dimension xps gen4 HD temperature concerns

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

I posted this message on dell forums
-----------------



I just took delivery of this system, supplied with a 80g maxtor hd

While testing I used a S.M.A.R.T. utility to check the drive temperature.

With little or no disk activity the drive temperature is between
48c-50c, heavy disk activity drives the temperature up to 57c

Maxtor specifies a maximum temperature of 55c for this drive.

Now this is with only one drive installed in the drive slots. With
additonal drives installed, the heat problem will only be worse. It is
cool here because of the time of year. on another computer I have, drive
temperatures are around 32c this time of year but in the summer they can
be as high as 39c

Looking inside the case, the drive is mounted toward the front of the
computer and covered by a green plastic shroud. the front of drive slots
appear to be open to the large grill on the front of the computer.

There is no fan forcing airflow over the drives. Unless there is a
problem with my computer, as far as I am concerned, this is poor design.

As I have mentioned, this concerns me.

comments or suggestions ??

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

Hi!

"Temperature readings are approximate and should not be used to test the
effectiveness of thermal solutions." (More or less quoted from the Intel
motherboard monitor software...)

I suspect your hard disk drives temperature reports are probably very
similar. It can't hurt anything to turn a fan on them, but I don't know that
you'll see an improvement. There are a lot of factors to consider, not the
least of which are sensor placement and accuracy.

William

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

William R. Walsh wrote:
> Hi!
>
> "Temperature readings are approximate and should not be used to test the
> effectiveness of thermal solutions." (More or less quoted from the Intel
> motherboard monitor software...)
>
> I suspect your hard disk drives temperature reports are probably very
> similar. It can't hurt anything to turn a fan on them, but I don't know that
> you'll see an improvement. There are a lot of factors to consider, not the
> least of which are sensor placement and accuracy.
>
> William
>
>

The drive temperature is being reported by the drive itself. XPS owners
(or others) who are interested can check the temperature of their
drives. Download a free SMART utility from
http://www.passmark.com/download/index.htm, it is towards the bottom of
the page, the file is called Diskcheckup... and howbout posting the
results here, I and most likely others would be interested.

Now.. there is little question the drive is running to hot. There is no
airflow over the drive and it is mounted with a plastic shroud enclosing
it. The temperature ranges from 48c idle to 57c using defrag. It will
run even hotter in the summer. Maxtor specifies a max temperature of
55c. I have two other computers that report drive temperatures in the
low 30's using the same SMART utility. Both computers were designed by
the manufacturer to draw cool air over the drives.

Yes I could mount a fan but I shouldn't have to. The XPS is Dell's top
of the line and proper cooling should come with the computer. I would
expect that most would not check drive temperatures and would run the
computer setup as they received it. I also expect that Dell will have to
deal with large numbers of warranty claims unless the drive lasts just
long enough to fail out of warranty.

...and yes, I am addressing the problem, I have already worked out a
solution.

However in case this problem is anomalous to my computer, I would be
interested in posts showing drive temperatures of other XPS Gen3 an Gen4
computers.

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

gen4user,
FYI - my 8400 is reported running at 27 degrees Celsius
Paul

"gen4user" <aa@aaa.com> wrote in message news:41CB851F.1060209@aaa.com...
>
>
> William R. Walsh wrote:
>> Hi!
>>
>> "Temperature readings are approximate and should not be used to test the
>> effectiveness of thermal solutions." (More or less quoted from the Intel
>> motherboard monitor software...)
>>
>> I suspect your hard disk drives temperature reports are probably very
>> similar. It can't hurt anything to turn a fan on them, but I don't know
>> that
>> you'll see an improvement. There are a lot of factors to consider, not
>> the
>> least of which are sensor placement and accuracy.
>>
>> William
>>
>>
>
> The drive temperature is being reported by the drive itself. XPS owners
> (or others) who are interested can check the temperature of their drives.
> Download a free SMART utility from
> http://www.passmark.com/download/index.htm, it is towards the bottom of
> the page, the file is called Diskcheckup... and howbout posting the
> results here, I and most likely others would be interested.
>
> Now.. there is little question the drive is running to hot. There is no
> airflow over the drive and it is mounted with a plastic shroud enclosing
> it. The temperature ranges from 48c idle to 57c using defrag. It will run
> even hotter in the summer. Maxtor specifies a max temperature of 55c. I
> have two other computers that report drive temperatures in the low 30's
> using the same SMART utility. Both computers were designed by the
> manufacturer to draw cool air over the drives.
>
> Yes I could mount a fan but I shouldn't have to. The XPS is Dell's top of
> the line and proper cooling should come with the computer. I would expect
> that most would not check drive temperatures and would run the computer
> setup as they received it. I also expect that Dell will have to deal with
> large numbers of warranty claims unless the drive lasts just long enough
> to fail out of warranty.
>
> ..and yes, I am addressing the problem, I have already worked out a
> solution.
>
> However in case this problem is anomalous to my computer, I would be
> interested in posts showing drive temperatures of other XPS Gen3 an Gen4
> computers.
>

 

[Guest]

Archived from groups: alt.sys.pc-clone.dell (More info?)

My Gen3 Seagate 160 is running 40 degrees. 48 is the highest it has ever
been.

"gen4user" <aa@aaa.com> wrote in message news:41CB851F.1060209@aaa.com...
>
>
> William R. Walsh wrote:
>> Hi!
>>
>> "Temperature readings are approximate and should not be used to test the
>> effectiveness of thermal solutions." (More or less quoted from the Intel
>> motherboard monitor software...)
>>
>> I suspect your hard disk drives temperature reports are probably very
>> similar. It can't hurt anything to turn a fan on them, but I don't know
>> that
>> you'll see an improvement. There are a lot of factors to consider, not
>> the
>> least of which are sensor placement and accuracy.
>>
>> William
>>
>>
>
> The drive temperature is being reported by the drive itself. XPS owners
> (or others) who are interested can check the temperature of their drives.
> Download a free SMART utility from
> http://www.passmark.com/download/index.htm, it is towards the bottom of
> the page, the file is called Diskcheckup... and howbout posting the
> results here, I and most likely others would be interested.
>
> Now.. there is little question the drive is running to hot. There is no
> airflow over the drive and it is mounted with a plastic shroud enclosing
> it. The temperature ranges from 48c idle to 57c using defrag. It will run
> even hotter in the summer. Maxtor specifies a max temperature of 55c. I
> have two other computers that report drive temperatures in the low 30's
> using the same SMART utility. Both computers were designed by the
> manufacturer to draw cool air over the drives.
>
> Yes I could mount a fan but I shouldn't have to. The XPS is Dell's top of
> the line and proper cooling should come with the computer. I would expect
> that most would not check drive temperatures and would run the computer
> setup as they received it. I also expect that Dell will have to deal with
> large numbers of warranty claims unless the drive lasts just long enough
> to fail out of warranty.
>
> ..and yes, I am addressing the problem, I have already worked out a
> solution.
>
> However in case this problem is anomalous to my computer, I would be
> interested in posts showing drive temperatures of other XPS Gen3 an Gen4
> computers.
>