The 5X3 Cage review - Norco, SuperMicro, iStarUSA and Icy Dock

[JWMutant]

I’m using the thermal take WP100 and have heard some people have issues with sag.


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[Whaler_99]

8 minutes ago, JWMutant said:

I’m using the thermal take WP100 and have heard some people have issues with sag.


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Ahh, no clue then on that case. 

[tucansam]

I've been using the iStarUSA 5-in-1s for going on a decade with essentially zero issues.

 

[JWMutant]

I've been using the iStarUSA 5-in-1s for going on a decade with essentially zero issues.
 

Do you happen to have a link to one you have as the ones I have looked at have no way of mounting it in the case…. As in no screw holes in the side..


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[JWMutant]

I think I have narrowed it down to :

 

https://www.icydock.com/goods.php?id=175

or

https://www.icydock.com/goods.php?id=155

 

I think the second one being 5 drives "May" have more of an issue with heat than the first.

Thoughts?

[ChatNoir]

18 minutes ago, JWMutant said:

I think the second one being 5 drives "May" have more of an issue with heat than the first.

Thoughts?

From what I see, the opening in the PCB at the back of the drive cages seem similar, maybe a little larger for the Fatcage ?

 

Personally, I would (will ?) go with the Fatcage over the Black Vortex for several reasons most of them subjective as I never used either of them:

• One more drive in the Fatcage
• the build of the Vortex seems flimsy
• the tray of the Vortex only attach at the front of the disk 🤨
• don't really like the front door and the way it opens

 

But that's my view on it. Get what you prefer.  

[Whaler_99]

3 hours ago, JWMutant said:

I think I have narrowed it down to :

 

https://www.icydock.com/goods.php?id=175

or

https://www.icydock.com/goods.php?id=155

 

I think the second one being 5 drives "May" have more of an issue with heat than the first.

Thoughts?

Given the same fan, obviously the 4 drive bay will be cooler, much more open. But, the 5x3 is still a great option and one I previously reviewed. Maintains great temps. 

Also looked at images of the Vortex, notice the one with the fan moved the side? I don't think you could mount this unit flush with the front of the cage, or you could never swing the fan aside to pull a drive out. You need to have the fan and a small portion of the drive sticking our the front of the case in case you ever needed access to the drives. Overall looks like a bad design.

 

On a note, I have a similar design 3x2 cage, with that bottom only mount option. But the unit I have is all metal, so it's very sturdy when mounted and the fan is on the rear as well, so access via front is simiple.

 

[tucansam]

21 hours ago, JWMutant said:

Do you happen to have a link to one you have as the ones I have looked at have no way of mounting it in the case…. As in no screw holes in the side..


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https://www.amazon.com/iStarUSA-Group-3x5-25-Trayless-BPN-DE350SS-RED/dp/B009XA27NQ/ref=sr_1_36?dchild=1&keywords=computer+hard+drive+enclosure+istarusa&qid=1621471245&s=pc&sr=1-36

 

 

this but black.  i hope its ok to post jungle store links.

 

[Whaler_99]

On 5/18/2021 at 10:51 PM, JWMutant said:

Do you happen to have a link to one you have as the ones I have looked at have no way of mounting it in the case…. As in no screw holes in the side..


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Any 5x3 cage is designed specifically for that, for mounting in 3 5.25 slots and will have mounting holes and screws provided.
Also, if you end up mixing various 3x5 cages in a case, keep track of which extra screws you have for each one as some are slightly different threads and depths.

[Whaler_99]

Has anyone had much experience with these ones:

 

iStar BPN-DE350SS

http://www.istarusa.com/en/istarusa/products.php?model=BPN-DE350SS

 

I bought a case with 4 of them installed and been having weird issues. I've had one of the disk backplanes go in one and now having weird disconnect issues in another.

It's strange as I've been running other brands for years, not trayless, and not a single issue, but with these ones, seems weird. I've previously remarked not a huge fan of these as the drives are not completely secure in there, but it's not like I'm moving or otherwise touching the server while it runs...

 

[Toggle]

What fans did you use?

[FreeMan]

I just picked up an IcyDock Fat Cage and installed it in my Zalman MS800 case.

 

Slid right in with no problems (I long ago bent down the drive mount tabs to fit my old 5x3 cages in). I was able to use one of the case's quick locks to hold the dock in place instead of using the provided screws. This is a big full-size tower case with 10 5.25" bays front accessible, so there's plenty of room for the dock. It even allowed me to gain access to an additional 15-pin power connector and run it to the very top bay to plug in the last SSD that I'd installed but hadn't yet been able to power up. (Lack of 4-pin Molex connectors to adapt to 15-pin SATA, and hadn't yet purchased a 15-pin extender.) I had a heck of a time getting the one SATA cable plugged in that goes on the MoBo side of the case, so when I have to remove the dock, I'll leave that plugged into the doc, and pull it from the MoBo, instead.

 

I say "when" I have to remove the dock because I've just ordered a Noctua NF-B9 fan because now I'm sitting next to a vacuum cleaner. The stock fan in this is loudI!

 

Also, I may have to return the whole thing since one of the drive trays was bent. The bottom of the tray curved into the drive. I had to flex the tray a bit to get the screw holes to line up with the drive, and it was still difficult to get the tray to slide into the dock. Because of this, the server wouldn't recognize the drive, no matter which slot in the dock it was plugged into. I put the drive into another tray and the server was most happy. I've contacted the seller to see if I can get a swap on just the tray or if I'm going to have to send the whole thing back.

