iStarUSAGroup 3x5.25 to 4x3.5 SAS Cage Black Trayless (BPN-DE340SS-BLACK)

edit... added note about fan replacementI've been buying these for a couple of years now for HTPC and server use and they are top quality.... I would note I don't see any reason to buy up to the Supermicro / Intel and other racks... they cost at least $30 more, use non standard fans you cant replace should they go out, don't accommodate 5.25 bay tabs that are present in most cases, and dont look as good....Pros:- construction is very very good... FAR better than any of the tray or trayless cost effective competition- styling is also very good... it actually looks better in person- accepts 2.5 drives also with a bit of alignment- is a very substantial chunk of aluminium with good drive contact to act as a large heat sink- keeps drives at or below 31c with the fan on low- has side slots to allow for 5.25 tabs that most cases have, ironically most other hot swap bays don't have these (!) BIG plus for istarUSA- packaging is even somewhat high end... you'll get it in good shape- includes sata3 6gbps cables with locking clips on both ends- dual color power blue / activity pink leds for each drive are nice- standard 80mm fan that can be simply replaced if necessary and has two speeds set by a rear switch- very nice mechanical (not cheapo spring) ejector mechanism that isn't flimsy- I'm running raids in them for nearly 2 years and no glitches ever- hot swap works smooth as glass- drive fit is very good with zero wobble- fit in coolermaster case with push button retention is perfect, which isn't always the case with 5.25 stuff- has high quality feel friction to door hinges and nicely done band springs to make sure a snug fit for the drives-drive noise suppression is very goodCons:- a minor design issue is the sata and sata power connectors are all vertical... it would fit most case and modular power cable arrangements better if they were horizontal- a second minor design thing is that the fan is a little loud on high and the speed switch is very recessed in back, so easy switching of fan speed once installed isn't really easy... once switched to low it cools to 31c max so it's really a non issue- both of these things are very minor when taking the product quality into accountOther Thoughts:- This is the first istarusa product I bought ... I emailed them ahead of time about the fan and got an immediate coherent response which was great... and rare for hardware companies- the 80mm fan has a non standard connector so if you replace it, you need to splice the wires to the new fan or another option is to use a PWM fan and attach it to a motherboard fan header which adds a level of control should you wantThis prduct type has a lot of junk out there but the Istar product actually blew me away when I got it, which is really rare in computer anything.Also if you want a sata3 trayless dock with sata power, these guys are the only game in town.The design of these things are very good and I'm gonna look at a lot of other istar stuff like cases now... great product

There are many excellent things about this product, and, sadly, one thing that is a big problem for me.The other reviewers have have noted the product's excellent build quality and I agree. There are many clever and thoughtful design features. The drive bays have a practical latch arrangement with spring plates that hold the drives in place. There are simple key locks on the bay doors, but you don't have to lock them if physical security isn't an issue. When a bay door is opened, there's a plastic lever at inner end of the bay that pushes the drive out far enough to be easy to remove. I am a little worried about how robust those levers will be in hard use. The only caveat of note in the overall design is that while the product's outer shell is aluminum, the inner drive cage structure is an open plastic framework which appears to offer decent air circulation but no conductive heat transfer from the drives to the outer aluminum shell. Another reviewer noted that the inner bay sides are metal, but that is not the case with the unit I received.Drive cooling is a concern, particularly if the unit is fully populated. Air has to enter the cage through small holes in the bay doors and around the door edges, while at the backplane were the air exits into the fan there are slots in the circuit board that further limit airflow. Consequently, the designer's have chosen a relatively high speed 80mm fan to move enough air through the unit for adequate drive cooling. The fan noise is very irritating. There is a tiny (and barely accessible after installation) slide switch for high or low fan speed. But even on the low speed setting the sound is unpleasant. This would be OK in a server closet but I build PCs with slow running 120mm fans and sound-deadening materials to minimize noise, and the iStar drive cage is by far the noisiest component in the machine.To make this work in my HTPC application, I will have to replace the factory fan with a much quieter one that moves less air, and then see what drive temperatures are like. I plan to use cool-running back-up drives rather than fast, full-time system drives so it may be workable.Otherwise, I will have to banish the product to a back room machine.

Straight-forward and simple install. A SATA connector for each of the four bays (cables included) and two SATA power connectors. I fed the power connectors from two different lines from the power supply. Able to hot swap any drive at random. No issues at all with restart of all drives if one is swapped. My tower isn't especially close of me, so while I can hear the fan its not loud enough to be any issue, and I've got it set on "high." While its frame is aluminum the door assemblies are plastic. I'm not counting anything off, but if you're a bit rough on your gear it could be an issue.Its good bang for the buck. I use the CRUs at work and they're built like a tank, but priced accordingly. This seems to be the best in the range that its in. Doors pivot easily to about 80 degrees and then the last 10 degrees is a more resistant pull that ends with holding the door fully open and making it really easy to slide drives in and out. Be aware there is no on-board port replicator so you've got to have a SATA port for each bay you want to use (max of 4). No issue for me, but best to know going in.

really great sas hot swap cage, all my sas drives stay cool and the products seems well made (minus a small vibrating sound made by the fan that cools the harddrive, which is not really noticeable unless you have OCD).The only complaint is the price if they dropped the price on this bad-boy i'm pretty sure the crisis in crimea will come to an abrupt end, just kidding; but you do get and awesome quality cage.Come to think of it i havent tried pulling out a drive from the raid 6 config on my webserver, i'll go do that right now........OK seems to work just fine, lol no catastrophic failures and it seems my drive is rebuilding.i am considering buying 2more to create a home storage server.

Unlike the experience I had with the IStarUSA case I bought, this item seems to be pretty decent. I have it in a fileserver and so far it has preformed well. I will have to see how long it lasts but so far so good.I took off a star because the doors are a little flimsy and if you are ham fisted you could break one quite easily. The drives do slide in and out easily and the door locks are good, just don't pull to hard if they are locked.