i have been using a program called HDD Health that apparently uses the smart which i have enabled on the drive and monitors the drive.

it says my drive gets up to 56 degrees celcius is this dangerous?

what are some ideas for a cheap cooling option? dont have much money to spend on this.

It depends on your setup. Certain cases has a slot for an intake fan that sits in front of the HDD cage, making it easy & cheap to cool your HDDs. If you do not have such a case, you could get a HDD cooler such as this one ->

1. Zalman NP(Noise Prevention)Heatpipe HDD Cooler (http://www.newegg.com/app/ViewProductDesc.asp?description=35-118-213&depa=1)

http://images10.newegg.com/productimage/35-118-213-03.JPG

$22.99 at NewEgg (http://www.newegg.com/index.asp?refer=techsp0t).

All most people need is a fan. Many nicer cases are designed with fans that are in front of the drive bays... Unfortunately, that isn't true for most people's cases.

Drives are mechanical and I imagine that any hot temperatures take a measurable toll on the longevety of your drive, but who knows what temperatures are acceptable nor not? Hmm.

I think 56*C is too hot. My drives run way cool, most due to my drives being nestled in front of two 90mm intake fans. If you have the space, then I recommend just adding additional fans.