5.35" to 3.5" HDD rack?

[zolo]

I'm looking for a hdd rack, specifically the ones that fit in the 5.25" bay. I have a generic case that has 4 5.25" bays, and want to use those extra 3 for cooling + moving my 4X500GB drives to. I have 2 HDD's in the HDD cage, 1 is the floppy cage held be a hdd cooler with fans while the last one I installed in a usb enclosure.

The HDD cage that came with my case, is detachable, it can take up to 4 HDD's, but it woun't take 4 cause my 8800GTS is in the way so it can take up to 2 HDD's. Do they sell similar cages, with more bays?

http://img410.imageshack.us/img410/5320/img0070ajs7.jpg

These are the ones I found:

http://www.svc.com/stb-3t4-e1....9yZXMucHJvZHVjdHJlY29z

This one wil only carry 3 HDD's, but it'll only take 2 5.25" spots so it's ok:
http://www.svc.com/ex-23b-47.h...9yZXMucHJvZHVjdHJlY29z
based on newegg reviews, they saw it shouldn't be a problem:
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...k=&VideoOnlyMark=False

But what does this guy mean by this:

As the previous reviewer already mentioned it is not a drop-in solution for non LianLi cases. However, all one has to do is to extend the standard drive mounting slot/holes in a non Lian Li case with a small round file to the rear. If normally mounted with the given mounting points on this rack, it would extend about a half inch out of the front in a standard case. It takes 5 minutes to do this and wasn't really a con to me.Otherwise the rack fits pefect into all cases I know of.

or this one?

http://www.svc.com/ex-34b.html...Jlcy5wcm9kdWN0cmVjb3M-

Any recommendations?

Edit: typos.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

The coolermaster has issues lining up in some non-cooler master cases as well. I use the thermaltake iCage typically as it's less expensive though it does not flow as well as some of the others. The Silverstone Kublai Kage thats either out now or will be out very soon is supposed to be quite nice.

 

[zolo]

I've checked the icage, but it takes up 3 spot for 3 HDD's though. It was the first thing I saw, but now there're other options to think about. Looks like the silverstone one is not out yet since I can't find any info about it on google.

 

[DerwenArtos12]

out of the bunch I'd say cooler masters would be your best bet. Keep in mind though that you're just going to have to remove three 5.25" bay covers and just leave that area open with it. With the lian li's you may have some difficulty in mounting but, it'll have that nice front cover on it. Out of the lian-li's the 34NB is a better choice as it has just a mesh front with a cleanable filter, it offers better aiflow than the standard 34b with it's louvers.

 

[zolo]

Thanks DerwenArtos12, I was thinking about that same thing too, removable filters + the front cover. My only concern is installing it, I know I'll have fun doing that. What does this guy mean by this: "all one has to do is to extend the standard drive mounting slot/holes in a non Lian Li case with a small round file to the rear" It's gonna be tighter at the back than the front side of the 5.25" slots? or to soldier something at the back to extend the slot?

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Originally posted by: zolo
Thanks DerwenArtos12, I was thinking about that same thing too, removable filters + the front cover. My only concern is installing it, I know I'll have fun doing that. What does this guy mean by this: "all one has to do is to extend the standard drive mounting slot/holes in a non Lian Li case with a small round file to the rear" It's gonna be tighter at the back than the front side of the 5.25" slots? or to soldier something at the back to extend the slot?

Lian Li uses front pannels that are either integrated to the chassis or very close to the chassis so the standard drive mounting holes on a case won't line up with the holes on their cages as the wholes on the cages are meant to line up at the rear of Lian Li drive mouting holes on the case.

Basically the holes to put screws in on the cage itself are going to be back too far, you'll have to drill out new holes on your case or just expand the existing holes depending on how far too far back they are. make sense?

 

[zolo]

Yeah, I guess I get it now. Thanks for explaining that to me.
OK, I found the silverstone one you were talking about, I saw it yesterday @ newegg
http://www.newegg.com/Product/...x?Item=N82E16811999164
But I thought it didn't fit the bill, since it doesn't come with a removable filter, not like the the lian-li one. I could use a masking tape to hold a filter on top of the cover or something, but I'd rather get the lian-li one instead since it already has a small spot for the filter inside the thing, right?

