Hey,
I was wondering if anyone has any experience with any HDD Coolers, or Silencers. (Good to be a combination of both if possible) I currently have a Newegg.com - Western Digital Raptor 150GB 3.5" Serial ATA150 Hard Drive - Retail and was looking at Vantec Vortex 2 Hard Disk Cooling System - BLACK (VTX-C02-BK) - FrozenCPU.com but I've also heard good things about Newegg.com - Thermaltake A2321 Aluminum Hardcano 14 HDD Clamshell Cooler - Retail but am not sure what to chose and what other well good alternatives there are.

Thanks,


David

I would say that your best alternative is a plain fan. If you can place a good size fan in the path of your drives, say a 120mm or so, you shouldn't need a fancy enclosure for cooling. I can understand the need for silence too, but most silent PC enthusiasts don't run Raptors either.

Yeah, I'm really not a silent PC enthusiast just looking for max performance and minimalist sound, and cold running. So you said just put in a fan, well how about something like this:
Newegg.com - Titan TTC-HD12 Deluxe HDD Cooler - Retail
Newegg.com - Thermaltake A2376 Aluminum HDD Cooling Fan - Retail

I've personally had bad luck with those HDD coolers that mount directly. They tend to make dust collect on the bottom of the HDD, or the small fans fail...or both. My point was that if you are having issues with cooling your HDDs, then a look at your overall case cooling may net you more benefits than just for cooling your HDD. A good airflow through the case is generally adequate for cooling drives if they are in the airpath.

I have to agree with wordbike on this.........

If your looking for the best cooling you can get out of your case. You need to look at the whole picture.

How many fans are installed and what directions are they pointing.
(Do not include psu and cpu fans).

What's the size of all the fans?

Depending on location, size, and direction will determine whether you may need to do a little modding or splurg and find one that can handle your cooling requirements.

As long as you have an intake fan in the front of the case. Just mount your drive in its path and it will be just fine. No modding required......

Just remember case cooling goes as far as you keeping it clean. Dust will clog your fans and airways. It's good idea to give your pc a cleaning every 6 months. Take out the fans and with a old toothbrush. Brush out all the dust buildup in the fan. Then blast it with some canned air but dont let them spin up to bearing failure speeds.

As for those egg links you posted.......
Those cheap hard drive cooling alternatives , i give less than 6 months before they croak. They are junk dont waste your money on it.

I hope this helps.......

The best way to keep your harddrives cool, imho, is to use a enclosure that fits into your spare 5 1/2" bay slots. That way you can have a 120mm fan directly cooling them, and aiding case airflow too.

I use one of these, you need 3 spare 5 1/2" bays.

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Alright, thanks for all the info.
I've gotta see what I can do with what I have. I'm interested in what dex posted, and I have 4 [ 5 1/2" ] drives empty, so if you have a link or anything it'd be much appretiated.

Deere, I did have a quick Google for you, but couldn't come up with any US retailers that carry it.

Heres its page on the Coolermaster website tho for reference

Check this badger out. It takes up 3x 5.5inch bays acting as an intake, or can be mounted horizontally under a drive as a hard drive cooler. Having a 120mm fan, it should be quiet as well. I'm thinking of getting one myself.

Hey dex I think I actually found one on a canadian site,
NCIX.com - Buy Coolermaster STB-3T4-E1 3X5.25IN To 4X3.5IN Drive Bay Convertor W/ 120MM Fan - STB-3T4-E1 In Canada.
Also I was looking at that scythe before and it seems I'll just have to chose between the two.