How to Store an External Storage Drive

[TishTash]

I went to move my external storage devices as they had slipped off eachother a bit -- and noticed how damn hot they get. No big surprise: Accessing a terabyte of data is no doubt stressful on moving parts. My question is: How do you best position external storage drives to optimize heat release?

I currently have two drive enclosures horizontally stacked. The reason for this is I figured it was less stressful for the drive mechanisms to be horizontal rather than vertical and have the heads have to fight gravity. (Plus the power switch seems oriented correctly with the drives horizontal.) But is there an advantage (besides a cosmetic decrease in footprint) to using the provided stands to prop up the drives vertically? Or should I just keep them horizontal but separate them?

[rocko]

I'd think a decrease in the footprint would expose a greater surface area to facilitate cooling. The vertical orientation should allow for greater heat dissipation. Add a small fan to increase airflow if you think the area is too hot.

[aaronwt]

Vertical or horizontal should not affect the stress on hard drive. I agree being vertical might allow better cooling depending on how the enclosure is designed. Although all my enclosures with active cooling are designed to be horizontal. My enclosures with passive cooling are designed to be vertical.

[FiosUser]

Vertical or horizontal should not affect the stress on hard drive. I agree being vertical might allow better cooling depending on how the enclosure is designed. Although all my enclosures with active cooling are designed to be horizontal. My enclosures with passive cooling are designed to be vertical.

When you turned it horizontal, how do you know you didn't put it upside down? I'm just sayin'

[jlib]

Orientation on modern drives does not matter. They can be upside down with no problem. Also, gravity will have negligible affect on head performance. Finally, the fact that a passively cooled enclosure is hot just means it is acting as a heat sink as it should. The more surface area exposed the better in that case. How hot is too hot is another story (you would need a digital thermometer to know for sure).

[TishTash]

When you turned it horizontal, how do you know you didn't put it upside down? I'm just sayin'

As mentioned, the "universal symbol" for power (a circle with the top cut out and a vertical line through that cutout) is used to determine, er, "right-side-up'edness."

Thanks for the replies. Upright it is, although I have to wonder: Isn't the vast area exposed on top when an enclosure is horizontal "more surface area" than if you orient an enclosure vertically? Or is it ultimately cooler to expose double this vast area when the enclosure is vertical (albeit on the sides, and not on top)?

(I know, I'm thinking about this way too much, but overheating always bothers me.)

[aaronwt]

Yes thinking about it way too much. For me all my passively cooled units I keep vertical, since mine get much hotter when horizontal. And all my actively cooled units I keep horizontal if designed that way, or vertical if designed that way.

But I'm currently using between 30 and 35 hard drives between all my devices, PCs, and external enclosures. I don't recall ever having a heat releated problem with any drives in the past.

[TishTash]

Yes thinking about it way too much. For me all my passively cooled units I keep vertical, since mine get much hotter when horizontal. And all my actively cooled units I keep horizontal if designed that way, or vertical if designed that way.

But I'm currently using between 30 and 35 hard drives between all my devices, PCs, and external enclosures. I don't recall ever having a heat releated problem with any drives in the past.

I remember there being a big stink made about the older (podlike) iMacs, some of which used passive cooling, and the resulting temperatures being hostile to warmer-running 7200rpm drives. I bit the bullet and installed one, and it gave no problems for over six years. (So there you go.)