At 17:57 5/5/99 , Changhsu P. Liu wrote:
 >The 10,000rpm IBM drive I bought recently is so hot that I cannot touch
 >it for more than 5 seconds. My 3.5" bay is kind of full with 3 drives...

10,000 RPM drives *require* cooling fans...the kind that are built into
3.5" to 5.25" drive brackets. IBM's web site states that a cooling device
is required for your drive.

"Running a drive out of the manufacturer's specified temperature range can
lead to premature failure. The drive could fail in a month or two rather
than delivering years of service. Further, higher temperatures result in
the expansion and contraction of the disk's platters, requiring the drive
to recalibrate often. Seek time can be adversly affected, slowing
performance." (Quoted from Storagereview.com)

There is a review of hard drive coolers at:
<http://www.storagereview.com/articles/9809/980923coolers.html>
This article includes pictures and will give you an idea what
to look for. They all mount 2 or 3 fans on the face plate that is
attached to a 3.5" to 5.25" drive bracket. They are meant to be
installed in 5.25" external drive bays. I have used three of the
devices mentioned in the Storagereview.com article and I agree 100%
with their findings.

Drive coolers range in price from $9 (US Dollars) to about $40 each.
Check out <http://www.Onsale.com/category/Mass_Storage.htm> (near the
bottom of the page) for an inexpensive cooler. (Rated "adequate" by
Storagereview.com.) Much better coolers (but more expensive) are
available from <http://www.calpc.com/html/accessories.html> or
<http://www.pcpowercooling.com/bay-cool.html>. Storagereview.com rated
the CalPC and PCP&C coolers to be the best. They ran more quietly,
were easier to clean, come with a five year warranty, and kept test
drives 6 degrees cooler than the cheaper model that Onsale.com has been
selling (for Computer Geeks). Note: CalPC makes the cooler that PCP&C
sells. (CalPC will sell to individuals if you call them or get their
catalog.)

Regards,
Bill

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