Macbook Pro mid 2012 HDD clicking and low performance

Question

Hello, everybody!
I have a question about the HDD, I think it's failing or it's very close to failing.
From the moment I bought my Macbook Pro 13" mid 2012 model I noticed quite low performance and also very disturbing sound of the HDD clicking, even when I don't touch the laptop. Running Disk Utility check and Apple Diagnostics became my favorite pastime, but it showed no sign of HDD (or other kind of) failure.
The smartcl shows the following:
SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 16
Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:
ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME          FLAG     VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE      UPDATED  WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE
  1 Raw_Read_Error_Rate     0x000b   100   100   062    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
  2 Throughput_Performance  0x0005   100   100   040    Pre-fail  Offline      -       0
  3 Spin_Up_Time            0x0007   184   184   033    Pre-fail  Always       -       1
  4 Start_Stop_Count        0x0012   099   099   000    Old_age   Always       -       2157
  5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct   0x0033   100   100   005    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
  7 Seek_Error_Rate         0x000b   100   100   067    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
  8 Seek_Time_Performance   0x0005   100   100   040    Pre-fail  Offline      -       0
  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0012   093   093   000    Old_age   Always       -       3208
10 Spin_Retry_Count        0x0013   100   100   060    Pre-fail  Always       -       0
12 Power_Cycle_Count       0x0032   099   099   000    Old_age   Always       -       2075
160 Unknown_Attribute       0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
191 G-Sense_Error_Rate      0x000a   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
192 Power-Off_Retract_Count 0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       158913789979
193 Load_Cycle_Count        0x0012   085   085   000    Old_age   Always       -       151260
194 Temperature_Celsius     0x0002   187   187   000    Old_age   Always       -       32 (Min/Max 15/42)
195 Hardware_ECC_Recovered  0x000a   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
196 Reallocated_Event_Count 0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
197 Current_Pending_Sector  0x0022   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
198 Offline_Uncorrectable   0x0008   100   100   000    Old_age   Offline      -       0
199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count    0x000a   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
223 Load_Retry_Count        0x000a   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0
254 Free_Fall_Sensor        0x0032   096   096   000    Old_age   Always       -       1221
Also I've noticed that the disk read operation takes more than (I believe) it should. For example, when I turn the laptop on and it was in the hibernation mode, it restores quite quickly and shows the login screen, but it's actually impossible to enter anything there, it just doesn't respond to keyboard or mouse input. By the time the login screen times out I am still unable to enter anything, and it goes back to sleep, and the story repeats.
More to it, most of the apps take ages to start. Preview starts in 5-10 seconds.
I thought it shouldn't be a software problem, since I formatted the drive and installed a fresh copy of OS X just two weeks ago.
So I went to the reseller I bought it from (Compustore here in Germany) and asked to check the laptop. They did, and told me everything was fine with it.
Is it indeed the normal behavior of Macbooks? I don't have anything to compare to, it's my first Mac, but I'm really far from being satisfied with it. Any suggestions on how to fix this?
Thank you in advance for any suggestions,
Elijah.

Answer 1

Is it indeed the normal behavior of Macbooks?
No, of course not. It is very abnormal and the reseller's conclusion that everything is fine is obviously incorrect.
I have no explanation for the fact that Apple Diagnostics nor Disk Utility indicates a fault, but if the problem remained unchanged after taking the extreme measure of completely erasing the hard disk and installing OS X as you explained, then the only remaining cause is a hardware fault that has eluded all attempts to detect it.
I formatted the drive and installed a fresh copy of OS X just two weeks ago.
Confim the problems remained immediately after those actions and prior to installing any other software. The most common explanation for the behaviour you describe is the presence of any number of ill-conceived "anti-virus" or "cleanup" utilities.
If you described the problem and your attempts to rectify it accurately, then the reseller did not perform adequate diagnostic testing, or they are being deliberately deceitful, or they are simply incompetent.