Hard Drive cooling....is it worth it???

[Wurrmm]

I was looking at hard drive coolers and was wondering if they were worth it??? Also, I notice most HD coolers don't dissapate heat from the top of Hds where most of the heat comes from.

 

[CubicZirconia]

Are they necessary? No. Are they worth it? Not really (imo). OEM manufacturers never use hdd cooling, that should tell you something. Unless you want the extra fan just for the heck of it, don't bother.

 

[Wurrmm]

Thanks....that is what I figured.

 

[Batman5177]

hard drive coolers are usually only needed for scsi drives

i have my hard drives mounted in front of my intake fans, it keeps them cool
but i dont know if your case can do that

 

[Bluefront]

Heh....Like every other electrical component, your hard drive will last longer if it is run cooler. Is it worth it? Is your data worth anything? Try backing up a 200gig hard drive.....I'd consentrate on giving your hard drive a long and cool life. You can check the smart temps using SpeedFan. Mine usually runs 34c with it's cooling setup.

 

[propellerhead]

I wouldn't waste my money on a hard drive cooler, unless you just want bragging rights of having the most fans. Hard drives don't get hot enough to require heatsinks, much less a fan.

 

[GAZZA]

Hmm I have HD coolers on both my SCSI and 2 IDe drives , and they deffinitely need them .
You should try checking the temps on the IMB GXP series too as they are almost too hot to touch, and possibly one reason why they failed so badly .
If you can afford one I would say yeah it is worth it provided you get a decent model.

Heh....Like every other electrical component, your hard drive will last longer if it is run cooler. Is it worth it? Is your data worth anything? Try backing up a 200gig hard drive.....I'd consentrate on giving your hard drive a long and cool life. You can check the smart temps using SpeedFan. Mine usually runs 34c with it's cooling setup.

I totally agree.

There are many types of HD coolers out there , the better ones use some form of casing that acts as a passive cooler along small fan/s to move the heat away.
Another good and cheap way of cooling your hard drives is to rig up some 80/92mm case fans infront of your hard drives , more and more cases are incorporating this idea .

 

[SCSIfreek]

As you can tell from my nick, I'm running most SCSI harddrives. At first I thought it was a good idea to put coolers but later found they were useless or close to being useless. Harddrives had been running without extra cooling for the past 2.5 years. I'll have to admit that my box has er... 4 case fans


--Scsi

 

[SickBeast]

if you're really paranoid about keeping your hard drive(s) cool, you can always run a duct up from your intake fan at the front of your case (if you have one) and aim it at your drive(s). an easier way would be to mount the drive right in front of the fan tho, as someone stated above.

 

[Wurrmm]

I don't want to have to get new case because I like my old antec , so is there a cooling solution that fits in a 3.5 internal bay???

 

[Texun]

Originally posted by: Wurrmm
I was looking at hard drive coolers and was wondering if they were worth it??? Also, I notice most HD coolers don't dissapate heat from the top of Hds where most of the heat comes from.

This isn't exactly what you asked for but it's cheap and it works. The fan has been raised since the pict was taken but it might give you some ideas. With a gap of about 3/8" the low RPM fan works fine. I had no plans to buy one because I *really* don't see a need. But since I had several extra 80mm fans floating around here I decided to try one at low RPM to see what would happen. At 7 volts I can't tell it's there. I checked the drive with using the "feel" test and it was fine.

As far as the top of the drive running hot... I had the opposite experience. The bottom of my WD Special Ed was really warm. Depending on your drive configuration you may be able to use some double sided tape and mount the fan on the bottom of the cage.

Hope this helps, or at least give you another idea.

 

[Wurrmm]

After much personal debate, I decided to get a whole new Antec case and a nice Antec HD cooler. Since I am practically getting a whole new system I figure just get a new case so I don't have to mess with the old one.