Hey guys, I'm currently looking to build a water cooling system and have a quick question
for all you experienced watercoolers out there.
Do you bother watercooling your primary harddrive? I plan on buying a WD Raptor 10k rpm HD
and am somewhat concerned that since I will have very little in the way of airflow, since
I'll go with water... the drive will heat up excessively.
This topic seems to split the forums pretty bad. I myself plan on WCing my hd because I figure what can it hurt if it runs at a lower temp. However other people seem to think its a waste of time and moneym.
Also I say if you are thinking about doing and want the challenge of making one do it whether you need one or not. The fun will be in making the box .
I was considering it for a long time, but when it came down to it, I chose not to. I figured that the expense of watercooling the hard disk and the extra heat it would dump into my loop wasn't worth the minor decrease in noise. The money that I'd sink into a waterblock for the HD could go towards my next video card, a better HD, or (gasp!) my rent.
I would just get a single low speed quiet intake fan in front of the drive.
BTW... Theres no necessity for a box... The majority of the heat escapes from the sides, and this is why you see HDD waterblocks that just run the length of the sides. That would be plenty to keep your HDD cool.
I would like to watercool my two raptors but because of where they're placed (on the suspension cage of the Lite on FS020) and the fact that most commercia hdd watercooling blocks suck, I can't. If you can machine one, more power to you and go for it.
http://www.ocforums.com/showthread.php?t=298980
A few years ago my brother and I bought hard drives from IBM through his friend who worked there. 3 75 gig drives in 3 computes. One was put in a case with NO active case cooling. Even the Power supply fan was dead. He was off at college though so it wasn't my problem. A second was put in a case with a few active fans but none blowing over it. It was shut off at night and started in the morning. The 3rd was put in mine with 3 40mm fans blowing over it. 24/7 operation with files being downloaded to it overnight from the net. The first one is dead within 2 years of its install. The second is making all kinds of strange noises. The sounds a drive makes at the end of its life. Mine has recently started to make those same noises. Very infrequently though. Usually only when moving large amounts of data or accessing more than 1 file at a time (2 programs loading at once causing the hard drive to skip back and forth) for any length of time. Most often when the fans were not cooling it enough and it got hot to the touch.
Sooooooooooooo... Based on my own personal experience you NEED some kind of case cooling. (like that wasn't a given) First drive lasted barely 2 years. Younger brothers drive sounds like its about to bite the big one. Mine on the other hand every once and awhile makes whining sounds. So over 3 years for the other 2 and probably would make 4+ for mine if I left it in there. In either case im replacing any drive that makes funny noises.
ANY active cooling is a plus. If you do hard drive intensive stuff where it "Thrashes" the hard drive you definitely need something bigger than 40mm. Chieftec cases have 80mm and they keep my dads drives nice and cool. Cant even feel any heat when touched. I found something similar for older cases that fits in 2 5¼ drives. Holds 3 drives. It came with a sunon fan. Pretty loud sucker. I replaced it with a yates loon(something like that anyway) fan on a vantec controller.
1 more thing. DON'T stack 2 7200rpm Hard drives with a 3½ floppy in the middle with no active cooling. It will literally cook the floppy from the heat. Also both drives arn't functioning anymore either so it seems to shorten the lifespan of the drive. 3 years to the month of the manufacturers date. I think it waited till the warranty was up to die.
I would just get a single low speed quiet intake fan in front of the drive.
BTW... Theres no necessity for a box... The majority of the heat escapes from the sides, and this is why you see HDD waterblocks that just run the length of the sides. That would be plenty to keep your HDD cool.
I just reread my post and I meant to type block not box, sorry . When I first planned on building a HD waterblock I was just gonna build that plate that you rest your HD's on but that little hole on the HD's need to be open to air. Ya the blocks that go on the side of the HD's are much much better.
if you are thinking about cooling your NB and video card and you want even quieter you can consider 2 seperate loops and put the HD cooler on the video loop
you can even add your PSU to that loop
Just go with a quiet fan. Less tubing, less chance of something leaking and less heat in the line for your other items.. Unfortunitly higher amount of dust in the case unless you filter it. Drives should stay cool to the touch during mild usage.
Anything above the Seagate Cheetah 15K.3 seriously barely needs cooling unless you have a "special" situation.
Of couse a good chunk of people, not just on these forums, have those "special" cases. Situations like having 5 raptors crammed into one of those 3 5 1/4" bay adapters so they are pressed up against each other and get no air circulation what so ever.
I ran a 15k.3 with no fan on it, but it was in open air out side of the case, for 2 hours straight full load (read the entire 18gig partition, zeroed, then wrote a different 18gig partition). It only got warm to the touch during the procedure and at the very end.
If I just had one of those drives Id put it in an very open 5 1/4" bay with no fans as long as nothing around it got hot. No need for a fan and water cooling it would just add restriction to your loops, you'd probably see no water temp difference.
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