hotswap/mobile racks - aluminum vs plastic

[venm11]

Hi... for those who use mobile racks regularly.... how much better is aluminum than plastic?

If there's a cooling fan in the back... does it really make a difference whether the tray is aluminum or plastic? The tray could be aluminum and have foam shock mounts, therefore the drive doesn't tough any aluminum to conduct away heat.

I have some old lian-li rh-17s, which have worked fine, except that now I need black ones :rolleyes: and possibly sata.

[drizzt81]

for the N-in-K racks (where N > K), I find that aluminum rails are much nicer to handle.

Given the crappiness of every 40mm fan I have ever owned (loud and zero airflow) I would rather have aluminum rails and passive cooling than plastic and active.

[piako]

plastic cracks? metal cracks? :D

[drizzt81]

plastic cracks? metal cracks? :D

yes and yes, though metal would probably shear or rip instead of 'cracking'.

[piako]

yes and yes, though metal would probably shear or rip instead of 'cracking'.
sata plastic enclosures are prone to cracking reviewers say. I can attest. I have some plastic 5.25 drawers that have minor cracking because they aren't exactly 5.25 they're like 5.20 which means that when you attach the mounting screws you need to leave .025 on both sides so you don't stress the plastic and crack the material. It's like playing tug of war with the plastic. Plus the plastic jobs I would hypothesize have lower tolerances than metal ones. :rolleyes:

[venm11]

sata plastic enclosures are prone to cracking reviewers say. I can attest. I have some plastic 5.25 drawers that have minor cracking because they aren't exactly 5.25 they're like 5.20 which means that when you attach the mounting screws you need to leave .025 on both sides so you don't stress the plastic and crack the material. It's like playing tug of war with the plastic. Plus the plastic jobs I would hypothesize have lower tolerances than metal ones. :rolleyes:

interesting... thanks

What about heat & cooling considerations, noise, etc? Are there any real differences there?

[piako]

interesting... thanks

What about heat & cooling considerations, noise, etc? Are there any real differences there?
I think most sata 5.25 racks use 40 mm fans. I know that on Newegg they have the Kingwin series (http://www.newegg.com/Product/ProductList.asp?DEPA=0&type=&Description=sata+mobile+rack&Submit=ENE&N=0&Ntk=all). I think they come in 1 (one rear fan), 2 (one front, one rear), and 3 fans (two front, one rear) per rack option. I would assume the metal racks are better with cooling as metal conducts heat and plastic insulates. I'm sure those little 40mm fans aren't too quiet. I'm sure you know that compared to a 120mm fan a 40mm fan would have to rotate much quicker to generate the same CFM as the 120mm. Because of this I'm sure they are buzzy. I'd also wonder if the fans are sleeve or ball if you're looking for them to last many years.

Considerations include

a. Mounting depth, some are 8-9 inches in depth.
b. Price.
c. Internal connection ease, will they cabling stay secure?
d. Hot swap.

If you're considering more than one sata/pata mobile rack I would consider a 5 in 3 (http://www.pc-pitstop.com/sata_cages_enclosures/).