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Is 60 Degrees too hot for WD Caviar Black?

L

lakerbob

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 26, 2008
38
0
HI,

Just installed a 1.5 TB WD Caviar Black hard drive in my early 2008 24" 2.8 ghz imac with 4 mb ram.

The temperature reading via istat pro and Temperature monitor reads a consistent 60 degrees Celsius. This is with light activity and the cooling fan running at 1600 rpm.

It is hot today, 78 degrees Fahrenheit in my house.

Should I be concerned ?

Thanks.
 

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lakerbob said:
HI,

Just installed a 1.5 TB WD Caviar Black hard drive in my early 2008 24" 2.8 ghz imac with 4 mb ram.

The temperature reading via istat pro and Temperature monitor reads a consistent 60 degrees Celsius. This is with light activity and the cooling fan running at 1600 rpm.

It is hot today, 78 degrees Fahrenheit in my house.

Should I be concerned ?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

That is the hard drive in my iMac and i happen to know 60C is the max temp Western Digital say, you may have to up your fan speed...more
 
Seems like that is too hot basically an idle machine. I guess I'll contact WD tomorrow and see about a replacement
 
Called Western Digital and they said that as long as it only gets to 61 (its at 61 right now) it should be ok. Told me to wait and see what happens. I don't really like that idea. I', wondering if I should return it for the same drive and hope for better results, or if I should go for a different brand/model entirely. The drive is performing great, hate to lose the performance, but the drive running at max temperature doesn't seem like a good idea to me.

Right now fan has to run at 3200 rpm to keep temp down to 55.

Anyone have an opinion on whether I should try an exchange for the same drive and hope for cooler temperatures?
 
lakerbob said:
Called Western Digital and they said that as long as it only gets to 61 (its at 61 right now) it should be ok. Told me to wait and see what happens. I don't really like that idea. I', wondering if I should return it for the same drive and hope for better results, or if I should go for a different brand/model entirely. The drive is performing great, hate to lose the performance, but the drive running at max temperature doesn't seem like a good idea to me.

Right now fan has to run at 3200 rpm to keep temp down to 55.

Anyone have an opinion on whether I should try an exchange for the same drive and hope for cooler temperatures?
Click to expand...

Call Apple and see what they say. I don't think it's too much of an issue.
 
Over 55C and its starting to cook. Over 60+ and its being fried. Especially at sustained 60C. If Apple going to admit this max 60C threshold limit? Bet they say, "drive until it automatically shuts down" - which in my books is "too late - damage is already done" in my books....

My HD runs between 34C and 43C. I've yet to see it climb into low 50Cs.

To help its insides keep cooler, suggest:
- Installing 3rd party fan control software and "increase" the factory default of fan speeds. Especially if ambient temp is above 75F. For example, iSlayer iStats Menu 3.
- Install a little 6-8" silent running fan behind the iMac screen and blow air against the back of the iMac.
- Remove the memory insert cover (at bottom on screen) to allow more air flow into bottom of iMac chassis. One cannot see the bottom of the screen anyway.

Details of my iMac are:
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w251/Spike99-Pictures/New iMac system/FanSpeedJune25-2011.png
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w251/Spike99-Pictures/New iMac system/InternalTemps2010-08-30.png

These low cost proactive cooling items work on my iMac....

.
 
Spike88 said:
Over 55C and its starting to cook. Over 60+ and its being fried. Especially at sustained 60C. If Apple going to admin this max 60C threshold limit? Bet they say, "drive until it automatically shuts down" - which in my books is "too late - damage is already done".

My HD runs between 34C and 43C. I've yet to see it climb into low 50Cs.

To help its insides keep cooler, suggest:
- Installing 3rd party fan control software and "increase" the factory default of fan speeds. Especially if ambient temp is above 75F. For example, iSlayer iStats Menu 3.
- Install a little 6-8" silent running fan behind the iMac screen and blow air against the back of the iMac.
- Remove the memory insert cover (at bottom on screen) to allow more air flow into bottom of iMac chassis. One cannot see the bottom of the screen anyway.

Details of my iMac are:
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w251/Spike99-Pictures/New iMac system/FanSpeedJune25-2011.png
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w251/Spike99-Pictures/New iMac system/InternalTemps2010-08-30.png

These low cost proactive cooling items work on my iMac....

.
Click to expand...

Strange...it won't let me see the pics...
 
It Could Be

Spike88 said:
Over 55C and its starting to cook. Over 60+ and its being fried. Especially at sustained 60C. If Apple going to admit this max 60C threshold limit? Bet they say, "drive until it automatically shuts down" - which in my books is "too late - damage is already done" in my books....

My HD runs between 34C and 43C. I've yet to see it climb into low 50Cs.

To help its insides keep cooler, suggest:
- Installing 3rd party fan control software and "increase" the factory default of fan speeds. Especially if ambient temp is above 75F. For example, iSlayer iStats Menu 3.
- Install a little 6-8" silent running fan behind the iMac screen and blow air against the back of the iMac.
- Remove the memory insert cover (at bottom on screen) to allow more air flow into bottom of iMac chassis. One cannot see the bottom of the screen anyway.

Details of my iMac are:
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w251/Spike99-Pictures/New iMac system/FanSpeedJune25-2011.png
http://i178.photobucket.com/albums/w251/Spike99-Pictures/New iMac system/InternalTemps2010-08-30.png

These low cost proactive cooling items work on my iMac....

.
Click to expand...


That sensors are off, but if it's running on or near redline, I'd take it back and try another, at least you have a benchmark to begin with.
 
lakerbob said:
HI,

Just installed a 1.5 TB WD Caviar Black hard drive in my early 2008 24" 2.8 ghz imac with 4 mb ram.

The temperature reading via istat pro and Temperature monitor reads a consistent 60 degrees Celsius. This is with light activity and the cooling fan running at 1600 rpm.

It is hot today, 78 degrees Fahrenheit in my house.

Should I be concerned ?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

How is it possible that the hard drive is hotter than almost every other component in the computer when it shouldn't be generating anywhere near as much heat as the CPU for example. Something doesn't seem right, maybe the part of the computer with the hard drive behind it is in direct sunlight?

As others have said, just try and keep the general temperature as cool as possible and monitor the temps for a while.
 
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