When Do You Need A HDD Cooler?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Gary Brown
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Gary Brown

Hi,

I will be buying a 250GB HDD, brand undecided. Will
it need a cooler? It will be for archiving so accesses
might be few, if that matters.

Thanks,
Gary
 
Gary said:
Hi,

I will be buying a 250GB HDD, brand undecided. Will
it need a cooler? It will be for archiving so accesses
might be few, if that matters.

Thanks,
Gary
Click to expand...


The only time I've found it necessary to have a cooler on a HD was when
using 10,000RPM or faster drives. Of course if the case is badly
designed and allows no airflow around the drive and doesn't offer a good
conductive heat path I'd either pick a different case or add a cooler
just in case. My newest system has five 7,200 RPM drives (1 X 160gB SATA
and 4 X 200gB PATA) in it but the Antec Sonata II case was thought out
well enough that none of the drives ever gets much above body
temperature (at least not above a slight fever). The Shuttle SFF system
I'm typing on now doesn't have nearly the airflow of the Antec but the
300gB SATA in it is screwed in between two thick sheets of aluminum
which conduct heat pretty well and the drive temperature is 42C . If
that was a fever it might kill you but it isn't too bad for a HD. ;-)
 
Gary said:
Hi,

I will be buying a 250GB HDD, brand undecided. Will
it need a cooler? It will be for archiving so accesses
might be few, if that matters.
Click to expand...



Use this or the manufacturer's SMART utility to determine temperatures.
http://www.ariolic.com/download.html

I almost always have an intake fan blowing over the hard drive(s), just in
case.

Keep the operating below 40C and it should be fine. Mine is at 33C right
now, assuming the sensor and software are accurate.

Seagate hard drives are known to be cooler operating than most. My limited
experience with the Samsung line suggest the same.

As always, YMMV.
 
Use this or the manufacturer's SMART utility to determine temperatures.
http://www.ariolic.com/download.html
Click to expand...

Why pay for something so simple as determining SMART info when there's
Everest which is free and full of extras.

http://www.lavalys.hu/products/overview.php?pid=1&lang=en

--

Greatest Movie Line Ever
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/MovieLine.wmv

"What is history but the story of how politicians have
squandered the blood and treasure of the human race?"
--Thomas Sowell
 
Hi,

I will be buying a 250GB HDD, brand undecided. Will
it need a cooler? It will be for archiving so accesses
might be few, if that matters.

Thanks,
Gary
Click to expand...


It needs to stay as cool as reasonably possible. If your
case/airflow doesn't allow this, yes you could need a
cooler. A properly designed (for modern use) case with
ample passive intake and fan-exhaust OR a case with a pusher
fan in front of the HDD rack should not need a separate
cooler.

If you are stacking drives one atop another, don't do
that... there should remain (roughly) minimum of 1cm between
each drive in a rack, which unfortunately too often means
that only every other rack position can be used because the
case designer ignored the need to engineer for component
cooling beyond the simpliest of holes/strategy in the front
of the case.

Generally speaking, if you have the case closed and are
using the drive for at least 30 minutes, open it up and feel
the drive with your hand. If the casing feels more than
"warm", you should consider either a cooler or the
aforementioned, more common strategy to reduce temp some.
 
Generally speaking, if you have the case closed and are
using the drive for at least 30 minutes, open it up and feel
the drive with your hand. If the casing feels more than
"warm", you should consider either a cooler or the
aforementioned, more common strategy to reduce temp some.
Click to expand...

I run my system 24/7 with 2x WD 7200RPM drives (1x 80GB and 1x 200GB), the first
runs at 42 degrees C, the second at 38 degress.

The drives are too warm to touch (not burning hot, but uncomfortable hot). Is
this too hot ?

Regards,
Chris
 
Skeleton said:
I run my system 24/7 with 2x WD 7200RPM drives (1x 80GB and 1x 200GB), the first
runs at 42 degrees C, the second at 38 degress.

The drives are too warm to touch (not burning hot, but uncomfortable hot). Is
this too hot ?

Regards,
Chris
Click to expand...

