Should I be worried about my HDD temps?

Harddrives are very temperature sensitive as far as their being able to
sustain a long service life.. You should NOT have the harddrives right
against each other, and if you are running two harddrives, including a
Raptor which runs hotter due to its 10,000 rpm, you should have very good
case cooling.

--
DaveW



"Derek" <user.DeleteThis@nospam.org> wrote in message
news:2uvp7mF2fmg8sU1@uni-berlin.de...
 >I have a homebuilt Biostar iDEQ 200N:
 >
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.biostar.com.tw/products/barebone/ideq/200n/index.php3</font" target="_blank">http://www.biostar.com.tw/products/barebone/ideq/200n/index.php3</font</a>>
 >
 > It's a SFF PC that's low on space, so my two hard drives
 > are in very close quarters without a lot of airflow. I
 > have a 10,000 RPM 74GB WD Raptor (SATA) as my WinXP boot
 > disk and a 7,200 RPM 250GB WD (IDE) data drive.
 >
 > Both drives get very hot to the touch and I'm wondering if
 > I should do anything to cool them down. I recently bolted
 > a Vantec HDC-502A to my Raptor, but reviews suggest these
 > coolers have relatively little impact, reducing the temp
 > by just a couple of degrees under heavy load:
 >
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.extremeoverclocking.com/reviews/cooling/Vantec_HDC_1.html</font" target="_blank">http://www.extremeoverclocking.com/reviews/cooling/Vantec_HDC_1.html</font</a>>
 >
 > So I guess I'm wondering if drive cooling is really that
 > important, or are modern drives designed to run pretty hot?
 > How worried should I be about having a 10k Raptor right
 > below my data drive? Any tips for cooling in tight spaces?
 >
 > Incidentally, I've never had any temp-related problems
 > that I'm aware of, so this is really a preventive question;
 > I'd like to know if by letting my drives get hot I'm
 > setting myself up for problems later.
 >
 > Thanks.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Should I be worried about my HDD temps? 

Derek wrote:
 > I have a homebuilt Biostar iDEQ 200N:
 >
<font color=purple> > <a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.biostar.com.tw/products/barebone/ideq/200n/index.php3</font" target="_blank">http://www.biostar.com.tw/products/barebone/ideq/200n/index.php3</font</a>>
 >
 > It's a SFF PC that's low on space, so my two hard drives
 > are in very close quarters without a lot of airflow. I
 > have a 10,000 RPM 74GB WD Raptor (SATA) as my WinXP boot
 > disk and a 7,200 RPM 250GB WD (IDE) data drive.
 >
 > Both drives get very hot to the touch and I'm wondering if
 > I should do anything to cool them down.

Have you checked the WD site for detailed technical docs? I believe
those will have specifications for operating temperatures.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Should I be worried about my HDD temps? 

On Thu, 04 Nov 2004 17:36:38 -0500, Derek <user.DeleteThis@nospam.org>
wrote:

 >I have a homebuilt Biostar iDEQ 200N:
 >
 >http://www.biostar.com.tw/products/barebone/ideq/200n/index.php3
 >
 >It's a SFF PC that's low on space, so my two hard drives
 >are in very close quarters without a lot of airflow. I
 >have a 10,000 RPM 74GB WD Raptor (SATA) as my WinXP boot
 >disk and a 7,200 RPM 250GB WD (IDE) data drive.
 >
 >Both drives get very hot to the touch and I'm wondering if
 >I should do anything to cool them down. I recently bolted
 >a Vantec HDC-502A to my Raptor, but reviews suggest these
 >coolers have relatively little impact, reducing the temp
 >by just a couple of degrees under heavy load:
 >
 >http://www.extremeoverclocking.com/reviews/cooling/Vantec_HDC_1.html
 >
 >So I guess I'm wondering if drive cooling is really that
 >important, or are modern drives designed to run pretty hot?
 >How worried should I be about having a 10k Raptor right
 >below my data drive? Any tips for cooling in tight spaces?
 >
 >Incidentally, I've never had any temp-related problems
 >that I'm aware of, so this is really a preventive question;
 >I'd like to know if by letting my drives get hot I'm
 >setting myself up for problems later.
 >
 >Thanks.

