Hello,

 

Can I "hope" to fit 2 of these hot swap cages in an Antec 300 (even if I have to do some light mods)?

http://istarusa.com/istarusa/products.php?model=BPN-DE340SS#.WEbNErIrKUk

 

Thanks

You should be able to fit a 4in3 cage into the top 3 5.25" bays but I don't know if you can convert the first 3 internal 3.5" bays into externally facing 5.25".  There are plenty of mods out there to completely remove the internal drive cage but I haven't seen anything about about punching through the front for another hot swap cage.

OK, at least I can install 1

These hot swap cages are on sale on Newegg for $30.....I will take 2, and I will see if I can install or not the 2nd one

But at that price, I guess can't go wrong !!!

FYI, I just completed this very mod in my Three Hundred (v1) case.

The front mesh and filter are easily removed with a few screws and then it just pops out leaving you with open access to the lower 2/3 of the case. Unfortunately the inner structure of the case narrows down below the top 5.25" bay to accommodate the 3.5" bays. You can easily remove the inner 3.5" structure by drilling out or knocking off the rivets with a cold chisel, but you will then need to cut off about 1/2" of case structure on the right and 1/4" on the left to open up the lower 2/3 to accept the 5.25" cages.

I was hoping that I could leave the left side 3.5" structure in place and use it to bolt the 5.25" cage to, but it actually "kicks in" towards the centre of the case and needs to be knocked out (rivets). I cut the 3.5" tabs off of this piece of metal and relocated it further out by about 1/6" so that the "kick in" lines up with the new 5.25" opening. You can re-attach it to the bottom of the case and existing upper 5.25" structure with new rivets, screws, epoxy, etc. (but make sure it is low profile as there is NO clearance between the cages).

Finally you need to drill some new mounting holes for the new 5.25" cages. Measure twice, drill once (ask me why I know that ...). Mount the cages in (make sure to account for the "Antec" plastic lip at the bottom of the front panel - cages cannot sit flat on bottom of case) and button 'er all back up. I'll see if I can grab some pics of my handy work tonight.