 

[Zepper]

Read my reviews of drive cages here: http://www.techIMO.com/reviews/ they are in the Cases section. There are two of them: one focuses on the Cooler Master Device Module and the other focuses on the Silverstone CFP51, but within them I review or discuss every available model. I review or discuss every available cage that I know of there. The current cooler Master cage won't work in many cases (without cutting or bending metal) due to the flat sides. Lian Li cages have a non-standard measurement from the front of the bezel to the first mounting screw so it will protrude from the front of your case a bit unless you have slots or other adjustable way to mount to allow for that. The bezel on the LL cages may also be a bit too wide for some cases. The expensive Silverstone CFP51 cage will fit most cases just fine. And when it becomes available, the new CFP52 will be reasonably priced and will work with all cases. The new cooler master cage that is shown as OOS at Newegg (and wasn't supposed to be sold in the USA at all, from what I've been able to find out) is also a universal fit, but since I haven't had a chance to test one, IDK about drive noise isolation, etc. According to the Newegg listing, the chassis of the cage is aluminum and the cage is isolated from your case with the big soft bushings like the second version of the original. The first version of the original (like the one the OP found at SVC) was made of very heavy steel and was the best at noise damping. Unfortunately not a universal fit and you can't buy one (except maybe on eBay) anyway.

The "Kublai Kage" (CFP52) comes with Silverstone's Kublai series of cases but is supposed to be marketed separately soon (I haven't seen it anywhere yet) at around $20. It will be the only one that comes with removable drive trays and that can be made hot plug/swappable with optional connector brackets ($5.00 each). You can see it in my review of the Kublai KL01 case here: http://www.techIMO.com/articles/ .

.bh.

 

[zolo]

Thanks for the link, very informative. The 5.25" bays are screwless in my case. So I guess the best option would be the CFP51, right? I need something now, uless the new model is coming next week.

 

[Zepper]

Well, the i-Star 3-in-2 cage is universal fit as is the iCage. Too bad that neither the new Cooler Master nor the Kublai cage is available now as those would be the best choices. The new C-M has an ETA of 3/18 at newegg, but we know how that goes... The i-STar cage is available elsewhere than at Newegg - I can link you to another source if that one would be useful. Unfortunately, the i-Star and the CFP51 are all that are available to buy today.

If your case uses screw-on drive rails, you may be able to use the current C-M cage or even the Lian Li. Either of which is a lot cheaper than the CFP51. If you could give me a good pic of both sides of your 5" drive bays, perhaps I could advise better. Maybe I could find some pix of your case myself if I knew what it was (make & model).

imageshack is being very difficult to access for me right now (lots of network timeouts) - try photobucket.com for posting your images.

I see a CM cage on eBay at a starting bid of 1 cent - already been up for three days with no bids. Shipping is reasonable as long as the bid stays low. Perhaps a little modding would make it usable for you.

.bh.

 

[zolo]

Sure, this is Left side, right side one, two. The case is a no-band type case. The thing I don't like about the CM cage, is it doesn't have that neat cover with the filter inside it like the Lian-Li unless they sell those covers by themselfs toattach to any cage?

 

[DerwenArtos12]

Originally posted by: zolo
Sure, this is Left side, right side one, two. The case is a no-band type case. The thing I don't like about the CM cage, is it doesn't have that neat cover with the filter inside it like the Lian-Li unless they sell those covers by themselfs toattach to any cage?

sorry for the trouble but, could we get a picture of one of the slides for the bays. the plastic things that actually hold them in?

 

[zolo]

sorry for the trouble but, could we get a picture of one of the slides for the bays. the plastic things that actually hold them in?

No trouble at all, infact thanks for helping me out. Here's a pic of both sides of the slides:

http://img32.picoodle.com/img/..._IMG0093Am_eb7e284.jpg

 

[DerwenArtos12]

That's got a lot of holes in it. I bet the Lian Li would work so long as it wasn't too wide for your case's front panel, and I only know of two ways to find that out. Get one and try and install it or, find someone with the exact same case who's already tried it.

