up about halfway, the whole house can hear and feel it (3 story house). Windows rattle. My cell phone and keys on the desk vibrate and move all over the place. That is bad for hard drives. But so far, it has not been a problem and I'm wondering just how many people do this also.

Basically, seeing if it isn't as bad as I thought or worse than I thought.

<STRONG>Imagine this: Your hard drive heads hopping, skipping, jumping, and grinding on the platter surface!</STRONG>

I think the more important is the issue that a subwoofer is basically a ten inch magnet....that's even worse for computers.

 

mee987

Senior member
Jan 23, 2002
773
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Why do you ask a question and then argue with someone who gives you an answer (sort of)?
imagine this:
some people dont appreciate.... *gasp* unhelpful smartass comments!
 

psteng19

Diamond Member
Dec 9, 2000
5,953
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I have the Z560 sub AND an Altec ADA885 sub (just as big) sandwiching 2 towers of mine about 2-3 feet away, with loud music pumping... no problems at all.

Imagine this:

they design computer speakers to be used... *gasp* near a computer!

The satelites are magnetically shielded, not the sub.
Regardless, shouldn't be a big problem.
 

slikmunks

Diamond Member
Apr 18, 2001
3,490
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i got my z560's about maybe a foot and a half away from my comp... haven't had any problems with either of my 60 gigers
 

GonzoDaGr8

Platinum Member
Apr 29, 2001
2,183
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1. Since bass is non-directional and If you are worried about the vibration, move it farther away. It will still sound the same.

2. As far as having to worry about magnetism, the enclosure should be magnetically sheilded. I know sattelite speakers are so they don't hose your monitor.

3. HDs' are designed to handle a certain amount of shock and vibration and I'm sure that bass waves are not the same as if you kicked or dropped your case.

4. Umm...Turn it down a little;)
 

notfred

Lifer
Feb 12, 2001
38,241
4
0
Originally posted by: dude
Originally posted by: notfred
Imagine this: they design computer speakers to be used... *gasp* near a computer!

Dude, think like this. You ever been inside my car where the subwoofers are so damn loud that when you sit back, you whole body vibrates, your eye sight is shaking, the car's body frame is rattling, the neighborhood's windows rattle when i drive by, and after about 3 minutes inside, you are dizzy and disoreinted and ready to vomit because your body lost it's sense of up and down?

Well, these <STRONG><EM>computer speakers</EM></STRONG> aren't nearly that powerful but it does rattle things.

So you're that asshole who thinks he's hot sh!t becuase his car makes an obnoxious thumping noise that NOBODY else wants to hear. If I wanted to hear your god damned music I'd be playing the same sh!tty CD in my house that you're playing in your car! And another thing: just because your car is moving DOESN'T mean there's no on else around. If you're going to drive around in a residential area at 1:00AM, guess what: Some of us are SLEEPING We don't want to hear that god awful thumping that you spent $2000 to annoy people with. Turn your god forsaken crap DOWN, especially at night.
 

Viperoni

Lifer
Jan 4, 2000
11,084
1
71
Logitech Z560's sub is not shielded, but it doesn't even use true sub drivers (just like every other computer "sub" out there...) so I wouldn't be worried too much.
 

GingerSynapse

Senior member
Oct 9, 1999
335
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0
I can't comment on the proximity of a hard drive to a speaker, but I do have some experience with 3 1/4 inch floppies that were badly wacked out after sitting on top of a shelf-sized stereo. Speakers are not too healthy for data stored on floppies, that's for sure.
 

EvilYoda

Lifer
Apr 1, 2001
21,198
9
81
Well, my HT sub was directly next to my tower (within 4 inches) for all of Winter Semester, and everything's still fine.........casing was even off.

Don't worry about it too much..........if you really are that concerned, then yeah, turn it down or isolate your hard drive somehow.
 

Jerboy

Banned
Oct 27, 2001
5,190
0
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I don't know. It depends on the frequency of the sound you're playing at the time.


Do you notice how some cars shudders for brief moment when you shut off the engine? The shuddering happens when your engine's vibration reached its natural resoance frequency.

If your speaker constantly hits the computer case's resonance frequency, then there is a chance of mechanical damage to vibration sensitive components. Resonance can be damaging over time and when engineers design equipments with moving parts, they make sure vibration within the equipment's natural resonance is avoided. Resonance vibration can accelerate wear and tear, cause nuisances, hasten the loosening of fastener and such.

A bathroom fan running at resonance can vibrate enough to shake the whole wall noticeably.
 

dude

Diamond Member
Oct 16, 1999
3,192
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71
Hey, sorry everyone! I like loud music. No, I don't listen to it at crazy high volumes at night, only during reasonable day hours. Yes, I listen to it loud at home during normal hours.

I'm just asking this because I want to see if anyone ever had a problem with this. I've always had a loud subwoofer near my computer before and I never had a problem. Matter of fact, my friend has a pair of 12" Rockford Fosgates hooked up to a box in his room (yes, it's a car box). Now, that is much louder than my wimpy Z560's. He never had a problem before, neither have I. Just wanted to see if anyone else did!

This way, I can have a good idea about how a drive can sustain bass. I'm just wondering if the heads are stiff enough to hold itself above the platter. This way, I can have it on loud and not worry about my drive crashing on me when I'm listening to music on it! No, I can't really relocate my case or subwoofer. My subwoofer is my kickstand. I highly doubt the magnetism from the woofer would damage my drives.

No, I'm not being a smartass. Yes, I did somewhat answer my question, but no, I didn't really get an answer to my question. There! :p
 

Confused

Elite Member
Nov 13, 2000
14,166
0
0
Well, look at it this way:

I had a computer in my car with a 4gb hard drive, and it was about 6" away from the 12" sub, and that sub shook the whole car. I also had an accident in that car which threw the whole car around after hitting a grass bank with the wheel that is directly under the computer. That hard drive is now sitting in the computer in the front room and there are NO problems with it :)

Therefore i should think that the bass will be OK from that tiny little sub in PC speakers :)

Confused