IBM 40 gb 7200 rpm HDD cooling?

[BZeto]

I am looking to buy a 40 GB 7200 rpm 120 GXP IBM hard drive soon. I've heard they get kinda hot, so do I need to buy a hard drive cooler? or will I be ok with my pretty well ventalated case? If I need a cooler, please let me know what kinds are the best...

Thanks

 

[HeinekinMan]

This is what I bought for my 80GB 120GXP:

HDD Cooler

Think I paid around 12 bucks locally but I've seen it online for less than 9.00. Works very well and it's quiet...

 

[BZeto]

So do you think I will need a hard drive cooler? Did you try running yours without one?

One question about your IBM 120 GXP, if you bought it new, does it come already low level formated? What will I need to do to get it formatted completely? I know this should go in another forum, but its just a quick question...

 

[Derango]

<< So do you think I will need a hard drive cooler? Did you try running yours without one?

One question about your IBM 120 GXP, if you bought it new, does it come already low level formated? What will I need to do to get it formatted completely? I know this should go in another forum, but its just a quick question... >>



I woulden't run a 120GXP without a cooler...of course I wouldent purchase one to begin with....

 

[CubicZirconia]

Its best to use some sort of cooling on any 7200 rpm hdd. Keep in mind that the word in these forums seems to be that IBM hard drives are the absolute worst hard drives available, or at least thats the impression I've gotten.

 

[HeinekinMan]

BZeto,

You do not need to do a low level format (that I'm aware of for O/S's such as Win98/WinMe/Win2K). The installation setup routine will do a file system format and then install the O/S.

As for cooling, I had two IBM 75GXP's go bad (after 2.5 years of heavy use) and I had to RMA them. The replacements (refurbished 75GXPs) have been working fine. I opted to not add any HD cooling devices to either of them and feel that if I did, it might have helped. But who knows, I've read posts from other users of these 75GXPs that had used HD cooling devices and still ran into problems.

I am still a big IBM fan and I'm willing to give the 120GXP line a try. I'm betting that the 75GXP problems were isolated to that line. So far no problems with my 80 GB 120GXP. It's noticeably quieter and faster than the 75GXP, almost as quiet as the Seagate Barracuda that I had (for about a week before it suddenly DIED!). That's why I said, F-it, I'm sticking with IBM.

Mine tends to run on the warm side and I decided to add the cooler to it to see if it helps. It runs a LOT cooler now; what's more important is that the cooler is drawing heat away from the controller board (this is supposedly the problem area with the 75GXPs).

 

[BZeto]

Ok, looks like I'll be getting a cooler for it... do those kind of coolers that are shown in the link you posted mount on the actually hard drive or on the little rack that holds the 3.5 inch devices? If they do mount on the rack I assume the hard drive would have to be in the lowest 3.5 slot so the fan could be under it, right?

Derango, why wouldn't you buy an IBM hard drive? give me some reasons... Also, if most of you hate IBM drives then what would you recommend for a 40 gb 7200 rpm hard drive? Maxtor? I want to stay fairly cheap, $100 or less...

 

[CubicZirconia]

I've got several maxtors, none of which have had any problems. It seems like tons of people in these forums have had problems with IBM hard drives dying on them. Just don't be surprised when your IBM drive bombs out on you - it has happened before.

 

[ChefJoe]

the diff between one of the bay coolers and basically ensuring a mild but constant airflow over the HDs is not so much. You'll get as much cooling as needed and no "additional 40mm fan noise" if you take an 80mm case fan, 7V mod a 4 pin connector for it, and then make sure that fan blows air over the HD.

 

[HeinekinMan]

BZeto,

ChefJoe has a good point; if you have a case such as an Antec SX630/830/1030, etc. the hard drives in these cases mount into a removeable HD cage. This cage assembly allows for the installation of an 80mm case fan to draw air in from the front of the case blowing cool air across the HDs.

The Vantec HD cooling assembly that I mentioned does a slightly better job in my opinion; the fans are mounted on an aluminum assembly that attaches directly onto the lower part of the HD. It acts as a heat sink and literally sucks the hot air away from the controller board. Since I only use one HD, I have it mounted in the top part of the HD cage assembly in my Antec case. I can easily add another HD below it with another Vantec cooler if I chose to do so. Also, this Vantec is very quiet; on or off I can't tell the difference.

Any of these methods should more than help keep the HD and the controller board cool. In either case, the cost is minimal. I will use these coolers from here on out in every system that I put together.

As for IBM HDs having problems, if you search this forum (read the FAQ regarding the IBM 75GXP series) and other web site forums, you'll see that the bulk of the problems revolve around the 75GXP series. A few have mentioned problems with the 60GXP but I haven't heard anything bad about the 120GXP line as of yet. Mine lasted 2.5 years before dying, definitely premature. We have a ton of the 60GXPs at work and I haven't heard of any problems with them from our IT dept.

Maxtor is good, so is WD, and Seagate. I mentioned earlier that I happened to buy a Seagate Barracuda IV that crapped out one week after buying it! It was very quiet and about as fast as my 75GXPs. The 120GXP seems to be faster and quieter than either and a very good drive at that...

 

[BZeto]

Ok, How much extra height do they add to the hard drive? Because I have room for three 3.5 inch devices, and the floppy drive is in the middle(where the special slot on the case is made for the floppy, so will there be room for the hard drive below it? Or will I have to move the floppy drive up one?

 

[BZeto]

Oh, how about this one, look good?

Hard Drive cooler

 

[SinnerWolf]

That one is fine. I've got about 6 hard drives, 4 of which have the cyber cooler HD cooler. The other 2 have a vantec which cost a little more, but makes no noticeable difference in temperature, noise, or performance. I did receive a cyber cooler that had a bum fan that wasn't receiving the proper power, but once rewired it worked fine. They easily make a 10 degree difference, and greatly help in overall case temps. Any and every 7200+ hard drive needs active cooling. As far as the IBM thing goes, they make nothing but the best in my opinion. They did screw up with the early gxp line, and their newfound unpopularity is just brand aversion. I have no loyalties when it comes to hardware...whatever peforms the best for $$ is the winner. If you get a good price on your 40 (less then 70) go for it. Otherwise shop around more.

 

[BZeto]

Ok, thanks for the info!

 

[apriest]

I've been using WD and IBM for years. They each seem about as reliable as the other. I've had nightmares with Seagate, Fujitsu, and Maxtor though (I'm strickly talking IDE drives). I like IBM the best (with the exception of WD's new 8MB cache "special edition" models--they are screamers!!!). I never used any of the 75GXPs, but my experience with 60GXPs has been exceptional. I've sold about 22 of them over the past year and a half. Only one has died, and that was due to the computer taking a power spike with a CyberPower UPS (they are utter crap, didn't even come good on the damages like APC does). I do use a good cooling solution on EVERY 7200 RPM drive that leaves my lab though. So far my favorite is the Enermax UC-002. NewEgg sells the sleeve bearing version for $6 + shipping. They make a ball bearing version as well but you might have to go to Directron or something to find it. I think the reason I've had such wonderful success with the IBM 60GXPs has been due to the fact I cool them properly, I use high quality Enermax power supplies, and most of the computers I've sold are on an APC UPS. I just purchased 5x 40GB 120GXPs, even though I've heard horror stories about them. We'll see if I have as good a luck with them as I have with the 60GXP series. So far 2 are in production on a 24x7 video editing workstation and it's performing awesome. I never did use a 75GXP, so I can't speak on their behalf...

Hope that doesn't confuse the issue more! :-&THORN;

 

[ChrisADuffy]

Here is a couple of good options, some already mentioned at Sidewinder Computers