Is 60 celsius too hot for Caviar Black 1.5 TB in 2008 imac

HI,

I just installed a wd1502faex 1.5 tb caviar black hd in my early 2008 24" imac. Drive seems to be working great, but temperature is consistently at 60, sometimes 61 celsius. The max rated temperature for the drive is 60. Customer support said as long as it doesn’t go past 61 it should be ok. I can get the temp down to 55, but only if the fan is running at 3200 rpm. and this is with light web browsing. Seems risky to me, considering either returning it for a different brand/model entirely or exchanging it for the same drive to see if that works better.

Any suggestions?

It is normal for Caviar Black drives to run at a temperature around 55 to 60 degrees since these drives are designed for top performance, If you consider that it is running too hot you could run diagnostic test on the drive using Data Lifeguard Diagnostics and in case you would like to replace the drive for another model would suggest you Caviar Green or Blue.

WD advice that all our drives run up to 55 C without any issue, after 55 C, it is advisable to check if the drive is getting the necessary ventilation. If the is running at 60 C, all the time, you better check the ventilation.

I would revise the air vents of the whole equipment and remove dust or anything else that could be blocking them.

All my WD T and up drives run at 34-38 C

This is in a HAF case with excellent air flow…

To me…60  is way to hot for my liking

Try to open the side of the case, place a small fan pointed at the drive…If it drops to good temps then, I suggest a better case for those large drives…