cooling Seagate eSATA external HDs

wm_walsh DeleteThis @hotmail.com wrote
> Hi!
>
> > I've been noticing that cooling fans are hard to find
> > in "external HDs". Maybe it's the noise factor?
>
> It could very well be--quiet is definitely in, whether it's good for
> the electronics or not. I also think the problem of finding a
> *reliable* fan to put in such things could be a factor.
>
> If Seagate's offerings aren't satisfactory, I would suggest the
> possibility of putting your own together. Buy the drive you want, test
> it out and then put it in the enclosure of your choosing. Below are
> two that I've used and would recommend:
>
> I've put hard drives in a Coolmax CD-311 enclosure and been very happy
> with the results. This enclosure doesn't have a fan, but it is made of
> solid aluminum, which is a great heatsink.

> The drive fits snugly against the sides of the case,

Actually, that's not necessarily a good thing.

> so it can take advantage of the additional cooling.

It only does that if it makes full metal contact over a larger area with it.
If not then it's actually better to have a larger gap so that air can cir-
culate and so form a natural heat pump between drive and exterior casing.

> The really nice thing about this enclosure is the
> inclusion of USB 2.0, Firewire 400 (iffy with a PATA drive installed
> under Windows, fine at all times on my Macs and seemingly OK under
> Windows with a SATA drive inside), and SATA connectors. They even give
> you a nice slightly magnetized screwdriver to put the thing
> together...not a big thing, but it's a decent quality tool that you
> can keep afterwards.
>
> If you need a fan (and don't want a power brick), I would highly
> recommend the Bytecc ME-340 enclosure. While it is a 5.25" device, it
> comes with a 3.5" device adapter, has a fan and takes a regular
> computer power plug.
>
> These can also be found under other brands. Vantec sells a version of
> the Bytecc product that is USB only but otherwise identical.
>
> William
 >> Stay informed about: cooling Seagate eSATA external HDs 

Hi!

> > The drive fits snugly against the sides of the case,
> Actually, that's not necessarily a good thing.

If something is being used as a heatsink, it should be making good contact
with whatever it is trying to cool.

That said, the enclosure is not snug against top and bottom of the
drive--just the two long sides. Air can flow around the drive quite easily.

William
 >> Stay informed about: cooling Seagate eSATA external HDs 

In comp.sys.ibm.pc.hardware.storage Timothy Daniels <SpamBucket.RemoveThis@nospamplease.biz> wrote:
> "Arno Wagner" wrote:
>> Timothy Daniels wrote:
>>> Seagate makes some of its "external HDs" with eSATA
>>> interfaces, specifically the "Free Agent Pro"
>>> (http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/freeagent_pro_data_movers/)
>>> and the "eSATA External Hard Drive"
>>> (http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/esata_hard_drive/).
>>
>>> Unfortunately, calls to Seagate's pre-sales reps in India don't
>>> result in information of any certitude. <understatement>
>>
>>> Does anyone know if these external enclosures include
>>> a cooling fan and and how they get their power?
>>
>>> *TimDaniels*
>>
>> It will have some brick-type PSU. USB ports can deliver up to 2.5W
>> each (high-power ports), while even lean 3.5" HDDs go up to 15W
>> or so on start-up. So unless they tie 8 high-power ports together
>> (add two for the DC-DC converters) and put in 5-to-12V step up
>> converters for 20W (expensive) this is a complete no-go. Technically
>> feasible though, but unworkable in practice.
>>
>> As to cooling, unless they explicitely claim a fan, it is safe to
>> assume there is none. At least eSATA lets you monitor the temperature,
>> but I think currently you cannot trust any pre-packaged drive at
>> all and external an DIY enclosure only if somebody has reviewed its
>> thermal characteristics.
>>
>> My current approach is to be prepared to throw it away
>> if it does not work out. A sad state of affairs, I know.
>>
>> Arno
>>
>>

> I've had some very good luck with HD longevity, and I think it
> has to do with the generous airflow which keeps the HDs cool.
> Since the external HD doesn't have to be on all the time, I think
> I'll take a chance with a Kingwin eSATA box that does have a
> cooling fan. (They only cost about $30 online.) The fan sits flat
> with the circuit card on the HD, just like on my Kingwin slide-out
> HD tray, and that HD never even gets up to body temp.

