external sata box

[daggs1]

Greetings,

I have a two 3.5" hdds inside a small antec VSK2000-U3 case.
from what I see, the temp of them is a bit high and from what it looks like, it raises the temp of the case.
I was wondering if there is a solution which will allow me to move them outside of the case to another case that will have dedicated cooling with sata connections? e.g. dual external sata to sata connection? I wasn't able to find a suitable one some of them have bays for more than one sata but only one esata jack. I'm not sure how this affects the performance.

Thanks.

 

[lopri]

Yes. You can use either SATA bracket or use eSATA bracket.

http://www.satacables.com/html/sata-pci-brackets.html

There is a limitation: cable length tops out at 1 m. For a longer distance you need good old USB, which can be done via a converter.

 

[daggs1]

Greetings,

Yes. You can use either SATA bracket or use eSATA bracket.

http://www.satacables.com/html/sata-pci-brackets.html

There is a limitation: cable length tops out at 1 m. For a longer distance you need good old USB, which can be done via a converter.

I know of this, I have one, I'm inquiring about the actual box in which I can place the drives.
funny, I just found these two:
https://www.newegg.com/global/il-en/icy-dock-mb074sp-1b-enclosure/p/N82E16817994171 and https://www.newegg.com/global/il-en/icy-dock-mb074sp-b-enclosure/p/N82E16817198059

which looks like they might work, I think the first one is better as I live in a somewhat furry env

 

[sultroy]

Startech used to have a decent external 2 bay tray-style enclosure with an independent eSata port for each drive and a 100mm fan, but it is long discontinued.

All I can think of off hand (with an independent eSata port for each drive) is something in the CRU line. Something like the RTX220-3QJ, or one of its cousins. The downside is that all CRU stuff is pricey, and the 2 bay versions have just a 60mm fan, which - even though they are adjustable - might be noisy. Their 4 bay versions have a 80mm fan.

Port multiplier can be made to work reliably and with speed, but it is usually not trivial.

Edit: I just noticed that the 3QJ is, for some reason, spec'd at sata II. I think some of the other variants are sata III. Not sure why any direct connection sata device should be limited by anything other than the drive and the cable, but maybe these boxes have hot-swap chipsets or some other intermediate circuits.

 

[daggs1]

Greetings,

Startech used to have a decent external 2 bay tray-style enclosure with an independent eSata port for each drive and a 100mm fan, but it is long discontinued.

All I can think of off hand (with an independent eSata port for each drive) is something in the CRU line. Something like the RTX220-3QJ, or one of its cousins. The downside is that all CRU stuff is pricey, and the 2 bay versions have just a 60mm fan, which - even though they are adjustable - might be noisy. Their 4 bay versions have a 80mm fan.

Port multiplier can be made to work reliably and with speed, but it is usually not trivial.

Edit: I just noticed that the 3QJ is, for some reason, spec'd at sata II. I think some of the other variants are sata III. Not sure why any direct connection sata device should be limited by anything other than the drive and the cable, but maybe these boxes have hot-swap chipsets or some other intermediate circuits.

these are very pricey, I cannot afford it. I'll continue looking, thanks for the help

 

[Insert_Nickname]

from what I see, the temp of them is a bit high and from what it looks like, it raises the temp of the case.

Define "a bit high" please. What range are we talking about?

Generally anything between 30 and 50C is perfectly acceptable. If it gets over 60C, I'd be worried. Operating temperature varies between drives, and in particular between spindle speeds.

 

[daggs1]

Greetings,

Define "a bit high" please. What range are we talking about?

Generally anything between 30 and 50C is perfectly acceptable. If it gets over 60C, I'd be worried. Operating temperature varies between drives, and in particular between spindle speeds.

I'd hope to get something at 80USD at most.
my current temp is 45C for one and 50C for the other, I've seen instances where the temps were 50 and 55.
as stated above, I'm using a VSK2000-U3 case which is a very small one and doesn't have a lot of room. it has one noctua 80mm fan, I still need to crack it open and see if the issue is the fan.
the reason I'm bothered about this is that the mb (asus H110M-A/M.2), it has usb3 connector and I have a 16gb sandisk ultra fit usb thumb drive, when I connect the ultra fit to the usb 3 jack, the jack overheats resulting with the connector malfunctioning.
as the hdds create additional heat, I've thought it would affect the other jacks. specially two jacks which have a wireless usb and dtv-t2 dongles which started to behave erratically lately (got usb errors all over the place, the wireless isn't working at all)

 

[Insert_Nickname]

my current temp is 45C for one and 50C for the other, I've seen instances where the temps were 50 and 55.

That is not unusual by itself. 45-50C idle and ~55C load shouldn't be an issue.

What HDDs are good at is soaking the case in hot air, so you may want to up the fan speed a bit. I take you're using an NF-A8?

as stated above, I'm using a VSK2000-U3 case which is a very small one and doesn't have a lot of room. it has one noctua 80mm fan, I still need to crack it open and see if the issue is the fan.
the reason I'm bothered about this is that the mb (asus H110M-A/M.2), it has usb3 connector and I have a 16gb sandisk ultra fit usb thumb drive, when I connect the ultra fit to the usb 3 jack, the jack overheats resulting with the connector malfunctioning.
as the hdds create additional heat, I've thought it would affect the other jacks. specially two jacks which have a wireless usb and dtv-t2 dongles which started to behave erratically lately (got usb errors all over the place, the wireless isn't working at all)

If you're getting seemingly random USB3 issues, it sounds more like an interference problem. USB3 really doesn't like 2.4GHz class emitters (or unshielded eSATA cables) being near. If you have a WiFi or Bluetooth adaptor connected, try disconnecting them for a while. See if that solves the issue.

 

[daggs1]

That is not unusual by itself. 45-50C idle and ~55C load shouldn't be an issue.

What HDDs are good at is soaking the case in hot air, so you may want to up the fan speed a bit. I take you're using an NF-A8?



If you're getting seemingly random USB3 issues, it sounds more like an interference problem. USB3 really doesn't like 2.4GHz class emitters (or unshielded eSATA cables) being near. If you have a WiFi or Bluetooth adaptor connected, try disconnecting them for a while. See if that solves the issue.

as said, I intend to open the case and look at the fan.

the wifi card is connected to a 3m cable and placed a 1.5 meters above the case.
I'd assume this isn't the issue.

 

[Insert_Nickname]

as said, I intend to open the case and look at the fan.

the wifi card is connected to a 3m cable and placed a 1.5 meters above the case.
I'd assume this isn't the issue.

Running USB(3) for 3 meters -is- stretching things a bit without a very high quality cable, and/or an amplifier. I'd be inclined to think your issue is due to cable length.

 

[daggs1]

it's USB2 and the speed I'm getting is ok for what I need.
as said, my vote is the heat