Hard Drive temp 55C too hot? UPDATE: Going to buy fan

[Crescent13]

My hard drive is at 55C and I think this is too hot. What should I do? Do I need to buy a fan for it? Is my cabling just bad?

Pic 1
Pic 2

UPDATE: Here is the fan I am going to buy. I am about to click the buy button but I want to make sure you guys think it is okay.

 

[CalvinHobbes]

That's pretty hot but possibly not outside the manufacturer specs. Which drive is it? I would definitely improve the cooling. It's not going to last long at high temps. All my HD's in all my systems have active cooling.

 

[Mrvile]

My drive stays at about 40 without a fan, but then again I'm using a Seagate. The cabling looks fine, probably wanna get a fan for it.

 

[Rock Hydra]

I want a Radeon xPress motherboard.

 

[Rock Hydra]

Originally posted by: Mrvile
My drive stays at about 40 without a fan, but then again I'm using a Seagate. The cabling looks fine, probably wanna get a fan for it.

 

[Crescent13]

The drive is a Western Digital Caviar SE 160GB 7200 RPM

EDIT: Found out maximum operating temp is 55C

 

[imported_Phil]

It's not surprising, the drive is enclosed in a metal box (drive caddy), with an IDE cable blocking the airflow.

Thus, your drive is not receiving any air.

Fit a fan, or it will die sooner than expected.

 

[Gurck]

I have an intake fan blowing directly over my drives, they hover around 30c idle, depending on ambient temps, and hit about 45c max if I'm transferring a lot of data. Nothing kills hard drives like heat, I'd definitely do something about that if I were you.

 

[Crescent13]

Anyone?

 

[Ike0069]

How are you guys measuring you HD temps?

 

[cjgallen]

My CPU doesn't even run that hot :Q That fan may be a good investment.

 

[Oyeve]

Originally posted by: Ike0069
How are you guys measuring you HD temps?

I would like to know also as I have six in my system with 2 fans blowing on em.

 

[Gurck]

Originally posted by: Ike0069
How are you guys measuring you HD temps?

There are various apps, I like SpeedFan

OP, it's not a bad choice but you might be able to get away with spending less. If your hdd enclosure will fit a standard 80mm case fan and your case has a vent in front of the drive(s), you can pick up one of those for just a few bucks.

Edit: I must have misread something, I thought the fan you linked was $20, not $4. Still though, I prefer the idea of an intake fan blowing over your hard drive cradle, it avoids vibrating the drive(s) as another poster said, and it can cool more than one drive, in case you get another. 80mm fans are also a standard, so you have a bit of a choice in brands with them.

 

[Ike0069]

Do the HD's have a thermal sensor in them that the app can read?
I use MBM5, but it doesn't display any HD temps.

 

[JBird7986]

The hottest I've ever had my HDD run is 36C.

 

[CrispyFried]

yes modern hds read temps via SMART. Make sure SMART is enabled.

Mine are around 30-35 C

 

[Ike0069]

Originally posted by: CrispyFried
yes modern hds read temps via SMART. Make sure SMART is enabled.

Mine are around 30-35 C

Ahh, thanks.
Mine says one's at 39C (new drive), and the other is at 45C (2 year old drive).
Is this accurate for older drives?

 

[shud]

Ok, I installed that SpeedFan thing, but none of the temps (other than my newer Maxtor HD) have titles.

Temp 2, however, is 64C. Is that likely the processor or video card? My video card's fan died a while ago, so that would be my guess.

 

[Bozo Galora]

that is too hot, I would say
the more platters, obviously, the hotter running the drive
personally, I dont like fans/holders that have physical contact with drive. I dont want the vibration from fans being transferred into platters.
Thats why I build my own fan holders.
I believe low low temps are more important than anything else for life of HDD.

HDD temp monitor

 

[Gurck]

Originally posted by: shud
Ok, I installed that SpeedFan thing, but none of the temps (other than my newer Maxtor HD) have titles.

Temp 2, however, is 64C. Is that likely the processor or video card? My video card's fan died a while ago, so that would be my guess.

Depends on your motherboard. I'm not sure SpeedFan would report a video card temp since it's technically an expansion card and not a part of the mainboard. 64c is likely your cpu, and unless it's an intel p4e (prescott) that's kinda warm. What's your cpu and video card?

 

[jswjimmy]

i have my dimondmax 8 up where there is no air flow and its never gone over 30C.

edit:
right now its running at room temp (71F)

 

[Umberger]

I have a good bit of airflow over my drives, and they run at 26, 23, 23, and 25 respectively. they are never above 35C under load. 55 seems really hot. my laptop hard drive rarely gets above 48C or so.


edit: typo

 

[Crescent13]

Ok. I have had my computer off for about 4 hours now and the temperature is 31C. I will go ahead and buy the fan for the hard drive. (my case doesn't have room for a 80mm fan near the hard drive cage)