cooling Seagate eSATA external HDs

[William R. Walsh]

Hi!

Actually, that's not necessarily a good thing.

If something is being used as a heatsink, it should be making good contact
with whatever it is trying to cool.

That said, the enclosure is not snug against top and bottom of the
drive--just the two long sides. Air can flow around the drive quite easily.

William

 

[Arno Wagner]

I've had some very good luck with HD longevity, and I think it
has to do with the generous airflow which keeps the HDs cool.
Since the external HD doesn't have to be on all the time, I think
I'll take a chance with a Kingwin eSATA box that does have a
cooling fan. (They only cost about $30 online.) The fan sits flat
with the circuit card on the HD, just like on my Kingwin slide-out
HD tray, and that HD never even gets up to body temp.

Sounds good. And for eSATA you can get the drive temperature,
e.g. with SpeedFan.

Arno

 

[sdlomi2]

Since I was unable to find another eSATA external enclosure
that has a cooling fan, not even Kingwin's own Z1 series, I opted
for Kingwin's Jet series with the "belly fan" and the aluminum case:
http://www.compusa.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=3071646&sku=K450-5022 ,
and at another website, but
the same outfit that runs CompUSA,
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=3071646&sku=K450-5022

I'll also try drilling a few ventillation holes as advised by one
of the product reviewers.

*TimDaniels*

Tim, take a look at this Rosewill RX358--I bought one for a client about
3 weeks back just for the cooling. Note its fan and vents on side and
front. He wanted a 250gb Seagate in a cool-running ext. drive system. He's
been quite happy since. Btw, I found a deal on the SG and the Rosewill,
about $104 for the pair.!!! sam

 

[Timothy Daniels]

Tim, take a look at this Rosewill RX358--I bought one for a client about 3
weeks back just for the cooling. Note its fan and vents on side and front.
He wanted a 250gb Seagate in a cool-running ext. drive system. He's been
quite happy since. Btw, I found a deal on the SG and the Rosewill, about $104
for the pair.!!! sam
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817173042

That looks like a good unit. It's price is $10 more than the Kingwin
"Jet" model, though. And it may have the same slightly restricted airflow
problem that the Kingwin has - here's the "Con" product review from
the Newegg webpage:

"Cons: The fan doesn't blow very well at all. I can barely feel it, but it
works at under 40C and idles at room temp. Also it could use some
simple rubber feet but on a smooth surface the metal isnt bad. You
can stand it up too and its pretty stable."

Overall price for the Kingwin enclosure and a Seagate DiamondMax
21 with 320GB capacity came to about $151 with shipping from
CompUSA. So the bundled deal that you got was pretty good. In the
future, I think I'll buy a Rosewill for my desktop PC if only to compare
them. Thanks for the info!

*TimDaniels*

 

[Stretch]

William R. Walsh wrote in news:ZaNxj.1943$TT4.1915@attbi_s22

Hi!

If something is being used as a heatsink,

it should be making good contact

Which it won't with only 4 screws (4 small points of contact).

with whatever it is trying to cool.

That said, the enclosure is not snug against top and bottom of the
drive--just the two long sides.

Air can flow around the drive quite easily.

Sure, IF air was moved mechanically. However, without a fan the air has
to move itself within the case. For that it needs enough space so that air
can rise near the drive and descent near the case walls, thus transferring
the heat energy to the case. Without the necessary space the air will stay
stagnant and act like an insulator, just like it does in double glazing.

 

[Timothy Daniels]

In checking out NewEgg's "Rosewill Store", I spotted this
2-HD external eSATA/USB enclosure:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817182116
The only indication that the "SATA" half is eSATA is the eSATA
cable shown in one of the photos. There is also a fan mentioned
as being 40mm "high velocity". That might get a little noisy, but
the reviewers seem to like it a lot.

*TimDaniels*

 

[Rod Speed]

William R. Walsh wrote

Which it won't with only 4 screws (4 small points of contact).

It aint just the screws that make contact, the screws pull the rails against the sides of the drives.

Sure, IF air was moved mechanically. However, without a fan the
air has to move itself within the case. For that it needs enough
space so that air can rise near the drive and descent near the
case walls, thus transferring the heat energy to the case.

