HD x5 Bays?!?!?!

T

Thxiiet

n00b
Joined
Dec 28, 2007
Messages
26
I have a Lian Li PC-V1200 that I'm looking at watercooling, this means I need to get my 5HDs out of the lower rack and into the three empty 5" bays I have.

So far I've found: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817121405
(Supermicro 5bay hot-swappable)

and a variety of cheapy wannabe's. My real interest is to find something that will work well and look good. I don't need the whole hot-swap nature of the Supermicro part, but I wouldn't mind it.

Anyone else found good ways to fit 5HDs into 3 5" bays?
 
I have had both the Athena and Icy Dock drive back planes, and have to say, there are great things about all of them, but I would prolly with the Supermicro for the 5>3 that you are looking for!!!
 
One of my friends gutted two dead CD-Rom drives, used the bottom halves of each drive as the top and bottom, drilled and placed holes where he could fit five drives. and left a 120MM fan in front of the drives for cooling. Ghetto and kind of ugly, but it did work well for him.
 
Thxiiet said:
I have a Lian Li PC-V1200 that I'm looking at watercooling, this means I need to get my 5HDs out of the lower rack and into the three empty 5" bays I have.

So far I've found: http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16817121405
(Supermicro 5bay hot-swappable)

and a variety of cheapy wannabe's. My real interest is to find something that will work well and look good. I don't need the whole hot-swap nature of the Supermicro part, but I wouldn't mind it.

Anyone else found good ways to fit 5HDs into 3 5" bays?
Click to expand...


Those other "wannabe" drive units will work just fine in your situation.
 
one thing i would look out for is the depth on the super micro. 9.7" deep and the fan is on the side of the mobo. That backplane would never fit in my case as it would hit the mobo and mobo tray....puts away measuring tape.
 
The price difference of the Supermicro and the others is minimal, so I think I'm sold on the supermicro. What I'd really like is 5 in 3 setup that is fully internal.

I'm not worried about the depth of the drive bay system as the v1200 has plenty of space.
 
Thxiiet said:
The price difference of the Supermicro and the others is minimal, so I think I'm sold on the supermicro. What I'd really like is 5 in 3 setup that is fully internal.

I'm not worried about the depth of the drive bay system as the v1200 has plenty of space.
Click to expand...

Good deal, I think you'll like it. The stock is loud but effective; if it bothers you you can swap it out for a quieter model.
 
I'm also in the market for an enclosure like this. Here is what I have found so far:

Athena
Icy Dock (which has apparently been revamped since Newegg's pictures were posted)
iStarUSA
AMS
SuperMicro

Now, in my opinion, the SuperMicro is flat-out ugly. I know I know, looks aren't everything, but if performance is similar I want to go for function AND looks. :p

So far I like the Athena, iStar and AMS, but I really have no idea which one is "best". Here's to some more research! :D
 
jcazes said:
I'm also in the market for an enclosure like this. Here is what I have found so far:

Athena
Icy Dock (which has apparently been revamped since Newegg's pictures were posted)
iStarUSA
AMS
SuperMicro

Now, in my opinion, the SuperMicro is flat-out ugly. I know I know, looks aren't everything, but if performance is similar I want to go for function AND looks. :p

So far I like the Athena, iStar and AMS, but I really have no idea which one is "best". Here's to some more research! :D
Click to expand...

The Athena and iStar are from the same manufacture (if I am not mistaken) The AMS looks like the same backplane as the Athena and iStar, but with different hdd caddies....

The Supermicro: I have been told by Ockie, that they are really deep, so you have to check your case for enough room in the motherboard area....

And the Icy Dock: I have used 2 of these in the past, and they were not bad, but the fan is not quite enough on the newer 7200.10s, as under load they are up to 45-50c, whereas in the Athena, with the fan speed switch on high, they go over 39c........

The Athena or the Icy Dock, both have pluses and negatives, but I would prolly say that the Athena are nicer in the end:)
 
Thanks for the response. Looks like Icy Dock has a $15 rebate right now, so I just ordered one of those. If I like it, I will order another, and if not I will just return and get two Athenas. :D

I like the SuperMicro's minimized power draw (only two ports) and its easy-to-mod fan housing, but the thing is just fugly.
 
jcazes said:
Thanks for the response. Looks like Icy Dock has a $15 rebate right now, so I just ordered one of those. If I like it, I will order another, and if not I will just return and get two Athenas. :D

I like the SuperMicro's minimized power draw (only two ports) and its easy-to-mod fan housing, but the thing is just fugly.
Click to expand...