Sounds good. And for eSATA you can get the drive temperature,
e.g. with SpeedFan.

Arno
 >> Stay informed about: cooling Seagate eSATA external HDs 

"Timothy Daniels" <SpamBucket.DeleteThis@NoSpamPlease.biz> wrote in message
news:47c7745b$0$24083$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
> "Timothy Daniels" wrote:
>> Seagate makes some of its "external HDs" with eSATA
>> interfaces, specifically the "Free Agent Pro"
>> (http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/freeagent_pro_data_movers/)
>> and the "eSATA External Hard Drive"
>> (http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/esata_hard_drive/).
>>
>> Unfortunately, calls to Seagate's pre-sales reps in India don't
>> result in information of any certitude. <understatement>
>>
>> Does anyone know if these external enclosures include
>> a cooling fan and and how they get their power?
>
>
> Since I was unable to find another eSATA external enclosure
> that has a cooling fan, not even Kingwin's own Z1 series, I opted
> for Kingwin's Jet series with the "belly fan" and the aluminum case:
> http://www.compusa.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo...71646&s ,
> and at another website, but
> the same outfit that runs CompUSA,
> http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?E...o=30716
>
> I'll also try drilling a few ventillation holes as advised by one
> of the product reviewers.
>
> *TimDaniels*
>
Tim, take a look at this Rosewill RX358--I bought one for a client about
3 weeks back just for the cooling. Note its fan and vents on side and
front. He wanted a 250gb Seagate in a cool-running ext. drive system. He's
been quite happy since. Btw, I found a deal on the SG and the Rosewill,
about $104 for the pair.!!! sam
>> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817173042 <<
 >> Stay informed about: cooling Seagate eSATA external HDs 

"sdlomi2" wrote:
>
> "Timothy Daniels" wrote:
>> "Timothy Daniels" wrote:
>>> Seagate makes some of its "external HDs" with eSATA
>>> interfaces, specifically the "Free Agent Pro"
>>> (http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/freeagent_pro_data_movers/)
>>> and the "eSATA External Hard Drive"
>>> (http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/esata_hard_drive/).
>>>
>>> Unfortunately, calls to Seagate's pre-sales reps in India don't
>>> result in information of any certitude. <understatement>
>>>
>>> Does anyone know if these external enclosures include
>>> a cooling fan and and how they get their power?
>>
>>
>> Since I was unable to find another eSATA external enclosure
>> that has a cooling fan, not even Kingwin's own Z1 series, I opted
>> for Kingwin's Jet series with the "belly fan" and the aluminum case:
>> http://www.compusa.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo...71646&s ,
>> and at another website, but
>> the same outfit that runs CompUSA,
>> http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?E...o=30716
>>
>> I'll also try drilling a few ventillation holes as advised by one
>> of the product reviewers.
>>
>> *TimDaniels*
>>
> Tim, take a look at this Rosewill RX358--I bought one for a client about 3
> weeks back just for the cooling. Note its fan and vents on side and front.
> He wanted a 250gb Seagate in a cool-running ext. drive system. He's been
> quite happy since. Btw, I found a deal on the SG and the Rosewill, about $104
> for the pair.!!! sam
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817173042
>

That looks like a good unit. It's price is $10 more than the Kingwin
"Jet" model, though. And it may have the same slightly restricted airflow
problem that the Kingwin has - here's the "Con" product review from
the Newegg webpage:

"Cons: The fan doesn't blow very well at all. I can barely feel it, but it
works at under 40C and idles at room temp. Also it could use some
simple rubber feet but on a smooth surface the metal isnt bad. You
can stand it up too and its pretty stable."

Overall price for the Kingwin enclosure and a Seagate DiamondMax
21 with 320GB capacity came to about $151 with shipping from
CompUSA. So the bundled deal that you got was pretty good. In the
future, I think I'll buy a Rosewill for my desktop PC if only to compare
them. Thanks for the info!

*TimDaniels*
 >> Stay informed about: cooling Seagate eSATA external HDs 

In checking out NewEgg's "Rosewill Store", I spotted this
2-HD external eSATA/USB enclosure:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182116
The only indication that the "SATA" half is eSATA is the eSATA
cable shown in one of the photos. There is also a fan mentioned
as being 40mm "high velocity". That might get a little noisy, but
the reviewers seem to like it a lot.

