What browser are you using?

 

I just tried the link in chrome and it seemed to work for me...

 

IE8 - You did not get a small window that was not resizable?

What browser are you using?

 

I just tried the link in chrome and it seemed to work for me...

 

IE8 - You did not get a small window that was not resizable?

 

Nope, using chrome I was able to click th link, which took me to the blog post in blogger.  It was a resizable window and from there I was able to type comments in.  I did not hit enter... but it worked for me...

 

 

Edit: I just checked it in IE8 on my work laptop and it worked just fine.  It opened a new window/tab and I was able to add comments to the blogger post... again, I did not submit it.

As a SM owner, I have a few comments on the review that I feel important to mention:

 

Great points bjp999, I had a few similar ones I sent Raj too. I thought the SM were rated too low.

They do not fit the particular usage for these servers, but they are high quality removables. I loved the tank like reference because that was my impression when I first got them.

 

However as Raj points out there are some issues in relation to the builds and I can see why he would choose not to use them. Personally I would use them, and possibly use the ICY Dock's on a small lack of depth custom build.

 

I like that I can swap a Supermicro fan while the system is still running. For a busy guy like me, I can open the machine swap a fan and close it in 10 minutes. That's a big plus. It's one of the reasons I choose not to use the trayless units even though I love them so much.

 

What I like about the use of ICY Docks is you can purchase a 5in3 that would have a matching single external unit.

That's a big plus for me. I wish Supermicro had a similar one.

Instead I went with a trayless single unit for drive swapping, initialization or whatever is needed.

I have been using 3 of the istarusa 5 in 3's in my server with no problems at all. The trays slide in/out very nice and there is an alarm, fan speed, etc. The fan is also easy to replace. Along with two fan speeds.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816215175&cm_re=istarusa_blue-_-16-215-175-_-Product

 

 

I have been using 3 of the istarusa 5 in 3's in my server with no problems at all. The trays slide in/out very nice and there is an alarm, fan speed, etc. The fan is also easy to replace. Along with two fan speeds.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816215175&cm_re=istarusa_blue-_-16-215-175-_-Product

 

Fan looks small. Is it 60mm or maybe 70mm?

 

I like the looks of these but would be looking for more cooling.

I have been using 3 of the istarusa 5 in 3's in my server with no problems at all. The trays slide in/out very nice and there is an alarm, fan speed, etc. The fan is also easy to replace. Along with two fan speeds.

 

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816215175&cm_re=istarusa_blue-_-16-215-175-_-Product

 

Fan looks small. Is it 60mm or maybe 70mm?

 

I like the looks of these but would be looking for more cooling.

 

Documentation here says 80mm

http://www.istarusa.com/istarusa/products.php?model=BPU-350SATA

Guess it belongs in the hunt!

I should have a build in the next couple weeks that will be using 3 of these in an Antec 902 v3.  I will see what I can do as far as a review that Rajahal can add to the site.

Not 70mm not 60mm, but they are 80mm fans.

 

I've been following this thread since it began, and I've just completely re-read the whole thread again today, and one thing that kinda leaps out at me is a lot of ppl who commented are running 7200 rpm HDDs, while Raj's design philosophy seems to be "use lower rpm green HDDs".  Would this fact not account for many of the "differences of opinion"?

 

Raj says that the 80mm fans on the Norco (stock or replaced) are fine for cooling and noise, and given 5 x green HDDs that seems quite reasonable.  But, if you weren't running green HDDs especially 7200 rpm, then using larger 92mm fans would probably make more sense (and might even be necessary).  Also, perhaps one of the reasons the 80mm fans fail so quickly/regularly and are so noisy is because they're working hard to cool the 7200 rpm HDDs, whereas Raj's designs don't suffer so much from these issues because he's building using green HDDs as a fundamental of his design/approach and can get away with 80mm fans in many of his builds.

 

Personally, my priorities for an unRaid server are capacity/redundancy/scalability and NOT performance.  For this reason, I'm even going to start without a cache drive and see if the (lack of) performance is ok.  And I'm certainly going to use as many green HDDs as possible.

 

So anyway, perhaps some of the "differences of opinion" in this thread might be due to comparing apples with oranges ie comparing green approach with higher-performance approach and it really coming down to what your priorities/goals are for your build.  Thanks for a really useful thread.

