Harddisk getting hot

[monnier]

IIUC, the main problem temperaturewise in the Fit-PC2 is the harddisk drive. Indeed my CPU rarely if ever reaches 40°C, but my HDD on the other hands tends to hover between 48°C and 54°C, where I consider 54 to be a bit too high for my comfort (basically: if it can reach 54°C now in "normal" use, what will happen when it gets to very heavy use for a long time in the middle of summer?).
For now, I reduced my HDD's temperature by a about 3°C (it's now at 45°C while mostly idle) by putting the machine upside down, which seems to let the HDD breath a little better.

[PieterPan]

If you have a spare heatsink laying around, you can just slap it on. Have a look here: http://www.fit-pc2.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=4345#p4345

[irads]

- Are you using a stock 5400RPM HDD? If you are using a 7200RPM, please disregard the following and apply a heatsink.

A few points (assuming 5400RPM HDD) -
- I suggest you check the readings, they look inconsistent. The CPU is normally the major heat source while HDD normally generates very little heat. Therefore it is unlikely to run hotter than the CPU.
- There is a very small temperature change within the case so orientation should not affect much.
- Since there are many fit-PC2 sold they accumulated millions of operation hours. I can safely state that HDD thermal failure is very uncommon in fit-PC2.

[per]

I don't know if failed hard drives would typically be reported but mine failed.

I installed a Samsung 500GB HDD in my new fit-PC2 and it failed after 2 weeks.

I now don't trust the claim that they shouldn't fail, and use an older 160GB HDD as my internal drive and keep only Windows 7 on it. All other files and media is kept on an external drive. I don't really want to worry about keeping constant backups and having to reinstall and set everything up again.

Cheers,
Per

[monnier]

- Are you using a stock 5400RPM HDD?

Yes a momentum 5400.2 120GB.

- I suggest you check the readings, they look inconsistent. The CPU is normally the major heat source while HDD normally generates very little heat. Therefore it is unlikely to run hotter than the CPU.

It surprised me as well, but all the various tools tell me the same thing (smartctl, lm-sensors, gkrellm). The CPU temp is obtained via the `coretemp' kernel module. The ACPI temperature data doesn't seem to work (it always reports 0).

- There is a very small temperature change within the case so orientation should not affect much.

That's why I reported my findings. Note that those findings seem consistent with the sensor-readings: if indeed the HDD is the hottest part, it makes sense that keeping it at the top (free to dissipate its heat into the air) should reduce the temperature compared to when it's at the bottom (only separated from my table by the little gummy feet, so with little ventilation).

- Since there are many fit-PC2 sold they accumulated millions of operation hours. I can safely state that HDD thermal failure is very uncommon in fit-PC2.

At 45°C I'm definitely not worried: it seems to be a fairly common temperature range for drives inside a laptop (at least according to all my other drives).

[irads]

I don't know if failed hard drives would typically be reported but mine failed.

Every hard disk might fail. Most fit-PC2 are shipped with a hard-disk having warranty. We track returns. So far the return rate due to hard disk failure is very low, which indicates that there is probably no thermal issue with the hard disk compartment.

[Polo]

I did some tests in the summer last year.
I used a CPU heatsink to cool my fit-PC2 with 30GB SSD.
The followings are the result:
(note: the temperatures of sensor0, 1 are measured by the source:
http://www.fit-pc2.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=401)

Before used CPU heatsink:
http://cid-cbd434084d745faf.skydrive.li ... efore1.JPG
http://cid-cbd434084d745faf.skydrive.li ... efore2.JPG
Sensor 0 : 68℃, Sensor 1: 64℃、case surface：47.3℃

Set CPU heatsink( Fan is not in work) on the PC( no anythings inserted between the surfaces of CPU heatsink and the PC case)
After 7 minutes:
http://cid-cbd434084d745faf.skydrive.li ... aftre1.JPG
http://cid-cbd434084d745faf.skydrive.li ... after2.JPG
Sensor 0 : 59℃, Sensor 1: 54℃、case surface：42.5℃

Conclusion: the effect of heatsink is very powerful !