*TimDaniels*
 >> Stay informed about: cooling Seagate eSATA external HDs 

William R. Walsh wrote in news:ZaNxj.1943$TT4.1915@attbi_s22
> Hi!
>
> > > The drive fits snugly against the sides of the case,
> > Actually, that's not necessarily a good thing.

> If something is being used as a heatsink,

> it should be making good contact

Which it won't with only 4 screws (4 small points of contact).

> with whatever it is trying to cool.
>
> That said, the enclosure is not snug against top and bottom of the
> drive--just the two long sides.

> Air can flow around the drive quite easily.

Sure, IF air was moved mechanically. However, without a fan the air has
to move itself within the case. For that it needs enough space so that air
can rise near the drive and descent near the case walls, thus transferring
the heat energy to the case. Without the necessary space the air will stay
stagnant and act like an insulator, just like it does in double glazing.

>
> William
 >> Stay informed about: cooling Seagate eSATA external HDs 

The enclosure you are referencing is USB external connection the pc.
Internally it accepts Sata drives. If you look closely at the image of what
it referring to as eSata cable, it is in fact the power cord.

Steve

"Timothy Daniels" <SpamBucket.TakeThisOut@NoSpamPlease.biz> wrote in message
news:47cc5015$0$17359$4c368faf@roadrunner.com...
> In checking out NewEgg's "Rosewill Store", I spotted this
> 2-HD external eSATA/USB enclosure:
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182116
> The only indication that the "SATA" half is eSATA is the eSATA
> cable shown in one of the photos. There is also a fan mentioned
> as being 40mm "high velocity". That might get a little noisy, but
> the reviewers seem to like it a lot.
>
> *TimDaniels*
>
 >> Stay informed about: cooling Seagate eSATA external HDs 

Stretch <rubber.RemoveThis@ducks.au> wrote
> William R. Walsh wrote

>>>> The drive fits snugly against the sides of the case,

>>> Actually, that's not necessarily a good thing.

>> If something is being used as a heatsink,

>> it should be making good contact

> Which it won't with only 4 screws (4 small points of contact).

It aint just the screws that make contact, the screws pull the rails against the sides of the drives.

>> with whatever it is trying to cool.

>> That said, the enclosure is not snug against top
>> and bottom of the drive--just the two long sides.

>> Air can flow around the drive quite easily.

> Sure, IF air was moved mechanically. However, without a fan the
> air has to move itself within the case. For that it needs enough
> space so that air can rise near the drive and descent near the
> case walls, thus transferring the heat energy to the case.

Nope, not if air can circulate thru the housing and out the top etc.

> Without the necessary space the air will stay stagnant
> and act like an insulator, just like it does in double glazing.

Nothing like double glazing if the are can move from within the case to outside it, even without a fan.
 >> Stay informed about: cooling Seagate eSATA external HDs 

I did failure analysis on the pair of external drives that my client bought from
Buy.com, before becoming my client. The brand name is Cavalry, a subsidiary of
Bason, a Santa Clara outfit that has sold disk drives forever and ever. I even
remember Bason ads back when PC Magazine was 500-600 pages every two weeks.

One 3.5" external case had a ventilation fan, the other not. I could not tell
who manufactured the cases. One drive was a Maxtor with a discolored and
damaged chip on its circuit board, but no evidence of anything which might have
grounded out the chip and fried it. The other drive started out as a Western
Digital, but carried a wierd sticker that I traced back to "Magnetic Data
Technologies", aka MDT Global, a company advertising itself as refurbishing disk
drives, whatever that means to them.

Bottom line is that my client unwittingly bought garbage, and the garbage
finally failed after a couple years of use... Ben Myers

On Wed, 27 Feb 2008 12:42:08 -0800, "Timothy Daniels"
<SpamBucket.TakeThisOut@NoSpamPlease.biz> wrote:

>Seagate makes some of its "external HDs" with eSATA
>interfaces, specifically the "Free Agent Pro"
>(http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/freeagent_pro_data_movers/)
>and the "eSATA External Hard Drive"
>(http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/esata_hard_drive/).
>
>Unfortunately, calls to Seagate's pre-sales reps in India don't
>result in information of any certitude. <understatement>
>
>Does anyone know if these external enclosures include
>a cooling fan and and how they get their power?
>
>*TimDaniels*
>
 >> Stay informed about: cooling Seagate eSATA external HDs 

Yup, it looks like Newegg mis-labeled the photo. The interface
between the box and the PC is probably just USB.