37C is considered to be "normal" human body temperature. If the drive
that is at 38C is indeed "uncomfortable hot" then either you must have
very sensitive hands or the temperature being displayed may be wrong.
Even 42C is only about 108F and that doesn't even count as a hot day in
some parts North America. Cooler is indeed better but I wouldn't
consider either of these temperatures as "hot".

FWIW Western Digital allows for operating temperatures of 5-55C (up to
65C case temperature!) for some of their modern drives. Seagate is in
the same ballpark.

http://www.3dvelocity.com/reviews/wd2000bb/wd2000bb.htm#environmental
 
I run my system 24/7 with 2x WD 7200RPM drives (1x 80GB and 1x 200GB), the first
runs at 42 degrees C, the second at 38 degress.

The drives are too warm to touch (not burning hot, but uncomfortable hot). Is
this too hot ?
Click to expand...

You cannot determine drive temp with only the software temp
reading, because it is only the temp of the chip taking it,
a chip isolated for each and every other chip. The PCB
insulates more than conducting heat (including traces) so
the temp report can only be used in conjunction with other
means.

If they're too hot to keep your hand on comfortably, yes I'd
try to increase cooling some. Those drives aren't even
relatively very hot running so there may be some airflow
issues in the whole chassis causing this?
 
37C is considered to be "normal" human body temperature. If the drive
that is at 38C is indeed "uncomfortable hot" then either you must have
very sensitive hands or the temperature being displayed may be wrong.
Even 42C is only about 108F and that doesn't even count as a hot day in
some parts North America. Cooler is indeed better but I wouldn't
consider either of these temperatures as "hot".

FWIW Western Digital allows for operating temperatures of 5-55C (up to
65C case temperature!) for some of their modern drives. Seagate is in
the same ballpark.

http://www.3dvelocity.com/reviews/wd2000bb/wd2000bb.htm#environmental
Click to expand...


IMO, one should not expect good service from a drive if it's
operating in the upper end of it's allowed temp range.

The general consensus is that temp matters yet it would be
exceedingly hard for most people to cause their drives to
run past 55C... suggesting the real upper limit is lower for
best lifespan.
 
Gary said:
I will be buying a 250GB HDD, brand undecided. Will
it need a cooler?
Click to expand...

Probably not, but I install my drives vertically because it drops the
body temp about 1-3 Celcius and the hottest chips by as much as 10-20C,
and unlike a drive cooler I don't have to worry about fan failure (plus
the drives hang right next to the case fan at the lower front).
 
IMO, one should not expect good service from a drive if it's
operating in the upper end of it's allowed temp range.
Click to expand...

Why do you believe that temp is important for hard disks but not for
CPUs? Same silicon, isn't it?


--

Greatest Movie Line Ever
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/MovieLine.wmv

"What is history but the story of how politicians have
squandered the blood and treasure of the human race?"
--Thomas Sowell
 
Bob said:
Why do you believe that temp is important for hard disks but not for
CPUs? Same silicon, isn't it?
Click to expand...

What's the average lifepan of a CPU run at its rated maximum allowed
temperature verses an HD run at its rated maximum?
 
On 28/9/05 11:17 am, in article
Why do you believe that temp is important for hard disks but not for
CPUs? Same silicon, isn't it?
Click to expand...
We have had many systems break because of heat from a hard drive, especially
when you are using 2 close to each other. I guess too much heat will warp
the platter or something. We have found the best way to prevent breaking of
hard drives in the manner is to install a 80mm fan at the foot of the drive
and have it suck air from outside the box to inside and use the exhaust
blowers at the back to expel the hot air.
 
Why do you believe that temp is important for hard disks but not for
CPUs? Same silicon, isn't it?
Click to expand...


