dave Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 Hi all, I'm looking for a new 3-in-2 hot swap drive cage for my server. Do you have any recommendations? Google has shown me the Cremax ICY Dock MB973SP-B which looks nice, but questionable feedback on Amazon. I would appreciate some feedback from you guys on this particular piece. Also, I see the Thermaltake MAX-2533 but reviews are lacking on the web. Anyone used this one before? Thanks! BTW, first post here. Cool forum, look forward to setting up my unRAID server. I'll first be trying the free 3-HDD license to make sure the software works for me. Dave Link to comment
dave Posted January 13, 2012 Author Share Posted January 13, 2012 Oops, just found the KingWin KF-3001-BK which has great reviews on Amazon plus it's only $72. Anyone with experience using this one?? There's also the StarTech.com SATSASBAY3BK for $73 with one positive review. Thanks again! Link to comment
Rajahal Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 I've use two of the Kingwin 3-in-2s in one of my preclear/test servers. The cages work well, though the stock 40mm fans are loud. I ended up replacing the four stock fans with three 40mm fans from a RAM cooler. I've found the three 40mm fans are enough to keep all 6 drives cool. I do like the trayless design, and the latches work well. I would recommend them if you are willing to replace the fans. While I've never used them personally, I would also recommend these SNT units based on reviews and general design: SNT SNT-SAC2131B 3x3.5" Hard drive in 2x5.25" Bay Hot Swap SAS/SATA Backplane RAID cage The biggest benefit of these units is that they use a single 80mm fan, which will move a lot more air with less noise. You can probably replace it as well. The downside is that they are not trayless. Link to comment
WeeboTech Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 These SNT are Trayless SNT SNT-SAC2131TL 3x3.5" Hard drive in 2x5.25" Bay SAS/SATA Trayless Backplane Hot Swap RAID Cage Link to comment
mbryanr Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 I'm using the iStar bpn-de230ss cage. excuse the spelling as I'm using tapatalk Link to comment
Rajahal Posted January 13, 2012 Share Posted January 13, 2012 These SNT are Trayless SNT SNT-SAC2131TL 3x3.5" Hard drive in 2x5.25" Bay SAS/SATA Trayless Backplane Hot Swap RAID Cage Read the reviews...they seem to have loud fans and heat issues. The design looks very similar to the red iStarUSA units that I've stopped using for the same reasons. Those few open slats in the front don't offer enough airflow. If you plan to use only green drives then you will probably be OK, but I definitely wouldn't recommend them for hot 7200 RPM drives. Link to comment
mr-hexen Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 just got the Icy Dock MB973 myself. initial impressions were good. fan is quiet on Auto, build quality seemed good, shorter than most cages. BUT (there's always a but isnt there..), i had to RMA it as the bottom bay was DOA, the middle bay worked 2/3 of the time, the top bay worked 100%. when i get the replacement i will make a final decision on its quality. I wanted to get a supermicro 5x3 but my case isn't deep enough (its almost 10" deep). Link to comment
Rajahal Posted January 14, 2012 Share Posted January 14, 2012 just got the Icy Dock MB973 myself. I really like the looks of that unit (and the price seems fair), but I've read nothing but bad reviews, so I've been steering clear of it. I hope it works out for you. Link to comment
dave Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 I've use two of the Kingwin 3-in-2s in one of my preclear/test servers. The cages work well, though the stock 40mm fans are loud. I ended up replacing the four stock fans with three 40mm fans from a RAM cooler. I've found the three 40mm fans are enough to keep all 6 drives cool. I do like the trayless design, and the latches work well. I would recommend them if you are willing to replace the fans. The Kingwin KF-3001-BK has a single 80mm fan on the back - is that the model you have? It's only $66 shipped from Directron so I might give that one a shot. Thanks everyone for your input! Link to comment
dave Posted January 16, 2012 Author Share Posted January 16, 2012 I've use two of the Kingwin 3-in-2s in one of my preclear/test servers. The cages work well, though the stock 40mm fans are loud. I ended up replacing the four stock fans with three 40mm fans from a RAM cooler. I've found the three 40mm fans are enough to keep all 6 drives cool. I do like the trayless design, and the latches work well. I would recommend them if you are willing to replace the fans. The Kingwin KF-3001-BK has a single 80mm fan on the back - is that the model you have? It's only $66 shipped from Directron so I might give that one a shot. Thanks everyone for your input! I ended up ordering this unit based on feedback here, the high reviews on Amazon, and the price point. Link to comment
mr-hexen Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 the 4001 (4-in-3) kingwin has a 120mm fan on there still waiting on my replacement ICY Dock 973. . . . . Link to comment
dave Posted January 17, 2012 Author Share Posted January 17, 2012 the 4001 (4-in-3) kingwin has a 120mm fan on there still waiting on my replacement ICY Dock 973. . . . . I would liked to have gotten the 4-in-3 unit, but I need to keep my Blu-Ray drive installed in the third 5.25" bay. I then run a SATA to eSATA from the drive, out the back of the case, and up to my laptop for encoding. Link to comment
mr-hexen Posted January 17, 2012 Share Posted January 17, 2012 ever thought of putting the bluray drive in an external enclosure? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817392031&Tpk=NST-530SU Link to comment
dave Posted January 17, 2012 Author Share Posted January 17, 2012 ever thought of putting the bluray drive in an external enclosure? http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817392031&Tpk=NST-530SU Yes, of course. But it's cheaper not too. Link to comment
mr-hexen Posted August 8, 2012 Share Posted August 8, 2012 well, long overdue, but i got my replacement icydock mb973 and after filtering out a bad sata cable it has been in service for months without issues. temps are low, and no noticable increase to system noise when in Auto mode. will likely buy a second when i move my system to a new coolermaster 810. Link to comment
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