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Storage What to use to fit 3.5 HDD in 5.25 bays? - ALSO Mobo with MIN 10 SATA ports?

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by pete*, 12 Jan 2012.

  1. pete*

    pete* Something witty here.

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    Hey all..

    I will have a Corsair 700D soon, which holds up to 6 HDD's.
    However, while that is currently fine - I will end up having another 2
    or 3 HDD's added to that, certainly in my new build.

    So, I was looking for 5.25 bay to 3.5 bay adapters. The case has 5
    5.25 bays and I will only need one or two (optical drive and POSSIBLY
    a fan controller somewhere down the line).
    Which leaves 3x 5.25 bays free for more HDD's.

    What do people suggest to use here? I've tried looking for adapters
    but keep getting 3.5 to 2.5 bay ones etc. :wallbash:
    What is the best bet?

    Also, as by my next build in May I could potentially have upto 10 HDD
    what CURRENT S1155 mobo's are good and have enough SATA ports
    to accommodate that many HDD's? :sigh:
     
  2. GeorgeStorm

    GeorgeStorm Aggressive PC Builder

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    a) I'd look to just change HDDs (replace smaller ones with larger etc)
    b) on the sata port front, if you're dealing with that number of drives, get a dedicated sata card.

    Not sure on the adaptor front, although I'm sure they exist since I swear I've got a couple at home
     
  3. .//TuNdRa

    .//TuNdRa Resident Bulldozer Guru

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    pete* likes this.
  4. padrejones2001

    padrejones2001 Puppy Love

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    The following Socket 1155 motherboards have 10 SATA ports:
    ASRock Z68 Extreme 7 Gen 3
    ASRock Z68 Professional Gen 3
    ASRock Fatal1ty P67 Professional B3
    ASRock P67 Extreme 6 B3

    As for the hard drive cages, there are a number of options by IcyDock and SNT that will allow you to put 3, 4, and 5 hard drives in three 5.25" bays.
     
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  5. zulu9812

    zulu9812 What's a Dremel?

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    First of all, there are 2 options for putting 3.5" hard drives into 5.25" bays: fixed mounting and hot swap bays. I'll show off the options in more detail:

    Fixed Bracket
    e.g. Lian Li Hard Drive Mounting Rails : MF-430

    [​IMG]

    Uploaded with ImageShack.us

    You just screw the brackets to the sides of the hard drive and then screw the brackets to your 5.25" bays slots. I'm not a huge fan of these as the assembly is quite laborious to both install and swap out (if you want to change hard drives, for example). They also tend to scratch the paint, not that you'd ever see the insides of the bay area.

    HDD cooler enclosures
    e.g. Scythe Himuro Aluminium 3.5" Hard Drive Cooler : SCH-1000

    [​IMG]

    Uploaded with ImageShack.us

    These are basically heatsink bays that radiate the heat from a hard drive out. Probably overkill for a 5400 or even 7200 RPM drive, more something for your Raptor. Having said that, they usually (like the above model) come with vibration-dampening fittings so you get less noise as well.

    HDD cage
    e.g. Lian Li 4 x 3.5" and 2 x 2.5" Hard Drive Rack Mount Kit : EX-36B1

    [​IMG]

    Uploaded with ImageShack.us

    HDD cages are basically a fancier version of the fixed bracket discussed above. Like the unit above, they usually come in a 4-into-3 variety - i.e. they allow the installation of 4 hard drives into 3 optical bays. Again like the model above, they're usually actively cooled with a front fan pulling air in and they usually have rubber mounting grommets to isolate vibrations. Having used the model above myself, I particularly liked the filter in front of the fan. The front panel is brushed aluminium and looks and feels high-end. A word of warning however: hard drives are typically inserted into the unit from the rear. This will usually mean removing the whole unit to put in one drive. But if you're going to fully populate it from the off, that's less of a problem.

    Hot-Swap Bay
    e.g. http://www.specialtech.co.uk/spshop...Hot Swap Hard Drive Rack Mount Kit : EX-H34SX

    [​IMG]

    Uploaded with ImageShack.us

    This is the most expensive, but also the best option. You get what you pay for. The above unit has a lockable door (although you don't need to lock it, as it lightly magnetises shut), a re-moveable front fan filter, a rear 120mm fan (which you can swap out for a different fan, or remove altogether) and hot swap functionality. How the hot swap works: the unit comes with all necessary cables, plug them from the PCB to the motherboard, now every time you want to install or swap a drive you just open door and insert the drive from the front. Very easy, very user-friendly.

    I would say, however, that typically hot swap bays use trays to hold the hard drives (for stability, I guess). You screw the drive to the tray and then slot the tray into the bay (you don't then screw the tray in). The above unit uses brackets that only assemble when you screw them to a hard drive (i.e. you can't keep them in the bay, so don't lose them!). You do get trayless hot swap bays, but they usually have individual drive doors and thus have no dust filter. Additionally, trayless units often have lower drive density - e.g. 3 hard drives into 3 optical bays, unlike the above unit which is a 4-into-3 model.

    I personally use three of the above units in my file server and swapped the fans out for Apache Blacks, which I run off a single PWM connector on my motherboard and use the BIOS to control the fan speed relative to temperature. It's so quiet that if it weren't for the power light I wouldn't even know the PC was on (and it saved the use of a bay for a fan controller).

    You'll notice that hot swap bays and cages are quite big. You can, however, get smaller units. If you really have your heart set on keeping those optical bays free for other things, you could try this 2-drive/2-bay hot-swap module:

    Lian Li 2 x SATA Hot Swap Internal Hard Drive Rack Mount Kit : EX-H22B

    [​IMG]

    Uploaded with ImageShack.us

    With regards to increasing the number of SATA ports, you need an expansion card, e.g. Startech PEXSATA22I:

    [​IMG]

    Uploaded with ImageShack.us

    I have two of these. Cheap as chips, easy to install, doesn't ask you to fanny about with RAID, does what it says on the tin - adds two sata ports.
     
    Last edited: 12 Jan 2012
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  6. pete*

    pete* Something witty here.

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    Cheers for the help guys. :)

    zulu, amazing info! I'm looking into that Lian Li 4 in 3 HotSwap bay, seems like just what I need.
    Thanks. :)
    Just need to make sure it fits in the 700D.

    Thanks again all :)
     
  7. zulu9812

    zulu9812 What's a Dremel?

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    I frickin' love hot-swap bays. I actually get annoyed at cases that have dedicated internal hard drive compartments, because I think that they're just taking up the space of optical bays. Give me a basic case with 6 optical bays (1x 4-into-3 hot-swap bay, 1 bluray drive, 2 for a reservoir/pump combo) and I'm all set.
     
  8. Bloody_Pete

    Bloody_Pete Technophile

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    You'd love my case then :p
     
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