"Very hot" does sound problematic.

One thing you could try is cutting out the grill over the
rear exhaust fan. It almost looks like there's even room for
a larger fan but I can't be sure from pictures, and also
unsure how much that would effect structural integrity of
the chassis.
<a style='text-decoration: underline;' href="http://www.hwextreme.com/reviews/barebones/biostar_ideq_200t_200n/images/4.jpg" target="_blank">http://www.hwextreme.com/reviews/barebones/biostar_ideq_200t_200n/images/4.jpg</a>

There looks to be no easy way to significantly increase
cooling of the drives though, not without drastically,
visually modifying the case, which is unfortunate but one of
the tradeoffs, reasons why many people still build in larger
cases. Perhaps adding a fan to the side-panel would help
(moreso for the bottom drive), with a grill to make it more
astheticallly pleasing.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Should I be worried about my HDD temps? 

On Fri, 05 Nov 2004 02:32:12 GMT, kony <spam.RemoveThis@spam.com> wrote:

 >There looks to be no easy way to significantly increase
 >cooling of the drives though, not without drastically,
 >visually modifying the case, which is unfortunate but one of
 >the tradeoffs, reasons why many people still build in larger
 >cases. Perhaps adding a fan to the side-panel would help
 >(moreso for the bottom drive), with a grill to make it more
 >astheticallly pleasing.

I did one for another case and it looks fine.

Get one of those chear plastic fans and a grill and it looks pretty
decent from the outside even if the hole is really ragged looking
since it will be covered by the fan. The black fans tend to stick out
too much and look weird on the outside.

If a hole saw works then itll be easy and more pro-looking since the
hole would have a clean cut.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Should I be worried about my HDD temps? 

On Fri, 05 Nov 2004 02:45:45 GMT, "John@Smith.com"
<xxxxspud.DeleteThis@newscene.com> wrote:

 >On Fri, 05 Nov 2004 02:32:12 GMT, kony <spam.DeleteThis@spam.com> wrote:
 >
  >>There looks to be no easy way to significantly increase
  >>cooling of the drives though, not without drastically,
  >>visually modifying the case, which is unfortunate but one of
  >>the tradeoffs, reasons why many people still build in larger
  >>cases. Perhaps adding a fan to the side-panel would help
  >>(moreso for the bottom drive), with a grill to make it more
  >>astheticallly pleasing.
 >
 >I did one for another case and it looks fine.
 >
 >Get one of those chear plastic fans and a grill and it looks pretty
 >decent from the outside even if the hole is really ragged looking
 >since it will be covered by the fan. The black fans tend to stick out
 >too much and look weird on the outside.
 >
 >If a hole saw works then itll be easy and more pro-looking since the
 >hole would have a clean cut.
 >

I meant adding a fan to the inside wall of the cover instead
of the outside wall, or is there not room for one? It does
look like the cover would have to be flexed outwards a bit
when reinstallating it, for the fan to clear the top side
frame-rail.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Should I be worried about my HDD temps? 

Will Dormann wrote:
   > > Both drives get very hot to the touch and I'm
   > > wondering if I should do anything to cool them
   > > down.
  >
  > What do you mean "very hot" ? Can you check the temp
  > in the SMART data? Or do WD drives still lack the
  > temperature sensor?

I fired up PC Wizard and (to my surprise) there was a
temperature reading in the SMART data. I was not
aware of this feature.

Under moderate load my 7,200 RPM drive read about 43C
and my Raptor was at 47C. I'll experiment some more
when I get home tonight to see if those numbers rise
under heavy load.

What's a reasonable temperature? The WD site lists
a max temperature of 55C for my drives, but I'm not
sure if that refers to the drive temperature or the
temperature of the environment it's operating in.

  > If you can't comfortably leave your finger on the
  > drive itself for whatever amount of time, you're
  > setting yourself up for premature failure.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Should I be worried about my HDD temps? 

Matt wrote:
   > > Both drives get very hot to the touch and I'm
   > > wondering if I should do anything to cool them
   > > down.
  >
  > Have you checked the WD site for detailed technical
  > docs? I believe those will have specifications for
  > operating temperatures.

