Is this detrimental to my computer?

[jazzhound]

Hi,

I've added my fourth hdd to my stuffed computer recently and have only since discovered my 3 hdd which are stacked ontop of each other in the cramped compartment of the 3 1/2 bays. Basically they're occupying the designated slots but they get extremely hot, I'm wondering if this is detrimental to the longevity of my hdd's by doing this.

 

[overdoze]

yes HD life is reduce if it is too hot. Most HD will not operate correctly at 50C

 

[jazzhound]

These are pictures of my computer (apologies for the blurryness).

How do I go about taking the temps of these ? They're all 7200rpm.

Incase image tags don't work:

http://216.138.223.229/~ctri/pic1.jpg
http://216.138.223.229/~ctri/pic2.jpg
http://216.138.223.229/~ctri/pic3.jpg

 

[overdoze]

50C will almost burn your finger to the touch. 33C-35C is as warm as if you are having a fever. 40C is somewhere in between. In case you don't have a temperture mesurement device.
You could buy extra fans to cool your HDs. I usually buy the following
here is a few links

Hard Disk / CD/DVD/CDRW Drive Cooler, for 5.25 bay

Enermax Temperature Monitors. 2 LED display. 5.25" bay cooling device

 

[jazzhound]

Thanks those links are helpful. I'm actually going to reduce it down to 2 hdd's in a matter of hours but I'm more concerned about the harm already done. I had stupidly placed a heat facing in it's vacinity one time and combined that with the fact that I ran it 3 days straight the hdd's were hot to the touch (as you described, almost to the point of scalding). You'll also notice my case is off, and I run my system in it's exposed state.


Thanks for the links and help in general.

 

[jordo]

there is a temp monitoring program that can monitor hd temps even without additional probes (as most hds have built in temp monitors) but i cant for the life of me remember its name. i ran it one time and my hds were at 30 degrees so i deleted it


heres one, though its not the one i was thinking of: HD Temperature 1.0

 

[Howard]

If you were really desperate, you could take out the drive bay cage and with wire, hang the HDs vertically. The hot air will have some place to go, providing you put some space between, and if you put a fan, you won't have to worry about heat.

 

[im2smrt4u]

<< 50C will almost burn your finger to the touch. 33C-35C is as warm as if you are having a fever. 40C is somewhere in between. >>



50C is not quite burning (considering that the air tempature where I live has reached that) but it is far to hot. The BayCool III is exactly what you need for this.

 

[MJGunn]

Just downloaded that program and it says my HD is running at 28-29 degrees. I'm not really sure whats good, is that good, high, low? Thanks.....

 

[MJGunn]

^