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

[SidebandSamurai]

I am working on a new Unraid build, and just bought an Antec 900 for 74.00 with tax and mail in rebate.  I was wondering which drive cage to put in this case.  I am looking for suggestions.

 

This will be an ESXi server with virtualized unraid.  I see some are using the Antec 1200, Any advantages of the 1200 over the 900?  I selected the 900 because of how inexpensive it was, and the fact I could put 15 drives in the case with out problems.  The 1200 at Frys was 109.

 

I am looking for real world experiences.  Something I can't get from a review of the case online.  I know this is a matter of preference, but this will eventually be a massive unraid server to house my collection.

 

I don't want to hijack the thread and turn it into a case discusson, but I wanted people's thoughts of the 900 vs the 1200.

 

Thanks for your help

 

Sideband Samurai

[seanant]

I used the Norco 3x5 with a fan mod which was pretty straight forward to do. I can't talk to the other models. I like the flexibility of sata/sas drive support. You can get the Norco for $80 here in SoCal. If your in conus shipping is cheap. Call the mail number for Norco and ask for Allen. I know the others are more cash but not sure why and if its worth the e expense.

[SidebandSamurai]

Well, I had a MAJOR brain fart.  For some reason I was under the impression that Frys had the Antec 1200 on sale, I took my 900 back and then realized it was the 1100, which would not do at all.  The 1100 has a tool-less design only holds 11 drives (with a 5x3).  So I re-bought the 900 because it can hold 15 drives for less than 100 bucks.

 

The Norco was the cage I was interested in.  My initial design called for a Norco 4224 case, which was 400 bucks, Now that I have decided on the 900 instead I have a little extra money in my budget.

 

Excellent, I will order the Norco cages tomorrow.

 

 

[Whaler_99]

This will be an ESXi server with virtualized unraid.  I see some are using the Antec 1200, Any advantages of the 1200 over the 900?  I selected the 900 because of how inexpensive it was, and the fact I could put 15 drives in the case with out problems.  The 1200 at Frys was 109.

 

I am looking for real world experiences.  Something I can't get from a review of the case online.  I know this is a matter of preference, but this will eventually be a massive unraid server to house my collection.

 

900 can hold three 5x3 - the 1200 can hold four. 900 has one 120mm rear exaust, the 1200 has two. 1200 has larger interior room and supports larger mobo's, but is a bigger case. So, if a 900 will do, then it should work fine. If you need more then 15 drives or want lots of room to work in, the 1200 is your ticket.

Also, with more intake and exaust fans, it would hold that the 1200 would be cooler - but that also depends on what drives and how hot they run - that may not be true in the end.

 

Shawn

 

 

[PeterB]

One thing that has come to mind when i think about trayless versus trayed units is the issue of vibration.

 

I have three of the older iStar units - the BPN-350V2-SS (as reviewed earlier in this thread).  I have never been aware of, or concerned over, any issues relating to vibration.

[SidebandSamurai]

ahhhh my Seasonic x750 Gold came in today.  nabbed that on sale at newegg for $80.00  Its coming together.

 

Having a little trouble with the SUPERMICRO MBD-X9SCM-F-O LGA 1155 Intel C204 Micro ATX Intel Xeon E3 Server Motherboard.  I can get it at newegg for 199, or I can get it at my not so local Microcenter for 170 (If they have it).  Then its the processor and memory which I will probably not see a sale on.

 

I wonder if it would be better to go the ADM route.

[dhy8386]

I am in the process of compiling my parts for my new unRAID build. I need two 5 x 3 cages and each seems to have some not insignificant consequences. I then saw someone mention the latest iSTARs are fantastic. I am looking to order these with my build and didnt see any mention of it here. Will probably take me a month before i get everything together but i will report back when i do

 

http://www.amazon.com/iStarUSA-BPN-DE350SS-BLUE-3x5-25-5x3-5-Trayless/dp/B009XA24Q6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1351825098&sr=8-4&keywords=BPN-DE350SS

[prtsmgr]

I am in the process of compiling my parts for my new unRAID build. I need two 5 x 3 cages and each seems to have some not insignificant consequences. I then saw someone mention the latest iSTARs are fantastic. I am looking to order these with my build and didnt see any mention of it here. Will probably take me a month before i get everything together but i will report back when i do

 

http://www.amazon.com/iStarUSA-BPN-DE350SS-BLUE-3x5-25-5x3-5-Trayless/dp/B009XA24Q6/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&qid=1351825098&sr=8-4&keywords=BPN-DE350SS

 

These are same 5 x 3 units that Limetech will be using in the new line of server hardware coming soon.

http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=22604.msg200320#msg200320

[dhy8386]

So im making  a good choice! 

