Re: Mobile racks and trays
- From: "Anna" <myname@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Wed, 30 Apr 2008 14:23:44 -0400
ken k <kdkrone@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
I have been thinking about using a mobile rack and tray system to swap
out hard drives which store data, such as my music and video DVD
collections. One such system is this:
http://kingwin.com/mobileracktrays.asp
Does anyone have any experience with these systems for home use? Do
the drives cook? Do the rack components (plastic) hold up over time?
Who makes a good one?
Thanks
Ken K
"Dave" <noway@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:20080429203159.736c1d7b.noway@xxxxxxxxxxxx
I've used those, including the ones you linked to. The drives DO cook.
Most of these things have a cooling fan, but it really doesn't help. The
rack components hold up fine over time. I had a problem with them that
you probably wouldn't have considered, and maybe it doesn't apply to you.
I was >> using them to "clone" IDE and SATA hard drives. There's
probably a better way to do that, but in my line of work I had access to
so many of those drive rack thingies that it seemed silly not to use
them. :) Anyway, the IDE ones, the internal IDE cable where you mount
the hard drive wears out quickly if you swap drives often, and (at least
the ones I've seen) the cable is soldered to a little circuit board. Not
a big deal if you don't plan to swap drives often. Kingwin is a good
brand. Another is Icy Dock. Don't let the name fool you though, your
hard drive will get hot as Hell in an Icy Dock (ha ha) though that brand
is no worse than any other, as far as heat dissipation goes. And don't
buy the hype. Some are said to dissipate heat through contact with a
large heatsink surface or something. The problem is lack of airflow,
even in the ones with the fan. There is no room for airflow. So the
metal ones that are supposed to be cooler really aren't, as they don't
allow more airflow than the plastic ones. I'd suggest you try a plastic
one with a fan, if you must go that route. Note that your hard drive
will still get hot. But the fan has got to be better than nothing, even
though it doesn't seem to move enough air. -Dave
Anna wrote...
Ken:
I see you raised the same query in the ...hardware.storage newsgroup. The
response you received from Tim Daniels pretty much parallels my
experience. I believe Tim was referring to me as the person who
recommended a particular make & model of mobile rack (removable hard
drive) device. (See below).
We've been installing removable hard drives for about 10 years now. I've
probably installed or participated in the installation of these devices a
few thousand times over the years. We strongly recommend their use for PC
>> desktop machines. (As you probably know they are not designed for
laptops/notebooks.)
Our experience with these mobile racks has been quite positive - unlike
the experience Dave cites. By & large we have found these devices quite
reliable and rarely have had heat-related problems with them.
When we were working primarily with PATA HDDs we pretty much used >>
various Lian Li models (all-aluminum). In the past few years we've been
working primarily with SATA HDDs and now use the Athena Power MR->> 125
model (comes in beige & black) nearly exclusively. Newegg carries them
and happily they've very inexpensive. (Tim was referring to that model >>
in his response to you.)
We've installed or have had experience with hundreds of the Athena MR-
125 mobile racks and even though they're all-plastic we've rarely run
into >> any problems (heat-related or otherwise) with them. Interestingly
they have >> a bottom-mounted 80mm fan that's virtually dead silent.
We particularly like the fact that the Athena does not have a keylock
device as nearly every other mobile rack has, but rather a
push-button/lever affair that simplifies the ON-OFF insertion-removable
process. For one reason or another we're frequently switching the
removable trays/caddies and we prefer the Athena's device. But the
keylock if fine for most users.
In any event, there are a slew of different makes & models of mobile
racks out there. Just do a Google search and check the major online
vendors such as newegg. But go that route. You'll never regret it except
for the fact that you didn't sooner equip your desktop PC with one or two
of those devices.
Anna
Anna,
OK, I am a smidge confused now that I have gone to the Athena Power
website. The Kingwin setup has a rack that mounts in a 5 1/2" bay and
there are trays in which one mounts the hdd. The tray is then
installed/deinstalled into the "permanently" mounted rack in the computer.
Looking at the Athena website, it appears that there is a rack, but I do
not see a tray on which the hdd is mounted, which would imply that a hdd
is handled without its being mounted in a tray or the Athena MR-125 is an
entire unit that must somehow be slid into a "permanently" mounted rack in
the computer. I must be missing something here..
Can you clear this up for me?
Thanks
Ken K
Ken:
First of all I trust you understand that particular model of the Athena
mobile rack is designed to house a SATA HDD. I just wanted to make that
clear at the outset.
The Athena MR-125 is identical to virtually every other mobile rack designed
to house a HDD in that it's a two-piece affair; the rack itself which is
affixed to the desktop PC's 5 1/4" bay (just like you would affix an optical
drive for example), and the removable tray (or caddy) that slides in & out
of the rack. So while the rack itself is "permanently" mounted in the bay,
the removable tray is just that, i.e., removable. You're right, neither the
photos on the Athena site nor the newegg site...
http://www.newegg.com/product/product.aspx? Item=N82E16817123302
show the removable tray, but trust me - the unit comes with the tray.
Incidentally (AFAIK) the tray is not sold separately but the whole unit is
relatively inexpensive - $20 including shipping from newegg.
BTW, Athena does have an all-aluminum model, the MR-136SATA, see...
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811998021
A bit more expensive - $33 incl. shipping. We haven't worked with that
particular model but we're aware of some users who have and they're happy
with it. So if you're particularly interested in an all-aluminum model you
may want to look into that one.
There is, however, one (possibly) major difference between the two models.
While the MR-125 (plastic) is equipped with the 4-pin Molex power connector
in addition to the 15-pin SATA power connector, the MR-136SATA model comes
with only the latter connector. In most cases this shouldn't be an important
consideration for the vast majority of users since their power supply will
provide SATA power connectors (or a Molex-to-SATA power adapter can be
used). And it's always advisable to provide power to a SATA HDD using a
15-pin SATA power connector whenever possible.
Anna
.
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