On any of them, you only need to plug it 2-3 power ports to get enough amperage, you really do not need all 5 ports hooked up:)
 
The icy dock's fan looks a little wimpy. You really need good ventilation to keep the drives nice and cool. Airflow is life to disks.

I have 2 AMS 5in3's and the supermicro. The supermicro seems hardier, but the older version didn't have native support for drive activity indicators and you had to use a fanout cable which works with my PMP's, but probably not with most sata controllers. The other issue is that it's a little taller than the AMS. So if you are sticking it into a spot where the dimensions are tight (I am talking horizontally and vertically, not depth wise), it can be a problem to fit. I have these 3 in a 4U case, and the Supermicro could not fit in 2 of the 3 mounting locations, but the AMS's had no problems.

Just FYI.
 
mikesm said:
The icy dock's fan looks a little wimpy. You really need good ventilation to keep the drives nice and cool. Airflow is life to disks.

I have 2 AMS 5in3's and the supermicro. The supermicro seems hardier, but the older version didn't have native support for drive activity indicators and you had to use a fanout cable which works with my PMP's, but probably not with most sata controllers. The other issue is that it's a little taller than the AMS. So if you are sticking it into a spot where the dimensions are tight (I am talking horizontally and vertically, not depth wise), it can be a problem to fit. I have these 3 in a 4U case, and the Supermicro could not fit in 2 of the 3 mounting locations, but the AMS's had no problems.

Just FYI.
Click to expand...


According to icy dock's new images the fan is detachable, so I assume it can be modified/swapped? I'm throwing my cages into a stacker 830, so space shouldn't be an issue...I will write up an in-depth review of the (hopefully newer version) icy dock when it comes.
 
jcazes said:
According to icy dock's new images the fan is detachable, so I assume it can be modified/swapped? I'm throwing my cages into a stacker 830, so space shouldn't be an issue...I will write up an in-depth review of the (hopefully newer version) icy dock when it comes.
Click to expand...

The fan can easily be changed, it is just an 80mm (I believe, been a little while, since I looked) With cool drives, ie, Samsung F1s, I think it would be fine, but with Seagate 500GB+ it does run on the hot side.....
 
I'm partial to the Supermicro ones, i have one and love it. Some people say SM is cheap/flimsy, but i don't think so. What more do you want from a hot swappable cage?

BTW, The SM one is DEEP, its ~2- 2 1/2" from hitting my PSU.
 
WesM63 said:
I'm partial to the Supermicro ones, i have one and love it. Some people say SM is cheap/flimsy, but i don't think so. What more do you want from a hot swappable cage?

BTW, The SM one is DEEP, its ~2- 2 1/2" from hitting my PSU.
Click to expand...

Actually, most people say the SM is well-built.

2" away from your PSU? Surely you mean your GPU? Either that or you're using a mATX case? :D
 
jcazes said:
Actually, most people say the SM is well-built.

2" away from your PSU? Surely you mean your GPU? Either that or you're using a mATX case? :D
Click to expand...

umm no. PSU.

Old picture, might be more than 2" but doesn't seem like it.
side1.jpg
 
So far, I'm not impressed with the Icy Dock at all... Temps are pretty hot (Raptor is 41C and Maxtor is 46C) and install was a PITA.
 
jcazes said:
So far, I'm not impressed with the Icy Dock at all... Temps are pretty hot (Raptor is 41C and Maxtor is 46C) and install was a PITA.
Click to expand...

Having a hotter drive isn't such a bad thing as people make it out to be.
 
jcazes said:
So far, I'm not impressed with the Icy Dock at all... Temps are pretty hot (Raptor is 41C and Maxtor is 46C) and install was a PITA.
Click to expand...

I have my server in a very cool server room, but most people on [h] with Icy Dock's, ended up putting a replacement fan on it, to get it cool well.....
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top