Stacking 2.5" SSD and HDD in same bracket

GHoosdum · October 2014

Dear genius friends of Icrontic,

I am installing an SSD and a 2.5" 7200RPM hard drive together in the same 2.5" to 3.5" adapter.

I'm assuming that the HDD will put out more heat, so it's better to put the SSD on the bottom and the HDD on top, but before I install this I would like for you, dear friends, to validate my assumptions. I'm using an Intel 530 series SSD (sorry Ryder) and a Western Digital Scorpio Black HDD.

Thanks in advance for the advice and opinions.

PirateNinja · October 2014

Advice: All hard drives and ssds have a little hole that says "do not cover this hole." Do not cover that hole. I don't know what it does, but don't cover it.

TiberiusLazarus · October 2014

@PirateNinja said:
Advice: All hard drives and ssds have a little hole that says "do not cover this hole." Do not cover that hole. I don't know what it does, but don't cover it.

GHoosdum · October 2014

I can't locate the "don't cover" hole on the Intel 530 SSD, but if the HDD is in the top set of bracket screws there would be airspace around it everywhere but the mount points.

mertesn · October 2014

I'd put the spinner on top. The "don't cover" hole is generally on the top side of HDDs. Regardless, I doubt the HDD would produce enough heat to cause a problem.

drasnor · October 2014

My HTPC uses this exact configuration using the Silverstone equivalent bracket. Both drives are low-power devices and the bracket acts like a giant heatsink. If your bracket is anything like mine there is plenty of space between drives and no concern as to which goes where.

The "do not cover hole" is the pressure relief vent which allows the drive to maintain equilibrium with its environment through thermal and barometric pressure changes. The drive mechanism depends on aerodynamic boundary layer formation to prevent head crashes.

http://alasir.com/books/hards/022-024.html

RyanFodder · October 2014

@drasnor said:

>

The "do not cover hole" is the pressure relief vent which allows the drive to maintain equilibrium with its environment through thermal and barometric pressure changes. The drive mechanism depends on aerodynamic boundary layer formation to prevent head crashes.

http://alasir.com/books/hards/022-024.html

ELI5 version: The relief hole lets air in and out as either the drive or the surrounding air changes temperature or pressure. If the wrong amount of air is in, the drive will not be supported properly, and will ruin your HDD.