 

I haven't done a parity check yet, but in normal use (less than 24 hours since install), drive temps for the 3 drives that are in the dock are on par with the other drives, so I'm going to guess that they'll stay that way. I've got loads of little bits of packing foam, so I may try cutting some filler blocks to put into the unused trays to see if that helps improve air flow.

[Whaler_99]

I found that with a lot of the 3x5 units, the actual drive cage for each disk can be pretty flimsy...

[kakmoster]

Looks like the MB455SFP-B is EoL and is getting expensive (220 euro). 

 

The Istarusa and norco is not sold in europe and the Supermicro is hard to come by (also EoL?) and expensive (300 euro)

 

What are the options in 2022? Would like a cage for ~150 euro or less.

[Whaler_99]

Not sure what you can get in EU, here in NA our options are limited as well as things are either EOL or out of stock. And yes, the manufacturers for the 3x5 cages are dwindling, just not enough of a market for it. 

Best options are looking at secondary markets, either local or EBay or such in your area. A year ago I found 4 of the istar 5x3 trayless units on kijiji, a secondary market site popular here in Canada.

[Lebowski89]

This is what I use (I got it for cheaper, though):

 

https://www.scorptec.com.au/product/hard-drives-&-ssds/enclosures/79683-sst-fs305-12g?gclid=Cj0KCQjwspKUBhCvARIsAB2IYusWVBgI6bMAUR0KS9Ilj5EkS140ePFS_GC8jqfGUYVN_2uJWB_tf28aAr5PEALw_wcB

 

All the other brands listed in the topic header are not very viable in Australia. If you're looking for local stock, or decent or prices, anyway.

 

No heat issues at all. I swapped out the exhaust fan with a silent Noctua fan. My drives stay under 32o. You can even lock each bay door if you're paranoid, lol.

Edited May 19, 2022 by Lebowski89

[JonathanM]

7 hours ago, Lebowski89 said:

You can even lock each bay door if you're paranoid, lol.

Or want to keep an absent minded moment from removing the wrong drive, or have kids, etc. It's a very good idea to keep hot swap drives locked, it's not like they are going to be moved that often, and if they are because you are using one of the bays to do backups that you pull, even more reason to lock the rest of the array drives in place.

 

I'd also consider putting a piece of tape on each bay drive slider with the current last 4 serial on it. Makes life less stressful when a drive fails.

[DaveHavok]

Has anyone tried the newer iStar ISTAR BPN-DE350HD 5-in-3 cages yet? 
I'm curious on the build quality and if the fans needs to be replaced.

Appreciate any feedback before buying 4 of these.
I've been using Icy Dock for YEARS now, but wanted to try something new (more silent, better cooling, etc.)

 

[Whaler_99]

8 hours ago, DaveHavok said:

Has anyone tried the newer iStar ISTAR BPN-DE350HD 5-in-3 cages yet? 
I'm curious on the build quality and if the fans needs to be replaced.

Appreciate any feedback before buying 4 of these.
I've been using Icy Dock for YEARS now, but wanted to try something new (more silent, better cooling, etc.)

 

I have used that one, similar to all the others, good build quality. I just not a big fan of trayless as the drives are a bit loose in the cage. I've had more drive issues with trayless cages than any others.

As for the fan, unfortunately I cannot recall if you can swap it. There is a speed selector for it and it is a standard 80mm size, so there is that. You might just have to solder if it's a custom connector on the PCB.

 

[kizer]

I personally use the 

Icy Dock Black Vortex cages. Mine do not have the back plane on them so I have to connect the cables manually, but I also swapped out the front fans with some 120mm Nactua's. They cool very effectively. 

[DaveHavok]

Thanks for the feedback @Whaler_99 and @kizer!

Such a tricky situation. I love my 5-in-3 Icy Docks with trays, but wanted to try something new. 
The loose fit with the hard drives in trayless cages seem to be the common complaint and drive vibration being a concern.

Hmmm. Such a tough call before grabbing 4 for a new case build out. 

[Whaler_99]

If you NEED knew ones, then they will be fine. But if you can migrate the Icy Docks over, I'd say save your money and use them. The new ones are not going to bring anything new or revolutionary over your existing ones and cost a few bucks as well.

[DaveHavok]

On 7/22/2022 at 5:35 AM, Whaler_99 said:

If you NEED knew ones, then they will be fine. But if you can migrate the Icy Docks over, I'd say save your money and use them. The new ones are not going to bring anything new or revolutionary over your existing ones and cost a few bucks as well.

That is a valid point. Hmmm.

If anything - Maybe I'll replace the fans on the existing ones I have to improve cooling, noise levels, and get a new fan in there.

Edited July 25, 2022 by DaveHavok

[donovan7]

On 5/19/2021 at 6:22 AM, Whaler_99 said:

Given the same fan, obviously the 4 drive bay will be cooler, much more open. But, the 5x3 is still a great option and one I previously reviewed. Maintains great temps. 

 

 

No.

 

I have the 3in2, the 4in3 and the 5in3... all with the same drives, all run the exact same temps.  

 

 

[gnollo]

Well I am back in the thread. My setup is still working well with temperatures apart from summer.

I have to stick a fan in front of the server to keep it cool, which is ok but not ideal, expecially when going away. 

I get a lot of drives going above 45C without the fan trick.
I am tempted to replace the two big fans at the back, but I only want them to go full speed in summer, so I guess I am looking for a manual speed regulator instead of a fan that senses case temperature. 
Any suggestions?