 

I concur with the comments about green drives.

 

My intention is to experiment with disabling/removing the fans built into the cages, and relying on the case fans to pull all the air in through the drive slots.  By employing large (and quieter) fans only to exhaust from the case, and blocking all apertures other than the fans and the drive cages, I believe that it should be possible to achieve more than adequate cooling.  My case came with one 170 and one 120 fan as standard, and there is provision for an additional 120 (with a little bit of metalworking, this could be enlarged).

 

I still favour a trayless drive cage design - I'm sure that the convenience of the 'screwless, just slot it in' technology will far outweigh the inconvenience of having to be a little more precise when installing a drive.  However, I'm still to finalise my decision on which cages to buy - probably dictated by what I can get shipped to Philippines.  It appears that the iStarUSA online shop includes Phils in the available destinations, so I may opt for the BPN-350V2.

Interesting idea re: removing cage fans -- I might play around with that too (as noise is also very important to me).

I've been following this thread since it began, and I've just completely re-read the whole thread again today, and one thing that kinda leaps out at me is a lot of ppl who commented are running 7200 rpm HDDs, while Raj's design philosophy seems to be "use lower rpm green HDDs".  Would this fact not account for many of the "differences of opinion"?

 

Raj says that the 80mm fans on the Norco (stock or replaced) are fine for cooling and noise, and given 5 x green HDDs that seems quite reasonable.  But, if you weren't running green HDDs especially 7200 rpm, then using larger 92mm fans would probably make more sense (and might even be necessary).  Also, perhaps one of the reasons the 80mm fans fail so quickly/regularly and are so noisy is because they're working hard to cool the 7200 rpm HDDs, whereas Raj's designs don't suffer so much from these issues because he's building using green HDDs as a fundamental of his design/approach and can get away with 80mm fans in many of his builds.

 

Personally, my priorities for an unRaid server are capacity/redundancy/scalability and NOT performance.  For this reason, I'm even going to start without a cache drive and see if the (lack of) performance is ok.  And I'm certainly going to use as many green HDDs as possible.

 

So anyway, perhaps some of the "differences of opinion" in this thread might be due to comparing apples with oranges ie comparing green approach with higher-performance approach and it really coming down to what your priorities/goals are for your build.  Thanks for a really useful thread.

 

 

I believe what you've said is quite true.  The pros and cons of the various 5-in-3 cages will have varying weight depending on your plans for the build.  For green drives, I believe the Norco cages are the best.  For 7200rpm (or faster) drives, I believe the Supermicro cages might be more appropriate (though I think the Norco cages could still be used as long as the rest of your case has good cooling).

I believe what you've said is quite true.  The pros and cons of the various 5-in-3 cages will have varying weight depending on your plans for the build.  For green drives, I believe the Norco cages are the best.  For 7200rpm (or faster) drives, I believe the Supermicro cages might be more appropriate (though I think the Norco cages could still be used as long as the rest of your case has good cooling).

 

I decided to buy a Norco unit for my backup server with the recent Newegg promotion.  (I robbed the backup server of all of its cages and now can't easily swap disks between servers, or use my back up server to preclear disks).

 

A note of interest - the Norco from Newegg was more expensive delivered (prior to the discount) than the SuperMicros I bought HERE.  Newegg is not a great place to buy the cages as their shipping is high on them.

 

I would advise the SuperMicros for the following situations:

 

1 - Large server case with sufficient depth for them

2 - Warmer environments

3 - 7200 or 5400 RPM drives

4 - Need quietest operation with most airflow (need to replace fan to make them quiet)

 

I'd advise something else if

 

1 - Case depth for the drive cage is limited (#1 issue IMO)

2 - Significantly prefer the aesthetics of one of the others

3 - On a great sale

4 - 5400 RPM drives (7200 RPM drives may need a higher RPM fan depending on ambient)

 

I'll report on the Norco after I get it.  I'm sure it'll work well.

Starting a new build with an Antec 1200 v3. With all this discussion, i am very temped to put one of my SuperMicro units in and then look into getting an Icy Dock, Norco and maybe that iStar - just for total "completeness". 

 

BTW - in my Antec 900 with my SM cages, I had a fan failure and had to go back to stock fan, and I cannot even hear it.

 

Shawn

 

... and then look into getting an Icy Dock, Norco and maybe that iStar - just for total "completeness". 

