3.5"/2.5" HDD in 5.25" external bays...

[Deleted member 88227]

I'm looking for something that will allow me to fit 3.5" hard drives in 5.25" external bays. I will have two bays available for this, so I'm looking to only use up to two 5.25" bays.

Would prefer them to be internal, no need for them to stick out of the bays as I will be removing part of my internal hdd cage to make room for a radiator. I need to move at least one hard drive to the 5.25" bay, but I'd like to have room for 2 or 3 drives in those two 5.25" bays that will be extra.

I have 4 bays total (5.25") but one will be an ODD and the other will be a single bay reservoir for the water cooling loop; I suppose it's possible for me to mount the reservoir inside the case using one of the "tube" style reservoirs but I'd like to fit it inside the 5.25" bay if I can.

The only one I can seem to find is this one here

$24.95 - Evercool ARMOR Dual 5.25" Drive Bay to Triple 3.5" HDD Cooling Box (HD-AR-B)

Don't really want an 80mm fan in the system as one of the reasons for going water cooling is to make everything quieter. I also don't like the fact that I have to remove the front plates on the 5.25" bay to mount it. I'd much rather something hidden.

 

[stratosrally]

You can mount four 3.5" drives in two 5.25" bays for less than $20 by getting 2 sets of these:

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=71_215&products_id=25980

 

[PZEROFGH]

You can also use this to mount a 3.5 and 2x 2.5 in one bay if you had any SSDs or smaller drives

 

[Deleted member 88227]

You can mount four 3.5" drives in two 5.25" bays for less than $20 by getting 2 sets of these:

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=71_215&products_id=25980

Thanks, gonna give them a go it appears.

 

[PureQuaternion]

I'm using one of these, actually just for the fan at the moment.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817996019

There are tons of these sort of devices out there, either with fans or without. Newegg, PPCs, et al should have a good selection.

 

[Asgard_Thor]

You can mount four 3.5" drives in two 5.25" bays for less than $20 by getting 2 sets of these:

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=71_215&products_id=25980

I like this but its out of stock.
and does it come it black? would look extremely out of place on my 1200

 

[my-name-here]

i am using this right now. you won't be able to fit more than two... not without getting creative anyway.

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/3...DD_Noise_Reduction_System.html?tl=g34c273s852

 

[stratosrally]

Asgard_Thor Gawd:

Originally Posted by stratosrally
You can mount four 3.5" drives in two 5.25" bays for less than $20 by getting 2 sets of these:

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catal...ducts_id=25980

I like this but its out of stock.
and does it come it black? would look extremely out of place on my 1200

The Akust are also here:

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/15856/hdc-93/Akust_525_Bay_to_35_HDD_Adapter_Noise_Reducer_-_Black_AV00-0100-AKS.html?tl=c273s852b39

But Feser has the same basic thing in black, red, blue, green, and orange here:

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/12655/hdc-83/Feser_Silent_Arrow_2_x_35_HDD_Adapter_and_Noise_Absorber_-_Anodized_Black_.html?tl=g34c273s852#blank

The Noiseblocker for almost twice as much in blue only:

http://www.frozencpu.com/products/8923/hdc-65/Noiseblocker_NB_X-Swing_HDD_Adapter_Noise_Reducer.html?tl=g34c273s852

If you want to order from Performance, here's another good one - in silver:

http://www.performance-pcs.com/catalog/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=71_215&products_id=23379

PureQuaternion:

I'm using one of these, actually just for the fan at the moment.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817996019

There are tons of these sort of devices out there, either with fans or without. Newegg, PPCs, et al should have a good selection.

I've been thinking of this exact product (if you watch it on Amazon, the price often drops to $17.99) for my next build - my idea is to turn the metal cage around and reverse the fan so that the fan is very close to the RAM heatsinks, pulling air from the front and blowing it over them. I'm just concerned about the mounting holes lining up to allow it to be secured and still install the front bay covers.

In my CM Scout case I have a 140mm fan wrapped in a U-shaped length of automotive weatherstripping - it made it just the right size to wedge into the very back of my lower 5.25" bays - I think putting the fan so close helps overall - and it doesn't have to fight the front filter as bad because it's several inches back from it. You really can't see the weatherstripping...

 

[sneekypeet]

sorry if this is too simple, but I always just used screws in one side of the drive through some of the ODD mounting holes. As long as this isn't a LAN build, I wouldn't worry too much about the mounting as long as the drives sit still.

 

[westrock2000]

sorry if this is too simple, but I always just used screws in one side of the drive through some of the ODD mounting holes. As long as this isn't a LAN build, I wouldn't worry too much about the mounting as long as the drives sit still.

This works fine for 2.5" drives, especially for SSD's. I have two 2.5" drives side by side in this configuration in my server. The SSD's don't weigh anything so weight isn't an issue. I would be more hesitant to stick a 3.5" drive with just 2 screws on one side. More weight and its further away.

Back in the day they made very simple U brackets that you screwed into the 3.5" drive and then it had the screw holes for the 5.25" drive. I'm sure they still make these and they should be cheap.

Like this. Very simple and effective. Can slide a 3.5" right into a 5.25".