I just did this: put two layers of foam on bottom of the computer case, placed the HDD (Seagate Barracuda 7200.7 IDE) on top of it (upside-down) and tried to route the cables along the side of the case.
Boy, what a difference that simple mod made! I can barely hear the computer now. It's standing half a meter away from me on my desk. When I put my ear about 10cm from the front of the case I begin to hear the drive seeks. The slight whine if absolutely gone.
But some things still bug me: is it safe to put a HDD on foam upside-down?
Is there a chance of the drive overheating?
I don't have any active cooling on it but the intake hole of the case is right in front to the drive so there should be some airflow.
What do you think? Pics follow later when I get my cam back...
hdd upside-down on foam?
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maxxymus, while your cautiousness is appreciated, placing a HDD upside down on foam is just fine. Plenty of folks around here do it with no problems.maxxymus wrote:Upside down? Im pretty sure that there is one hole (if not several) on top of the HD that has a little "DO NOT COVER" label near it... I wouldn't put the HD upside down if I were you.
Foam will not block the "do not cover" holes at all. In fact those holes must not be too big of a deal since they often get covered when a HDD gets put in an enclosure such as the SmartDrive 2002--also with no ill effects.
Be careful if you move the case, since your HDD will slide around now that it is not screwed on anything.
Try using something like DTemp (which can be found in the Useful Web Links section) to monitor your HDD temps. IIRC, your PATA Seagate has SMART sensors....make sure they are enabled in BIOS.
The purpose of the "do not cover" hole is to equalize air pressure inside and outside the case. Behind it is a filter which lets this happen without contaminating the interior of the drive with dust or other particles.
With unequal air pressure, the case could theoretically fail disastrously with a disabling crack all of a sudden--possible also resulting in shards of debris. However, the air equalization hole prevents this from happening. Any serious difference in air pressure will get releived as air rushes in/out the small hole.
We're talking about a big difference in air pressure, but it could occur due to various circumstances (like moving the computer to the top of a tall building).
With unequal air pressure, the case could theoretically fail disastrously with a disabling crack all of a sudden--possible also resulting in shards of debris. However, the air equalization hole prevents this from happening. Any serious difference in air pressure will get releived as air rushes in/out the small hole.
We're talking about a big difference in air pressure, but it could occur due to various circumstances (like moving the computer to the top of a tall building).
This Seagate has no holes on top, so no problem there.
When the drive is idle or under light load the temperature hovers around 30C, lots of disk access gets it up to 36C with 20C ambient. So I'm pretty sure the drive won't go up in flames
I might screw a couple of heatsinks to the sides of the drive just to be sure. A burned power supply IS useful after all...
Yes, the drive has a sensor, SMART is enabled in BIOS and I can monitor temperatures. I'm using hddtemp for it, no more Windows for meaphonos wrote:Try using something like DTemp (which can be found in the Useful Web Links section) to monitor your HDD temps. IIRC, your PATA Seagate has SMART sensors....make sure they are enabled in BIOS.
When the drive is idle or under light load the temperature hovers around 30C, lots of disk access gets it up to 36C with 20C ambient. So I'm pretty sure the drive won't go up in flames
I might screw a couple of heatsinks to the sides of the drive just to be sure. A burned power supply IS useful after all...
putting a hd upside down is indeed a safe thing to do. you can even place it vertically, like some OEM builders do/did (Compaq for instance). The only thing to avoid is placing it in an angle, because that way gravity will work unevenly on the platters, heads and motor, causing it to degrade and even crash the hd.
I found the following on Seagate's web site via their instant answers:
Orientation
Seagate drives are designed to operate in virtually any mounting position. However, performance characterisitcs of the drive are tested with the drive mounted horizontally (circuit board down) or vertically (on the drive's long edge). These are the preferred mounting positions.
It says they are designed to operate in "virtually any mounting position." They indicate a preference, but don't say anything bad will happen (or violate a warranty).
Orientation
Seagate drives are designed to operate in virtually any mounting position. However, performance characterisitcs of the drive are tested with the drive mounted horizontally (circuit board down) or vertically (on the drive's long edge). These are the preferred mounting positions.
It says they are designed to operate in "virtually any mounting position." They indicate a preference, but don't say anything bad will happen (or violate a warranty).