 

Oooo, yes please - I would love to hear opinions on the iStar BPN-350 before I go to the trouble of getting three of them shipped to Philippines!

 

Newegg is not a great place to buy the cages as their shipping is high on them.

 

 

FWIW, Newegg now works with ShopRunner for free 2-day shipping. It's like Amazon Prime, but SR works with tons of companies for $80/year but I've seen it go down to $40/year on promotions. Newegg just started using it at the end of that $25 Newegg promotion, so I was only able to sneak in 1 order with SR since my other orders had already shipped. I got free 2-day shipping on an iStarUSA 5in3 when it's normally $12 shipping on that item. That would make the Norco 5in3's even cheaper. I'm almost bummed that I didn't get a bunch of Norcos, but I'll give the iStarUSA cages a shot before I go in another direction.

I have the iStars... I choose them because they had the sweet spot in terms of price, size (depth) and also reliability/ease/features of use. I have no complaints with them.

 

If I had to do it all over again, I'd seriously consider their trayless 5 in 3 cages though... just cuz i'm lazy.

 

... and then look into getting an Icy Dock, Norco and maybe that iStar - just for total "completeness". 

 

Oooo, yes please - I would love to hear opinions on the iStar BPN-350 before I go to the trouble of getting three of them shipped to Philippines!

I have the iStars... I choose them because they had the sweet spot in terms of price, size (depth) and also reliability/ease/features of use. I have no complaints with them.

 

Those would be the BPU-350 units, then.

 

If I had to do it all over again, I'd seriously consider their trayless 5 in 3 cages though... just cuz i'm lazy.

 

That's what I'm talking of - the BPN-350 units ... and they're even shallower than the BPU-350!

 

The problem with the 5in3 trayless designs is that they all use tiny fans which will be loud and have poor airflow.

I concur with the comments about green drives.

 

My intention is to experiment with disabling/removing the fans built into the cages, and relying on the case fans to pull all the air in through the drive slots.  By employing large (and quieter) fans only to exhaust from the case, and blocking all apertures other than the fans and the drive cages, I believe that it should be possible to achieve more than adequate cooling.  My case came with one 170 and one 120 fan as standard, and there is provision for an additional 120 (with a little bit of metalworking, this could be enlarged).

 

I still favour a trayless drive cage design - I'm sure that the convenience of the 'screwless, just slot it in' technology will far outweigh the inconvenience of having to be a little more precise when installing a drive.  However, I'm still to finalise my decision on which cages to buy - probably dictated by what I can get shipped to Philippines.  It appears that the iStarUSA online shop includes Phils in the available destinations, so I may opt for the BPN-350V2.

 

I am now running 13 drives and they all are 7200 Black drives. I use the stock 80mm fan that's on the HD cage and I have no heat related issues whatsoever. And my server is stuffed in a closet. I know some of us have OCD, but I've noticed when it comes to temperature and keeping things cool it becomes real nuts. I've spent no extra money on fans or added any additional parts to keep things cooler. Everything stock is doing the job.

 

The problem with the 5in3 trayless designs is that they all use tiny fans which will be loud and have poor airflow.

 

This is not correct. I use 3 5in3 cages and have 13 Black 7200 rpm drives all being kept cool with just the stock 80mm fans.

What drive cages are you using, opentoe?  Trayless or trayed?

The problem with the 5in3 trayless designs is that they all use tiny fans which will be loud and have poor airflow.

 

This is not correct. I use 3 5in3 cages and have 13 Black 7200 rpm drives all being kept cool with just the stock 80mm fans.

 

The 80mm fans aren't on 5in3 trayless cages, only the cages with trays Find me a trayless 5in3 cage with a 80mm fan and I'll be your friend forever

The problem with the 5in3 trayless designs is that they all use tiny fans which will be loud and have poor airflow.

 

Which is why I proposed, above, to remove the stock fans and rely on the main case fans to provide airflow through the drive chassis.

 

This is not correct. I use 3 5in3 cages and have 13 Black 7200 rpm drives all being kept cool with just the stock 80mm fans.

 

Really?  I haven't found a trayless design which uses fans larger than 60mm.  I'm not sure why there should be a constraint on fan size ... why can't trayless designs use the same fan arrangement as the trayed designs?