Keeping external drive cool?

[Kol]

Hi guys,

Just a temporary measure, I'm using my maxtor diamond plusmax 9 with a sata->usb adaptor and my drive is just out on the desk, not in any enclosure. It gets fairly warm to the touch and I wondered how bad this was? I assume most enclosures come with a fan or similar, but is it safe for me just to have it resting on the desk? I have it on for quite a while.

 

[rpstewart]

Warm to the touch is fine, if it starts burning your finger then it's time to worry. It'll be fine on the desk as long as it's sat on something which is electrically insulating, you don't want shorts across the PCB on the underside.

Most enclosures these days don't have a fan although they do tend to use the enclosure itself as a heatsink.

 

[Kol]

Thanks for that mate. Not excessively hot, I'd assume about 40/50degrees maybe. I'll keep an eye on it. Surface is just like a desk, pretty safe.