I've got a Seagate Barracuda 9 GB SCA drive in my 8600. It runs very hot and I am worried about the air circulation in the drive bays. Am I paranoid or do the drives need additional ventilation? Due to SCSI voodoo I can't put the drive in the case basement.------------------------
I have considered adding a fan. Since I'd like to keep the front of the machine intact I have planned to cut holes to the drive bay compartment floor and attach one big or two smaller fans there. Will they push enough air to keep the drive cool?
It's not going to look as beautiful as a G5 but I can always try... I'd like to hear how others have done this.
There is no question they need additional cooling. If it is in a front drive bay the Bay-Cool drive cooler or one like it is the best idea. The one I have (in a 9600) has two fans that draw air in through a filter and grille in front, push it over the hard drive, so it can be drawn upward and out through the power supply. The hard drive mounts in the cooler and then the unit is mounted in the bay. Sometimes some modification/hole drilling is required to get it to fit. My favorite one is found at:
http://www.pcpowercooling.com/products/cooling/drive/bay-cool/index.htm
If you need to cut a hole in the drive bay floor (I am not familiar with the 8600 but am assuming it is somewhat similar to the 9600) use an aluminum adapter to mount the fan. There are milled aluminum adapters and the cheaper stamped ones that work even better because they have side flaps that can be bent open or closed to adjust the air flow. You can mount, say, an 80 mm fan on one side of the adapter and then mount the adapter to the bay drive floor around the opening you want the air to flow through. Can't recall where I got mine now but if you are serious and want to pursue this solution I'll see if I can find where I got them.
No question you can mount a fan large enough to do the job using an aluminum adapter.
--
James K Morgan
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