I've got a Western Digital hard drive that's running too hot.
What's a good hard drive cooler to buy? I'm shopping at newegg.com.
Drives are at the bottom of a cheap aluminum case with no openings in
the front for fans on any air flow at all.
Product like this will NOT work in my case: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835150077
I need sommething like this: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811999152
Reviewers don't seme to care for sleeve bearings, why?
On Tue, 9 Oct 2007 20:24:59 -0400, MachineMessiah
<Geoffthegodofbiscuits@cakeordeath.net> wrote:
>
>I've got a Western Digital hard drive that's running too hot.
>What's a good hard drive cooler to buy? I'm shopping at newegg.com.
>Drives are at the bottom of a cheap aluminum case with no openings in
>the front for fans on any air flow at all.
So get a metal nibbler and cut a hole out. I'm partial to
using a sabre saw for that before the system is built into
the case, but afterwards to avoid the debris the nibbler can
be useful, if you have a large enough hole to start the cut.
These cheap thin fans with sleeve bearings, especially as
implemented horizontally mounted, wear out quickly, and
make a fair amount of noise during the last leg of their
life. I suggest replacing the original fan with one of same
diameter and at least 15mm thick (preferribly thicker, it
could be mounted under the bracket instead of inside it if
you have available space in the drive rack to do that), in a
quality name brand (major fan manufacturer brand, not a PC
parts relabeler brand) _dual_ ball bearing type.
Having a hole in the front of the case really is the better
option, and perhaps mounting an intake fan there if the
ambient temp is high enough to warrant it.
Do you want to keep battling a cheap case though? Might be
that the poor airflow is effecting more than just the hard
drive.
"kony" <spam@spam.com> wrote in message
news:4kaog31eb60ij9tbp1sgqbarkhi304ubgg@4ax.com...
> On Tue, 9 Oct 2007 20:24:59 -0400, MachineMessiah
> <Geoffthegodofbiscuits@cakeordeath.net> wrote:
>
>>
>>I've got a Western Digital hard drive that's running too hot.
>>What's a good hard drive cooler to buy? I'm shopping at newegg.com.
>>Drives are at the bottom of a cheap aluminum case with no openings in
>>the front for fans on any air flow at all.
>
> So get a metal nibbler and cut a hole out. I'm partial to
> using a sabre saw for that before the system is built into
> the case, but afterwards to avoid the debris the nibbler can
> be useful, if you have a large enough hole to start the cut.
>
>
>
>>Product like this will NOT work in my case:
>>http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835150077
>
> I don't think you'd want it, since it's loud and short
> lived.
>
>
>
>>I need sommething like this:
>>http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811999152
>>Reviewers don't seme to care for sleeve bearings, why?
>
> These cheap thin fans with sleeve bearings, especially as
> implemented horizontally mounted, wear out quickly, and
> make a fair amount of noise during the last leg of their
> life. I suggest replacing the original fan with one of same
> diameter and at least 15mm thick (preferribly thicker, it
> could be mounted under the bracket instead of inside it if
> you have available space in the drive rack to do that), in a
> quality name brand (major fan manufacturer brand, not a PC
> parts relabeler brand) _dual_ ball bearing type.
>
> Having a hole in the front of the case really is the better
> option, and perhaps mounting an intake fan there if the
> ambient temp is high enough to warrant it.
>
> Do you want to keep battling a cheap case though? Might be
> that the poor airflow is effecting more than just the hard
> drive.
I agree with Kony; you would be better off improving
the total airflow through your box and just having an
intake bring outside the box air across your hard drive(s).
I have a system with two Raptors and they stay cool
(~34c) on just such airflow. (I have another system
with the same 10k drives that is water-cooled and they
stay at 30c.)
If you want to add some airflow for your hard drives,
mount an exhaust fan in the upper rear of the case. That
is after you have made the cutouts Kony mentioned.
MachineMessiah wrote:
> I've got a Western Digital hard drive that's running too hot.
> What's a good hard drive cooler to buy? I'm shopping at newegg.com.
> Drives are at the bottom of a cheap aluminum case with no openings in
> the front for fans on any air flow at all.