 

[Zepper]

I think I have the exact measurements of the Lian Li in one of my reviews. It won't fit the TJ07 because of the height and it tight in other cases because of the width. With that type of rail, the Lian Li and the Cooler-Master cage will work with a little twiddling to get the right offset . Here is a filter assembly that would dress up the front of the C-M a bit:
http://www.svc.com/12filguar.html - it is what I use on my cages including the Kublai - and here are some more 120mm filters if you don't like the above:
http://www.svc.com/filters-120.html . I link you to SVC because they will ship small items by First Class mail uninsured (if you choose) to save on shipping in case you get your cage elsewhere.

The filter material in the Lian Li 34 models have been cut too small and is very porous so if that is what you go with, stop by your local store and pick up some foam filter material to cut a proper size filter that will actually trap something.

.bh.

 

[zolo]

Originally posted by: DerwenArtos12
That's got a lot of holes in it. I bet the Lian Li would work so long as it wasn't too wide for your case's front panel, and I only know of two ways to find that out. Get one and try and install it or, find someone with the exact same case who's already tried it.

The thing is, I'm out of the country, and my aunt is going to the U.S. for 10 day vacation next month, she's gonna bring the stuff with her so I can't just buy/test/return if it doesn't work, you know. I'm not just gonna throw it away however, I'm gonna play with it till it fits in my case.

Here is a filter assembly that would dress up the front of the C-M a bit:
http://www.svc.com/12filguar.html - it is what I use on my cages including the Kublai - and here are some more 120mm filters if you don't like the above:
http://www.svc.com/filters-120.html . I link you to SVC because they will ship small items by First Class mail uninsured (if you choose) to save on shipping in case you get your cage elsewhere

I've seen those in other retailers as well, but what worries me is whether it'll cover the whole front area or not? I think it'll just cover the fan, but it woun't fill the gaps around the fan in the CM one for example, right? There will be small gaps around the fan filter, which will make the filter useless, is this true? If it does cover the whole area so there woun't be gaps around the fan, then I'm sold. I think it's hard to say since my case 5.25" covers might be slightly bigger or smaller than other cases, but I want to know if the CM cage + fan filter, will cover an area (front side), equivalent to what the lian-li cage's cover would.

I found the new E3 CM cage in directron.com, I've never purchased anythign from those guys before, but based on resellerratings, they seem legit. I'm gonna e-mail them and see if they have it in stock.

http://www.directron.com/stb3t4e3gp.html

 

[Zepper]

No, the Lian Li has a full bezel that will overfill many cases' bezel openings (it was a press-fit in the bezel of my Aerocool coolview case) - there may also be a depth issue with the Lian Li, so check the measurements in my reviews. I couldn't find my measurements on the LL 34 but I believe it was nearly 9 inches from the front of the bezel to the rear of a mounted drive.

The filter assembly I linked is only a bit larger than the size of the fan. If your bay filler plates are plastic, you might be able to glue three of them together and then cut to mount the filter assembly to that for a finished look.

If your aunt is coming next month, then the new C-M rack from Newegg is a possibility. As is the Kublai Kage.

.bh.

 

[zolo]

Originally posted by: Zepper


If your aunt is coming next month, then the new C-M rack from Newegg is a possibility.

.bh.

It looks like it's in stock now @ directron as I said in my last post though. I'm still waitting for thier reply to confirm that's in fact in stock, you're talking about this one, right?
http://www.directron.com/stb3t4e3gp.html

directron said they do have it in stock, any other thoughts before I place an order?

 

[Zepper]

That one doesn't have a filter in stock form, so have your aunt pick up some foam air conditioner filter material while she is here (unless they sell it there). You can cut a piece and rig a way to hold it to the inside of the plastic bezel of the cage to keep it out of the fan... Also check the length of the drive mounting screws when you get it - who knows, they may have started supplying correctly sized screws, but somehow I doubt it. 3/16" or less of thread length is correct. Shim them out with washers if too long.

And thanks for the find. I'll be picking one up myself to add to my reviews. I'm sad that the Kublai Kage is not presently available separately as I'm sure it will beat all others functionally and for value. The new C-M looks like it will grab second place.

I'll give you a few minutes to get your order in and then order mine. Let me know when you are done ordering yours.

.bh.

With minimum shipping at $10.00 at Directron, I decided I can wait for Newegg to get theirs in... .bh. No way $10. is justified on that aluminum cage.

 

[zolo]

Thanks guy for all the help, I just placed an order for the CM STB-3T4-E3-GP