vl1969 Posted November 23, 2011 Posted November 23, 2011 I have found this on Amazon SilverStone-CFP52B-5-25-Inch-Converter http://www.amazon.com/SilverStone-CFP52B-5-25-Inch-Converter-Hot-Swappable/dp/B001NPEBEM @ $26 it looks like a pretty good deal. just an FYI read carefully, they have "Hot Swapable" in description but it is not so by default you need SilverStone backplane adapter of some sort to make it hot swap. I did not care abuot that functionality so did not research further, but if you do want hot swap drives you need to research it more thoroughly. I just want to fit more drives in my case, and easy removal option that is offered by this cage is what the doctor ordered :-) also built in fan space is a good option as it save me the agony trying to mount a fan to cool my HDD. I am modding an old tower case that is not designed to be used for this purpose.
flips Posted November 23, 2011 Posted November 23, 2011 hmm…. Very interesting. I have the cooler master drive cage not and it is quite a pain to get the drives out to replace/add one. This might be just the ticket. Reading newegg reviews it sounds like this is for a specific Silverstone case, so the fan mount has to be moded to get it to attach to a standard case. Also, people are saying that the fan has to be removed to get it to the drives. Ideally the fan would have to be mounted to the rear. To get hot swap you need to buy the bracket at $7 a drive. Without that I guess you would just disconnect the cables from the rear and then slide the drive out. Just not sure about how to get the fan attached… Anyone have any experience with this? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999185 flips
c3 Posted November 23, 2011 Posted November 23, 2011 Amazon reviews indicate the $7 per drive adapter is not perfect
vl1969 Posted November 23, 2011 Author Posted November 23, 2011 hmm…. Very interesting. I have the cooler master drive cage not and it is quite a pain to get the drives out to replace/add one. This might be just the ticket. Reading newegg reviews it sounds like this is for a specific Silverstone case, so the fan mount has to be moded to get it to attach to a standard case. Also, people are saying that the fan has to be removed to get it to the drives. Ideally the fan would have to be mounted to the rear. To get hot swap you need to buy the bracket at $7 a drive. Without that I guess you would just disconnect the cables from the rear and then slide the drive out. Just not sure about how to get the fan attached… Anyone have any experience with this? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811999185 flips well $26 + 4x$7 = $54 still cheaper then most other cages topping out @ $100+ although they probably would be better built and more reliable. but I do not care about hotswapp and since unRaid is not supporting it anyhow it is of no consequences to me. I just need a good holder for my drives. this appears to be the same adapter sold by newegg :-) as it is sold out right now I am not sure what the newegg price is though. amazone also have this "Cooler Master 4 in 3 HDD Module Device - (STB-3T4-E3-GP)" for few dollars cheaper.
flips Posted November 23, 2011 Posted November 23, 2011 I also don't care about hot swapping, I just don't want to have to take my entire case apart when I add a drive. The coolermaster you reference is the one I have. It works great after you get it installed, but a real pain to add or replace a drive. The wiki has a good summary of the options out there: http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.php?title=SATA_Hard_Disk_Stackers What you posted seems to be the only option out there that has drive trays without hotswap. The only other options are with hotswap and over $90. I just don't know how to deal with the fan. I might just got for it and see. Worse comes to worse I would fabricate something for it. Rajahal has a good review on 3 hot swap cages which are nice, but also pricey compared to this: http://www.greenleaf-technology.com/blogs/softwareandhardware/index.php?id=2058291850585446648 flips
vl1969 Posted November 23, 2011 Author Posted November 23, 2011 I also don't care about hot swapping, I just don't want to have to take my entire case apart when I add a drive. The coolermaster you reference is the one I have. It works great after you get it installed, but a real pain to add or replace a drive. The wiki has a good summary of the options out there: http://lime-technology.com/wiki/index.php?title=SATA_Hard_Disk_Stackers What you posted seems to be the only option out there that has drive trays without hotswap. The only other options are with hotswap and over $90. I just don't know how to deal with the fan. I might just got for it and see. Worse comes to worse I would fabricate something for it. Rajahal has a good review on 3 hot swap cages which are nice, but also pricey compared to this: http://www.greenleaf-technology.com/blogs/softwareandhardware/index.php?id=2058291850585446648 flips it looks like the fan is snaps on at the front. this is not suitable if you going to work with the drives a lot, but for set up and forget it it's ok. once the drives are in and running why do you care if there is a fan in front. my only concern here is can I put some kind of filter between the cage and a fan? will see, I ordered 2 from Amazon, should be here in about a week :-)
bah1976 Posted November 23, 2011 Posted November 23, 2011 I use these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816132035 I have the rosewill case that it says it's only compatible with, but I would expect the 3x5 1/2 space to be standard. Maybe it just won't snap in the same way? On my case, there's a filter on the chassis door, so there's no filter at this level. It is a pain, in that the whole cage has to come out to add a drive, but the caddies are tool-less, with pins in rubber grommets that you kind of have to stretch to fit in the standard screw holes on the drive. I didn't have the money for a high-end hot-swap case, so I don't care if I have to take the whole thing out. And it seems pretty quiet as well but for a big case it's not going to be silent. Just my two cents...
kenoka Posted November 23, 2011 Posted November 23, 2011 Been there, done that. Read my review here: http://lime-technology.com/forum/index.php?topic=8093.0
flips Posted November 24, 2011 Posted November 24, 2011 How does that secure to the case? I don't see any attachment holes for the 5 1/4 rails. I use these: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816132035 I have the rosewill case that it says it's only compatible with, but I would expect the 3x5 1/2 space to be standard. Maybe it just won't snap in the same way? On my case, there's a filter on the chassis door, so there's no filter at this level. It is a pain, in that the whole cage has to come out to add a drive, but the caddies are tool-less, with pins in rubber grommets that you kind of have to stretch to fit in the standard screw holes on the drive. I didn't have the money for a high-end hot-swap case, so I don't care if I have to take the whole thing out. And it seems pretty quiet as well but for a big case it's not going to be silent. Just my two cents...
vl1969 Posted December 1, 2011 Author Posted December 1, 2011 OK, I got my from Amazon. look good, installed into my mod. case with ease. you need the special screws to set the HDD into trays(came with the box but be careful do not loose any as you only get enough to install 4 HDD) now the bad stuff: Fan will not fit into any standard case faceplate. I tried on my box, and went to Microcenter to check on other cases, no luck. they did not have the case that this cage is made for so I am not sure what the difference in faceplate design, but it does not fit in standard mounts. the contact board is very fragile. when I tried to hold up the fan to the front of the cage to just test if it works, I scratched the laquer on the side and .. well let just say sparks flied all around like it was 4th of July. still not sure if the fan is good anymore. to scared to try it again :'( but there are standard 3 prong connectors behind the PCB boards so you can theoretically just remove the contacts and connect the fan directly with plugs. maybe a little Velcro on the sides and we are in business (will let you know what I end up with). for tight spaces I think I would get the backplane adapter though. if not for hot-swap but for removing the need to get behind the cage to plug/unplug the drive. my cage is right behind the PSU and it is a major PITA to connect bottom 2 drives when needed.
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