SPCR

I once tried suspending the whole drive cage, by putting it on a layer of foam at the bottom of the case. The problem here is that hds vibrate, and the drive cage, when it isn't attached to something, will vibrate and produce a very low pitched hum (at least my drive cage did).

The problem with such a hum is that acoustic foam won't absorb it (too low pitched).

But that was *my* drive cage, maybe yours won't do that. You should try it anyway, it won't take long.

I agree with Kostik as I have also tried mounting the whole cage on foam and found it to increase vibrational noise.

Snorlax you solution sounds like a good compromise. The sides and bottom of the HD realeases the most heat, so a fan blowing accross the three drives should keep them cool enough.

It's also dependent how your case/ambient temps are.

be best to just try it i think
im maybe getting a cuda 4 off a mate, 80gig and ill haveto suspend it with my 7200.7
removed the drive cage to suspend hd

Kostik wrote:I once tried suspending the whole drive cage, by putting it on a layer of foam at the bottom of the case. The problem here is that hds vibrate, and the drive cage, when it isn't attached to something, will vibrate and produce a very low pitched hum (at least my drive cage did).

The problem with such a hum is that acoustic foam won't absorb it (too low pitched).

But that was *my* drive cage, maybe yours won't do that. You should try it anyway, it won't take long.

I suspended my entire drive cage too. I just zip-tied it to the 5.25" drive bays above it, and left a little bit of slack in the loops. It's not resting on top of anything at all (no foam). It dampened the noise from the seeks a LOT. It was incredible how much the noise decreased. I haven't noticed any "humming" from my setup.

However, I only have one drive in the cage, and it's a 5400rpm drive. Faster/more drives might (probably) make much more noise.

ive had a virus, so ive been movin hds about, had my maxtor 160gig in a 3 drive drive bay, at the bottom, on my desk it would make a veyr high pitch sound, like tinitus... it was the extra metal vibrating..

Snorlax wrote: So should I have the HDs as they are in the slot cage or turn them 90 degrees so that one side gets direct fan cooling?(if they fit that way..)

What about the adhesive problem? Could it be dangerous to glue directly to the HDs? If the adhesive melts on hte top of the HD I mean.. Is it likely to melt?

I would not use any glue! If you want more secure placement use large elastics to wrap around all three drives. If you don't transit your computer then its ok with this setup. I would lay the bottom side of the HD on foam as illustrated below.

HD
foam
HD
foam
HD
foam
Bottom of case

Don't forget your fan running accross the drives.

I wouldnt use the drive cage at all, this adds to vibrational noises as I mentioned before. With 3 drives the vibrations will make quite a bit of noise.

I would just use the setup I illustrated, completely remove the drive cage out and sit the HD at the bottom of your case. And no don't turn them..