Re: Cooling requirements of 7200 rpm HD's
> The best answer is probably to meassure the temperature with your new
> drive and see if that is acceptable to you.
I suppose that's good practical advice, but I sometimes wonder, what
is "acceptable"?
I run a couple 15krpm drives sitting next to each other, but know that
my case is well designed for cooling. So I feel comfortable even
though they get quite hot to the touch. But my comfort undoubtedly
derives mostly from mirroring my hd regularly. Overheating is only one
reason for drive failure, and one must always be prepared for the
worst.
There are simple devices for measuring or even monitoring temperature,
and I suppose the drive manufacturer has temp specs on their web sites
(although I've never noticed any). If I were really paranoid (i.e.,
didn't do regular backups), I'd probably look into this.
But the most important thing is prevention. Avoid poorly designed
(cheap) cases. Read up on how cases are designed for cooling, and buy
accordingly (don't have fans that fight each other). Periodically
check fan operation (they do fail often enough). Avoid too much cable
congestion and especially dirt that slows air flow. In a well designed
case, don't run for long with the side panel removed.
In older cases, which typically mount the drives on standard hardware
attached to the case frame, you could get a drive frame with a couple
little fans built into the front. I've used them with high rpm drives,
and they didn't add to the noise level appreciably. One can also add a
fan directed toward the drives, but I don't think this is a good
idea. Besides noise, they could disrupt the proper air flow.
Haines Brown
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