HDD Fan Mounting Q

[VulcanSoulPatch]

I have the <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage.asp?image=35-888-004-01.JPG/35-888-004-02.JPG" target="_new">Enermax HDD Cooler</A> and I am going to mount it adjacent to my new D740X. It comes with a 90mm fan, so that should keep it chilly. I was wondering what the best mounting scheme is.

The HDD has a metal "top" and a semi-covered plastic "bottom". <font color=red>Should the fan go on top or below the HDD?
Should I have it blow air onto or pull air off of the HDD?</font color=red>

One other thing to consider: I am going to mount (hopefully) a Panaflo 120mm fan on the case in front of the HDD. This will blow directly onto the HDD. Given this, <font color=red>what is the best configuration for the HDD fan?</font color=red>

Thanks for the info. I know I could just try it all ways and decide for myself, but I thought I might save some time and ask advice from those who may have already gone through the trouble.

VSP

<i>Upon the occasion in which the defecation comes into contact with the oscillating ventilator.</i>

 

[HonestJhon]

well, seeing as how the controller board is on the bottom, and i think the motor for the spindle is mounted to the bottom of the hard drive casing, i would say have the cooler on the bottom, blowing air ONTO the hard drive.
that is what makes sense to me.
that should cool the hard drive pretty well, and extend its life...
where do you have the d740x mounted?
i have mine in the 5 1/4" bay, with some of those metal brackets. gives a lot of air movement around the entire hard drive as opposed to the place it was before...in the hard drive rack...with the rack surrounding it, and the floppy right above it...not too great...
seems to be nice where it is now tho.
and how are you mounting the 120mm panaflow? er...where are you mounting it.
either way, i think that moving some air across the hard drive will save you in the long run.

-DAvid

-Live, Learn, then build your own computer!-

 

[VulcanSoulPatch]

OK, <b>Jhon</b>, that makes sense to me. The reason I was asking was because of where I am going to mount the HDD in relation to the Panaflo.

If you look <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/Showimage.asp?image=11-124-014-07.JPG" target="_new">here</A>, you will see the front fan mount on the chassis. You can see that there are two accessible 3.5" bays and 4 hidden. I will put the HDD in either the 2nd or 3rd hidden bay, depending on whether the HDD fan is to be above it or below it. The Panaflo will cover that whole spot, though you can't see the 120 screwholes (only the 90s). It pushes ~69CFM, so it will be quite chilly down there.

I chose this case because of the fact that it has the holes in the face directly in front of the fan mount. While not as efficient as some of the Lian Li cases that I have seen out there, it should do the job.

The question about whether the HDD fan should blow air onto or pull air off of the HDD is due to the theory behind HDD fan kits like <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=35-888-101" target="_new">this</A> hard drive cooler. (I am not sure if they are blowing the same direction, but there is also <A HREF="http://www.newegg.com/app/viewproduct.asp?description=35-888-105" target="_new">this</A> cooler.) The first system uses two 50mm fans, one blows and one sucks, in an attempt to ensure air changes. So, thinking that the chassis fan would blow onto, I was thinking that maybe the HDD fan should suck the air off, thereby realizing the same type of effect.

Unless, of course, somebody out there knows if the double-blow method yields greater satisfaction.

😱

VSP

<i>Upon the occasion in which the defecation comes into contact with the oscillating ventilator.</i>

 

[HonestJhon]

HAHAHAHAAH...double blow...lol...
hmm...well, i think that in your case, having the HD cooler pull air off, and having the panaflow blow on will work the best...because not only will the panaflow cool the bottom of the HD, but the top too! if i am not mistaken. 😱 .
but yeah, i think that will work quite well...
hehe..but i think that the "double blow" method will give you more satisfaction...LOLLOLOLOLOLOLOOLOLOLOL HAHAHA

-DAvid

-Live, Learn, then build your own computer!-

 

[Guest]

I bought two Titan ,wave hard drive coolers today,
But because of my dell computer they won't fit.

The fans on these things are 2.4w,powerful for their size.
Do hard drive fans actually improve stability of the Drive,
If so i'll keep these two

I should have been a politician so i wouldn't have to vote

 

[VulcanSoulPatch]

I had time to work on my rig this weekend. I installed the mobo, the drives, and the fans. Well, all except the 80 on the side panel and the 120 Panaflo, which I just ordered this morning. Had to wait because the vendor had been sold out for over one month. The 80 was waiting for a mesh filter, which I ordered this morning, too.

Anyway, I put the HDD fan below the HDD and made it blow onto the bottom. I feel air movement below the fan, but it doesn't feel like a negative pull. It is almost as if the fan is blowing so hard that the air is coming back out of the fan (y'know, nowhere else for the air to go). I am wondering about a few things, now:

1) Should I back the HDD fan off and install it in the next bay below it?

2) Should I take the fan out since I think that the 120 will cool it enough by itself? (Yes, it will be able to blow air across the top and the bottom.)

If I do #2 <i>(please, not here)</i>, then maybe I should move the fan to between my DVD-ROM and CD-RW to keep them cool.

Decisions, decisions, decisions!!!

VSP

<i>Upon the occasion in which the defecation comes into contact with the oscillating ventilator.</i>

 

[VulcanSoulPatch]

I am new to the idea of cooling hard drives, but I don't know if I would say that fans/coolers actually "improve stability". What they do is help prevent the drive from developing heat related failures.

If anyone happens to have a link to info on various heat related failures, please post. I know of a few of us who would be interested in it, including King Toot.

VSP

<i>Upon the occasion in which the defecation comes into contact with the oscillating ventilator.</i>

 

[HonestJhon]

i do know that the 75gxp problem was related to heat...
the heat compensation controller was messed up, and would make the heads read and write where there was not supposed to be data, or overwrite the data it had successfully written.
i dont know all the details, or have any links unfortunately, but i remember reading stuff about heat causing the compensation to get thrown off and the drive messing itself up, and spiraling downwards.
as for the fan VSP....well, i would say give the fan some space, let it vent...
put a gap in there, so that the air can escape.
keep the fan blowing on the hard drive, but put a gap inbetween the hard drive and the fan box...
that SHOULD make it stop backflowing.
it will be quieter, and MUCH more effective...
i hope that made sense! 😱

-DAvid

-Live, Learn, then build your own computer!-

 

[VulcanSoulPatch]

Yeah, that makes sense. It also gives the two fans a chance to work together more efficiently. I also ordered a 92mm filter yesterday. I am going to put it on the HDD fan just in case any dust happens to settle down there at the bottom of the case. I guess I am now developing Amathophobia.

Heh, if I had a website, I would post a pic of my old case. It had holes on the back panel, in the configuration of the CE symbol. The dust that came through those holes stuck to the underside of the mobo tray. You can perfectly see the CE symbol in brown dots. Kinda scary, actually, because the only way that I can conceive of the dust "sticking" that way is if the tray had become charged. That is not a good thing.

VSP

<i>Upon the occasion in which the defecation comes into contact with the oscillating ventilator.</i>