Scythe Quiet Drive enclosure, itÂ´s good :)

Noni · Post by **Noni** » Sun Oct 08, 2006 1:46 am

Got mine- Few questions-

I didnt screw in those black screws, simply becuase they would not go in, is that alright?

I have a rail type system where the rail is more like a tray, so it is supported. Im thinking of zip tieing the hole thing though.

Noise? I have not noticed a big difference, theres something in my case which is making a huge racket.

Thanks.

Mav-VRX · Post by **Mav-VRX** » Sun Oct 08, 2006 5:40 am

Screwing in the black screws helps tighten the enclosure, reducing the amount of noise that escape, as well ensuring that the hard disk will not eventually fall off. Probably not such a big issue with rail type bays, as the rails would support it.

I have difficulty screwing in the black screws too, took a great deal of time to put them on. You have to line them up, squeeze the Quiet Drive together and carefully screw them together, making sure that the screw goes in straight.

nici · Post by **nici** » Sun Oct 08, 2006 6:27 am

Noni wrote:Noise? I have not noticed a big difference, theres something in my case which is making a huge racket.

Stop all fans and see if its one of them causing the noise.

The HDD isnÃ¤t getting much airflow wehere it is now either, i would suspend it under the 5,25" slots or mount it on the bottom of the case on soe foam. IT mihgt be jsut fine thouhg, check the temps with DTemp

shadowfire1 · Post by **shadowfire1** » Sun Oct 08, 2006 6:59 am

Thanks for all the help.
How much better this would be then the p150's suspention system. I got the O-rings so it's too risky to use full time, but I could test it to see how quiet it is compared to the standard mounting useing the silicone garments.

Mav-VRX · Post by **Mav-VRX** » Sun Oct 08, 2006 4:05 pm

From what I know, the P150 uses an elastic suspension system to reduce vibrations.

For your case, are vibrations the main source of hard disk noise, or is it the hard disks spinning?

If it is the hard disk spinning, and if you can still hear it in the P150, the Scythe Quiet Drive would help to reduce the spinning noise, since it is enclosed in a box with foam on the internal sides, but that means you have to but it on a 5.25" bay which is not suspended (a step back on the elastic suspension on the P150). Otherwise you can lay it on some foam at let it sit on the base of the case (just remember to take the hard disk out when moving the case around).

Thomas · Post by **Thomas** » Tue Oct 10, 2006 1:38 am

Hi there

Yesterday, I installed the Scythe Quiet Drive. It's in conjunction with a notorious noisemaker, the Hitachi 7K250 160 GB. Case: P180.

Probably I dont have much new to tell, but all you guys in this thread helped me finding the SQD, so now I'll share my experiences

I mounted it in the lower chamber of my P180, and based on the first day/night, HDD temps are very close to what I had before the SQD. Only cooling in the lower chamber is a Seasonic S12/380watt, and rear holes around PSU taped. Temp differences, if any, are so small, that I cant measure without a controlled environment. Well done, Scythe.

Suspension wise, the SQD is far from impressive.

Thus, regarding noise, it was a challenge to suspend the Hitachi/SQD combo, since there's not much room in the P180 PSU chamber. But when suspended properly - I used the silicone grommets which comes with the P180 - it's VERY quiet, when idle. Now the HDD noise is below my Seasonic

The seeks however, is still very clear. That actually surprised me. I tend to say the idle noise without the SQD masked the seeks a lot. They are muted somewhat by the SQD, so they are now softer and more pleasant. Personally, I can easily live with the seeks.

The manual: Except for it's not clear about which screws to use where, I find it's a good manual. And it's not THAT hard to figure out the screw-thingy...

If one is prepared to do some DIY suspension - which often cane be done easily with foam or elastic - this is a excellent product for quietness AND cooling.

ryboto · Post by **ryboto** » Wed Oct 11, 2006 6:44 pm

jwoolen01 wrote:Follow up post:

Since I've had the quiet drive enclosure I've also tried two other hdds inside of it: a Samsung hm120jc and a sp2504c. This was mainly because after a few weeks of use, the Western Digital wd2500ks that I initially had in the quiet drive started to become noisier. It developed a hollow sounding rumble that could be heard even within the quiet drive..

I've got a WD3200KS, and I was planning on popping it into a quiet drive. Both my raptor and the ks have nearly the same idle noise, it's like a wooshing with a slight mechanical hum. Is that similar to the original idle noise of your WD? and before it started making more noise, did the SQD really impact the idle noise?

fabre · Post by **fabre** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 11:00 pm

Bought a SQD to use with a WD2500KS, while it reduced the seeking noise in my SLK300B it amplified some vibration and the result was some kind of humming sound.

