[mythtv-users] hdd cooling

[Yan Seiner]

This is a bit OT, but...

I have a case with a lot of hard drives.  They are stacked on top of and 
next to each other, not exactly an ideal situation.  The case holds only 
hard drives; no mobo.

The drives in the middle of the pack got pretty hot - 48 deg.C was 
normal.  So I set about making changes.  First I blocked all the 
possible ways air could recirculate around the interior fans; any place 
that would allow air to go from the exhaust to the intake of the fan was 
blocked.  Then I set about plugging all exterior holes and vents that 
would allow air to get in the case without going over the fans.  This 
got results; temps dropped from 48 to 44.

So I went further; I taped over all of the holes in the back of the 
case; the PCI slot covers, the vent holes above the PCI slots, all of 
that got blocked.  The case looks like crap with blue masking tape and 
cardboard all over it, but the temps are now down to 37 to 39 C.

Moral of the story: modern cases provide lots of ventilation, but when 
you need to draw air over your drives, study how the air gets in and out 
of the case.  :-)

--Yan