External HDD cooling unit?

[MrMaxwell]

So I got an interesting idea. What if I put both of my Maxtor 120gig drives into a large Radioshack project box or a radbox? I was thinking of mounting the box externally like a radiator. I could really use the cooling since these drives run VERY hot to the touch with any case cooling setup, almost abnormally hot. I don't have a model number or temperature reading off of my head.

My idea was to have the box with a passive intake and active air out, vice versa, or active fans on both sides. I pulled the HD bay out of my case in a mod and I'm thinking this might work and look very well. I would drill out at 1/2" whole and route the ide cables and power rail through corrugated tubing to their respective endpoints. That would look really sleek.

Would this improve cooling? Is it worthwhile? I really don't want to replace the drive cage (re-riveting it... ugh) because it looks so clean without one, although I understand the irony of now needing a separate box.


EDIT:
http://www.radioshack.com/product/i...=project+box&kw=project+box&parentPage=search

That's about the kind of thing I was looking to use. 8x6x3 seems perfect, albeit it's made out of plastic. That might be kind of flimsy hanging vertical, so I'm looking for something metal or higher quality.

 

[holli4pirating]

I don't know how handy you might be, but making your own box shouldn't be too hard. You could even use your stock hdd bay and get some aluminium sheeting for the four sides. Then throw some mesh on the front as a filter and slap a 120mm fan or the like on the back.

 

[kill4killin]

That seems like a good idea, and those project boxes sold at ratshack are pretty decent. I build circuits for an autonomous RC helocopter club and we use those all the time to mount our circuit boards in and they have survived a few crashes so i think theyre sturdy enough to hold your HDD's. I would be more concerned about the plastic melting or softening if theyre as hot as you say they are.