I'd rather have seeking noise than a constant humming so for now the WD2500KS is back in the 3.5 bay mounted with EAR grommets.

Mav-VRX · Post by **Mav-VRX** » Fri Oct 13, 2006 4:01 am

The SQD works best when you soft mount the SQD.

I've placed cut outs of bubble wrap padded envelops under the drive and mounted onto the 5.25" bays on my rail system. It's a ghetto fix, but it works without spending any further cash.

My PC is sitting next to my TV 1m away from me and is very quiet now. If the case wasn't an open mesh design, it might be close to silent from 1m.

fyleow · Post by **fyleow** » Sun Oct 15, 2006 10:42 pm

I might get myself one of these. I have the Samsung 400 GB and it's actually pretty "loud". Relative to the rest of my system anyway. I'm just worried quieting the Samsung's idle noise is going to bring out other noise that's not really smooth and then I'll have to figure out how to quiet those other things.

ryboto · Post by **ryboto** » Mon Oct 16, 2006 4:17 pm

just got mine today, and now I wish I hadn't spent so much money this weekend, cause I want another. It basically silenced my wd3200ks. The wooshing idle noise is only noticeable if i get within 5inches of the enclosure. It's just laying on some foam right now, not sure how I want to mount it. I'm kinda mad though, they're $6 cheaper, shipped, from newegg, but they're out of stock. Guess I know where I'm buying next time. i think I might just use double sided tape, stacked in columns to mount the enclosures on top of each other...i need more tape!

el.layo · Post by **el.layo** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 4:35 pm

Did anybody try Nexus Drive-a-way (http://www.nexustek.nl/driveaway.htm) and compare it with Scythe SQD-1000?

Thanks,

El Layo.

Tephras · Post by **Tephras** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 9:16 pm

Nici, who started this thread, has compared a bunch of drive enclosures, including the Scythe Quiet Drive and the Nexus Drive-A-Way. Results posted here.

el.layo · Post by **el.layo** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 10:07 pm

Thanks for this pointer, Tephras,

Any quantitative study on noise reduction?

Any information on Smart Drive 2002C Enclosure ?
(http://www.endpcnoise.com/cgi-bin/e/std ... e2002.html)

Thanks,

El Layo.

Erssa · Post by **Erssa** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 7:43 am

I just installed a quiet drive couple of hours ago. In my case (no pun intended) it was a waste of money

. I'm using it with a 150gb raptor in case with sound dampening.

First of all, it did nothing to the seek noises and the raptor had quiet idle noises to begin with. Second, I was suprised how big it was. I had a hard time finding a good way to suspend it. So I installed it to 5.25" tray just to see how it bad was there. OMG! I had no idea how loud the seek noises of raptor were before I hard mounted it for the first time. Not only that, but it made the case resonate like hell, not to mention it would have been a terrible place regarding airflow and temps.

I had bought some elastic rubberbands (made for clothes) to suspend it, but the size of the thing gave me so hard time, that I decided to abandon the idea. So I decided to put it on foam, vertically. It was just the perfect size for it. I could probably set 3 or 4 of them side by side the same way. I couldn't have really suspended multiple drives with my rubber bands, without a lot of trouble. For me, this is the biggest positive side this enclose has for me. The vertical fit is just perfect! Not too tight and not too loose. When I tape up the sata cables to my 5.25" tray, I can be sure that it won't move even, if I shake the case violently.

The raptor is quieter then my seasonic s-12, and I think it was even before I put it in enclosure. It could have had some minimal effects on the sound dampening, but I can't tell, the seeks are still very sharp and audible. So anyone with raptor: Suspend your drive, damp your case and make a DIY (alleycat) HD enclosure, if you want your seeks to dissapear.

My case is still open, because I have some cable management to do, but I can already tell that the enclosure has a negative effect on temps compared to my previous solution, nexus disktwin and a horizontal suspension (disktwins really help up with temps). The raptor is now 40 celsius in the open air. It never broke 38 celsius with the disktwins. However I won't make final conclusions on the temps yet.

Had the quiet drive been more expensive, I might be a bit pissed off with my decision. But as I bought it, I'm going to keep using it. I can see this enclosure useful for "lazy" silence fanatics, cases with no sound dampening and open front intake, and for hard drives with loud disturbing idle noises. Wouldn't recommend it to anyone with P150.

ryboto · Post by **ryboto** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 9:01 am

Erssa wrote: I can see this enclosure useful for "lazy" silence fanatics, cases with no sound dampening and open front intake, and for hard drives with loud disturbing idle noises. Wouldn't recommend it to anyone with P150.

