Forums » Technology » Hardware & Software - PC » HDD temps - how much is too hot?
SimHQ Homepage Forums Main Page Articles Library News Archive Forums Archive Mark All Forums Read Who's Online Community Links
Register User Active Topics Calendar Downloads FAQ Library Multiplayer News Release Dates SimHQ TV


Page 1 of 2 1 2 >
Topic Options
Rate This Topic
Hop to:
#3319744 - 06/15/11 04:33 PM HDD temps - how much is too hot?
Flogger23m Online smile
Member

Registered: 12/06/02
Posts: 2483
Loc: California
I am wondering how hot a SATA 2 HDD can get before it gets damaging? In particular, an Western Digital 1TB WD1001FALS . Right now mine is running at 43 degrees C, but as the hotter days come it will get slightly hotter. I am wondering if this is too hot for it?

I also have a backup drive, a Seagate 7200.11 750GB. I keep this in my PC but unplugged aside from when backing up my data. I doubt it gets that hot when it is not connected, but would it be a better idea to just physically remove it from the PC during the hotter months?

Top
#3319751 - 06/15/11 04:51 PM Re: HDD temps - how much is too hot? [Re: Flogger23m]
speedbump Offline
Hotshot

Registered: 11/23/05
Posts: 6321
Loc: Edgewood TX
My three internal drives are running from 31C to 34C. That is kind of high. Do you have airflow over it?
_________________________
MSI P55-GD65 with i5-750 @ 4.0Ghz vcore 1.370
Xigmatek Balder HS/2 120mm fans, Antec EW PSU EA750 750W
GSKILL Ripjaws 2x4Gb DDR3 1333
One 2Tb Seagate LP, two 1.5Tb LP Seagates
Gigabyte GTX 460 1Gb OC to within an inch of it's life
Lite-On 24X DVD burner, LG 12X Blu-Ray burner
COOLER MASTER Storm Scout
Win 7 Pro 64
Lots of fans spinning with little LED lights blinking

www.razzledazzleart.com

http://texascbx.blogspot.com/





Top
#3319771 - 06/15/11 05:38 PM Re: HDD temps - how much is too hot? [Re: speedbump]
Flogger23m Online smile
Member

Registered: 12/06/02
Posts: 2483
Loc: California
Originally Posted By: speedbump
My three internal drives are running from 31C to 34C. That is kind of high. Do you have airflow over it?


No fans over it. One of the reasons I want to upgrade to a faster and shorter video card. It blocks the 120mm fan mount that goes over the HDD. My only issue is the video cards are too expensive for me at the moment. If I can get a shorter card, I can place my spare 120mm over the HDDs.

Top
#3319779 - 06/15/11 05:53 PM Re: HDD temps - how much is too hot? [Re: Flogger23m]
WhistlinggDeath Offline
Member

Registered: 02/01/11
Posts: 605
Loc: La Jolla, CA
Flogger - The sweet spot that many companies use in non air conditioned rooms is about 33 deg C. Get some type of fan blowing over it when you can.

S!
_________________________
If you can defeat me in a fair same altitude duel, you are either Hartmann's ghost or you have a ganja problem that needs treatment.

Like asking weird questions and are good at math? Maybe you can join us at the Jacobs School of Engineering, UC San Diego. Tackling the grand mysteries of the age with science.

At the core of most of life's deep mysteries, is the language that Mother Nature truly speaks in, ..... mathematics.

Top
#3319780 - 06/15/11 05:59 PM Re: HDD temps - how much is too hot? [Re: Flogger23m]
NoUseForAName Offline
Hotshot

Registered: 11/02/04
Posts: 5303
Loc: Colorado
Originally Posted By: Flogger23m
Originally Posted By: speedbump
My three internal drives are running from 31C to 34C. That is kind of high. Do you have airflow over it?


No fans over it. One of the reasons I want to upgrade to a faster and shorter video card. It blocks the 120mm fan mount that goes over the HDD. My only issue is the video cards are too expensive for me at the moment. If I can get a shorter card, I can place my spare 120mm over the HDDs.

You might instead look for a better case...mine has a 200mm fan blowing over all of the drive bays and plenty of room to boot. I plan on using it for a while, so if you do the same it can be a good investment. You shouldn't need to buy a whole new video card when that setup will work perfectly in most "enthusiast" type cases.

Anyhoo, back OT...My WD drive runs pretty hot too. Mine usually hovers around the low 30's but I have seen it get into the low 40's under stress and a hot room. Some models of WD drives are known to run hot; however I don't know the thresholds. Maybe check WD www site for specs?


Edited by NoUseForAName (06/15/11 06:16 PM)
_________________________
"No bucks, no Buck Rogers"

Case: CoolerMaster HAF-922 MoBo: ASUS M4A89GTD Pro/USB3 PSU: XFX Black Edition 750w CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 965 3.4GHz OC'd -> 3.9GHz RAM: 12GB Mushkin Blackline DDR3 1333/1600 GPU: Palit GTX 560 Ti 2GB Display: Asus 25.5" @ 1920x1200 OS: Win7 Pro 64bit Audio: On-board AC'97 w/ Sony 5.1 surround

Top
#3319782 - 06/15/11 06:06 PM Re: HDD temps - how much is too hot? [Re: Flogger23m]
SkateZilla Offline
Skate Zilla HD Studios
Hotshot

Registered: 11/24/04
Posts: 8120
Loc: Virginia Beach, VA
in Non A/C My 4 Drive stack idles at 32-35-34-31, and under load at 35-38-38-33 (bottom, bottom middle, top middle, top). Bottom drive gets heat from the GPU blown on it, and the airflow from the 120mm 100CFM Fan only blows across the top, the other 3 drives get airflow on the top and bottom.

