aiden Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 Guys, this may just be what a lot of us have been waiting for! * Fits 3 x 3.5” SATA HDD into 2 x 5.25” Device Bays * Screw-less, tool-less design for genuine plug &play and hot swap use * Compatible with SATA 6 Gb/sec * Stylish aluminum construction for durability and heat dissipation * 80mm cooling fan for maximum air flow * On-demand power system - Fan power only when a drive is powered on * Fan is replaceable with aftermarket fans that use 2-pin or 3-pin connectors * 3 speed fan control including Smart Cooling Technology providing temperature * Front and rear ventilation slots * Front side USB and eSATA ports for convenient external storage connections * Individual power switches and LEDs for each drive * Child-proof power buttons to avoid accidental power shut down * Multi-locking door latches to prevent accidental drive ejection * Internal SATA cable and USB header cable built into rear of device Manufacturer's Link Review Newegg Quote Link to comment
kenoka Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 Ooh, spendy little things, aren't they? Quote Link to comment
aiden Posted November 12, 2010 Author Share Posted November 12, 2010 Yeah, they're not cheap, but they're not $150 either. Quote Link to comment
queeg Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 Why is it none of them ever show the air holes inside the cage? Quote Link to comment
aiden Posted November 12, 2010 Author Share Posted November 12, 2010 Why is it none of them ever show the air holes inside the cage? This is the best I could find. An important thing to me is that the fan is totally replaceable if I find the airflow isn't sufficient. Quote Link to comment
aiden Posted November 12, 2010 Author Share Posted November 12, 2010 @Amazon $83.33 Wow mbryanr. I hadn't looked around for better pricing. It's $81 @ Provantage! EDIT: Just ordered 2 from Provantage. Should be here next week and I'll be able to provide some feedback. Quote Link to comment
jmos1277 Posted November 12, 2010 Share Posted November 12, 2010 Just out of curiosity ... is there a reason why people like to buy these 5-in-3s or 3-in-2 devices (not necessarily this one in particular)? It seems that for the price of 4 of these 3-in-2s, you can go out and buy a 20 drive Norco case that comes with the hot-swappable enclosures. Am I missing something? Quote Link to comment
aiden Posted November 13, 2010 Author Share Posted November 13, 2010 Not all of us use or will use a 20 drive system and not everyone has a rack or room for a rackmount server that is 26" deep. My server lives in the master closet and has to share a quiet space with my wife's clothes. That means getting a tower and then configuring it to my personal design requirements. Also, in this specific case, I want a trayless system that doesn't need screws to mount the drives. Quote Link to comment
johnny121b Posted November 13, 2010 Share Posted November 13, 2010 This is a unit I was considering. Is there any known issues with it? (It's a 5-in-3 for $90) The fan looks to be easily replaceable. http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16816215177 Quote Link to comment
aiden Posted November 17, 2010 Author Share Posted November 17, 2010 Just ordered 2 from Provantage. Should be here next week and I'll be able to provide some feedback. Got these in today. They are well built and light (until you add the drives). No issues booting in unRAID, just make sure you turn the drive on by pushing the LED button on the front. The drive loading mechanism is pretty solid. Now, a word on airflow... I had been using 2 hard drive cages that had a 120mm fan in front, keeping my 7200 rpm Hitachis at 24C on idle and 30C during parity check. Obviously I wasn't expecting the same performance from the 80mm fans on these cages, but I found that I needed them running at full speed during a parity check to keep things around 35C, which makes them a little loud. Researching the fans I discovered Icy Dock used 3000 rpm 40CFM ball bearing models (DFB802512H). So if 40CFM is keeping me around 35C, I'm guessing I need at least 50CFM to get me closer to my comfort zone. Also, the "auto" fan controller built into the cage is useless, because when my drives hit 38C it hadn't increased the fan speed up to the "low" setting yet. Since I didn't buy this cage for that "feature", it doesn't bother me. I was halfway expecting to use a fan controller with sensors, and that looks like where I'm heading unless I can find some fans I like that aren't too loud. All in all, this cage is a keeper. It looks great, is well built, and I didn't use a single screw to put my drives in. Quote Link to comment
Superorb Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 Any idea if they make a 5in3 trayless version? Quote Link to comment