> Product like this will NOT work in my case:
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835150077
I bought a couple of those, one of which made a horrible grinding noise
right out of the box. Thermaltake would have been happy to replace that
piece of crap for another piece of crap just like it. I hardly paid
anything for it, so I sort of got what I deserved.
MachineMessiah wrote:
> I've got a Western Digital hard drive that's running too hot.
> What's a good hard drive cooler to buy? I'm shopping at newegg.com.
> Drives are at the bottom of a cheap aluminum case with no openings in
> the front for fans on any air flow at all.
> Product like this will NOT work in my case:
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835150077
> I need sommething like this:
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811999152
> Reviewers don't seme to care for sleeve bearings, why?
"Reviewers don't seme to care for sleeve bearings, why?"
There are sleeve bearings, and there are sleeve bearings. Some sleeve
designs are sealed, and can be expected to keep their lubrication for
a decent period of time. These cheap, open, Taiwanese dollar store fans
cannot be expected to last very long at all (too noisy to keep). I've had
fans like that, that have failed on the first day. I've also had a fan,
that left a small puddle of oil below it, showing that the manufacturer
figured it would have a long life, if they could drown it in oil before
shipping.
This is an example of a fan intended to last longer than a day. It also
has a price to match.
"As the shaft rotates it acts as a pump constantly circulating the oil
in the radial, as well as the axial direction. The sealed system and
reservoirs of oil maintain the proper lubrication to minimise mechanical
contact and prolong the fan's life expectancy."
So some makers know how to make a sleeve. If in doubt, go for ball bearings
instead. The gradual increase in noise level, as a ball bearing gets old,
will give you some hint when the ball bearing one is wearing out.
On my current computer case, the hard drive is located right next to the
air intake vent on the case (down low, in the front of the case). The case
has a 120mm exhaust fan in the back (located below the PSU), and it pulls
air through the case. Since the hard drive is right next to the air intake,
the hard drive gets fresh air all the time. That is much better than
recirculating hot air with some of those hard drive coolers. So there are
other ways to solve the problem.
I even reworked my oldest computer case, and bolted a 120mm fan
to the front exterior of the case, right in front of the hard drive bays. The
drive covers are removed. The fan blows cold room air, over the hard drives.
I made a frame out of aluminum L strips, to hold the fan in place. I made a
gasket, so the fan fits tightly and air doesn't leak around the edges of the
framework. Obviously, this is not a solution if you have kids, who will stick
their fingers into the fan. But it also gives a good working solution. The
reason for this approach, is the case is too small to have room for a decent
exhaust fan on the rear. But modern computer cases now come with room for a
120mm on the back, and then all you need is to make good inlet air vents on
the front, so the drives get cool air.
> I've got a Western Digital hard drive that's running too hot.
> What's a good hard drive cooler to buy? I'm shopping at newegg.com.
> Drives are at the bottom of a cheap aluminum case with no openings in
> the front for fans on any air flow at all.
> Product like this will NOT work in my case:
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835150077
> I need sommething like this:
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811999152
> Reviewers don't seme to care for sleeve bearings, why?
Well if your hard disk is overheating, then the rest of your system probably
is too. This means you are shortening the lifespan of your CPU, motherboard,
memory, PSU etc. Cut 2 holes in your cheap case and fit a 120mm intake fan
and another exhaust fan in the opposite corner.
> I've got a Western Digital hard drive that's running too hot.
> What's a good hard drive cooler to buy? I'm shopping at newegg.com.
> Drives are at the bottom of a cheap aluminum case with no openings in
> the front for fans on any air flow at all.
> Product like this will NOT work in my case:
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835150077
> I need sommething like this:
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811999152
> Reviewers don't seme to care for sleeve bearings, why?
Any old 12v fan from the parts box run on 5v should provide enough
air movement to deal with an overheating hdd etc. (not a laptop fan
though)
> MachineMessiah wrote:
>
> > I've got a Western Digital hard drive that's running too hot.
> > What's a good hard drive cooler to buy? I'm shopping at newegg.com.
> > Drives are at the bottom of a cheap aluminum case with no openings in
> > the front for fans on any air flow at all.
> > Product like this will NOT work in my case:
> > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835150077
> > I need sommething like this:
> > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811999152
> > Reviewers don't seme to care for sleeve bearings, why?
