Best way to cool HD's in a Sonata?

[Ike0069]

I though about buying something similar to this. But is attaches to teh bottom of the HD. And in Sonata cast, the HD sets in a tray that slides into the HD cage, instead of using rails attached to the side of the HD. So that type of HD cooler is not going to work.
I already have the front 120mm fan installed, but due tot he poor air flow design og the case, not much air is pulled across the HD's. I'm installing a 120mm fan in the removable side to increase airflow into the case, but there is no way to get it to blow across the the HD cage.
I can't use a 5.25 in cease cooler as I have 2 HD's, and only 1 open 5.25" bay.

Is there any other way to keep my HD's cool?

 

[Zepper]

Trade the Sonata in on a 3000-B ....

.bh.

 

[IceWindius]

You can look at my work log here for "Night Wind" to get some ideas

null

 

[DesertChicken]

Antec sells a few HDD coolers themselves, perhaps your answer lies there. I've seen one on their site that wraps around the sides of the HDD, but it was around 30 bucks.

EDIT: hmm, building a case with no HDD ventilation, then selling HDD coolers... Shady stuff.

 

[frank84]

Originally posted by: IceWindius
You can look at my work log here for "Night Wind" to get some ideas

null

nice job,

I recently purchased sonata for myself, working on it.. every bit of it.

 

[Ike0069]

Originally posted by: IceWindius
You can look at my work log here for "Night Wind" to get some ideas

null

Wow. That is very nice. I'm in the process of modding mine also, but not to tha extent.

And I have thought of buying a new case and using the Sonata for my AXP system, but I've decided to just mod this and see how it goes.

I've trimmed up the front bezel, sleeved the PSU, and bought a 120 mm to install in the door.
But I really like the stage 10 intake modification. I think I will try the same.

 

[michal1980]

did you measure your hd temps? to see if they were acutally warm?

no offense but a hard drive comsumes about 10-15 watts of power, where as your cpu uses from 60-100. and the areas are not even in the same league. just have air flow over them at all is ussually enough.

 

[aidanjm]

Originally posted by: Ike0069
I though about buying something similar to this. But is attaches to teh bottom of the HD. And in Sonata cast, the HD sets in a tray that slides into the HD cage, instead of using rails attached to the side of the HD. So that type of HD cooler is not going to work.
I already have the front 120mm fan installed, but due tot he poor air flow design og the case, not much air is pulled across the HD's. I'm installing a 120mm fan in the removable side to increase airflow into the case, but there is no way to get it to blow across the the HD cage.
I can't use a 5.25 in cease cooler as I have 2 HD's, and only 1 open 5.25" bay.

Is there any other way to keep my HD's cool?

The Sonata design is pretty good as far as airflow is concerned. I don't understand how you could be having a temp prob in that case. Especially if you have 2 times 120 mm fans running, plus a fan in the psu. If your hdd temps are under 40 degrees celsius, then really, there is no problem and no need to get them cooler. You shouldn't even need the front fan to keep the hdds cool in that case.

One thing you can do is remove the front plastic bezel, then use masking tape to cover every hole on the metal frame except the area where the front 120mm fan is located. It means air only enters thru that location and therefore all air entering via the front passes over the hdds

 

[aidanjm]

Originally posted by: Zepper
Trade the Sonata in on a 3000-B ....

.bh.

um, isn't the basic case design pretty similar? the 3000b has an additional few holes on the side of the case

 

[Ike0069]

Originally posted by: michal1980
did you measure your hd temps? to see if they were acutally warm?

no offense but a hard drive comsumes about 10-15 watts of power, where as your cpu uses from 60-100. and the areas are not even in the same league. just have air flow over them at all is ussually enough.

Yea, they are reaching 45C, which seems to be high to me. I would like them to be closer to 35C.

 

[Zepper]

The 3000-B has the Hard drive cage oriented properly (you can put up to three drives in there spaced out nicely and still have good air flow) - I don't care much for the side-saddle drive arrangement. Didn't the Sonata have the "front fan" mount on the back side of the HD cage - now what sense does that make?

.bh.

 

[Ike0069]

Originally posted by: Zepper
The 3000-B has the Hard drive cage oriented properly (you can put up to three drives in there spaced out nicely and still have good air flow) - I don't care much for the side-saddle drive arrangement. Didn't the Sonata have the "front fan" mount on the back side of the HD cage - now what sense does that make?

