New Hard Drive Installation Location

[vacunita]

Hello,

Just bought a new hard drive to replace and old one, that died due to what seemed to be heat issues. So before I install the drive I would like to ask you which would be the best location for a new hard drive to be placed in.

I have an ATX tower with 4 CD-Rom bays, 2 Floppy Drive bays. and a single Hard drive bay that sits below the floppy drives.


[blue]Cd Rom Bay[/blue] Empty
[blue] Cd Rom Bay[/blue][green] ocasionally used by DVD+-Rw drive[/green]
[blue] Cd Rom Bay[/blue][green] used by Cd Burner[/green]
[blue] Cd Rom Bay[/blue][green] used by Cd Drive[/green]
[blue] Floppy Bay[/blue][green] used by floppy drive[/green]
[blue] Floppy Bay[/blue] Empty
[blue] Covered Hd Bay [/blue][green]used by OS HD[/green]

The Old drive used to sit in the top CD-Rom bay, but it appears it was having heat issues there.

So my question is where would be the best place for the drive. In between the Floppy and the other HD where it would seem air flow is very limited or in the top bay? and if so should I add another fan to blow unto the drive?

What would be the best setup to avoid heat issued with the drive in the future?

I'll appreciate any input you can provide.

----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

 

[attrofy]

I would put it anywhere you can insure MAXIMUM air flow. If you have no choice but to use the CD-ROM bays, I would stick it at the bottom, and move all your Optical drives up one spot so the DVD is at the top of the stack, and the empty slot at the bottom of the stack.

Another option would be to try and install some active cooling somewhere near the location of the HDD. I don't know that the floppy bay would be the best, as those are usually pretty tight little recesses. Now with many of the HDD coolers, there are some that will fit into a 5 1/4" bay. One last option, if you aren't using all those optical drives, remove one that would be consider "extra" and stick a standard bay cooler in that position.

One last consideration - depending on the age and speed of the original HDD, if it is an older 5400 RPM drive, I might sacrifice it's location, and put the new (presumably 7200 RPM) drive in that location where there will most likely be better cooling, and put the 5400 where it is a bit warmer and can take a bit more extreeme temps.

Most modern cases have expansion areas for more then one HDD (unless it is an E-Machine). You might even check with the manufacturer and see if they offer an optional "expanded" HDD cage.

 

[pudda]

If you truly need cooling for your hdd, try this:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16835119062

Myself I have never used any cooling, simply spaced the drives to allow for natural airflow to take care of heat. Can be tough in smaller cases, where this item would be beneficial.

The test continues...

 

[vacunita]

The older drive, is a 7200RPM 80GB Seagate drive, so it should theoretically produce the same ammount of heat as the newer 160GB 7200RPM drive.

So my best option would be to set the new drive in the lowest CD-ROM bay, and uncover the bay for the best air flow? I don't mind if I see the bay, but maybe dust could be an issue.

Leave the top bay empty for when the DVD+-RW ocassionaly is required to be there, and place the other 2 optical drives, in the middle bays.

I could come to think of it, remove the CD-Rom as it is really not necessary, giving the drive some added space for proper airflow?

Sounds like a good arrangement. I'll try it tonight when I get home.
I will look into the cooling system, although for now, it'll have to sit uncooled.








----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

 

[attrofy]

Depending on the airflow in your case, you may find that giving it a bit of breathing room will suffice. Most modern cases have decent airflow, and with a bit of space all around, you may find it has little or no issues passiely cooling your new drive. I would definately keep an eye on things, and be prepared to purchase a HDD cooler (like pudda linked) if things get questionable. Heat can be a major factor on HDD, and my guess is that much of this will be "archival" data. Nothing worse then a crashed "backup" drive.

 

[Johnthephoneguy]

Spend 10.00 on a HD fan, it screws on to the outside of the drive, directs airflow directly on the HD and keeps it from heating up at all.

 

[vacunita]

I'll set it on the lowest bay, it should have more than enough breathing room, and probably tommorrow or friday go out and scout for a drive fan or the cooling system Pudda so kindly provided the link to.

In any case i'll be keeping a watchfull eye on the drive's temp. What is an appropriate temperature for a 120GB drive?


----------------------------------
Ignorance is not necessarily Bliss, case in point:
Unknown has caused an Unknown Error on Unknown and must be shutdown to prevent damage to Unknown.

 

[pudda]

50 degrees celsius or lower is good.

The test continues...