The WD site lists the max operating temperature as
55C/131F, but I'm not sure if that refers to the
drive temp (as returned in the SMART data) or the
temp of the ambient conditions the drive operates
in. PC Wizard returns about 47C in the SMART data
for my Raptor (and 43C for my 250GB), which means
I'm in the green, but I'm not sure how far to trust
SMART (or PC Wizard for that matter).<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Should I be worried about my HDD temps? 

On Fri, 05 Nov 2004 09:32:48 -0500, Derek <user DeleteThis @nospam.org>
wrote:

 >Matt wrote:
   > > > Both drives get very hot to the touch and I'm
   > > > wondering if I should do anything to cool them
   > > > down.
  > >
  > > Have you checked the WD site for detailed technical
  > > docs? I believe those will have specifications for
  > > operating temperatures.
 >
 >The WD site lists the max operating temperature as
 >55C/131F, but I'm not sure if that refers to the
 >drive temp (as returned in the SMART data) or the
 >temp of the ambient conditions the drive operates
 >in.

It is drive temp.

 >PC Wizard returns about 47C in the SMART data
 >for my Raptor (and 43C for my 250GB), which means
 >I'm in the green, but I'm not sure how far to trust
 >SMART (or PC Wizard for that matter).


Keep in mind that there is a difference between "max temp
our product can sustain" and "temp promoting longer
lifespan". 47C is not alarmingly high but should be lowered
if you want higher lifespan from the drive.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Should I be worried about my HDD temps? 

Derek wrote:
 > I fired up PC Wizard and (to my surprise) there was a
 > temperature reading in the SMART data. I was not
 > aware of this feature.
 >
 > Under moderate load my 7,200 RPM drive read about 43C
 > and my Raptor was at 47C. I'll experiment some more
 > when I get home tonight to see if those numbers rise
 > under heavy load.

43C or lower is a good target.
47C is not bad, but you may have a decreased life span of the drive. If
it goes 50C or above, you definately want to increase the cooling.


-WD<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Should I be worried about my HDD temps? 

In article <2v1gsfF2gdjuqU1.TakeThisOut@uni-berlin.de>, user.TakeThisOut@nospam.org says...
 > Will Dormann wrote:
   > > > Both drives get very hot to the touch and I'm
   > > > wondering if I should do anything to cool them
   > > > down.
  > >
  > > What do you mean "very hot" ? Can you check the temp
  > > in the SMART data? Or do WD drives still lack the
  > > temperature sensor?
 >
 > I fired up PC Wizard and (to my surprise) there was a
 > temperature reading in the SMART data. I was not
 > aware of this feature.
 >
 > Under moderate load my 7,200 RPM drive read about 43C
 > and my Raptor was at 47C. I'll experiment some more
 > when I get home tonight to see if those numbers rise
 > under heavy load.
 >
 > What's a reasonable temperature? The WD site lists
 > a max temperature of 55C for my drives, but I'm not
 > sure if that refers to the drive temperature or the
 > temperature of the environment it's operating in.
 >
  > > If you can't comfortably leave your finger on the
  > > drive itself for whatever amount of time, you're
  > > setting yourself up for premature failure.
 >
my Seagate SATA drive usually runs at 43. According to the Seagate web
site, their new drives can run as high as 60. If Western Digital says
55, and when you check it under heavy load it still hasn't gone above
50, you probably don't have anything to worry about.

Louise<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Should I be worried about my HDD temps? 

On Fri, 05 Nov 2004 09:26:22 -0500, Derek <user.DeleteThis@nospam.org> wrote:

 > I fired up PC Wizard and (to my surprise) there was a
 > temperature reading in the SMART data. I was not
 > aware of this feature.
 >
 > Under moderate load my 7,200 RPM drive read about 43C
 > and my Raptor was at 47C. I'll experiment some more
 > when I get home tonight to see if those numbers rise
 > under heavy load.
 >
 > What's a reasonable temperature?

Try to get it below 40°C
My Seagate is around 31°C.<!-- ~MESSAGE_AFTER~ -->
 >> Stay informed about: Should I be worried about my HDD temps?