Does a computer case such as this even exist?

[FenrisWolf228]

I have this idea in my head that I REALLY want. I'm looking for a computer tower/case where each of the hard drive bays are external enclosures so if I want to take out hard drive number 2, I literally can just grab, pull, take with me to a friends house and plug in with a USB and watch some movies, then return home, slide it back into place and turn on my PC and begin playing games. Does a case such as this exist?
I would never remove my OS hard drive, but would like all the rest removable in that way.
I don't need them to be "hot swappable." I don't mind turning off the pc to remove or move the drives, but I would like a simple way to pull one out and turn it into what's essentially an external USB hard drive.

 

[ClockHound]

Many cases have 'hot swap' bays - CM HAF XB EVO for example. And you can install a 'hot swap' bay in most cases. Even if you only intend to use it to cold swap. Remove drive from hot swap bay, insert it into the SATA-to-USB3 dock, go to your friend's place, connect to USB port and mission accomplished.

CM HAF XB EVO

Hot Swap Bay

USB 3 SATA Dock

This isn't a recommendation of these products (EVO is kinda cool tho) just shown as examples. Search your fav component site using these terms:
Hot Swap Bay and USB 3 SATA Dock and you'll see many options.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

Generally, if one had a hot-swap bay which shipped with a caddy, you could buy extra caddies for it. Then, if taking the caddy with drive from location A/computer-X to location B/computer-Y, computer-Y would have to be fitted with the same drive bay.

Even so, there are "external drive adapter and cable kits" which would allow you to plug into Computer Y's USB3 port with adapter fitting the caddy's SATA port, and a power-brick that would allow you to power the caddy.

Not going to search for it to show you, but I bought one at the Egg. I think it's a StarTech product, and it has 3 different AC power cables, so you can use it in any hotel room of any country in the civilized world.

 

[SKORPI0]

SATA to USB adaptor. Since the connectors (power/data) are accessible with the drive still inside the hot swap caddy, just attach the cables.

 

[MongGrel]

Most people do that with a good USB stick these days I imagine.

But you seem to know that, why you need a whole HDD ?

Kinda what hot swappable was meant for to begin with I guess just need a dock there.

You could have a power cable and a sata one outside where you're going and just plug em in, I've tested many HDD's in the past that way.

HDD's run just fine laying on a desk etc.

 

[master_shake_]

this is cheaper.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/External-Br...560?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20f1c3bd80

 

[BonzaiDuck]

It's nice to have those converters handy, but this obsession with external HDD solutions can seem a little like "backup neurosis."

Generally if someone has mostly a good workstation they built, no cable-drops for gbit Ethernet in the house, no server etc., you're going to look for "external drive solutions." At least with USB3 you get the speed, and you'd get it for eSATA IF you have the SATA-III connection rather than SATA-II.

The DAS can be a large-storage backup solution. It could also be a backup array for a small server system -- or even an almost always-on extension of one.

And some of us, with collections of various HDDs older or newer, may want to get some extra use out of them, versus finding another hot-swap caddy in which to install them individually.

In other words -- whatever floats your boat.

 

[Charmonium]

You want to search for a case with a SATA dock - like this one

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133191

dock is top mounted I think but no good pix.

 

[Red Squirrel]

For your use case a HDD dock is probably the easiest solution. You can even plug via esata so it will be just as fast as an internal drive. I use this do do backups. Hard drives are cheaper and easier than tapes.

If you want mass storage with removable drives, then something like this will work nicely:

http://www.supermicro.com/products/system/4U/6048/SSG-6048R-E1CR24N.cfm

I have a similar model for my file server, and it's great. You have to screw the drive to a caddy though.

 

[BonzaiDuck]

You want to search for a case with a SATA dock - like this one

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811133191

dock is top mounted I think but no good pix.

Interesting. what will they think of next? Of course it would be a Thermaltake case. TT manufactured that BlacX HDD dock.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Interesting. what will they think of next? Of course it would be a Thermaltake case. TT manufactured that BlacX HDD dock.

The Corsair 650D has a top-mounted hot-swap SATA bay too. I owned one for a couple years and just sold it to go for a smaller case in my new apartment.