That's just it, it's not "same silicon".
Drives are comprised of many other materials, mechanical
stress, wear, and dependencies in addition to power
regulation. Intel will be incorporating power regulation on
their CPUs in the future, and we may then see CPUs more
susceptible to heat too, but even so it's likely higher than
HDD limit mentioned previously of 55C. 55C is not a limit
seen on modern silicon, clearly the HDD limit is other
componentry. For the time being, the core logic chips on
CPUs are not generally seen to be the failure points, save
for some random manufacturing error like a bad batch of
epoxy in their casings.

this is in addition to the issue LM&C mentioned, that the
average lifespan of a CPU is far beyond that reasonable for
a system in general, that the CPU is among the parts
expected to be longest lasting while the drive is far from
it. Further, "many" people would suffer far less loss from
a CPU failure than a drive failure (even discounting a
presumption that people aren't making regular backups like
they should).
 
That's just it, it's not "same silicon".
Drives are comprised of many other materials, mechanical
stress, wear, and dependencies in addition to power
regulation. Intel will be incorporating power regulation on
their CPUs in the future, and we may then see CPUs more
susceptible to heat too, but even so it's likely higher than
HDD limit mentioned previously of 55C. 55C is not a limit
seen on modern silicon, clearly the HDD limit is other
componentry. For the time being, the core logic chips on
CPUs are not generally seen to be the failure points, save
for some random manufacturing error like a bad batch of
epoxy in their casings.

this is in addition to the issue LM&C mentioned, that the
average lifespan of a CPU is far beyond that reasonable for
a system in general, that the CPU is among the parts
expected to be longest lasting while the drive is far from
it. Further, "many" people would suffer far less loss from
a CPU failure than a drive failure (even discounting a
presumption that people aren't making regular backups like
they should).
Click to expand...
I don't think it's fair to sell a product with a 5 year life that has a 1
year warranty and fails in 18 month.
 
I don't think it's fair to sell a product with a 5 year life that has a 1
year warranty and fails in 18 month.
Click to expand...

You haven't bought a new American car lately, have you.

It used to be that if you could get a new Chrysler out of the lot and
right back in without a tow truck, you were lucky.

I've seen cars with the window sticker still on being towed.



--

Greatest Movie Line Ever
http://home.houston.rr.com/rkba/MovieLine.wmv

"What is history but the story of how politicians have
squandered the blood and treasure of the human race?"
--Thomas Sowell
 
You cannot determine drive temp with only the software temp
reading, because it is only the temp of the chip taking it,
a chip isolated for each and every other chip. The PCB
insulates more than conducting heat (including traces) so
the temp report can only be used in conjunction with other
means.
Click to expand...

I'll measure the drive casing with the temperature probe on my dmm then and see
if it reads differently to software..
If they're too hot to keep your hand on comfortably, yes I'd
try to increase cooling some. Those drives aren't even
relatively very hot running so there may be some airflow
issues in the whole chassis causing this?
Click to expand...

I thot that myself... but moving from a fairly roomy case with no cooling, to a
brand new case with 120mm fans front and back, hasn't made much difference..
(maybe between 2 and 4C max). The front fan is directly infront of the drive
cage.

Regards,
Chris
 
I'll measure the drive casing with the temperature probe on my dmm then and see
if it reads differently to software..
Click to expand...

That will provide a useful, 2nd temp, then all you'd need
for a more comprehensive assessment is the temp of all the
other chips, too. The reported HDD temp is best seen as a
gauge of relative change.

I thot that myself... but moving from a fairly roomy case with no cooling, to a
brand new case with 120mm fans front and back, hasn't made much difference..
(maybe between 2 and 4C max). The front fan is directly infront of the drive
cage.
Click to expand...

Does this new case have mostly unobstructed intake and
exhaust area, including low restriction from the case front
bezel? Fans are only so good as the case allows them to be.
A rack behind a 120mm fan, drives having fair amount of
space between them, shouldn't feel hot. However one
problem with the bays that stand back from fan some, AND
using 120mm fan is that far lower percentage of flow goes
between the drives, most flows around them instead. IMO,
the optimal arrangement for rack cooling is a 92mm fan with
an extended rack, such that the vast majority of fan exhaust
must travel between the drives to get out through the rack
into the rest of the chassis (save for a trivial amount
escaping through the rack mounting holes).

Ironically and unfortunately, few systems use such a setup
so you'd have to DIY.
 
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