5 drives in 3 bays... Simple bracket?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Calab
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Calab

I'm looking for what should be a simple mounting bracket that will hold five
3.5" hard drives in three drive bays.

http://wantitnow.ebay.com/5-in-3-dr...Z250210634784QQssPageNameZSTRKQ3aMEWINQ3aPOST

Or, for those who don't like eBay. A link directly to the photo:

http://i2.ebayimg.com/06/i/000/d5/ff/0358_2.JPG


The closest that I can find is this, at $40 + shipping, which ends up being
around $60:

http://i3.ebayimg.com/07/i/000/b0/70/4abb_1.JPG
http://i6.ebayimg.com/01/i/000/b0/70/4b18_1.JPG


I'm sure that there are more out there, and probably a bit cheaper too.

Anyone have any ideas or suggestions?
 
Calab said:
I'm looking for what should be a simple mounting bracket that will hold five
3.5" hard drives in three drive bays.

http://wantitnow.ebay.com/5-in-3-dr...Z250210634784QQssPageNameZSTRKQ3aMEWINQ3aPOST

Or, for those who don't like eBay. A link directly to the photo:

http://i2.ebayimg.com/06/i/000/d5/ff/0358_2.JPG


The closest that I can find is this, at $40 + shipping, which ends up being
around $60:

http://i3.ebayimg.com/07/i/000/b0/70/4abb_1.JPG
http://i6.ebayimg.com/01/i/000/b0/70/4b18_1.JPG


I'm sure that there are more out there, and probably a bit cheaper too.

Anyone have any ideas or suggestions?
Click to expand...

Due to heating concerns I'd avoid that.
If your case is large enough, I'd rob a drive bay out of a junked machine
and mount it somewhere else in the cabinet...to give the drives a bit of
room for
air flow.

Last year I ended up adding an additional bay
by just mounting it as the bottom of the case
 
I second that Unless you plan to have a decent 120mm fan blowing fresh air
onto the drives, this is asking for trouble. There are some hot-swap trays
that come with a fan and can offer similar density, but are a bit more
expensive.

The money you save on getting a fanless tray like the one pictured will be
lost on a drive likely failing within 3-6 months due to heat and/or
vibration problems.

W
 
Irresistance said:
I second that Unless you plan to have a decent 120mm fan blowing fresh air
onto the drives, this is asking for trouble. There are some hot-swap trays
that come with a fan and can offer similar density, but are a bit more
expensive.
Click to expand...

The last two links show a model with a 120mm fan. Also, this is going into
an Antec 900 case... 200mm fan right on top, sucking air out of the case.
 
Calab said:
The last two links show a model with a 120mm fan. Also, this is going into
an Antec 900 case... 200mm fan right on top, sucking air out of the case.
Click to expand...

I did see a nice fan on that 2nd link...
so might as well get that one.
If it keeps the drives cooled, it's worth any extra money you'd pay
 
I'm looking for what should be a simple mounting bracket that will hold five
3.5" hard drives in three drive bays.

http://wantitnow.ebay.com/5-in-3-dr...Z250210634784QQssPageNameZSTRKQ3aMEWINQ3aPOST

Or, for those who don't like eBay. A link directly to the photo:

http://i2.ebayimg.com/06/i/000/d5/ff/0358_2.JPG


The closest that I can find is this, at $40 + shipping, which ends up being
around $60:

http://i3.ebayimg.com/07/i/000/b0/70/4abb_1.JPG
http://i6.ebayimg.com/01/i/000/b0/70/4b18_1.JPG


I'm sure that there are more out there, and probably a bit cheaper too.

Anyone have any ideas or suggestions?
Click to expand...

5 in 3 is putting them pretty close together, IMO you should
instead get a different case that accomodates enough drives.
 
I put 5 3.5" drives into an old scsi 4 bay 5.25" drive case. I kept both
internal fans and all are running fine for 1 year now. Using USB drive
connectors and a 350 watt PC Power Supply. It's about half the height of a
mini tower pc case. And it was a $5 flea market item. It was white so out
came the rattle can - flat heat resistant black paint. It sits by the PC
case and matches rather well.
 
I put 5 3.5" drives into an old scsi 4 bay 5.25" drive case. I kept both
internal fans and all are running fine for 1 year now. Using USB drive
connectors and a 350 watt PC Power Supply. It's about half the height of a
mini tower pc case. And it was a $5 flea market item. It was white so out
came the rattle can - flat heat resistant black paint. It sits by the PC
case and matches rather well.
Click to expand...

That's 4 bays instead of 3, leaving more room between the
drives was the important factor.
 
Calab said:
I'm looking for what should be a simple mounting bracket that will hold five
3.5" hard drives in three drive bays.
Click to expand...

Hang 2-3 of the drives vertically from the bottom drive bay, on the
floor of the case (may require extra-long cables), or, if the bay
extends all the way to the floor, on the side of the bay rack.
 
I'm looking for what should be a simple mounting bracket that will hold five
3.5" hard drives in three drive bays.

http://wantitnow.ebay.com/5-in-3-dr...Z250210634784QQssPageNameZSTRKQ3aMEWINQ3aPOST

Or, for those who don't like eBay. A link directly to the photo:

http://i2.ebayimg.com/06/i/000/d5/ff/0358_2.JPG


The closest that I can find is this, at $40 + shipping, which ends up being
around $60:

http://i3.ebayimg.com/07/i/000/b0/70/4abb_1.JPG
http://i6.ebayimg.com/01/i/000/b0/70/4b18_1.JPG


I'm sure that there are more out there, and probably a bit cheaper too.

Anyone have any ideas or suggestions?
Click to expand...

If your case only lacks enough HDD bays at the bottom, one
other option (which is even better, IMO, because with a
couple fans at the bottom the typical ATX airflow pattern is
preserved) is to drill out the (rivets, if so constructed)
bottom rack if it has one, then use a metal brake and sheet
metal to make a new HDD rack. In the following example a
couple of 92mm fans are in front of it and do a very good
job of keeping drives cool as almost all the air flows
through the rack.

http://69.36.166.207/usr_1034/gw_case/prepped for use.jpg
 
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