Material For Hardrive Suspension?

Sainty · Post by **Sainty** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 8:02 am

Hello all!

I've been lurking for too long without registering, but with all the dedicated anti-noise freaks here, I just new I had to join the crowd.

Here's a *hopefully* quick question for the regulars:

I have a two disk RAID 0 array and a third hardrive for additional storage. I have plenty of silicone feet to prop the bottom one up off the the bottom of the case, but am wondering how to mount the two drives above it. I've seen in several other rigs in the gallery that folks will take what looks like some string and hang a suspension cord down from the top, then attach it with screws, velcro or the like. What's a good material to use for such an application? Rubber? An old shoelace?

I have some silicone weather stripping that could be modified to fit under the hardrives. It doesn't stretch much so I'm wondering how much sound it will dampen. Correct me if I'm wrong, but wouldn't you want something with considerable amount of play to help reduce the vibrations/noise? Help a greenhorn out here when you get the chance.

P.S.

Does anyone here have experience with the following two products?

AeroCool Dominator 140mm Sleeve CPU Cooler

(Any of the following 140mm fans?)

Thanks in advance for any assistance!

Sainty · Post by **Sainty** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 8:03 am

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductLi ... name=140mm

Here's a link to the fans I was talking about in the last part of my previous post. Your system thought I was trying to post a free ipod link or something so it said you needed 1 post or more to publish a link. I promise, no spam.

Here's the CPU HS/FAN:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductRe ... 6835129048

colin2 · Post by **colin2** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 9:08 am

I've had good luck with bungee cords, particularly the small ones that sell in packs of a dozen for a dollar or two. They can be very securely attached to the HDD with those little plastic clips that are used to hold down cables -- just attach the clips to the HDD case with the screws/holes normally used to attach it to a drive cage. There are usually plenty of places in the case for attachment. Some folks prefer the elastic sold in fabric shops. Yes, you want enough length/elasticity to absorb vibration, but usually an inch or two will do it.

Re coolers have you looked at the Thermalrights? For fanned CPU sinks they usually rate high; Anandtech just reviewed the Ultima-90.

Sainty · Post by **Sainty** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 11:07 am

Thank you for the quick reply. I'll look into the bungie cable option. By "plastic clips" do you mean those tension lock zip ties, or something else? If it is the something else, do you have a link to a picture? I have a couple fasteners that could hang smaller strings from the hardrive, but I'm not sure about bungie cords.

Regarding the coolers, I currently have this model:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.a ... 35-186-134

I saw the 140mm fan that I linked to in the previous post and noticed that it was fairly quiet. If it helps, the CPU that will be attached to whatever ends up being the final HS will be an Intel Q6600 with G0 stepping. Thanks again!

colin2 · Post by **colin2** » Tue Aug 21, 2007 12:02 pm

What I was thinking of is called a P-clamp or "nylon cable clamp" and there are pix here:

http://cableorganizer.com/cable-clamps/

Screw 'em to the attachment points on the HD; you could add a lock-washer to make extra-sure the screws don't work loose. Appropriate sizing should give you a firm enough grip on the bungee that it doesn't slide around. Basically you want enough elasticity to dissipate vibration but otherwise a moderately stable mounting without too much play. A lot of people stretch the elastic cord horizontally across the case with the HD in the middle; that way it's easier to do several such suspensions one above the other.

Other thing to be aware of, as I expect your searches have shown, is that taking a 3.5" drive out of a drive cage eliminates any heat-sink benefits from the cage, so you want to be sure you have good airflow and/or monitor your drives' temperatures.

Re sinks/fans I can only suggest:
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article30-page1.html
http://www.silentpcreview.com/article63-page1.html

Sainty · Post by **Sainty** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 11:26 am

Thanks for the elaborate explanation. Hopefully it will save trips to the hardware store.

Anyone else care to pitch their ideas for suspension hardrive setups?

I have a 3-drive drive cage I could hang, however it does have rubber grommets that keep the actual hardrive casing from touching the cage. Would there still be a residual heatsink effect even if there isn't metal-on-metal contact?

amjedm · Post by **amjedm** » Wed Aug 22, 2007 1:56 pm

Aerocool Streamliner opinions - viewtopic.php?p=237132&highlight=aeroco ... ner#237132

JoeWPgh · Post by **JoeWPgh** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 12:31 am

The other thing you loose, besides heat dissipation, is a ground. A scrap of wire from one of the HDD screws to the case is a very prudent caution.

mr. poopyhead · Post by **mr. poopyhead** » Thu Aug 23, 2007 6:42 am

i use the waistbands of old underwear to suspend my hard disks... wash them first though,

fruit of the loom! reduce, REUSE, recycle!

Sainty · Post by **Sainty** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 3:52 pm

I recently cut open an old power supply and tore out the heatsinks that are inside. The screwhole fits perfectly with the hole on the hardrive casing, so I'm wondering if one couldn't make an effective makeshift cooler on the fly. I'm going to try as many suggestions as you guys are willing to offer once it is time to install the drives.

Question: To test out whether or not the heatsinks, hanging suspension or hardrive cage works best from a cooling standpoint, how does one monitor the temperatures inside the drive? I don't have an exernal thermal probe, so all testing up to this point has been done by the old "hand test" to feel the approximate heat being emitted. Any suggestions on the software that might be able to pull this off?

Tephras · Post by **Tephras** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 6:31 pm

Sainty wrote:Any suggestions on the software that might be able to pull this off?

SpeedFan

Sainty · Post by **Sainty** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 6:42 pm

Thanks for the link. The program reads my core at ~60C in my laptop with a Turion 2.2ghz chip. (The main desktop computer has not been assembled yet.) I'm guessing such higher core temps are to be expected given the lack of airflow inside of any notebook machine?

The SMART area of the program doesn't list any drives so I'm guessing that this notebook does not have a compatible unit inside of it, or does this app need additional configuration?