Nope, not if air can circulate thru the housing and out the top etc.

Without the necessary space the air will stay stagnant
and act like an insulator, just like it does in double glazing.

Nothing like double glazing if the are can move from within the case to outside it, even without a fan.

 

[Steve]

The enclosure you are referencing is USB external connection the pc.
Internally it accepts Sata drives. If you look closely at the image of what
it referring to as eSata cable, it is in fact the power cord.

Steve

 

[Ben Myers]

I did failure analysis on the pair of external drives that my client bought from
Buy.com, before becoming my client. The brand name is Cavalry, a subsidiary of
Bason, a Santa Clara outfit that has sold disk drives forever and ever. I even
remember Bason ads back when PC Magazine was 500-600 pages every two weeks.

One 3.5" external case had a ventilation fan, the other not. I could not tell
who manufactured the cases. One drive was a Maxtor with a discolored and
damaged chip on its circuit board, but no evidence of anything which might have
grounded out the chip and fried it. The other drive started out as a Western
Digital, but carried a wierd sticker that I traced back to "Magnetic Data
Technologies", aka MDT Global, a company advertising itself as refurbishing disk
drives, whatever that means to them.

Bottom line is that my client unwittingly bought garbage, and the garbage
finally failed after a couple years of use... Ben Myers

 

[Timothy Daniels]

Yup, it looks like Newegg mis-labeled the photo. The interface
between the box and the PC is probably just USB.

*TimDaniels*

 

[Timothy Daniels]

Thanks for the word on "Calvary". But there will always be garbage
out there for sale as Good Stuff. Caveat Emptor still holds. That is
why I bought the hard drive separately (not bundled), and I'll assure
that there is adequate cooling before relying on an enclosure for it.

*TimDaniels*

 

[Ben Myers]

To be perfectly real about it, the ONLY sensible approach to external drives is
to buy the case, and buy a RELIABLE drive from a RELIABLE source, and use a
small Philips head screwdriver to assemble. That way, you KNOW exactly what you
are getting. Many people do not have enough knowledge to do this well.

Second choice is to buy from a source who will tell you exactly what is inside
the drive and give you a guarantee, subject to normal use. That's what quoted
to my client today along with prices that are probably higher than Best Buy etc.
Their budget is somewhat impoverished, and I suspect they'll buy on price, not
quality.

The serious problem with Buy.com, Tiger Direct and these other mail order joints
is that THEY often do not know what they are selling, as evidenced by the
results of my teardown of the two failed drives. They probably do not care too
much either... Ben Myers

Thanks for the word on "Calvary". But there will always be garbage
out there for sale as Good Stuff. Caveat Emptor still holds. That is
why I bought the hard drive separately (not bundled), and I'll assure
that there is adequate cooling before relying on an enclosure for it.

*TimDaniels*

<SNIP>

 

[Timothy Daniels]

To be perfectly real about it, the ONLY sensible approach to
external drives is to buy the case, and buy a RELIABLE drive
from a RELIABLE source...

I bought my SATA Seagate HD from Newegg. I have
previously bought new OEM Maxtor DiamondMax HDs
from no-name vendors (with 4 to 5 out-of-5 ratings) without
any problems, but I admit that my purchases are statistically
insignificant.

*TimDaniels*

 

[Stretch]

Timothy "Timmy" Daniels wrote in news:[email protected]

Yup, it looks like Newegg mis-labeled the photo.

No! Really? Shock, horror.

The interface between the box and the PC is probably just USB.

Yeah, the product description and photos of the enclosure's backside
are in all likelyhood incorrect. Which means that the clearly visible
sata connector on the back left to the USB is probably not wired.
Weird huh.

 

[Stretch]

Rod Speed wrote in news:[email protected]

It aint just the screws that make contact, the screws pull the rails
against the sides of the drives.

Which they won't, to the degree that is necessary to make good contact
over a larger area. Only the metal between the screwhead and the (ho-
pefully) machined flat mounting hole will be making contact and only if
the screw is thightened to the extend that the (hopefully softmetal)
rail deforms to the shape of the drive's side around the mounting hole.
For that you must probably use more force than the drive's mounting
instructions allow.
(And pity the drives that are mounted through the bottom holes). With
the afore mentioned Coolmax CD-311 the drive is mounted (through the
sides) in the extruded bottom halve of the enclosure which (presumably)
is of hardened aluminum. The top halve is then slided onto the bottom hal-
ve which again doesn't make for very good contact with the bottom halve.

