cooling Seagate eSATA external HDs

[Timothy Daniels]

Seagate makes some of its "external HDs" with eSATA
interfaces, specifically the "Free Agent Pro"
(http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/freeagent_pro_data_movers/)
and the "eSATA External Hard Drive"
(http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/esata_hard_drive/).

Unfortunately, calls to Seagate's pre-sales reps in India don't
result in information of any certitude. <understatement>

Does anyone know if these external enclosures include
a cooling fan and and how they get their power?

*TimDaniels*

 

[sdlomi2]

Seagate makes some of its "external HDs" with eSATA
interfaces, specifically the "Free Agent Pro"
(http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/freeagent_pro_data_movers/)
and the "eSATA External Hard Drive"
(http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/esata_hard_drive/).

Unfortunately, calls to Seagate's pre-sales reps in India don't
result in information of any certitude. <understatement>

Does anyone know if these external enclosures include
a cooling fan and and how they get their power?

*TimDaniels*

Look here at pics and read specifications and customer reviews--and
other models of Seagate on N'egg's same site. BTW: pic show a wall-plugged
power source. HTH, s

 

[Timothy Daniels]

Look here at pics and read specifications and customer reviews--and other
models of Seagate on N'egg's same site. BTW: pic show a wall-plugged power
source. HTH, s

Thanks. The photo shows a power brick for the "Free Agent Pro",
but no info on method of cooling. I suspect that it's only convection.
And similar info on the "eSATA External Hard Drive" line is harder
to come by.

*TimDaniels*

 

[wm_walsh]

Hi!

Does anyone know if these external enclosures include
a cooling fan and and how they get their power?

Well, it looks like a 3.5" drive is inside, and I don't think there is
a single USB port out there capable of supplying enough power to run a
desktop drive. Even if there was, you'd still need to get twelve
volts, which would require some sort of DC-DC converter and the
associated energy usage/loss that would bring.

I've never seen one of these close up, but I don't believe there is a
fan inside. At least I've never heard one--and previous generation
Seagate external hard drives don't have one either.

William

 

[S.Lewis]

Thanks. The photo shows a power brick for the "Free Agent Pro",
but no info on method of cooling. I suspect that it's only convection.
And similar info on the "eSATA External Hard Drive" line is harder
to come by.

*TimDaniels*

Tim -

The (desktop) Seagate FreeAgent does not have any active cooling, though it
is AC powered. I know the FreeAgentPro is an upgrade model that comes not
only eSATA capable, but also with a software bundle that isn't on the
standard model.

That said, it looks remarkably the same as the entry level model otherwise.

I have no idea about any (specifically) eSATA Seagate solutions as I haven't
seen nor used them.


Stew

 

[Arno Wagner]

Seagate makes some of its "external HDs" with eSATA
interfaces, specifically the "Free Agent Pro"
(http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/freeagent_pro_data_movers/)
and the "eSATA External Hard Drive"
(http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/esata_hard_drive/).

Unfortunately, calls to Seagate's pre-sales reps in India don't
result in information of any certitude. <understatement>

Does anyone know if these external enclosures include
a cooling fan and and how they get their power?

*TimDaniels*

It will have some brick-type PSU. USB ports can deliver up to 2.5W
each (high-power ports), while even lean 3.5" HDDs go up to 15W
or so on start-up. So unless they tie 8 high-power ports together
(add two for the DC-DC converters) and put in 5-to-12V step up
converters for 20W (expensive) this is a complete no-go. Technically
feasible though, but unworkable in practice.

As to cooling, unless they explicitely claim a fan, it is safe to
assume there is none. At least eSATA lets you monitor the temperature,
but I think currently you cannot trust any pre-packaged drive at
all and external an DIY enclosure only if somebody has reviewed its
thermal characteristics.

My current approach is to be prepared to throw it away
if it does not work out. A sad state of affairs, I know.

Arno

 

[Timothy Daniels]

Tim -

The (desktop) Seagate FreeAgent does not have any active cooling, though it is
AC powered. I know the FreeAgentPro is an upgrade model that comes not only
eSATA capable, but also with a software bundle that isn't on the standard
model.

That said, it looks remarkably the same as the entry level model otherwise.

I have no idea about any (specifically) eSATA Seagate solutions as I haven't
seen nor used them.


Stew

Thanks. I guess I'll have to brew up an external eSATA HD
using a Kingwin enclosure. I know those things have a cooling
fan.

*TimDaniels*

 

[Timothy Daniels]

Hi!


Well, it looks like a 3.5" drive is inside, and I don't think there is
a single USB port out there capable of supplying enough power to run a
desktop drive. Even if there was, you'd still need to get twelve
volts, which would require some sort of DC-DC converter and the
associated energy usage/loss that would bring.

I've never seen one of these close up, but I don't believe there is a
fan inside. At least I've never heard one--and previous generation
Seagate external hard drives don't have one either.

William

I've been noticing that cooling fans are hard to find in
"external HDs". Maybe it's the noise factor?