I don't consider myself lazy, but I do have a case with no sound dampening, and a fairly open front intake. Currently, my raptor is the loudest component. If i turn the system on without it running, the only thing I can hear is a slight woosh of air, and that's with the case open. So, I'm going to take your review as a positive one, since I was planning on using a second quiet drive in my system, to quiet my 150gb raptor.

Erssa · Post by **Erssa** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 12:46 pm

ryboto wrote:
Erssa wrote: I can see this enclosure useful for "lazy" silence fanatics, cases with no sound dampening and open front intake, and for hard drives with loud disturbing idle noises. Wouldn't recommend it to anyone with P150.
I don't consider myself lazy, but I do have a case with no sound dampening, and a fairly open front intake. Currently, my raptor is the loudest component. If i turn the system on without it running, the only thing I can hear is a slight woosh of air, and that's with the case open. So, I'm going to take your review as a positive one, since I was planning on using a second quiet drive in my system, to quiet my 150gb raptor.

I put lazy in quotation marks, because a fanatic wouldn't be lazy and just build a better enclosure himself, like alleycat, nici and many others have done.

Now instead of editing my previous post, I'd like to add that my drive temp has risen to 43 celsius. Not quite as good as my previous setup, but it's a temperature I'm totally comfortable with, considering I have very minimal airflow in my case.

I also think the seeks (which are still clearly audible) are a bit more damped. But maybe it's just my mind playing tricks on me, trying to justify the price.

ryboto · Post by **ryboto** » Tue Oct 24, 2006 1:22 pm

Erssa wrote:
ryboto wrote:I put lazy in quotation marks, because a fanatic wouldn't be lazy and just build a better enclosure himself, like alleycat, nici and many others have done.

Now instead of editing my previous post, I'd like to add that my drive temp has risen to 43 celsius. Not quite as good as my previous setup, but it's a temperature I'm totally comfortable with, considering I have very minimal airflow in my case.

I also think the seeks (which are still clearly audible) are a bit more damped. But maybe it's just my mind playing tricks on me, trying to justify the price.

That's no so bad, my drive got to around 40C with no airflow in the summer, and nowadays I've got a slow fan running by my drives. I'm definitely not lazy when it comes to computer modification..but, I'm not as handy as others. I'm also what my father calls "tight". I spend a lot of money on the things I want, but I'll save $.50 whenever I can, and the parts for the DIY enclosure, at least here in the states, would cost me at least $10 more than buying the QD, which is now under $30 at newegg.

andaca · Post by **andaca** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 2:51 pm

I have the qdrive now.

this thing is MAGIC

the noise from my hdd is gone. no noise at all. cannot hear a thing.
no more high frequency noise, seeks nothing. LOVE IT. temps 30C

Mav-VRX · Post by **Mav-VRX** » Sat Nov 04, 2006 6:44 pm

An update on my experience with this drive:

Temps reached 44-46 degrees after many hours of extended use on idel , but in exess of 50 degrees on load (e.g. when copying a large file to hard disk). For the reference I have two of these in 2 5.25" bays, next to eachother, and have material sitting under them to reduce vibration, and the airflow inlet is blocked so that it reduces the noise going out.

In my previous configuration, I still notice the seeks, and the vibration was still transmitting to the case after a while (those hinges on the Thermaltake Armor Case are prone to vibrations), so what I have now done is placed the drives outside my case, and run the power and SATA cables through the back of the PC via an open PCI expansion slot. Now sitting on carpet, vibrations reduce 100%, and I have not noticed the seek noises anymore.

Some advantages of using my method:

- no vibration transmitted to case
- no seek noises
- temps always under 40 degrees since airflow is not restricted
- no need to source dampening material, unless you want to quieten the drives further especially if you have a noisy drive at idle (maybe put it in another box outside the case, in an attempt to achieve pure silence)
- acts as a removable hard drive!
- hidden behind the PC
- hard drive temps no longer heat up the case
- extra 5.25 slot per hard drive
- improved air circulation in case if you have an open mesh design like mine

Disadvantages:

- moving the computer around is bit more of a hassle
- easy access to hard drives could be an invitation for thieves

mo786 · Post by **mo786** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 5:20 pm

2 Questions

1) Does anyone knww if this is an improvement voer the old Scythe Silent Box? http://www.silentpcreview.com/article245-page1.html

2) What is the best material to put under if if layign it on the case floor?

nici · Post by **nici** » Sat Jan 20, 2007 7:05 pm

I have not used the onld box, but my educated guwes iss that the new onbe should be bettetr. Propable on par for noise reduction, but i think the drives shouold be cooler in the new ones. I doubt the ddifference is huge though, probably not worth updating if you alkready have the old one.

Does anyone want to purchase an mCubed endlosure?

