SCSI question or HDD cooler question? You decide.

[Ilmater]

So I took up Hypermicro.com on their free LSI U160 controller, and I'm going SCSI. However, having read the reviews of the Ultrastar, I realized what a problem the heat would be on these drives. To cut to the chase, I got the cooler (this one from Lian-Li) and I have no idea what the three cords are that are sticking out of it. They look like the wires that come from the power button on cases: there are two wires leading ends that look like jumpers. Two of the ends are just like a traditional jumper (two little openings), but the other cable has three small openings instead of two.

There's also a molex pass-through coming out of it, and I connected that. The two fans on the front of it are on and there is a light on on the right side of it, but there are more lights that are supposed to be on that aren't.

Please help!

 

[mastertech01]

My guess is at least one is supposed to be for an activity light.

 

[Sundog]

Basic google search:

Lian Li has built another unique feature into its HDD cooler. The rails for the cooler actually slide into the base. To mount the HDD inside of the cooler, you slide the rails out like the picture above illustrates. Once the rails are removed, you have access to the mounting screw holes to secure the HDD. Be sure that if you have a SCSI drive to connect all of the optional cables; for example the external HDD access LED, SCSI ID switch, etc. After you have secured the HDD, slide the rails back into the cooler unit. Then slide the cooler into your case and mount in a 5.25" drive bay. Hookup all of your wires and power cables and you're ready to go!

Lian Li Aluminum Hard Drive Cooler
Model MF-2000. Works wonders for those hot hard drives. Supports up to 15,000rpm drives! Aluminum chassis, dual front fans, Power LED, Hard Drive LED, left and right fan alarms, SCSI ID 0-15 selector! Fits in 5.25" bay. See specs.

 

[mcveigh]

to summarize...

HD activity light
power led
scsi ID selector.

check the ard drive documentation to find out where those are on the HD

 

[Ilmater]

Originally posted by: mcveigh
check the ard drive documentation to find out where those are on the HD

If only they had these things included with the drive... After finding the tech docs (here), I easily found what all of these things are. Thank you all for pointing out the obvious.

Just in case I didn't make it obvious enough before, this is my first experience with SCSI.

 

[mechBgon]

I have a Cheetah X15-36LP, which StorageReview finds to be one of the hotter-running ones to go through their newer testbed, and it runs cool as pie in an Antec fan-cooled HDD bay, using a mild 18dB 18CFM NMB 80mm fan. Sometimes I fire up my venerable Quantum Atlas 10k to back up my system to it, and even with that monster rolling, they still stay quite cool. If you happen to have a case which is set up that way, with an intake fan blowing across the HDD cage, then it may be better than the dedicated cooler.

 

[Ilmater]

Originally posted by: mechBgon
If you happen to have a case which is set up that way, with an intake fan blowing across the HDD cage, then it may be better than the dedicated cooler.

That would be a great idea, if I had room. I have 5 other hard drives being cooled below this one. I got the cooler out of necessity more than anything.

 

[mechBgon]

/me ponders this.

Wild guess: you have an Antec SLK3700AMB and added a 120mm fan up front to cool the HDD rack? How about moving a cooler-running IDE hard drive up into the auxiliary cage to make room for the SCSI drive in the 5-drive cage behind the fan?

If you don't have the SLK3700, it might be worth a look, especially if it shows up in stock again here. At $49, it's only a dollar more than they charge for the SL350 PSU by itself, plus you get a 120mm exhaust fan too. Add a 120mm front fan to keep the HDD's cool and you're all set without graduating to something enormous. photo spread of SLK3700AMB at newegg