W3V Stock Hard Drive Issue

My Asus W3V comes with the Fujitsu 4200RPM 100GB hard drive (M/N: MHU2100AT). When the laptop is in use, temperature often exceeds 55deg Celcius. And if under a constant high load, it could easily reach 60C within 10-15 min. The hard drive housing is pretty cramped as with most laptops and I see no ventilation to aid cooling down the hard drive. With these high temperatures, I am somewhat worried about the longetiviy and the safety of the data on my hard drive. So I am thinking of swapping it with another 2.5" hard drive that runs cooler. Which 4200RPM and 5400RPM hard drive runs the coolest with decent performance? Right now I am really leaning towards getting a 5400RPM hard drive as I feel a substantial difference in performance between my former Samsung 5400RPM hard drive with the current Fujitsu 4200RPM hard drive. The Seagate Momentus 5400.3 seems good which claims to allow operating temperature from 0-60deg Celcius with excellent performance.

 

HD temp in the W3.... a very common question

In the cramped confines of the W3 chassis, 55-60C under load is a totally normal temperature. Any HD, 4200/5400/7200 will run at these temps under load in the W3, regardless of manufacturer. Under the palmrest, between the HD housing and the front, are little rectangular holes - those are the intake vents for outside air to flow over the HD and offer some measure of cooling. But, everything in the W3 is so cramped (a feat of engineering, really, just like the V6) that there isn't exactly a lot of space for circulation inside the chassis -- hence the higher temps during operation.

You don't need to even start to worry unless the HD temps start pushing into the 70s. The W3 is engineered to handle these temps, and 60 is well within operating tolerance for the Fujitsu HD.

 

Yes, I am awared that Asus must have known about this issue. I am not too worried but just slightly concerned as I am more used to a notebook hard drive running in the low 40's. Even though I may not get an improvement in hd operating temperatures, I am still looking into replacing the hard drive with a 5400RPM one as it will surely bring performance increases.

 

Thanks!

I have the same 4200 Fujitsu hard drive and was wondering if the high temp. was normal...

 

Yes, the high temps are normal. I have a 7200 Fujitsu drive and it gets warm on AC, and the heat issue with the notebook is well documented, so don't be worried about any performance issues. The processor and hard drive can hold up to higher temps than the W3V produces.