4-in-3 equivalent for 2.5"?

wixter

Weaksauce
Joined
Mar 8, 2012
Messages
88
So, for reference, here is an example of a 4-in-3 enclosure for 3.5" drives:
http://www.coolermaster.com/product.php?product_id=2542

Is there an equivalent enclosure for 2.5" drives that will fit in 5.25" expansion slots in a case? I got to thinking that with SSDs, you could potentially cram a lot more of them in such a device, closer together i mean because they don't give off as much heat.
 
Yes. 4in1 is common, 8in2 is available but less common. There are also a few 2in1 models that fit into a 3.5" external floppy opening. Several choices. Versions available from Chenbro, Supermicro, Syba, iStarUSA, etc.

My personal favorite - I have three of them - is the Supermicro 4in1 M14T. It uses an old-style SAS multilane connector (SFF8484) and ships with a reverse breakout cable if you are connecting it to regular SATA ports. If you are using a multilane HBA there are SFF8087-8484 cables readily available. The trays are rock solid, the manufacturing quality is 2nd to none. The fan is external and replaceable. It has a fan alarm if the fan fails (really common way to kill drives in these enclosures...).
 
I have 2 of the iStarUSA 6 in 1s, QC on the trays is a bit lacking. I've had 3 of the latching mechanisms break, such that the front lever no longer stays closed. Fortunately, it's a cosmetic rather than functionality issue, since drives in the broken trays still work, and can still be removed/inserted

I'd guess most 4 in 1s are a bit more robust..
 
I have a thermaltake 6 in 1....with 6, 64G ssds. and it's decent but not fantastic. The engineering on the trays/latch insert/remove mechanism could be a LOT better.
 
Yes. 4in1 is common, 8in2 is available but less common. There are also a few 2in1 models that fit into a 3.5" external floppy opening. Several choices. Versions available from Chenbro, Supermicro, Syba, iStarUSA, etc.

My personal favorite - I have three of them - is the Supermicro 4in1 M14T. It uses an old-style SAS multilane connector (SFF8484) and ships with a reverse breakout cable if you are connecting it to regular SATA ports. If you are using a multilane HBA there are SFF8087-8484 cables readily available. The trays are rock solid, the manufacturing quality is 2nd to none. The fan is external and replaceable. It has a fan alarm if the fan fails (really common way to kill drives in these enclosures...).

I like the Supermicro as well, though I've been thinking of upgrading to the M28SAB to fit 8 in 2. I took the fan off my unit since it's loaded with SSDs mainly.
 
I have two of the Thermaltakes, one 4 in 1 and one 6 in 1. Theyre not fantastic, a bit cheap on the release levers and such but they do the job. Worst part is probably the bright blue LEDs.
 
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