Nope, not if air can circulate thru the housing and out the top etc.

Too bad that a Coolmax CD-311 -which the previous comments were
based on- doesn't have that.

Nothing like double glazing if the are can move from within the case to
outside it, even without a fan.

Too bad that in a Coolmax CD-311 -which the previous comments were
based on- that won't happen. It's as good as air thight unless you take
off the plastic clamps that double as feet.
And even then the drive itself will block the airflow.

 

[Timothy Daniels]

"Stretch" sucked his brown nugets:

Yeah, the product description and photos of the enclosure's backside
are in all likelyhood incorrect. Which means that the clearly visible
sata connector on the back left to the USB is probably not wired.
Weird huh.

Stretch, you're as strange as your fake mis-spellings . Here is the
copy from the listing's overview:

"A USB 2.0 interface connects the enclosure to your Mac or PC
while the internal SATA I/II interface eliminates bottlenecks."

The Product Tour lists only a USB 2.0 interface:

USB 2.0 Interface
The Rosewill RX82-U features a USB 2.0 interface for fast data
transfer speeds of up to 480Mbps and plug-and-play connectivity.

The Quick Specs list only a USB external interface:
Quick Specs
Brand Rosewill
Material Aluminum
Size 3.5"
Internal Interface SATA
Fan Yes
External Interface USB 2.0


The Specifications page lists:

Internal Interface SATA I/II
External Interface USB 2.0(Transfer Rates Up To 480 Mbps)


And here is the photo of the back of the box:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/ShowI...sewill+RX82-U+(JBOD)+Black+External+Enclosure

So where is the "SATA connector on the back left to the USB"?

*TimDaniels*

 

[Rod Speed]

Rod Speed wrote

Which they won't, to the degree that is necessary
to make good contact over a larger area.

Wrong, as always. They do that just as well as they do with internal drive stacks.

Only the metal between the screwhead and the (hopefully)
machined flat mounting hole will be making contact

Wrong, as always.

and only if the screw is thightened to the extend that the (hopefully softmetal)
rail deforms to the shape of the drive's side around the mounting hole.

Doesnt need to deform to make a lot more contact than your
stupid pig ignorant claim about it just being the screws in contact.

For that you must probably use more force
than the drive's mounting instructions allow.

Wrong, as always.

(And pity the drives that are mounted through the bottom holes).

Still get the same effect with those.

With the afore mentioned Coolmax CD-311 the drive is mounted
(through the sides) in the extruded bottom halve of the enclosure
which (presumably) is of hardened aluminum.

Stupid presumption.

The top halve is then slided onto the bottom hal- ve which
again doesn't make for very good contact with the bottom halve.

Doesnt need to, the bottom half is plenty.

Too bad that a Coolmax CD-311 -which the
previous comments were based on- doesn't have that.

Irrelevant to the general claim you stupidly made.

Too bad that in a Coolmax CD-311 -which the previous
comments were based on- that won't happen.

Irrelevant to the general claim you stupidly made.

It's as good as air thight unless you
take off the plastic clamps that double as feet.
And even then the drive itself will block the airflow.

Irrelevant to the general claim you stupidly made.

 

[Ben Myers]

Deep insights! ... Ben Myers

Wrong, as always. They do that just as well as they do with internal drive stacks.


Wrong, as always.


Doesnt need to deform to make a lot more contact than your
stupid pig ignorant claim about it just being the screws in contact.


Wrong, as always.


Still get the same effect with those.


Stupid presumption.


Doesnt need to, the bottom half is plenty.



Irrelevant to the general claim you stupidly made.



Irrelevant to the general claim you stupidly made.


Irrelevant to the general claim you stupidly made.

 

[Rod Speed]

Yours in spades

Deep insights! ... Ben Myers

 

[Floyd]

Ben Myers wrote

Deep insights! ... Ben Myers

Yeah, it's always a joy to see Speedles explode when he's been beaten
and make a complete fool of himself.
He'd make an excellent study case for upcoming psychiatrists.