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Cold Hard Drives

#1 User is offline   LiveBrianD 

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Posted 08 December 2012 - 03:10 PM

So I was reading elsewhere that hard drives tend to have the lowest failure rate when at 35-45C, and much higher ones when colder. Damn - my WD tends to run at about 32C in the winter, and the Samsung runs at about 28C. (probably about 5C hotter in the summer) In this case, is this anything to worry about, and should I try to reduce ventilation to keep the hard drives in the optimal temp range?

(the entire front of the case is a vent, with the hard drives right in front of it, and I don't have any front fans - only the 120mm in the rear and 140mm on top (both came with it).

This post has been edited by LiveBrianD: 08 December 2012 - 03:13 PM

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#2 User is offline   waldojim 

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Posted 08 December 2012 - 05:21 PM

The differences (from what I have read in places I trust) tend to be quite low at those temperatures. There should be nothing to worry about. Though frankly, I would suggest replacing a hard drive after 4 years regardless of any outside factors. You can't trust them after that age.
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#3 User is offline   nathancalouro 

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Posted 01 January 2013 - 07:09 AM

I am using SATA drive and there is no issue of temperature. I am getting my regular backups in evernote and drop box also.

Never trust on hard drives :rolleyes:
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#4 User is offline   NoVoice 

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Posted 01 January 2013 - 11:57 PM

well you're being paranoid
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#5 User is offline   Szczecinianin 

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Posted 02 January 2013 - 02:31 AM

For an HD to malfunction or break down the temperature must be much lower/higher than that given in specs. And I wouldn't say four years is the limit and you need to replace your hard drive after that. I've used one for fourteen years and it's served me well.  It all depends on how you use it. Like don't expose it to shocks, extreme temperature etc. Relatively regular defragmentation helps a bit , too. 
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#6 User is offline   crazy4laptops 

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Posted 09 January 2013 - 02:45 PM

View PostLiveBrianD, on 08 December 2012 - 03:10 PM, said:

So I was reading elsewhere that hard drives tend to have the lowest failure rate when at 35-45C, and much higher ones when colder. Damn - my WD tends to run at about 32C in the winter, and the Samsung runs at about 28C. (probably about 5C hotter in the summer) In this case, is this anything to worry about, and should I try to reduce ventilation to keep the hard drives in the optimal temp range?

(the entire front of the case is a vent, with the hard drives right in front of it, and I don't have any front fans - only the 120mm in the rear and 140mm on top (both came with it).


Overall, the cooler something is, the better it runs. Just from a statistical thing, let something with a PCB in it overheat and well, it dies...

Things hard drives don't like are extreme changes in temperature, let them warm up and cool down as designed.
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