Do newer 7200 rpm HDD really need a separate cooling fan ?

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Butterfly Maiden

Do newer 7200 rpm HDD really need a separate cooling fan ?

I have a WD 120 GB HDD. Am I wasting a case fan on my HDD which might be used better
elsewhere??

TIA.
 
Excue me for being stupid but... how does a bit of software know the
temperature of the HD? A fan or mobo needs some kind of sensor? The HD has
no sensor so how does the software know the temperature? Oops, I asked that
already!


J.
 
Excue me for being stupid but... how does a bit of software know the
temperature of the HD? A fan or mobo needs some kind of sensor? The HD has
no sensor so how does the software know the temperature? Oops, I asked that
already!
Click to expand...

You're excused. Most new hard disks have on board temprature sensors. Mine
does. In fact, all of mine do, except my oldest which is 3 years old.

Why did you assume they didn't have sensors?
 
I have a WD 120 GB HDD. Am I wasting a case fan on my HDD which might be
used better
elsewhere??
Click to expand...

Fit fans in your case according to the following priority:
o Rear of case above the PSU
---- augments the extractive capabilities of the PSU
---- directly reduces case temperature since no PSU resistance to air flow
o Rear of case behind the CPU (if case hole available)
---- reduces the amount of hot air the CPU-cooler recirculates
---- directly reduces case temperatures
o Front intake fan port
---- ideally the fan should seal against the case surface or derated 40-60%
---- benefit is not additive to total cfm, it merely augments static
pressure
---- more static pressure means you get closer to the total exhaust fan cfm

The HD should be mounted where it can received reasonable airflow.
However, locating it immediately against an intake fan can increase noise,
so position a little further back using the slotted mounted holes in the
case.

7200rpm IDE disks are not as hot running as older 7200rpm SCSI disks,
or 10,000/15,300rpm SCSI disks - but do have basic cooling requirements.

Disks do need to be kept below their max operating temperature defined
ultimately by the magnetic media itself, unlike most other components in a
PC.
 
Rear case fan, yes. Front case fan too, very good. HD fan, no. But, try to
mount it where it will have air all around it. Even if that means in a 5
1/2" bay with a kit.
 
John Smith said:
I had no idea that drives came with sensors... makes me wonder why the
various HD manufacturers such as Seagate, WD, Hitachi, etc, don't actually
market this and provide some kind of temperature software with the HD or for
download.
Click to expand...
That would be great. We must E-mail them.
The drive tells all kinds of stuff about itself to any software that's SMART
enabled. But on some motherboards, SMART has to be enabled in the bios.
 
Butterfly said:
Do newer 7200 rpm HDD really need a separate cooling fan ?

I have a WD 120 GB HDD. Am I wasting a case fan on my HDD which might be
used better elsewhere??
Click to expand...


A simple way to make sure they get some air is (if you use a rear fan) drill
some holes in the plastic cover over the drive bay for it and use that as
part of the air intake.
 
Western Digital's WD Bench software does report the temperature for SCSI
drives.
Interestingly.I have 2 Maxtor and 1 WD drive, but the software can report
the temp only for the Maxtor drive, the WD drive has no sensor.
 
I pit a Vantec fan on one of the hard drives.
Seems to have lowered drive temp about 10 degrees C.
 
Excue me for being stupid but... how does a bit of software know the
temperature of the HD? A fan or mobo needs some kind of sensor?
The HD has no sensor so how does the software know the
temperature? Oops, I asked that already!
Click to expand...

Modern HD:s HAVE a temperature sensor.
 
Put him in a round room with a thousand running cooling fans and tell
him
there is a overheating AMD with a (Hot running?) 7200 rpm HD in the corner.
Then these 10000 rpm drives must need a water cooler?..those evil cooler
manufacurers should stop spreading such rumors.
Click to expand...

*smile*.

Some companies are rejecting the latest 1U rack servers on noise conditions:
o 6-8 fans per 1U - Sanyo Denki 13.4-15cfm 40x40x28mm fans - 40dB(A),
15,300-17,000rpm
---- great almost blower-like cooling with superb static pressure & airflow
---- just sound like an Indy/F1 engine on the television re rpm scream
(muted tho)
o Multiply by 48 racks - Usually only 40 in a rack for other structured
cabling / load-balance
o Multiply by 2-8 racks

Net result is a crescendo of noise from that lot.

Hence I designed my own cases, blow-thro design, far lower temps & no A/C
needed
if ambient is below 35oC in the building. It does require building hot air
removal fans,
which are not an insignificant wattage in total - altho environmentally
controlled. So
no >>90dB(A) machine room and instead a much more pleasant 52-65dB(A).

Using a 5.25" kit for a 3.5" drive can help the airflow around the drive.

PCI/Graphics cards benefit from:
o Side-mounted small fan blowing air at them
---- or if case has positive pressure, removing hot air from them
o Suspended fans near them, allow far quieter operation
---- easy to suspend 60/80mm fans nearby
---- beware many 60mm fans are not silent
---- reason being 80mm hub on 60mm form-factor = more rpm = more noise

Use cfm carefully vs using excessive amounts of it re noise.
 
John said:
I had no idea that drives came with sensors... makes me wonder why the
various HD manufacturers such as Seagate, WD, Hitachi, etc, don't actually
market this and provide some kind of temperature software with the HD or for
download.
Click to expand...

Generally if a disk is SMART capable (as are all modern drives) it will
have a temperature sensor in.

If you get any software to check the SMART information on your HD it
should tell you the temperature. Linux has a couple of utilities to do
this though I don't know how to do it in Windows.
 
I've seen a few server rooms where the case covers have been removed and
they have a big fan on a stand blowing air over the entire server.
 
Of course not. Most of them heat up less than a CDROM!

They do heat up quite a bit. It is common for a motherboard and the inside
of a computer case to heat up to about 90 Degrees. This is why there needs
to be forced ventilation to move fresh air in and hot air out. A case with
2 exhaust fans is a good recipe for effective case cooling. This is why
some computer cases put the hard drive cage in front of an air intake fan in
the bottom front part of the case.

This is an example of a good case design.

Drives are better off not sitting directly on top of or underneath each
other so they can have heat exchange. Often the outside of the drive is an
aluminum alloy that allows the heat to to dissipate. Aluminum transfers
heat well. Silver is better, but too expensive.

You should leave space between CDROM drives as well. It just makes sense to
let the air travel around the drive to cool them off.

They make 5.5 inch drive bay units with fans in them that you can put a hard
drive in. Cooling off a hard drive with constant air flow should make it
last longer. Heat is the biggest killer inside a computer case.

I just use one hard drive and do not worry about it too much. They make
programs and sensors you can use to monitor heat inside a case. Most people
worry more about the processor overheating than the hard drives. A CPU can
reach temps of 150 degrees F and keep going.
 
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