Three HDs in a Solo? More cooling needed?

Blondie · Post by **Blondie** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 7:50 pm

Can I safely put three SATA HD's (WD 64000AAKS) in an Antec Solo case? Would I need another fan besides the 120mm PWM fan in the rear? Does/should this prevent me from suspending them?

System Specs:

Core 2 Duo E8600
Foxconn P45A-S
4GB Kingston HyperX DDR2 800
EVGA 9600GT (w/ dual slot cooling)
Xigmatek SD964 with 92mm PWM fan
Corsair 520HX
Pioneer DVR-216DBK SATA DVD burner

Thanks!

Greg F. · Post by **Greg F.** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 8:33 pm

I have a Solo with three suspended HDs. I can't see it raises the temps much if at all. I have one Slipstream 800 in the back and it runs at 800. Another on the Asus 75 heatsink. The fan on the heatsink never goes above 500 or so. It is 350rpm right now with an ambient of 74F.

Lawrence Lee · Post by **Lawrence Lee** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 11:05 pm

I would suggets putting a low-speed 92mm in the front.

frenchie · Post by **frenchie** » Tue Sep 30, 2008 11:11 pm

You can surely suspend them !!
As for cooling, I'd say it depends. Try without a fan in the front first. If the HDs get hot, add a slow fan. But I'd say you don't need one if the holes in the back next to the PCI slots are sealed (the air has to get in through the front, past the HDs)

Blondie · Post by **Blondie** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 8:17 am

Thank you. Should I need to, the options you all have suggested are easy enough to test. I always keep a spare PWM fan or two, and I can certainly block the holes next to the PCI slots to see if the temps change.

I have an almost identical Solo system that I just built, but it has an E8400 and only one WD 6400AAKS. Rear fan is a Slipstream 1200. Heatsink is a Xigmatek S963 with included 92mm PWM fan.

This leads me to a temp question regaring that system....

Fox One (mobo Windows software) says:
CPU: 23C
System: 26C
CPU Fan: 1433rpm

BIOS says:
CPU: 27C
System: 22C

Speedfan 4.35 says:
Temp1: 23C
Temp2: 26C
Temp3: 22C
HD0: 37C
Core 0: 41C
Core 1: 47C
Core: 40C
Ambient: 0C

Speedfan's Temp1 and Temp2 mirror the Core and System temps provided by Fox One. The BIOS seems to flip them (or maybe they change once Windows loads?). Either way, those temps seem fine, but what are those Speedfan core temps in the 40s? Is this related to the C2D temp reporting issues? Also, doesn't the HD temp seem a little high? My Northwood 3.06 system with an inferior case in the same room has two 5+ yr old Maxtor IDE HDs, and their temps are 30C and 26C.

Ambient is not 0C. It's about 20C.

samdrong · Post by **samdrong** » Wed Oct 01, 2008 1:29 pm

I agree with Lawrence Lee. I'd add a 92mm fan in the front. I have a very similar setup with 3 HDs suspended in a SOLO with a Nexus Real silent 92mm. Its the best of both worlds... I don't second guess my case temps and I can't hear it.

Three HDs in a Solo? More cooling needed?

Three HDs in a Solo? More cooling needed?

temp question - Core 2 Duo E8400 in Solo