.bh.

Yea, I really don't like sideways mounting of the HD's. And, yea, the fan is on the back side of the cage. Not a very good design there.

As for the air flow, there is no way I would call it "pretty good". More like "pretty crappy". Even with the front bezel completely removed, air is not brought into the case very well. Alot has to do with where the front fan is mounted.
I can notice a large increase in air flow out the back of the rear 120mm fan when I open the side panel. That is because it has a hard time drawing air in thru the front opening. This is why I'm installing a fan in the door.

 

[frx218]

I just purchased a Sonata, looks like I will run into some problems down the line so I will probably do some modding

 

[Thor86]

Originally posted by: IceWindius
You can look at my work log here for "Night Wind" to get some ideas

null

:thumbsup:

 

[michal1980]

Originally posted by: Ike0069

Originally posted by: michal1980
did you measure your hd temps? to see if they were acutally warm?

no offense but a hard drive comsumes about 10-15 watts of power, where as your cpu uses from 60-100. and the areas are not even in the same league. just have air flow over them at all is ussually enough.

Yea, they are reaching 45C, which seems to be high to me. I would like them to be closer to 35C.

there still safe, a bit warm yes, but still safe.

how do you have ur hard drives istalled. you said you have 2, if thats all i'd try putting on in the top position, and the other in the bottom....

it might also seem crazy, but before spending big bucks, turn that front intake fan the other way. (after moving the drives very little air is getting drawen in through it anyway. the top vents will have enough to supply the top of the pc.

 

[Ike0069]

I have one in the top and the other in slot 3. Guess I could slide it down one more slot, but not sure it would matter much.

I'm trying to keep the dust out of the case (room is fairly dusty), so I have the top holes taped over on the removable door (other side is open). So if I turned the front fan around, not sure that would help. Probably would draw in even less air from outside the case. Maybe after I get the fan installed in the door, I will try turning it around.

 

[Mickey21]

Originally posted by: michal1980

Originally posted by: Ike0069

Originally posted by: michal1980
did you measure your hd temps? to see if they were acutally warm?

no offense but a hard drive comsumes about 10-15 watts of power, where as your cpu uses from 60-100. and the areas are not even in the same league. just have air flow over them at all is ussually enough.

Yea, they are reaching 45C, which seems to be high to me. I would like them to be closer to 35C.

there still safe, a bit warm yes, but still safe.

how do you have ur hard drives istalled. you said you have 2, if thats all i'd try putting on in the top position, and the other in the bottom....

it might also seem crazy, but before spending big bucks, turn that front intake fan the other way. (after moving the drives very little air is getting drawen in through it anyway. the top vents will have enough to supply the top of the pc.

Agreed. Hitting into higher 50 degree area would be worth worrying about... Mid 40's is nothing to worry about... Mid 30's just sounds completely overkill...

 

[Chode Messiah]

nexus sells a passive hdd cooler that dampens vibration and noise, while cooling it down. Some models go 5.25" bays, others can stay in the hdd cage

 

[michal1980]

the reason i say to put the drives at oppsitite ends is to put them more inline with the fan blades (which should help airflow around the drives), and b with a bigger gap, there would be less air just sitting around warming up the drives. the middle would provide a bigger buffere between the 2 drives.

I admit the top vents do add alot of dust. and the fan in back of the hard drives is kind of a bad place for it. Be nice if it was in front with a 1/2 gap between the drives.

try moving the drives to the top and bottom, that should help, because the middle of the 120 mm fans is a large gap of no airflow also.

 

[Ike0069]

I will try that.

I should clarify something first. My computer is in a room that is hotter than the rest of the house, sometimes by a fair amount. It is not heated/cooled with my main unit.
So in the summer, the daytime room temps can be 80-85F. So my case is already at a disadvantage when it comes to cooling. This is the main reason I need to increase air movement inside the case.

 

[Chode Messiah]

Solution A) prometia mach 2 $500
Solution B) mini window ac unit and better insulation

 

[0roo0roo]

as said, 45c is nothing to get your panties in a twist about.

either you go for silence and lower air flow, or you go for maximum ventilation and noise. its just how it is with air cooling.

 

[Ike0069]

Hey, I wear boxers. LOL