*TimDaniels*

 

[Timothy Daniels]

It will have some brick-type PSU. USB ports can deliver up to 2.5W
each (high-power ports), while even lean 3.5" HDDs go up to 15W
or so on start-up. So unless they tie 8 high-power ports together
(add two for the DC-DC converters) and put in 5-to-12V step up
converters for 20W (expensive) this is a complete no-go. Technically
feasible though, but unworkable in practice.

As to cooling, unless they explicitely claim a fan, it is safe to
assume there is none. At least eSATA lets you monitor the temperature,
but I think currently you cannot trust any pre-packaged drive at
all and external an DIY enclosure only if somebody has reviewed its
thermal characteristics.

My current approach is to be prepared to throw it away
if it does not work out. A sad state of affairs, I know.

Arno

I've had some very good luck with HD longevity, and I think it
has to do with the generous airflow which keeps the HDs cool.
Since the external HD doesn't have to be on all the time, I think
I'll take a chance with a Kingwin eSATA box that does have a
cooling fan. (They only cost about $30 online.) The fan sits flat
with the circuit card on the HD, just like on my Kingwin slide-out
HD tray, and that HD never even gets up to body temp.

*TimDaniels*

 

[Robert McMillan]

You could also try the Antec MX-1 enclosure. It has a fan that is completely
silemt and supports drives up to 750GB using esata or usb.

 

[Ben Myers]

FWIW, I have yet to see an external drive enclosure for 2.5" notebook drives
with a cooling fan... Ben Myers

 

[wm_walsh]

Hi!

I've been noticing that cooling fans are hard
to find in "external HDs". Maybe it's the
noise factor?

It could very well be--quiet is definitely in, whether it's good for
the electronics or not. I also think the problem of finding a
*reliable* fan to put in such things could be a factor.

If Seagate's offerings aren't satisfactory, I would suggest the
possibility of putting your own together. Buy the drive you want, test
it out and then put it in the enclosure of your choosing. Below are
two that I've used and would recommend:

I've put hard drives in a Coolmax CD-311 enclosure and been very happy
with the results. This enclosure doesn't have a fan, but it is made of
solid aluminum, which is a great heatsink. The drive fits snugly
against the sides of the case, so it can take advantage of the
additional cooling. The really nice thing about this enclosure is the
inclusion of USB 2.0, Firewire 400 (iffy with a PATA drive installed
under Windows, fine at all times on my Macs and seemingly OK under
Windows with a SATA drive inside), and SATA connectors. They even give
you a nice slightly magnetized screwdriver to put the thing
together...not a big thing, but it's a decent quality tool that you
can keep afterwards.

If you need a fan (and don't want a power brick), I would highly
recommend the Bytecc ME-340 enclosure. While it is a 5.25" device, it
comes with a 3.5" device adapter, has a fan and takes a regular
computer power plug.

These can also be found under other brands. Vantec sells a version of
the Bytecc product that is USB only but otherwise identical.

William

 

[harikeo]

Seagate makes some of its "external HDs" with eSATA
interfaces, specifically the "Free Agent Pro"
(http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/freeagent_pro_data_movers/)
and the "eSATA External Hard Drive"
(http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/esata_hard_drive/).

Unfortunately, calls to Seagate's pre-sales reps in India don't
result in information of any certitude. <understatement>

Does anyone know if these external enclosures include
a cooling fan and and how they get their power?

*TimDaniels*

I have one of
http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/esata_hard_drive
and it's used as a media centre store so it's on 24/7 with no problems
at all.

The power is from a small-ish block type device.

 

[wm_walsh]

Hi!

FWIW, I have yet to see an external drive enclosure
for 2.5" notebook drives with a cooling
fan... Ben Myers

How about a heatsink? Other World Computing sells some PATA and SATA
enclosures for 2.5" drives that are neat looking (!!) and completely
bus powered. I think they're somewhat overpriced, so I've purchased
mine secondhand or from their clearance/closeout section.

I like the clear case because I can stick a "reward if found, please
contact me" notice on top of the drive and have it visible through the
casing. The notice also can't be removed without tools.

The PATA ones don't have a heatsink (although it doesn't seem to
matter--I have a 7200RPM PATA Hitachi drive running around the clock
in one with no problems over the past few months).

The SATA ones have a heatsink in their "belly" that grows quite warm
when the drive is on:

http://eshop.macsales.com/images/Items/owcmstg800u2bottom.jpg

William

 

[Paul]

Hi!


How about a heatsink? Other World Computing sells some PATA and SATA
enclosures for 2.5" drives that are neat looking (!!) and completely
bus powered. I think they're somewhat overpriced, so I've purchased
mine secondhand or from their clearance/closeout section.

I like the clear case because I can stick a "reward if found, please
contact me" notice on top of the drive and have it visible through the
casing. The notice also can't be removed without tools.

The PATA ones don't have a heatsink (although it doesn't seem to
matter--I have a 7200RPM PATA Hitachi drive running around the clock
in one with no problems over the past few months).