in A/C they all stay in the 20s
_________________________
Skate Zilla

Chevron 11 (Born Feb. 2012)
Cooler Master HAF 922(Mesh Side), 700W OCZ, Windows 7 Pro, Windows 8 Beta
ASRock Fatal1ty 990FX Pro, Corsair H100 Water Cooled AMD FX-8120@4.0 GHz, 16GB G.SKILL Sniper @ DDR1600, WD 1.5TB Black
Sapphire RadeonHD 7950@1.0 GHz Core/6GHz Mem., ASUS VS248H-P 24" LED x 3, 5760 x 1080 Eyefinity,
Creative XFi Fata1ity Platinum Champion, Intensity Pro 10-Bit HDMI Video Recording, Ceton InfiniTV 4 PCIe


Skate Zilla HD Studios On Facebook

Top
#3319874 - 06/15/11 08:47 PM Re: HDD temps - how much is too hot? [Re: Flogger23m]
Flogger23m Online smile
Member

Registered: 12/06/02
Posts: 2483
Loc: California
Does seem like mine is running a bit hot. I'd like to get a new case but I can't afford that. All I would be able to afford is a new video card and possibly a PSU for it. Unfortunately I was told my case (Antec Sonata 3 500) was sufficient for a GTX 260 and would be able to fit in with a 120mm fan over the hard drives. Clearly that is not true! Clearly the case is a poor choice for a gaming PC. But I have to live with it for the next 3 or so years.

For what it is worth, it has gone through two summers already at temps of 45-50 C. Over 2 1/2 years old of every day use. I am just unsure if it is really causing a lot of wear on it. I'll check the WD website for more info, but can't seem to find much useful info.

Top
#3319909 - 06/15/11 09:52 PM Re: HDD temps - how much is too hot? [Re: Flogger23m]
NoUseForAName Offline
Hotshot

Registered: 11/02/04
Posts: 5303
Loc: Colorado
Originally Posted By: Flogger23m
Does seem like mine is running a bit hot. I'd like to get a new case but I can't afford that. All I would be able to afford is a new video card and possibly a PSU for it. Unfortunately I was told my case (Antec Sonata 3 500) was sufficient for a GTX 260 and would be able to fit in with a 120mm fan over the hard drives. Clearly that is not true! Clearly the case is a poor choice for a gaming PC. But I have to live with it for the next 3 or so years.

For what it is worth, it has gone through two summers already at temps of 45-50 C. Over 2 1/2 years old of every day use. I am just unsure if it is really causing a lot of wear on it. I'll check the WD website for more info, but can't seem to find much useful info.

Well to be fair, the GTX 560's are quite a bit shorter (not sure about the 570/580); so you're still in luck. I just didn't know if it was some bargain-buy case or something wink.

I searched around too and couldn't find much...mainly that they tend to run "hotter than average" which I'm guessing from my other HDD's is ~30c;and the caviars tend to be in the lower 40's. Maybe you can buy a cheap fan enclosure for your HDD? Something like this? (just showing it as an example...I don't have experience with it hehe)


Edited by NoUseForAName (06/15/11 09:58 PM)
_________________________
"No bucks, no Buck Rogers"

Case: CoolerMaster HAF-922 MoBo: ASUS M4A89GTD Pro/USB3 PSU: XFX Black Edition 750w CPU: AMD Phenom II x4 965 3.4GHz OC'd -> 3.9GHz RAM: 12GB Mushkin Blackline DDR3 1333/1600 GPU: Palit GTX 560 Ti 2GB Display: Asus 25.5" @ 1920x1200 OS: Win7 Pro 64bit Audio: On-board AC'97 w/ Sony 5.1 surround

Top
#3319941 - 06/15/11 11:21 PM Re: HDD temps - how much is too hot? [Re: Flogger23m]
Flogger23m Online smile
Member

Registered: 12/06/02
Posts: 2483
Loc: California
I'm looking at this one:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...9-063-_-Product

I have one Evercool 92mm fan that mounts onto the back of my PC and it seems to bring my video card temps down 2 degree C or so. No issues with it, so I would hope this is built as good.

I would prefer something that doesn't mount onto the drive itself though. Something like this, but for 3.5" bays (92mm or 80mm?):

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16835119010

Top
#3320036 - 06/16/11 04:57 AM Re: HDD temps - how much is too hot? [Re: Flogger23m]
speedbump Offline
Hotshot

Registered: 11/23/05
Posts: 6321
Loc: Edgewood TX
I had some heat related problems with my old computer that was running a P4 2.4C OC to 3.1Ghz. That old Antec case was small and cramped and just flat had poor airflow. I only had two DVD burners and one hard drive so I bought a bay similar to this one and it really did lower the hard drive temp.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.as...3-031-_-Product
_________________________
MSI P55-GD65 with i5-750 @ 4.0Ghz vcore 1.370
Xigmatek Balder HS/2 120mm fans, Antec EW PSU EA750 750W
GSKILL Ripjaws 2x4Gb DDR3 1333
One 2Tb Seagate LP, two 1.5Tb LP Seagates
Gigabyte GTX 460 1Gb OC to within an inch of it's life
Lite-On 24X DVD burner, LG 12X Blu-Ray burner
COOLER MASTER Storm Scout
Win 7 Pro 64
Lots of fans spinning with little LED lights blinking

www.razzledazzleart.com

http://texascbx.blogspot.com/





Top
Page 1 of 2 1 2 >
Topic Options
Rate This Topic
Hop to:


Forum Use Agreement | Privacy Statement | SimHQ Staff
Copyright 1997-2012, SimHQ Inc. All Rights Reserved.