*TimDaniels*

"Steve" wrote:
> The enclosure you are referencing is USB external connection the pc.
> Internally it accepts Sata drives. If you look closely at the image of what it
> referring to as eSata cable, it is in fact the power cord.
>
> Steve
>
> "Timothy Daniels" wrote:
>> In checking out NewEgg's "Rosewill Store", I spotted this
>> 2-HD external eSATA/USB enclosure:
>> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182116
>> The only indication that the "SATA" half is eSATA is the eSATA
>> cable shown in one of the photos. There is also a fan mentioned
>> as being 40mm "high velocity". That might get a little noisy, but
>> the reviewers seem to like it a lot.
>>
>> *TimDaniels*
>>
>
>
 >> Stay informed about: cooling Seagate eSATA external HDs 

Thanks for the word on "Calvary". But there will always be garbage
out there for sale as Good Stuff. Caveat Emptor still holds. That is
why I bought the hard drive separately (not bundled), and I'll assure
that there is adequate cooling before relying on an enclosure for it.

*TimDaniels*


"Ben Myers" wrote:
> I did failure analysis on the pair of external drives that my client bought
> from Buy.com, before becoming my client. The brand name is Cavalry,
> a subsidiary of Bason, a Santa Clara outfit that has sold disk drives
> forever and ever. I even remember Bason ads back when PC Magazine
> was 500-600 pages every two weeks.
>
> One 3.5" external case had a ventilation fan, the other not. I could not tell
> who manufactured the cases. One drive was a Maxtor with a discolored
> and damaged chip on its circuit board, but no evidence of anything which
> might have grounded out the chip and fried it. The other drive started out
> as a Western Digital, but carried a wierd sticker that I traced back to
> "Magnetic Data Technologies", aka MDT Global, a company advertising
> itself as refurbishing disk drives, whatever that means to them.
>
> Bottom line is that my client unwittingly bought garbage, and the garbage
> finally failed after a couple years of use... Ben Myers
>
> "Timothy Daniels" wrote:
>>Seagate makes some of its "external HDs" with eSATA
>>interfaces, specifically the "Free Agent Pro"
>>(http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/freeagent_pro_data_movers/)
>>and the "eSATA External Hard Drive"
>>(http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/esata_hard_drive/).
>>
>>Unfortunately, calls to Seagate's pre-sales reps in India don't
>>result in information of any certitude. <understatement>
>>
>>Does anyone know if these external enclosures include
>>a cooling fan and and how they get their power?
>>
>>*TimDaniels*
>>
 >> Stay informed about: cooling Seagate eSATA external HDs 

To be perfectly real about it, the ONLY sensible approach to external drives is
to buy the case, and buy a RELIABLE drive from a RELIABLE source, and use a
small Philips head screwdriver to assemble. That way, you KNOW exactly what you
are getting. Many people do not have enough knowledge to do this well.

Second choice is to buy from a source who will tell you exactly what is inside
the drive and give you a guarantee, subject to normal use. That's what quoted
to my client today along with prices that are probably higher than Best Buy etc.
Their budget is somewhat impoverished, and I suspect they'll buy on price, not
quality.

The serious problem with Buy.com, Tiger Direct and these other mail order joints
is that THEY often do not know what they are selling, as evidenced by the
results of my teardown of the two failed drives. They probably do not care too
much either... Ben Myers

On Tue, 4 Mar 2008 15:17:41 -0800, "Timothy Daniels"
<SpamBucket.TakeThisOut@NoSpamPlease.biz> wrote:

>Thanks for the word on "Calvary". But there will always be garbage
>out there for sale as Good Stuff. Caveat Emptor still holds. That is
>why I bought the hard drive separately (not bundled), and I'll assure
>that there is adequate cooling before relying on an enclosure for it.
>
>*TimDaniels*
>
<SNIP>
 >> Stay informed about: cooling Seagate eSATA external HDs