[Andy_Burn]

I got three of the iStarUSA BPN-350V2-SS.

Theyre pretty good, solid mechanism, good strong click.

They have two molex (had to hunt down some splitters), and the option of SATA or SAS connections for each drive.

Overall 8/10 for me

 

[interwebtech]

Replaced (3x) COOLER MASTER STB-3T4-E3-GP 4-in-3 with (3x) these new iStarUSA BPU-350SATA-RED 5-in-3 cages. Added two more 2TB drives for a total of 12. The remaining 3 slots are empty but connected to SAS card; just add drives! Almost all positive feedback for these except for now my cabling is all a mess (lol). Glad I procrastinated long enough for these to come to market

[Whaler_99]

Replaced (3x) COOLER MASTER STB-3T4-E3-GP 4-in-3 with (3x) these new iStarUSA BPU-350SATA-RED 5-in-3 cages. Added two more 2TB drives for a total of 12. The remaining 3 slots are empty but connected to SAS card; just add drives! Almost all positive feedback for these except for now my cabling is all a mess (lol). Glad I procrastinated long enough for these to come to market

 

Very nice upgrade!

 

[ironicbadger]

really want 1, possibly 2x of the BPN-DE350SS iStar units for my Antec 900 build.

 

I'm based in the UK though, does anyone know where I can buy from in Europe?

[PeterB]

I'm based in the UK though, does anyone know where I can buy from in Europe?

 

If you're not successful in finding a European distributor, try ordering from Rackmount ChassisPlus.  I was extremely happy with the service I received.

[simpic]

Hello,

 

I'm a little stuck here...

 

Are any of these cages SATA III 6Gb/s ?

 

All the specs I can see on the net either don't say or say 3Gb/s.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Regards,

 

 

Simpic

[prostuff1]

The new SS-500 are SATA III (link)

[prtsmgr]

Are any of these cages SATA III 6Gb/s ?

All the specs I can see on the net either don't say or say 3Gb/s.

 

The new iStar BPN-DE350SS is

http://www.istarusa.com/drivecages/bpndespec.php

[Whaler_99]

I think part of the issue is these are all "older" units where the SATA3 standard wasn't that popular yet, so there isn't any mention of it. I am pretty sure that you can use a SATA3 drive in any of these, as SATA3 is backwards compatible with SATA2. Now, will you get SATA3 throughput? Hard to say. I "think" most of the backplanes on these units are simply straight through connectors, as they all have to connect to a mobo or other controller. In this case you should get that extra performance. But, I preface with - hasn't been tested by me.

 

Now consider, does it really matter in regards to speed/performance?   When writting to an array, if writting to protected disk, you will be max out of on a 20 MB/s. Writing to say a cache drive? OK, faster, but still, you are limited by your network speed. Writing to the cache disk, maybe 80-90 MB/s? Reading data? Still limited by the network...

 

[simpic]

Very good point Whaler_99, makes you think if it's worth buying SATA III drives for an unRAID machine.

 

It seems that the new Icy Dock versions are now tagged as SATA III as well.

 

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/icy-dock-mb-455spf-5x35-sata-iii-hot-swap-aluminium-backplane-into-3x525-bays

 

The others mentioned here are very hard to find in the UK.

[Whaler_99]

Does not amazon.com ship to the UK?

[simpic]

It does but you'll run the risk of getting busted at HM Revenue & Customs for VAT and import charges + handling charges from the carrier. It can add up to a lot.

[prostuff1]

Very good point Whaler_99, makes you think if it's worth buying SATA III drives for an unRAID machine.

 

It seems that the new Icy Dock versions are now tagged as SATA III as well.

 

http://www.scan.co.uk/products/icy-dock-mb-455spf-5x35-sata-iii-hot-swap-aluminium-backplane-into-3x525-bays

 

The others mentioned here are very hard to find in the UK.

 

The ss-500 (which i much prefer over the icy dock cages) can be had in the UK from here

[simpic]

Thank you Prostuff,

 

That is good news as I have been looking at a case from them as well.

[kenoka]

SATA III totally doesn't matter, since platter based drives don't even saturate SATA II.

[dwoods99]

The new SS-500 are SATA III (link)

I am unable to determine if this one is trayless, is it?