I'm not sure if this represents a "good deal" per se...
But it's ideal for some of my purposes at a decent price.
But it's ideal for some of my purposes at a decent price.
Very useful
- Thread starter Peter Blanchard
- Start date
Notice: Page may contain affiliate links for which we may earn a small commission through services like Amazon Affiliates or Skimlinks.
Aluminium is not metal you want for HDD cages as it does not "absorb" vibrations as steel does.
Though this specific construction might work i would still go for something else.
If you get it do share your experiences.
Though this specific construction might work i would still go for something else.
If you get it do share your experiences.
Budget restrictions mean I'll have to wait before purchasing but because of construction, rubber mounts are an option.
I've looked at various drive cage with backplane server pull options but vendors tend to stiff you on the drive caddies. I've got plenty of 120mm fans.
If it's a basic stack, you can easily find so many 3d printable designs. Plus, being plastic and also not completely smooth, they would absorb vibrations better than metal.
Other solutions include using silicone drive sleeves that stack, but I think that would hurt cooling big time, and then there's stuff like this that's commercially available and pretty cheap as well:
Other solutions include using silicone drive sleeves that stack, but I think that would hurt cooling big time, and then there's stuff like this that's commercially available and pretty cheap as well:
I have similar cage to this came preinstalled with old case. Unlike abovementioned cages this one is much more sound design. Just slap the sleds on drive and push it in the steel cage.
Can be put in case occupies 3x 5.25 and gives space for 5x 3.5
20USD w/o shipping
Can be put in case occupies 3x 5.25 and gives space for 5x 3.5
20USD w/o shipping
Yeah the silicone sleeves have this problem for sure, but I remember seeing some designs that left a gap when stacked.
yeah this works and isn't flimsy. I use this one along with 2.5" to 3.5" trays for my U.2 SSDs
That cage is awful. After a while, the sleds will bend/get stuck and break. If you fill it up with 5 drives, you will after a year or two, struggle de-attaching your hard drives.
An enterprise JBOD chassis is the best solution.
Be careful with the 5x3.5" cages, there is a bad version where the slots are centered instead of offset to one side so that you can only actually fit 4 drives as the space for the 5th drive is evenly split between the top and bottom of the cage. Strangely, the Aliexpress link has pictures of both. This is the bad version that will only fit 4 drives.
The other pictures seem to be the good version that will fit 5 drives.
I ordered one where the pictures all showed the 5 drive version and still received the 4 drive version.
The other pictures seem to be the good version that will fit 5 drives.
I ordered one where the pictures all showed the 5 drive version and still received the 4 drive version.
Yep, but too bad the chia garbage and other stuff has kept the prices on these pie high for over a year now. I still remember when an SA120 was like $100 if you searched for it.
I have one of those 5 x 3.5" HDDs in 3 x 5.25" bay adapters. They work best in cases that use drive rails. The ones that use tabs require removing or bending tabs out of the way.
I have 4 of the 5 x 3.5" in 3 x 5.25" drive cages. Two with rubber grommets and screws to fasten the hard drives in the cages and two with the plastic sleds. Been using them for 5+ years without issue.
All with 120mm fan (under-volted to 7V) which results in 10 degree cooler drives.
environment:
10x WDC WD140EDFZ-11A0VA0 on shelf in (2) 5 x 3.5" HD cages (screw and grommet)
5400 RPM drives
ambient 23 C
monitored with hddtemp
Without fans: 46°C - 58°C
With fan (5V): 37°C - 42°C
With fan (7V): 33°C - 36°C
With fan (12V): 29°C - 32°C
Only use the sled cages when upgrading drives which I've done twice. Hope I don't have issues like other folks have mentioned with jamming and breaking the plastic sleds.
Wish I could find more HD cages of the screw and grommet variety.
All with 120mm fan (under-volted to 7V) which results in 10 degree cooler drives.
environment:
10x WDC WD140EDFZ-11A0VA0 on shelf in (2) 5 x 3.5" HD cages (screw and grommet)
5400 RPM drives
ambient 23 C
monitored with hddtemp
Without fans: 46°C - 58°C
With fan (5V): 37°C - 42°C
With fan (7V): 33°C - 36°C
With fan (12V): 29°C - 32°C
Only use the sled cages when upgrading drives which I've done twice. Hope I don't have issues like other folks have mentioned with jamming and breaking the plastic sleds.
Wish I could find more HD cages of the screw and grommet variety.