Placing HDDs In Cages Necessary?

[MrLawlessGaming]

So I am planning on doing a custom build in a Corsair 760T or 730T. I need some help though. I am getting 2 2TB HDDs for games and video recordings etc. I want to remove the back HDD cage in the 760T/730T to be able to put in a 120 mm intake fan but, the front HDD cage is blocking off a lot of the front bottom fan. What should I do? Could I remove both HDD cages and just place the HDDs in the case somewhere or attach them to right side panel if I can? Thanks!
Pics of the case...
Left Side Window
http://www.overclock.net/content/type/61/id/1921423/
Right Side Window
http://tpucdn.com/reviews/Corsair/Graphite_760T/images/install2_small.jpg

 

[Mr5oh]

As long as they are attached is fine. They don't have to be in cages, they can be screwed down anywhere inside the case. Ideally horizontally, but you can mount them vertically too if you wish.

 

[jafrankl]

The cages are meant to hold drives stably and keep other components away from them to prevent any damage. They also give adequate spacing between drives so they can spin without syncing and damaging one another, this also allows heat to be spread above and below each drive. The case all ready has enough air flow and shouldn't require another fan right in front of those cages.

 

[ulysses35]

Judging by your photo the top cage that normally is used for optical drives has three bays - so unless you have more than one optical drive you will have space there.

 

[Pr3di]

Unlike SSDs, the HDDs have mobile parts.
Having them placed in different locations will most likely lead to noise, and internal damage, drastically shortning the life span.

Unless you can create an extremely safe way of mounting them, using noise-dampening washers, I would recommend against such a solution.

 

[MrLawlessGaming]

So overall, I indeed should put them in the drive cages? Which one then? I want to put an intake fan in the bottom but like I said before, the front most drive cage blocks off most of the bottom front fan.
Ulysses35- I have an optical drive and a fan controller going in so I will only have one 5.25" bay available.
Pr3di- I have heard of people mounting them to the right side of case where cable management and stuff goes. Is that a bad idea?

 

[synphul]

Usually the drives people are placing behind the motherboard tray are ssd's, not hdd's. Ssd's have no moving parts, don't vibrate, are slimmer and don't run near as warm as mechanical hard drives. The reason for having the intake fans blowing across the hdd trays is to cool the hard drives. I would say it's a bad idea to go shoving them someplace else, yes. You could always split the difference, you said you're getting 2 drives so why not mount them one space apart or 2 spaces apart (depending how your cages are organized). That would give airflow to the hdd's to help keep them cool and be less of a blockage for your intakes.

 

[MrLawlessGaming]

Usually the drives people are placing behind the motherboard tray are ssd's, not hdd's. Ssd's have no moving parts, don't vibrate, are slimmer and don't run near as warm as mechanical hard drives. The reason for having the intake fans blowing across the hdd trays is to cool the hard drives. I would say it's a bad idea to go shoving them someplace else, yes. You could always split the difference, you said you're getting 2 drives so why not mount them one space apart or 2 spaces apart (depending how your cages are organized). That would give airflow to the hdd's to help keep them cool and be less of a blockage for your intakes.

Ok thank you for clarifying. I think I understand now. The HDD Cages hold 3 HDDs each. So, I will take out the HDD Cage closest to the PSU so I can out a 120 mm Intake Fan on the bottom and put the HDDs in the front cage (one space apart) so they get cool air? Does that sound ok to you?

 

[Pr3di]

Regarding the HDD behind the mobo tray, that`s what I have in my build.
But that`s the design of my case (Silverstone SG10) which has rubber washers for noise and vibration dampening, and I have a huge fan (180mm) on top of them blowing cool air.

+1 for your idea to remove the drive cage closest to the PSU.

 

[MrLawlessGaming]

Ok, I know I closed the topic but I forgot to ask one question. As I said before the front HDD cage sits right behind of the bottom front fan, which I am afraid will reduce airflow to the rest of my components ( I plan on SLIing GTX 970s, so I want plenty of cool air there). Would it help if instead of using the included AF 140 fan at the bottom to replace it with a SP 140 fan? Or would it not make much of a difference? Thanks again!

 

[synphul]

If the fan is on the bottom of the case as in on the case floor, an airflow fan should do just fine. If it's the 'bottom' as in the lower of two front intake fans (one below the other) then an sp fan would do better blowing through the drives. Hdd's don't need a ton of air but they do need some.

 

[MrLawlessGaming]

If the fan is on the bottom of the case as in on the case floor, an airflow fan should do just fine. If it's the 'bottom' as in the lower of two front intake fans (one below the other) then an sp fan would do better blowing through the drives. Hdd's don't need a ton of air but they do need some.

Edit: Please assume that Noise or Sound levels are not problematic. Sorry about not mentioning that.
Yeah, sorry about that. I meant for bottom front intake fan. The HDD cage is right behind it so I figured that a SP fan would be better due to the location of the cages. Would you suggest a 140 mm or a 120 mm? Either should fit perfectly as 2 x 140 mm are there already so I think I should be able to put in a 120 or 140 mm. These are the fans I am looking at...
http://www.corsair.com/en/air-series-sp140-led-red-high-static-pressure-140mm-fan

http://www.corsair.com/en/air-series-sp120-high-performance-edition-high-static-pressure-120mm-fan

http://www.corsair.com/en/air-series-sp120-led-red-high-static-pressure-120mm-fan

 

[synphul]

It's not really about sound levels, airflow and sp fans (at least in corsair's terms) are a bit different and airflow do just fine for unobstructed air paths. If it was a bottom fan mount (say next to a bottom mount psu air intake like the enthoo pro cases and others have) then an airflow would work fine there. For the front of the case, an sp fan would probably do better. They do have sp quiet editions as well that still provide static pressure just at a slightly lower decibel. 140's will usually move the same amount of air as a 120 but at a slower speed (less noise). That's the benefit of going from 120 to 140 or any larger fan. As far as led's, that's cosmetic and up to your taste. Any of those fans would work. You said noise isn't an issue, so whatever looks the best to you and is least expensive. Myself, I'd probably go with a 140 just for noise reduction since I prefer running larger fans at slower speeds when I have the option.

 

[synphul]

Lol, if sound levels aren't an issue and all you want is to move some air, throw some delta's on there. (j/k, delta fans do move some serious air but sound like a hurricane).

 

[MrLawlessGaming]

It's not really about sound levels, airflow and sp fans (at least in corsair's terms) are a bit different and airflow do just fine for unobstructed air paths. If it was a bottom fan mount (say next to a bottom mount psu air intake like the enthoo pro cases and others have) then an airflow would work fine there. For the front of the case, an sp fan would probably do better. They do have sp quiet editions as well that still provide static pressure just at a slightly lower decibel. 140's will usually move the same amount of air as a 120 but at a slower speed (less noise). That's the benefit of going from 120 to 140 or any larger fan. As far as led's, that's cosmetic and up to your taste. Any of those fans would work. You said noise isn't an issue, so whatever looks the best to you and is least expensive. Myself, I'd probably go with a 140 just for noise reduction since I prefer running larger fans at slower speeds when I have the option.

Thank you for the help. I will most likely pick up a SP 140 LED then because the front fans are supposed to be LED anyway. Even though it is a lower CFM than the AF 140 it comes with, I will still be maintaining positive pressure so all is good then. Thanks!