Hard Drive Temps

[danodude]

Hi guys. I have just finished building a mini gaming rig in a Coolermaster Elite 130 case.

Now, I've run into a potential problem.. it's pretty damn cool where I am right now, and my HDD temps are probably way too high.

Idling on the desktop/browsing web the hard drive is at 35c, where as in an intense gaming session (where GPU was at 65c and CPU at around 45c), my HDD temps hit a max of 50.

This is because I have the drive mounted in the area that you can put an optical drive into (it can be officially mounted there, it's not some kind of case hack).


My current case layout has a Corsair H75 radiator and one fan mounted at the front, with room behind it for a hard drive. Sadly, I can't actually mount my HDD there because the HDD power cables from my PSU have the cords coming out of the connector at 90 degrees to where it plugs in, making it impossible to mount it on flat ground (hence my decision to have it in the optical drive bay which allows the cables to hang down out the back of the HDD).

To get around this I was going to buy one of these molex to sata adaptors.


But - until I can get that, is it ok to run this PC with the HDD temps that high? Will there be a high risk of damage doing so while I wait for the cable to come? (approx 1-2 days if I order now).


Thanks

 

[EarthDog]

No risk running it that warm period. Cooler is always better of course.

 

[danodude]

Thanks!

What kind of temps should I start worrying about it at? These temps are in a cool environment (about 18-20c ambient temp). Where I live it gets almost to 40c ambient temperature in summer, do you reckon that will have a bad effect on the HDD?

I think I'll still move it back down to behind the radiator regardless, but would be nice to know!

 

[Mr.Scott]

Typically, HD's are more resistant to warmer temps than cold one's. You won't have an issue.

 

[RollingThunder]

Some years ago regarding the WD Raptor 10,000 RPM hard drives I asked WD tech support what temps should one avoid approaching on their Raptor hard drives (all models). They told me to avoid 70C and above. Unless one is operating a hard drive in direct summer sunlight or in an oven the chances of a hard drive nearing that temperature in a prudently placed overclocked system is slim and none.

 

[danodude]

Thanks very much guys! I might actually just be a lazy scrub and leave it where it is. I spent ages trying to squeeze everything neatly into this mITX case, don't really want to have to re-organise all the wires!

 

[Kenrou]

Actually i would advise a little caution with WD max temps : red is 65c, green and blue is 60c, black and raptor is 55c.


http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/SpecSheet/ENG/2879-701229.pdf - green

http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/SpecSheet/ENG/2879-701277.pdf - blue

http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/SpecSheet/ENG/2879-771434.pdf - black

http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/SpecSheet/ENG/2879-701284.pdf - raptor

http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/SpecSheet/ENG/2879-800002.pdf - red

 

[ATMINSIDE]

I'd leave it as-is. IIRC most HDD's are happiest in the low to mid 40°C range.

 

[danodude]

Thanks guys. I'll keep an eye on the temps, if they go over 50 I'll change the position of the hdd

 

[EarthDog]

Which specific hdd do you have? As you can see from kenrous links, it varies in tbe WD family. Perhaps list the model here so we know and can look, or look it up for your specific drive (report back).

 

[Kenrou]

Some years ago regarding the WD Raptor 10,000 RPM hard drives I asked WD tech support what temps should one avoid approaching on their Raptor hard drives (all models). They told me to avoid 70C and above.

This is a funny one, max safe for a Raptor is 55c while under load (i actually thought HDD's in general could go much higher): http://www.wdc.com/wdproducts/library/SpecSheet/ENG/2879-701284.pdf


Also updated my 1st post

 

[EarthDog]

Those are the 'new' raptors. Im wondering if he is talking abiut the older 74/150gb models since he said 'some years ago'...70c still sounds very hot...

...that said, some raptors had a heatsink on the frame...!

 

[RollingThunder]

Those are the 'new' raptors. Im wondering if he is talking about the older 74/150gb models since he said 'some years ago'...70c still sounds very hot...

...that said, some raptors had a heatsink on the frame...!

Yes, "Some years ago" was for the new ones just appearing that were the rave @ 10,000 RPM: 36GB, 74GB. The 150GB and larger progressed about a year later.

 

[danodude]

Which specific hdd do you have? As you can see from kenrous links, it varies in tbe WD family. Perhaps list the model here so we know and can look, or look it up for your specific drive (report back).

It's a fairly cheap Seagate ST1000DM003 (full model name is ST1000DM003-1SB102 (Z9A3SBL4)). 1TB, 7200 RPM. Can't afford a SSD right now :'(

 

[Kenrou]

60c max - http://www.seagate.com/files/www-co...d/barracuda-7200-14/en-us/docs/100686584u.pdf

 

[danodude]

Ok, so these temps should be fine then? Or is 50 too close to 60?

 

[ATMINSIDE]

It's fine.

 

[danodude]

Awesome, thanks man