I have a rack of 6 HDDs in my computer, as seen in my sig. When they have been running for 2-3+ hours, even if they're just idling, they become too hot to touch for more than a few seconds. This is after just idling. Im worried that they might not work so well under load. I dont have a specific temp. reading, but may be able to get one soon.
I have 4 seagate 120s in a stack, with similar temperatures (too hot to handle) and they all work fine, 24/7. I wouldn't worry about it, as they're built very well and are capable of running at much higher temperatures.
Yea i also got 6 drives, (more storage ) But because of the way my case is designed, the drives are always cool even after a 50 gig drive to drive copy
Too hot to touch generally is over 50 degrees C. The maximum safe (i.e. failure free) operating temperature for HDDs generally is around 55 degrees C. As Firehed says, I suggest you get a 120mm fan on them pronto.
If you can't fit a fan on them, try to find a way to mount them vertically. When they're horizontal the heat from the bottom one will make the drive above it hotter, and so on all the way up. Mounting them vertically allows heat to escape between the drives and will make any air cooling on them MUCH more effective.
I would say to hot to touch is more like 70c. Ive had a few of my drives get that hot when they are only put in a case for a short time. Do a google search for Dtemp, which will tell you how hot they are from sensors in the drives. Above 50c will shorten the life of the HDD a lot.
It won't with the WD JB1600, I suspect. The latest version seems a bit temperamental about which S.M.A.R.T. drives it talks to. MBM is the same; it was a glitch that never quite got ironed out.
The best option is to have a fan for the drives that only starts when they go over a certain temp. Can be built and is available as a feature of some controllers using an external temp probe.
Only a small amount of airflow is required to prevent the hard disks overheating. A 120mm fan at 5V would be silent and provide that small amount of airflow required to keep them nearer ambient. 50°C is too hot to touch. The hot taps here at uni are set at 60°C and they're rediculously hot - you can't put your hand anywhere near them! (pointless!)
dtemp is only showing four HDD temps, all high 50s temps. :'( . Ill try sticking one of my fans on it. its an 80 mm silenx, so it only gets 28 cfm. Or i could use the fans that come with LianLis. are those any good? I could easily make a 120 mm hole, but my case is EXTREMELY poorly designed (but still a pretty good buy for its price). Even just installing a fan in front of the HDDs would involve removing pretty much every component in the case (HDD rack is AFIK non removable and the mobo interferes with HDD removal/installation). Ive stuck all my components in a crappo $15 case until i finish modding my v2000b (final planning stage atm) I have a HDD waterblock planned, but that wont happen for a while.
