Drive Cage suggestions and options

[Lokosis]

I'm looking at upgrading my current unRaid setup to be able to accomodate more physical drives, and need advice from you guys. I'm planning to get the Centurion 590 and have it sit on its side, like a rackmount case.

 

I prefer the open concept cages, which allow good airflow and don't pack the drives in tightly.

 

Like the Cooler Master 4-in-3 Device Module http://www.coolermaster-usa.com/product.php?product_id=2814

or Scythe Hard Disk Stabilizer http://www.scythe-usa.com/product/acc/042/scyhdsx4-detail.html

 

I don't see the point in hot swappable, because in all honesty how often do you have your drives fail, plus that you'd need quick access to replace them. Not often. A little silly in my opinion.

 

Now to get to the question. Like I said, I want the case sitting sideways, therefore I want the hard drives to follow.

 

Is there a HDD cage that resembles the ones mentioned (open concept), but holds the drives sideways.

[neilt0]

I use the Scythe products in my rig (see my sig). Having replaced one drive, I can tell you that it's a pain if you ever need to replace or upgrade a drive -- certainly if you have an Antec Twelve Hundred -- and eventually you will need to do one or the other.

 

Note that I have 3 120mm fans in front of my drives. Does the 590 allow you to do that or will you rely on exhaust fans creating negative case pressure?

 

I had to weigh the hassle of removing the drives against the cost of the cages. If I were to do it again, I'd go with a Norco/X-Case box, but that's also because I have a large number of drives.

 

If the drives are staying in the case, why do you care what orientation they are in?

[Lokosis]

The Centurion 590 can accommodate 3 120mm front fans, so cooling is not an issue. Plus the server is in my basement, the only fan I use is the stock CPU one, and the PSU one. They've never hit above 40 degrees.

 

I care about the orientation since the case itself will be on its side. I know hard drives work both ways, its just the piece of mind I'm looking for having them on their side.

 

Main reason I want it on its side, is it will fit into an alcove I have in the basement, and I will be getting a LARGE heatsink for the CPU as to make CPU cooling passive, and have a 120mm fan exhaust in the back at low RPM. Just a tad quieter.

 

 

[Rajahal]

There's absolutely no issue with running hard drives on their side.  In fact, many 4-in-3 and 5-in-3 hot swap drive cages are oriented that way so that they can fit more drives into the same space.  If you really want your drives sitting horizontally, then one of these hot swap cages may be your only option (for example).  I've never seen a non-hot swap drive cage that orients drives vertically.

 

I know the hot swap cages seem a bit too expensive at first, but let me tell you, they are well worth it.  I first built my server with all internal drives are you are planning to do.  Within one year (and probably 5+ hard drive additions, upgrades, etc.) I wished I had sprung for the hot swap bays, or at least bought a case that could accommodate them better (the CM 590 is a good choice since you can always upgrade later).  None of my hard drives have failed, yet I have still found myself opening up my server for one reason or another every month or two.

 

When placing your server on it's side, remember that heat rises.  Make sure that the CPU is facing up so that it's heat wash has some place to go (away from the motherboard).

[paperclip]

I have the Cooler Master 590 and opted to use the Cooler Master 4-in-3 cage over the Scythe. I prefer it because it comes with a fan and the Scythe does not. The face plate you see in the 4-in-3 photos can be removed, so you'll have just the drive cage and fan. It's a quality, quiet fan, which is a plus.

 

The 4-in-3 is an actual cage, with drawers. This allows you to put any drive in any position while keeping them still, flat, and stable. The Scythe looks flimsy by comparison, as it's only constructed of two side panels. The 4-in-3 cost twice as much, but you get what you pay for.

[Seven]

I don't see the point in hot swappable, because in all honesty how often do you have your drives fail, plus that you'd need quick access to replace them. Not often. A little silly in my opinion.

 

I have three of these Cooler Master 4-in-3 drive cages in my Centurion 590 case and overall I'm happy with them.  The thing I don't like about these cages is when you want to add/remove/replace a hard drive you have to disconnect ALL drives that are located in that particular cage, remove the entire cage from the PC case, add/remove/replace the hard drive once the cage is completely outside of the computer case, then reverse these steps to reinstall the cage and the hard drives.

 

Once I added another drive to my system and went through the process listed above - the benefit of hot-swappable drives suddenly became clear.

 

This is why I'll probably build a hot-swap solution in the future.

[neilt0]

The 4-in-3 is an actual cage, with drawers. This allows you to put any drive in any position while keeping them still, flat, and stable. The Scythe looks flimsy by comparison, as it's only constructed of two side panels. The 4-in-3 cost twice as much, but you get what you pay for.

 

In my case, the Antec 1200 already has all but one of the required 120mm fans included, so why buy a cage with another fan?

 

The Scythes are not flimsy after you've screwed the drives in -- they are rock solid (assuming you're using at least 2 drives -- and if you're not, you'd use the stock 3-in-3s that come with the case).

They also have large rubber dampers, so the drives are solidly anchored to the cage, but the cage is vibration damped against the case.

That combo is great with the Antec case.

 

I was considering getting a 590 for my second server, but I cannot find the CM 4in3 cages in the UK, they seem to have been discontinued. It's good to know I'd be able to fit fans in front of the Scythes in that case.

But do let us know if you go the Scythe route, as I'd like to see photos of them in place in the 590.