Quick questions about HDD temps.

So I'm looking at WD 10TB RED under Temperature: Link

I see in Celsius:

Operating: 0 to 65
Non-operating: -40 to 70

So what the heck does this even mean? 0 to 65 means the drive while "operating" can be any where from 0 to 65 degrees Celsius?

How can a "Non-operating drive" be -40 to 70?

And if I'm reading this link correctly, Seagate 10TB Ironwolf drives are only 5 degrees hotter for the Operating min/max temperatures? Somehow people make this out to be a big deal?

Link

The non-operating temperature is that which the drive can survive without damage for shipping, storage or installation while not in use and usually defined in within specific limits of humidity and pressure.

mwroobel said:

The non-operating temperature is that which the drive can survive without damage for shipping, storage or installation while not in use and usually defined in within specific limits of humidity and pressure.

Click to expand...

Ok, so this data doesn't really tell us how hot these drives run under load? It's more or less intended to tell us to keep these drives within x temperatures to avoid damage/failure.


But then I see a 5 degree min operating temperature for the Seagate and a max of 70. So at minimum these drives generate a 5 degree heat, but under sustained load they generate how much? I have no idea.

I was hoping to compare the heat generated by each drive under sustained load.

FenFox said:

Ok, so this data doesn't really tell us how hot these drives run under load? It's more or less intended to tell us to keep these drives within x temperatures to avoid damage/failure.


But then I see a 5 degree min operating temperature for the Seagate and a max of 70. So at minimum these drives generate a 5 degree heat, but under sustained load they generate how much? I have no idea.

I was hoping to compare the heat generated by each drive under sustained load.

Click to expand...

It'snot the heat the generate it's the environmental temps they can work within. ie you should not use them when it's freezing inside the room they are or hotter then 65°.

My MD black drive runs between 23° and 44°C in my system to give you a rough idea.

also there has been correlation that colder is not always better, drives do better in the 20c-40c range (tend to not die as quickly)

not sure why the makers of spinning disks have not update their info to take this into account because I personally have never had any drive when under operation ever seen them below about 15c when first booting system.

also to the OP, I do not see how this was confusing.. non operating vs operating, non operating means when not in use, operating means when in use, the temperatures given are the specifications ratings minimum and maximums for this product in question ^.^

Manufacturer can't tell you what temperature they will run at. All they could possibly do is tell you how much heat is generated (and for modern HDDs, it isn't that much). Temperature is a function of thermal energy generated and removed. Your case and installation will determine what temperature they run at.

The temps you see are the temps the manufacturer says the drive is rated to run at. It's up to you to maintain the drive in that temperature band.

Just to give you another datapoint: I have 4 3TB WD Reds in a 4-bay Synology NAS - they run 24/7, and are currently running at 33C while doing scrubbing. I have a 4TB WD Blue in my desktop spinning idle right now, running at 30C.

It will work very well at ambient 60C... for a few minutes .
Overall with the HDDs reliability : low and stable temp - long live. It's the leading factor of disk's longevity. Speaking of ambient operational temperature, assuming the disk sits in adequate ventilated box.