Front wheel bearing or CV?

I'm getting constant humming or droning only at high speed, starts around 40-50 maybe and gets louder with increasing speed. it appears to be the right side as if you swerve left (loading the right) it gets louder. I thought it was a wheel bearing, but i jacked it up and it spins pretty well and has no side to side play.. could it be the CV joint? CVs usually click in my experience though... are the bearings on these tight enough that it could still be the bearing without any play? really don't want to do all the work of the bearing swap if i don't have to.

If an axle got to the point of making noises it would show signs (like vibrations) on the steering wheel. Sounds like it's the bearing. How many miles?

I don't think a bearing will show signs of play, that would apply more to CABs and ball joints.

135k. Yeah i know on the RWD cars the front bearing play is important, but the bearings on the xi are set up differently so maybe that's not a good indicator?

I have replaced 4 bad axles on this car and the symptoms were steering wheel shake and clicking over bumps but never humming.
The front diff can make noises at speed if its low on fluid, easy to check with the wheel off.

if it was the diff i would not expect it to change when turning one way or the other.. i'll check the fluid level tomorrow anyway though, only takes 5 minutes.

probably the right bearing then. not an easy diy but it can be done.

http://http://forum.e46fanatics.com/showthread.php?t=789994&highlight=b90+xi+wheel+bearing

Yes, bad axles can make a sort of brushing noise. Especially a cheap Chinese axle.

On the other hand, it's tough to tell if its the front bearing making noise by spinning by hand unless the bearing is really far gone.

If the noise get louder when turning the wheel one way and quieter the other way it is almost always a bad wheel bearing.