The SATA ones have a heatsink in their "belly" that grows quite warm
when the drive is on:

http://eshop.macsales.com/images/Items/owcmstg800u2bottom.jpg

William

Some of the current 2.5" drives, draw less than 2.5W total.
And that allows them to be bus powered via the USB bus.
The average power is lower than that, which is why they
don't need a lot of cooling ability.

Some of my 3.5" drives, draw 12V @ 0.6A and 5V @ 1A for the motor
and controller. That is a larger load, and too much for USB bus
powering. The enclosure needs a power source. It could also use
some cooling, as even with conduction cooling, parts of the drive
may not be making contact with the exterior casing.

When one of the pre-packaged externals exhibited a high failure
rate, the manufacturer "fixed" it, by setting a short "spindown"
time, so the drive would spend more time with the motor off.
That reduces power when the drive is not being used, but does
not help in the case where a user is doing a file by file backup
over a period of several hours.

Based on the above, I would have fewer reservations using a 2.5" drive,
as at least I could be assured it wouldn't overheat.

For 3.5" drives, I have to insist on fan cooling, even if I have to
add it myself.

I've even seen external enclosures with a fan, but no air intake on
the casing! For that one, I had to drill a "Swiss cheese" pattern
into the bottom front of the enclosure.

For reliability info, all you have to do, is read the customer
reviews on Newegg, to get some idea whether 3.5" fanless wonders
are a good investment.

Maybe the safest thing, is just to leave the raw mechanism lying
on the table That cannot be any worse than "cooking" it

Kits like this, make it easy to leave the raw drive on the table.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16812186036

Paul

 

[Timothy Daniels]

"harikeo" replied:

I have one of
http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/esata_hard_drive
and it's used as a media centre store so it's on 24/7 with no problems at all.

The power is from a small-ish block type device.

Thanks for clearing up the source of power. Both the product
photos and the product specs don't show or mentiona a power supply,
only a "power cord". I also get that it runs OK, but does it use
convection for cooling or does it have an internal fan?

*TimDaniels*

 

[Ben Myers]

I have a client for whom I assembled and delivered 2.5" external PATA drives,
and my predecessor (who retired) delivered a number of them too. They are used
primarily for backup, so they are not plugged in and powered all the time, which
how I advise people to use external drives. Honestly, I do not think they are
designed for 24/7 service. Anyway, my client has no complaints.

Another client has three failed external drives, which I will pick up tomorrow
and do some failure analysis. My son took an external PATA with a used, but
error free WD 3.5" 250GB drive in it to college, and it crapped out... Ben Myers

 

[Stretch]

(e-mail address removed) wrote

Hi!


It could very well be--quiet is definitely in, whether it's good for
the electronics or not. I also think the problem of finding a
*reliable* fan to put in such things could be a factor.

If Seagate's offerings aren't satisfactory, I would suggest the
possibility of putting your own together. Buy the drive you want, test
it out and then put it in the enclosure of your choosing. Below are
two that I've used and would recommend:

I've put hard drives in a Coolmax CD-311 enclosure and been very happy
with the results. This enclosure doesn't have a fan, but it is made of
solid aluminum, which is a great heatsink.

The drive fits snugly against the sides of the case,

Actually, that's not necessarily a good thing.

so it can take advantage of the additional cooling.

It only does that if it makes full metal contact over a larger area with it.
If not then it's actually better to have a larger gap so that air can cir-
culate and so form a natural heat pump between drive and exterior casing.

 

[Timothy Daniels]

Seagate makes some of its "external HDs" with eSATA
interfaces, specifically the "Free Agent Pro"
(http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/freeagent_pro_data_movers/)
and the "eSATA External Hard Drive"
(http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/external/esata_hard_drive/).

Unfortunately, calls to Seagate's pre-sales reps in India don't
result in information of any certitude. <understatement>

Does anyone know if these external enclosures include
a cooling fan and and how they get their power?

Since I was unable to find another eSATA external enclosure
that has a cooling fan, not even Kingwin's own Z1 series, I opted
for Kingwin's Jet series with the "belly fan" and the aluminum case:
http://www.compusa.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=3071646&sku=K450-5022 ,
and at another website, but
the same outfit that runs CompUSA,
http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications/searchtools/item-Details.asp?EdpNo=3071646&sku=K450-5022

I'll also try drilling a few ventillation holes as advised by one
of the product reviewers.

*TimDaniels*

 

[William R. Walsh]

Hi!

Honestly, I do not think they are designed for 24/7 service.

Shhh! Don't tell my 2.5" SATA/PATA drives. I hope they didn't hear you
through their enclosures!

My son took an external PATA with a used, but error free WD 3.5" 250GB
drive in it to college, and it crapped out... Ben Myers

If anything, I think that the moving around might be more likely to kill the
3.5" drives than the 2.5" inch ones. To a lesser extent, perhaps temperature
changes play into things as well. After all, laptop drives have to (okay,
"should") stand the sometimes rough conditions in a mobile environment. By
comparison, the desktop drives that are in these external enclosures
probably expect to live a quiet life with little moving around.

William