WD Velociraptor Hard Drive Heatsink Question

[paulcall]

Hello Everyone,

Kind of a weird question but does anyone know if there is a product similar to the heatsink (called IcePack) that comes with the Western Digital Velociraptor hard drives.

Basically I am looking to put a 2.5" labtop hard drive into this type of heatsink in order to use it as a 3.5" hard drive which will go into a hotswap trayless hard drive enclosure.

So far I was able to find some products like this....
ICY DOCK MB882SP-1S-2B
Which is okay but I am really looking for something more like the WD IcePack heatsink, rather than this type of enclosure.

If anyone has any ideas, please let me know.

Thank You

 

[taltamir]

the icepack is just marketing. Its basically a fancy 2.5" to 3.5" adapter.
Nobody makes an actual HDD heatsink since those are utterly unnecessary.

Here is what you need http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...dapter&x=0&y=0

 

[Emulex]

servers don't need the heatsink because of the airflow design giving coldest air first to drives. it's only when you throw a velociraptor into a crappy flowing pc-case do you actually need the heatsink.

if you need to heatsink your drive - you need to learn a bit about fluid dynamics and properly flow your case - ducting etc. it's not that hard. look at a server or modern OEM pc and you'll understand why they duct and route cooling.

drive-rails $1 a piece would be too much $$ imo.

 

[taltamir]

servers don't need the heatsink because of the airflow design giving coldest air first to drives. it's only when you throw a velociraptor into a crappy flowing pc-case do you actually need the heatsink.

Even such a PC will not need the heatsink, its a fancy looking decorative adapter.

 

[Emulex]

Remember there are two types of drive:
enterprise (Big yellow font) and regular.

Enterprise is TLER, non-enterprise is not.

do not use non-enterprise in raid!

Any drive sold with the heatsink is meant for pc use and removing the heatsink voids the warranty. These are probably not enterprise models but i've seen enterprise models.

Your pc gets way too hot. 82F would be the max temp i'd feed the drives. assuming your pc case is perfect in airflow design and pulls air first to the drives, maybe not. a mac pro - for instance places the drives in the middle the chassis for easy insert/removal - however it is not optimal.

I'd strongly suggest not using these drives without heatsink unless you have a very controlled environment. if you ever think your input air will >82F - use the heatsink. Use a puller fan and duct your drive bay so you have n+1 cooling fans.

If you are rugged where air temps go into 100+ then you probably want the heatsink models. Servers like hp DL380/Dl360 are ducted to draw air to the drives first, cpu-ram second, and then cards (why there are so many issues with revodrive/fusionIO, it may be 82F input to the drives but 16 2.5" drives and 2 6-core westmere and 18 ddr3-ecc RDIMM will raise that to 128F then hit the cards.

So yeah i'd strongly suggest using the icydock on a pc if you are unsure of your airflow capabilities. If your A/C at home goes out, upstairs and it gets to be 95F inside and your only fan drawing air fails - meltdown. Drives can (SMART) detect and write they were operated in abusive conditions and then you are on the hook if they see that as far as warranty.

 

[corkyg]

For the benefit of those who don't know what OP is referring to - it is used by WD with their 2.5-in version of Veliociraptor.

http://techreport.com/articles.x/14583

 

[Diogenes2]

..
I'd strongly suggest not using these drives without heatsink unless you have a very controlled environment. if you ever think your input air will >82F - use the heatsink. Use a puller fan and duct your drive bay so you have n+1 cooling fans.

...

As taltamir wrote , the heatsink on Velociraptors is nothing but geek bait.

They draw less power than most full size 3.5 drives, which run hotter, and get by fine without heat sinks.


I have two Velociraptors, and the warmest part of the drive ( which doesn't feel all that warm ); the top cover, doesn't come in contact with the heat sink..

In addition, the same drive units are used in laptops which are much less air-flow friendly than most PC cases.

Of course, removing the drive from the sink will probably void the warranty, so that is certainly a consideration.

 

[corkyg]

In addition, the same drive units are used in laptops which are much less air-flow friendly than most PC cases.

Please provide an example of that.

 

[taltamir]

For the benefit of those who don't know what OP is referring to - it is used by WD with their 2.5-in version of Veliociraptor.

http://techreport.com/articles.x/14583

Something of relevant from that article you linked

Western Digital says 2.5" 10K-RPM drives don't necessarily require heatsinks, but they do run warmer than standard desktop drives. The VelociRaptor needed an adapter to be compatible with 3.5" drive bays anyway, so having one that serves as a heatsink is a simple but smart bit of engineering.