>
> Any old 12v fan from the parts box run on 5v should provide enough
> air movement to deal with an overheating hdd etc. (not a laptop fan
> though)
I am not so sure if the fan speed is really depending on the voltage (I
know my 120v is much more powerful then my PC fan), but there are some small
fans those can suck lot of air.
And also pay attention to the NOISE LEVEL as some can make noise like a
vacumm, so you may need Fan Speed Control to be able to reduce the speed and
noise.
I got my from Newegg too (about 2 years ago) and it cost around $100 for 3
powerful fans and 1 Fans Speed Controller supports up to 4 fans.
"MachineMessiah" <Geoffthegodofbiscuits@cakeordeath.net> wrote in
message news:_sKdnYZH2rBHhpHanZ2dnUVZ_tTinZ2d@giganews.com ...
>
> I've got a Western Digital hard drive that's running too hot.
> What's a good hard drive cooler to buy? I'm shopping at newegg.com.
> Drives are at the bottom of a cheap aluminum case with no openings
> in
> the front for fans on any air flow at all.
> Product like this will NOT work in my case:
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835150077
> I need sommething like this:
> http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811999152
> Reviewers don't seme to care for sleeve bearings, why?
How about just moving the other devices (drives) away from each other
so there is an empty space between to let the heated air get away from
the heat source? If you have filled up the 3-1/2" drive cage at the
bottom, use mounting brackets to move one or two up into the 5-1/4"
bays at the top.
You sure there is no opening at the front bottom of the case? Maybe
they don't use a hole in the front panel but instead have the air
pulled in between the chassis and the front panel through a bottom
space between the two (i.e., instead of sucking straight in, it sucks
from the bottom front). That means you need to keep the bottom front
of the case free of debris. Don't set it on a carpeted floor or
otherwise block the bottom front.
As Kony points out, you could nibble out a hole (and put a guard grill
over it). You probably can't make a hole in the front panel unless it
is completely flat there, so make one in the side panel alongside the
drive cage. Just adding the hole may be sufficient to cool the hard
drives. However, if they are packed right next together so there is
no airflow between them then maybe they will still remain hot. If
there isn't enough room between the side panel and the drive cage,
which is likely, mount the fan on the outside of the side panel and
put the guard grill on the outside edge of the fan.
If the drive cage is full (and so are the 5-1/4" drive bays at the
top), but if the drive cage does not sit on the bottom of the case so
there is space under it, you might consider moving the drives away
from each other by mounting one drive *under* the cage. You could use
strapping tape (metal bandiron with punched out holes, often used to
hang plumbing from house beams, available at hardware stores) to
provide tangs that get fastened at the top by one drive and extend
downward so you can affix a hard drive under the cage. I prefer
buying metals bars (also at the hardware store), hacksawed to length,
polished with steel wool, and drilling out the holes at each end (at
top for screw used to hole a drive within the cage and at bottom for
mounting the underneath drive); however, unlike the thin strapping
tape, the metal bars are thicker so you need longer screws (for both
drives the within-cage and dangled drives). You might just try using
an adapter bracket that lets you mount a 3-1/2" drive in a 5-1/4" bay.
The type that I'm thinking of are not the big chassis that extends
across the entire bay and where you screw in the smaller drive but
instead the type that look like c-shaped channels that you screw on
each side of the smaller drive. You could bend up one end and flatten
with a hammer to make the equivalent of the bars or tape that I
mention to let you dangle a drive under the cage.
Adding cooling works if there is actually somewhere for the air to
flow through. If the drives are butting up against each other, you
won't be getting air between them for effective cooling.
> > > I've got a Western Digital hard drive that's running too hot.
> > > What's a good hard drive cooler to buy? I'm shopping at newegg.com.
> > > Drives are at the bottom of a cheap aluminum case with no openings in
> > > the front for fans on any air flow at all.
> > > Product like this will NOT work in my case:
> > > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835150077
> > > I need sommething like this:
> > > http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16811999152
> > > Reviewers don't seme to care for sleeve bearings, why?
> >
> > Any old 12v fan from the parts box run on 5v should provide enough
> > air movement to deal with an overheating hdd etc. (not a laptop fan
> > though)
>
> I am not so sure if the fan speed is really depending on the voltage
I need a hard drive cooler. Suggestions? 
Linear Mode