aiden Posted March 3, 2011 Author Share Posted March 3, 2011 Any idea if they make a 5in3 trayless version? According to this post, the answer is no. Trayless 5 in 3 systems seem to be quite difficult to get right in terms of alignment of the drives. Since there is no room for internal framing of the individual slots, and there is no tray for the drive to use as structure when the drive is inserted, I'm guessing Icy Dock just decided it wasn't worth the hassle. I've done the math, though, and a 12 bay system could hold 20 drives in 5 in 3 docks, only 16 using 4 in 3s, but 18 using 3 in 2s. Quote Link to comment
opentoe Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 I have been using three 5 n 3's for a couple weeks and the stock fans keeping everything nice and cool, to top it off I only use WD Black drives which run hotter than the greens for sure. Quote Link to comment
aiden Posted March 3, 2011 Author Share Posted March 3, 2011 I have been using three 5 n 3's for a couple weeks and the stock fans keeping everything nice and cool, to top it off I only use WD Black drives which run hotter than the greens for sure. That's awesome, but without a model number or a link, it's not particularly helpful. Quote Link to comment
aiden Posted March 3, 2011 Author Share Posted March 3, 2011 Are those trayless? No, they're not. I dug through his posts to find his build, and he's using these. Quote Link to comment
Superorb Posted March 3, 2011 Share Posted March 3, 2011 That's awesome, but without a model number or a link, it's not particularly helpful. iStarUSA 5in3 They also have red and silver handle'd versions for a similar price. So jealous of that CM590, they've been impossible to get for some time now. Quote Link to comment
yelnatsch517 Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 Trayless is nice and all, but are the drives really snug enough to prevent premature death of the HDDs? I tend to avoid hotswaps whenever I can because I've had bad luck with them in the past. The only times I've ever had a HDD die on me was with hotswaps or when I moved my computer around, ie. friend's house for a lan party (back in the day). Other than that, I've never had a HDD die on me. From these experiences, I tend to treat HDDs like fragile ice sculptures. Quote Link to comment
aaronwt Posted March 4, 2011 Share Posted March 4, 2011 I just ordered one of these to go in my Rosewill case. it will allow me to get six drives in my case instead of the current five. That along with my external multi bay enclosures will give me 19 drives for my first unRAID box. And best of all I used my AMEX reward points on Amazon for it so my out of pocket cost is nothing. Guys, this may just be what a lot of us have been waiting for! * Fits 3 x 3.5” SATA HDD into 2 x 5.25” Device Bays * Screw-less, tool-less design for genuine plug &play and hot swap use * Compatible with SATA 6 Gb/sec * Stylish aluminum construction for durability and heat dissipation * 80mm cooling fan for maximum air flow * On-demand power system - Fan power only when a drive is powered on * Fan is replaceable with aftermarket fans that use 2-pin or 3-pin connectors * 3 speed fan control including Smart Cooling Technology providing temperature * Front and rear ventilation slots * Front side USB and eSATA ports for convenient external storage connections * Individual power switches and LEDs for each drive * Child-proof power buttons to avoid accidental power shut down * Multi-locking door latches to prevent accidental drive ejection * Internal SATA cable and USB header cable built into rear of device Manufacturer's Link Review Newegg Quote Link to comment
opentoe Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 Are those trayless? No, they're not. I dug through his posts to find his build, and he's using these. Sorry, forgot to post what they were.... Quote Link to comment
aaronwt Posted March 5, 2011 Share Posted March 5, 2011 I should get mine next week, but now decided not to use it in my Rosewill case. I changed out the stock power supply this morning which leaves less space. Plus the new Power supply is providing better cooling for the box. So I decided to just go with another external box and also get a PCIe x4 card with four port multiplier ports. Then I can just keep the current five drives in my case and add seventeen drives with three four bay and one five bay enclosure. Which should take me to the max of 22 drives since I am using a cache drive. Quote Link to comment
aaronwt Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 I just got it today. I decided to go ahead and stick it in my Rosewill case. It does look very nice. I think I will pick up a 4 in 3 version for one of my PCs. I have the fan on auto and it's keeping the three WD 1.5TB green drives around 29C right now. Quote Link to comment
aaronwt Posted March 9, 2011 Share Posted March 9, 2011 How quiet is the fan? On the Hi setting you could hear it but on auto or low it is fairly quiet. But I also have fan noise from my original case fan which I still need to replace. Quote Link to comment
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