 

[Emulex]

i'd love to see a laptop that provides the 12V rail to power a velociraptor - what modern laptop provides the 12V rail? trust me i tried - no 12V - the drive doesn't spin up. laptops are 3.3V (uSata typically 1.8") OR 5V (sata) - servers provide 12V and 5V on the sata power (as well as desktops). Desktops which are derived from laptops (imac/aio) typically do not support 12V either.

 

[Diogenes2]

Please provide an example of that.

My bad.

I just assumed 2.5" drives were engineered for laptops . The requirement for 12v did not occur to me..

 

[corkyg]

Not a problem - we've been down this road recently.

 

[taltamir]

The biggest problem with the velociraptor 2.5 inch drive fitting in a laptop is that it isn't a standard 2.5 inch drive. it is far too thick to fit into any standard 2.5 enclosure.

 

[Old Hippie]

The biggest problem with the velociraptor 2.5 inch drive fitting in a laptop is that it isn't a standard 2.5 inch drive. it is far too thick to fit into any standard 2.5 enclosure.

I'd say the lack of a 12v line in a laptop also makes it a non-starter.

I did see a Mackbook modified to accept a VR but I can't find it anymore.

 

[taltamir]

I'd say the lack of a 12v line in a laptop also makes it a non-starter.

Fair enough, both are complete show stoppers that make it impossible for use in laptops.

 

[Old Hippie]

Fair enough, both are complete show stoppers that make it impossible for use in laptops.

I'm gonna mark this down as the day Taltamir agreed with me. LOL!

 

[paulcall]

Hey Guys,

Thank you for all the replies, but I am looking for recommendations for a product that is identical to the WD IcePack heatsink.

I like the design of the IcePack heatsinks, I like that they are made completely out of metal and that they leave the drive open, meaning that the hard drive is not stuffed into an enclosure case.

My plan is to put a 2.5" hard drive into a 3.5" heatsink and then use in a trayless hard drive enclosure.

Odd that Western Digital manufactures the IcePack but does not sell them separately, at least I have not been able to find them for sale.

Does anyone know of any products that are identical if not similar to the IcePack heatsink?


Thanks Again

 

[Old Hippie]

My plan is to put a 2.5" hard drive into a 3.5" heatsink and then use in a trayless hard drive enclosure.

The heatsink on the VR has no use other than a 3.5" adaptor.

Why are you even trying when many manfgs offer other 2.5" to 3.5" adaptors?

Or is this an "I wanna look cool" idea?

 

[hennessy1]

I found this website here with the ice pack for sale. You could always try to order one and see how it works out just in case.

http://www.computer-etailers.com/index.php?route=product/product&path=290&product_id=28114

 

[paulcall]

Not sure how you knew this but you got me, my secret plan really is to drill a hole into the heatsink and run a chain through it, this way I can wear it around my neck to show everyone how cool my labtop hard drive looks in a heatsink, and more importantly how cool I am for owning one.

Other adapters are made of plastic and or you have to put the drive in an enclosure, how cheesy would that look draped around my neck? How are people supposed to know I am cool this way?

Thanks for the reply I will look more into that website, I have never heard of this site before.

 

[hennessy1]

Ya I was unsure myself. Either way though the product number is WDSL002B if you want to search it out other places.

 

[Emulex]

where do you get the chain-gold-link ipad case?

 

[Old Hippie]

Not sure how you knew this but you got me, my secret plan really is to drill a hole into the heatsink and run a chain through it, this way I can wear it around my neck to show everyone how cool my labtop hard drive looks in a heatsink, and more importantly how cool I am for owning one.

Other adapters are made of plastic and or you have to put the drive in an enclosure, how cheesy would that look draped around my neck? How are people supposed to know I am cool this way?

LMAO!

Please stick around. We need more humor like this!

Are you going to gold plate the ice pack?......Two tone silver/gold?

 

[corkyg]

I wonder, . . . would the Bedazzler work on metal?

 

[Old Hippie]

I wonder, . . . would the Bedazzler work on metal?

Maybe but I think we'll hafta adapt the 'Bling Stones' to a superglue format.