StarTech.com 3-Bay Hot Swap Backplane for 3.5in SAS II/SATA III - 6 Gbps HDD - Aluminum Trayless Mobile Rack Backplane (HSB3SATSASBA),Black

I purchased this 3-bay hot-swappable disk enclosure to improve cooling for my disks, as my tower was running them a bit warm. The built-in fan has been very effective at keeping the disks cooler. It also replaced three full-height hot-swap drive caddies, consolidating the space and simplifying my setup.Installation:This enclosure is designed to fit into two CD-ROM bays. My case only had two standard drive bays available, so I needed to flatten the 8 positioning "ears" that align hard drives/floppys in the bays. This was a simple adjustment with a small hammer, though not something I planned for. If your case has two CD-ROM bays, installation should be a breeze and take just a few minutes.Cabling and Functionality:The cabling is straightforward and easy to manage once installed. It uses two power connections for the three disks, and the instructions provide a very helpful tip: connect the power from two different cable bundles. This setup helps prevent interruptions to other disks during hot-swapping, which is a thoughtful design feature.Overall, this is a well-designed enclosure that performs great for its intended purpose. It’s a particularly good solution if you’re looking to consolidate or upgrade from individual full-height caddies. Just be sure your case has the appropriate CD-ROM bays, or be prepared for a minor adjustment during installation.

I purchased this StarTech.com 3-Bay Hot Swap Backplane for installation in my iStarUSA 2U Compact Server Chassis (D-214-MATX). The server chassis has 2x5.25 ODD cage in it that was going unused - the StarTech.com 3-Bay Hot Swap Backplane fits perfectly.My short depth 2U case is fairly cramped due to its shallow depth (~15.5 inches/~40cm), and the included HDD mounting locations can be difficult to access, especially if you are using a 4 DIMM mATX motherboard, as the motherboard runs underneath the 3.5" HDD mounting locations - at best I was only going to be able to install 2x3.5" HDDs in the upper locations of the dual mounting brackets - the lower locations are virtually unusable for 3.5" HDDs as they would interfere with the 24 pin motherboard power cable, 4xDIMM slots, and 6XSATA ports.The StarTech.com 3-Bay Hot Swap Backplane allowed me to leverage the unoccupied 2x5.25 ODD drive location to expand the 3.5" HDD capacity to more than 3 drives. I also installed a SFF power supply to give me additional cabling room as the StarTech.com 3-Bay Hot Swap Backplane sits in front of the PSU (see photos).I have seen some complaints about the included cooling fan being noisy - my server is installed in an unfinished basement where noise isn't an issue. I have also seen complaints about the drive doors being flimsy - I am not really using the hot swap capabilities so not really an issue for me - the drive doors seemed adequate to me for the one-time installation of my 3x3.5" HDDs - I believe the doors would be adequate for hot swap situations if they are operated carefully, but if you're looking at these for continuous hot swapping, perhaps there are more robust alternatives - overall the build quality seemed very good to me (I am a bit puzzled by the brushed aluminum black enclosure though, as this item is installed internally where that nice finish detail will never be seen).There are switches on the back of the unit that allow both the fan and the HDD activity lights to be turned on/off - they are both left on in my case as the light/noise are not an issue in my unfinished basement, which serves for the most part as my "lights out" server room.There are 3X SATA cables included, a nice touch. I am very pleased with this purchase, as it makes installing hard drives in my 2U case a breeze - SATA power and data cabling are a one-time effort, and mean there won't be a prolonged disassembly/reassembly process when adding or replacing drives. 5 stars.

GOOD:• Hot-swap drives are always a good thing.• Lets you get hot-swap drives on inexpensive rackmount cases, where such things are inexplicably rare.• Comes with all necessary accessories and parts.• Works with bare drives—doesn't need sleds, which are a pain to install and always proprietary• Uses standard PC cabling• Includes ventilation fan, useful if you're running very hot drives• Price is reasonable considering the niche application• Instructions are clear and complete• Works wellNOT SO GOOD:• It's made from aluminum; I'm concerned about the long-term durability of steel screws attaching the aluminum chassis to a steel PC case. It's a recipe for corrosion.• Fan adds extra depth to the unit, which may make for a very tight fit in some cases (or prevent it from working at all in others)• The location and orientation of the three SATA ports precludes you from using SATA cables with right-angle connectors, and makes clean routing more difficult• Requires two SATA power connectors *on different power rails* to avoid drive power failure upon a hot-swap, due to power draw; doesn't provide much help on how to verify your power supply's cords are on different rails. Might've been better if it used a higher-capacity connector instead• Power connectors located outboard of SATA connectors further complicates cable routing• Drive bay keys offer laughable security and are easy to lose, especially given their extremely tiny keychain hole... but at least when you lose them, it shouldn't be hard to pick with a paperclip• Included SATA cables are on the short side and seem relatively low-quality• Sledless operation may complicate using 2.5-inch drives, as you may need an adapter that more closely mimics the dimensions of a 3.5-inch drive• No enclosure-services supportUGLY:• Blue LEDs. Bright, distracting blue LEDs. Hot-swap 3.5-inch SATA drive bays are for servers, not gaming rigs. The drive LEDs should be red.BOTTOM LINE:If you need a hot-swap drive bay for 3.5-inch drives, this is a solid choice in a niche market. While there's room for improvement, it'll do the job just fine.