hard disk cooling
i mentioned before that the insides of my case was getting a little toasty. so i cleaned out the computer and added a little something to cool the drives. i have three hard drives (one scsi and two ata) was previously cooled by a couple of tiny 60mm fans. it helped a bit in keeping the drive temps down but it did very little to the air circulation within the system. the scsi drive is especially problematic since the thing spins at 10k rpm and generates more heat than the ata drives.
i needed a solution that would push more air into the system at the same time keep the drive temps at a manageable level. the coolermaster 4-in-3 device module is a perfect fit for my needs. i was able to order one via rising sun computers. the thing has a 120 mm fan up front pushing air onto the drives and into the system. the module occupies three 5.25″ drive bays and you can put in four hard drives thus the name.
i wanted the insides of the case to be cleaner so i replaced the stainless steel fan guard with a 120 mm filter.
to help the fan pull air in, i drilled holes in the plastic covers of the case.
so far temperatures are a couple degrees lower and are more stable. i’d probably drill more holes if things start getting toasty again. 
