Heat a real issue for HDs?

[bastardman]

How much of an issue is heat with 7200 rpm hard drives? Is cooling nesessary? I have a antec full tower case with two 3.5" device cages, each of which can hold 3 hard drives with about an 1/2 inch in between, and has an 80mm fan pulling air through. I was planning to put 3 hard drives into one cage, 2 of which would be Western Digital 120GB JB SE. But would there be a problem with heat? Is there enough room between them (1/2 inch) and will the one 80mm fan keep them cool enough (would it be better to reverse it so it is blowing one them?), and what would happen if it is too hot? Would it shorten the lifespan of the hard drives? Is it worth buying a mobile rack for a HD just to keep it cool? Thanks

 

[dhlucke]

Before you get too crazy. I've noticed that the problem with having so many things in the case isn't so much the components, but the mass of cables that restrict airflow.

Just my 2 cents. Keep the rats nest out and you should be ok.

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[scottkli]

My brother has an Antec case with the same type of hard drive cage. He has 1-200gb & 2-60gb Raid. They seem to perform just fine being close together. If your really worried they make hard drive coolers that can fit in empty 5.25 bays. This way you can put the final 2 drives further apart.

 

[lhgpoobaa]

modern IDE drives work fine with little to no airflow, plain convection currents work well enough.

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[Scotty35]

Well it really depends on a few things, firstly how hot is the hottest day and the effect this has on the room temperature they will run in, and how close they are mounted to each other and if there is an air trap such as a bird’s nest of cabling reducing the air circulation around the drives. (Each situation is different)
I have 4 x 120JB's in raid0 in one cage that can fit 5 drives and they do get quite warm without a fan blowing filtered air over them, I usually but don't recommend touching the non-circuit side of the drives or even the mounting screws to feel how hot they are, IMO if they are barely warm that’s fine, if they are very warm/hot to touch then installing some kind of fan to blow air over/through them is recommended, one 8cm low speed fan is enough to do the job in most situations.
If you look on Western Digitals website in the spec's, you will find the preferred operating temperature range, however in my experience and you do not mind investing a few bucks it is better to be cautious than find out the hard way..

 

[sjonnie]

I have a <A HREF="http://www.thermaltake.com/products/xaser3/v2000plus.htm" target="_new">Xaser III</A> case with all the internal 3.5" drives full (6×D740X). With the 80mm fans turning at about 1500 rpm the surface temperature of the drives is 36°C, which I am happy with. Without the fans blowing, the temperature rises to >50°C which I regard as too high, Maxtor say the range of operating temperature is 5-55°C, but it is wise to keep away from the near maximum.

With regard to your situation then... You don't specify exactly which make of case you have, but anyway, some Antec cases allow the installation of a fan infront of the drive cages. If you have that option I would recommend you install a fan or two there and your drives will be fine. Low rpm Papst fans should do just fine to keep the noise down.
If you can't put fans in there I wouldn't get the 5.25" drive coolers from Coolermaster or Thermaltake, although they cool your drive well, they are noisy! The hardrive cooler / mobile rack from <A HREF="http://www.enermax.com.tw/uc-106tmfa.htm" target="_new">Enermax</A> has the fan in quite a different place and may be less noisy than the front fan designs. Additionally it has a fan speed adjuster so you can set the noise/temp level to what you like. Another alternative for 3 drives would be the <A HREF="http://www.3ware.com/products/ata.asp" target="_new">RDC-300 drive cage</A> from 3ware but that is a hot-swap device and will cost you an arm-and-a-leg.

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