Kaleid · Post by **Kaleid** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 2:10 am

Haven't read through this topic, but why has no company made a similar product that encloses the harddrive (and it's vibrations) and at the same time have heatpipes leading out of the enclosure so that it transfers the heat out? Should not be so hard to design.

Quiet the harddrive and cool it down at the same time...

Tephras · Post by **Tephras** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 3:54 pm

The Scythe Silent Box have Heatlane plates that transfer the heat out of the enclosure.

nici · Post by **nici** » Sun Jan 21, 2007 4:12 pm

The best enclosures like the Scythe Quiet Drive and SmartDrive 2002 do make a good job with both cooling and quieting the drive, and heatpipes would make it somewhat complicated and more expensive. I've thought about doing it myself with some old zalman heatpipe GPU coolers, but never got around to actually build it. If you check my roundup of enclosures in user reviews you will see that there are enclosures available that make the drive a lot quiieter and make the drive run only a few degreen hotter than a bare drive. a search for roundup or enclosure in "user reviews" should find the thread.,

rhys j · Post by **rhys j** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 10:13 am

Just got mine, housing a Spinpoint F3 in a P180 case.

At the moment it is on the standard rails in one of the 5.25" bays. It seems clear that this won't be a satisfactory position, because a bit of nudging creates a buzzing that resonates through the case. Previously I had the drive suspended in the lower HDD bay. With the SQD it's a lot bigger and heavier but I think it might be possible to suspend it there.

In terms of noise, the idle noise is a bit quieter but not silent. The accessing noise, however, is definitely more noticable, and is possibly amplified by the casing. Don't know if this will still be the case if I mount it differently. But really, I feel I shouldn't have to come up with an ingenious mounting solution when using a product in the suggested way.

Another funny thing is that the box smells strongly like the bottom of a hamster's cage that needs cleaning out.

lm · Post by lm » Thu Nov 05, 2009 4:10 pm

jaganath wrote:
The temperature of the outer surface of the enclosure doesn't depend upon how insulative the foam layers are. The amount of insulation only affects the internal temperature (of the drive itself).

You simply cannot determine any information about how well heat is being transfered from the inside to the outside based on how warm the outside feels.
This is a fallacy which has become fashionably popular on SPCR in certain circles. Assuming that the heat flux emanating from the HDD remains unchanged in all circumstances (which is a fairly uncontroversial assumption) then the external temperature of the enclosure is a dependable guide as to the effectiveness of the enclosure's heat transport capabilities.

Super duper necro reply to an ancient post:

Assume a straight uniform rod R1 with cross-sectional area of A1, length L1, thermal conductivity k1, perfectly insulated except at the ends. Assume another rod R2, with parameters A2, L2, k2, again perfectly insulated except at the ends. Assume these rods are perfectly touching each other at one end. Assume the free end of R1 is heated with a constant power H. Assume that the free end of R2 is kept at a constant temperature T. Denote the temperature at where the rods meet Tm and the temperature at the point that we are heating Th.

The values of all these parameters are bound together by the equations

Code: Select all

H = A1 k1 (Th - Tm) / L1 = A2 k2 (Tm - T) / L2,

where Th and Tm are unknown, all others known. Since we have two equations and two unknowns, we can solve the unknowns:

Code: Select all

(H L2 / (A2 k2)) + T = Tm
(H L1 / (A1 k1)) + Tm = Th

Now suppose the thermal conductivity k1 were to change. How does it affect Tm and Th? From the above equations we can clearly see, that Tm is unaffected, so Th only changes.

What does this have to do with the argument I quoted?

Well, it is a simplification of the original question to one dimension. There is the constant heat production H of the hard drive, rod R1 models the enclosure, rod R2 models the surrounding air, and at the free end of R2 is the constant temperature of ambient air.

And the heat conductivity of the enclosure has no effect on its surface temperature.

There are some caveats:

- The temperature on the surface might not be uniform. The one-dimensional simplification can not take this into account.

- We can not compare two enclosures with different amount of surface area this way.

rhys j · Post by **rhys j** » Thu Nov 05, 2009 8:05 pm

It's true that the final temperature of the casing doesn't depend on the conductivity, but if you filled it with cork the drive would probably overheat before the casing reached the final temperature. And the final internal temperature would be too high anyway.

lm · Post by lm » Sat Nov 07, 2009 4:39 am

rhysj: That was pretty much the point in the first place

The argument was originally this: The surface temperature of the enclosure does not help one figure out the drive temperature.

sub · Post by **sub** » Fri Jun 04, 2010 9:18 am

hi,

Do you think with a new silent drive like the WD Caviar Green 5400tr (idle 13 dBA@1m seek 14 dBA@1m) inside, the hdd will be totaly inaudible ?

Scythe Quiet Drive enclosure, itÂ´s good :)

Scythe vs. Nexus?