7200RpM vs. 15000RpM

[Jack T. Chance]

My PC case has no room for fans next to the drives - but I do make sure the vents near the HDD are clear. Here is the PC I got:
http://www.dell.com/us/en/dfh/deskto...20&cs=22&s=dfh

With the internal view you can see the indentation in the front (towards the left) - that's all ventilation plus ventilation slots by the drives These can easily get clogged with dust and dog hair and I check them whenever I think of it (couple times a week) to make sure that they're clean and air can flow easily though them.

I'm quite familiar with that tower design, our store computers at my last job used that tower. We never had any issues with our hard drives overheating in that tower.

Question & Answer time: What do you keep the temperature at in the room where the computer is?

If it's not in the "normal" room temperature range (anywhere from 68º-72º F) that will only make matters worse, because the computer depends on that cool outside air coming in to cool it off. If you do what some of my former co-workers did, and crank the heat up to like 80º, that's only going to make it HARDER for the computer to keep things cool.

The terabuyte drive is in the second 5.25" bay down - just below the CD Rom drive (I don't have brackets to put it by the main one) - maybe I'll get something like this:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16835888311

For it (unless people have better suggestions).

That could work.

I'd like to get another case but I don't have the $$$ for a case - especially one with a lot of room for drives and fans. The PC is 2.5 years old to, maybe it is time to swap some PCs around and start shopping for a "new" PC (Dell Outlet usually has good deals).

A new tower is cheaper than a new computer, especially if you shop around for a good price. The Antec Three Hundred fits motherboards up to the ATX size, has 2 large fan mounts in front with washable air filters, has room for 3 5¼" drives and 6 internal 3½" drives (i.e. hard drives) and is on sale right now for only $59.99! It doesn't include a fan for the front out of the box, but those aren't very expensive.

The biggest problem you're going to run into, though, is that your computer's a DELL. They have an annoying tendency to use non-standard components, such as customized power supplies and BTX motherboards. The BTX spec never really caught on with anyone except Dell. If you go to transfer your components into a new tower, that may cause you some issues.

But if you DO go that route, you can upgrade components as you have the money, and slowly upgrade your machine into a newer, more powerful rig.

[draggar]

Question & Answer time: What do you keep the temperature at in the room where the computer is?

If it's not in the "normal" room temperature range (anywhere from 68º-72º F) that will only make matters worse, because the computer depends on that cool outside air coming in to cool it off. If you do what some of my former co-workers did, and crank the heat up to like 80º, that's only going to make it HARDER for the computer to keep things cool.That could work.

We once kept our house at a constant 75 degrees - our electric bill was over $500 (don't forget - we live in south Florida). The house is usually between 74 and 79 degrees. It's a little hot for me but it saves *a lot* on the electric bill.

Luckily the PC does have some ventilation around it and it is low on the ground level.

But - I have other PCs that haven't lost a drive in even longer. I have the Pc that used to be my primary - it has a lot less ventilation but the drive is probabaly pushing 5 years old now and it's still running fine. It isn't used as much but when it is it's running it's ass off (burning DVDs, ripping MP3's off of new CDs, etc...).

Oddly, that PC is also using a WD drive (120GB 5400 RpM).

The biggest problem you're going to run into, though, is that your computer's a DELL. They have an annoying tendency to use non-standard components, such as customized power supplies and BTX motherboards. The BTX spec never really caught on with anyone except Dell. If you go to transfer your components into a new tower, that may cause you some issues.

But if you DO go that route, you can upgrade components as you have the money, and slowly upgrade your machine into a newer, more powerful rig.

Sounds like most of the big PC manufacturers - their own equipment so it's difficult to work with the components (like Del's hard drive brackets).