Silent drive and a 7200rpm maxtor???

[couzo]

Just wondered if anyone used those silent drive enclosures on a 7200rpm harddrive I have 2 of them and the noise is just stupidly loud for my taste. Anyone got any thoughts on this and I will be using them with a cheiftec case so the alu bracket will not get rid of the heat as well?? Also any other ideas as to how I can make them more silent with out loosing performance?

Thanks

P.S will this shorten the life of the drive?

[Gordy]

I've used that combo before worked fine :) Just use the temperature sticker to check its within its operating temperature if it isnt then u will shorten its life :)

[couzo]

cool (so to speak) thanks will look what temps they can run at then order the slient drives

[Tom]

Just an addition to this (since I don't wanna buy one and find it gets too hot) in my Lian-Li - I've got the two usual front case fans blowing air over the HDD rack.

Will this be sufficient (on low) to keep the 7200rpm HDD cool(er than without them) while it's in the enclosure?

Any one with experiance in a similar setup would be helpful :)

[Gordy]

The fans will make no difference imho as its the heat buildup in the silent drive that will be the problem , I think u will be able to send it back if it causes the drives temps to go too high (over manufacturers spec) but check with the sales team :)

[Wayne]

I have an 80gig maxtor and they are indeed quicky clicky and noisey. was considering a SilentDrive.

[rox0r]

I use a silentdrive with a 60Gb 7200 Maxtor with no problems. Temps get quite high if the ambient air around the enclosue is remotely warm, MBM has read the drive reaching 54c.

Never caused me any troubles tho.

[couzo]

right on hte maxtor site my hd can operate between 5 and 55 degrees will have to get one and see how it goes

[Fade]

U should have no real probs as long as u dont have rails that connect the 5 1/4 bays to the case.. I've got 3 silent drives all from kustom, 2 for 5400 rpm's and one for my new 80g 7000rpm whatever, fluid concrete bearings maxtor..
the drives (unenclosed) are loud but you'll loose those clicks and most of the whirling if u buy silent drives.. just take into account that the cables enter in from above any you cant use rounded cables on the drives either.. unless u attack them with a dremel like i have had to on one.
As for cooling i've got a I-storm sticking outa case that keeps the hdd's happy, tho i've ripped off the buzzer as it started to annoy me.
course once the hdds are quiet u'll want a quiet psu then a quieter cpu fan.
#Fade

[couzo]

oh I have the plastic rail????? I know what you mean about wanting quieter bits but my system have 7v psu papst fans, water cooled cpu nb and gf4 4600 with 7v 120 fan and so it is just the hds that i need to silence!!

Thats a shame about the rails will have to look else where then

[rox0r]

I have a Chieftec with the plastic rails. I have the silentdrive located so that one of my 80mm intakes is blowing onto the metal heatsink part of the enclosure.

Works fine.

[Fade]

I got the info about the rails from kustom's webbie i think.. that or quietpc i cant remember which..
As long as u have a decent ambient temprature in ur case then ur ok.. Tho u may have some probs mounting the kit as i can only screw the drive in on one side as the other is not visible..
You might as well give it a shot.
failing that you could try sound absorbant matting but i doubt that will get rid of the clicking sound...
hek, just drill a few holes in the frount of the plastic enclosure as there is no sound absorbant material on the front anyway.

I'd recomeny these to anyone but u may want to attack them with some cutters to remove the plastic that seperates the power and ide cables as they are the wrong way round.. if u look at the pics u'll see what i mean.

[atsang]

Those who want to buy an aluminum Smart Drive enclosure (the best way to silence a hard drive IMHO) and can't find it anywhere (especially in europe), email me. I'm asking $60 shipped in the US. I can ship to europe for the actual shipping price. I posted it up in the "For Sale " part under "Trading"of this discussion forum.

[couzo]

got any pics of it?

[conan]

Couzo, I'm running my maxtor 30Gig in a silent drive and I've not got it screwed into the drive rails (couldn't get the holes lined up). I guess the plates are acting as heat sinks but they're not transferring any heat to the case. I've taken it out a couple of times to check the temp sticker that comes with the drive and it's around the 40/45 mark. Works a treat as well. Well worth the money:D

[blackstar]

i wonder how the silentdrive works with SATA drive cables...

[conan]

TBH the silent drive back plate needs a bit of trimming to be able to fit an IDE cable. I have a serial ATA lead and there nice and small but I think(?) that the power adapter is a different size also. What you could do is use the silent drive without the backplate on, I do this in my rig and I've used the foam pad and selotaped it in. Maybe not perfect but still an improvement and just as quiet. I have one with the backplate on in the kids rig and I can't hear any difference.