When would you use a 5.25 -> 4 x 2.5 bays adapter?

[Eeqmcsq]

In the ITX computers that I have built, I don't use the 5.25 bay because I either install the OS from a USB stick or a USB external CD/DVD drive. So one fun thing I can do is try to squeeze as much storage space as I can using the 5.25 bay.

My research first turned up this adapter:

Lian Li BZ-525B, 5.25 -> 4 x 2.5 bays
http://www.frozencpu.com/products/1..._to_4_x_25_HDD_Converter_-_Black_BZ-525B.html

I can put a pair of SSDs there and a pair of 1TB laptop drives, all in a 5.25 bay. Pretty cool, I thought.

Months later, I came across this adapter:

SilverStone FP55B, 5.25 -> 2 x 2.5 bays + 1 x 3.5 bay
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817997018

With this, I can put a pair of SSDs and a pair of desktop HDDs, one in the adapter's bay, one in the 3.5 bay that already comes with the case. Since desktop HDDs have way more capacity than laptop HDDs - they have reached 4 TB per drive - I would be better off with the Silverstone adapter. In fact, when I thought about it some more, I could not think of a single build scenario where 4x2.5 bays is more advantageous.

So my question is this: Can you think of a build scenario where you would use 4x2.5 bays instead of 2x2.5 + 1x3.5 bays in a 5.25 bay?

 

[smitbret]

NAS like FreeNAS or unRAID that boots off of a flash drive.

 

[dave_the_nerd]

Yeah, any kind of little file server.

 

[DaveSimmons]

Or a low-noise / no-noise PC where you don't want a 3.5" platter drive.

I have a Shuttle XPC (fanless, Atom) and the click-click of the laptop hard drive parking and unparking is really annoying. Once SSDs are cheaper I'll replace the 500 GB platter drive with a SSD.

 

[PCTC2]

I'll often use SSDs for OS drives and cache drives for ZFS. I prefer to use these solutions:
http://www.icydock.com/goods_cat.php?id=124

Hot-swap capability for RAID1 rebuilds. 🙂

 

[Dirigible]

Months later, I came across this adapter:

SilverStone FP55B, 5.25 -> 2 x 2.5 bays + 1 x 3.5 bay
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16817997018

With this, I can put a pair of SSDs and a pair of desktop HDDs, one in the adapter's bay, one in the 3.5 bay that already comes with the case. Since desktop HDDs have way more capacity than laptop HDDs - they have reached 4 TB per drive - I would be better off with the Silverstone adapter. In fact, when I thought about it some more, I could not think of a single build scenario where 4x2.5 bays is more advantageous.

So my question is this: Can you think of a build scenario where you would use 4x2.5 bays instead of 2x2.5 + 1x3.5 bays in a 5.25 bay?

I might be missing something but I read the description of that part as either one 3.5" OR two 2.5" drives. Not one 3.5" AND two 2.5" drives.

May want to doublecheck.


Edit: the reviews seem to indicate all three drives can go in at once. Weird.