Icy Dock MB973SP-B SATA Backplane Module

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Lawrence Lee
SPCR Reviewer
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Icy Dock MB973SP-B SATA Backplane Module

Post by Lawrence Lee » Sun Jun 12, 2011 5:08 pm


ickarumba1
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Joined: Fri Dec 17, 2010 9:44 pm
Location: Auckland, New Zealand

Re: Icy Dock MB973SP-B SATA Backplane Module

Post by ickarumba1 » Mon Jun 13, 2011 12:09 am

Excellent review, Lawrence. I can see this being useful for those who regularly swap data and prefer to have SATA data transfer rates.

Since you recommend it so much, does it not receive an 'SPCR recommended' badge?

HFat
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Re: Icy Dock MB973SP-B SATA Backplane Module

Post by HFat » Mon Jun 13, 2011 5:11 am

Interesting. I would have guessed it would be noisier than that, especially under load. And it probably would be with faster drives.

Did I miss the part where you said you stressed the drives to see if it caused temperatures and/or noise to ramp up? In my opinion, it's something you should consider doing if you haven't already. The effect should be more obvious with faster drives but even WD Greens get hotter under load.

flyingsherpa
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Re: Icy Dock MB973SP-B SATA Backplane Module

Post by flyingsherpa » Sun Jun 19, 2011 11:38 am

Lawrence Lee wrote:Note that to take full advantage of the MB973 and similar devices (and eSATA connected peripherals as well), your system must be setup to support SATA hotswapping. The SATA controller used must be set to the AHCI or RAID in the BIOS/UEFI and the operating system installed has to have the proper drivers installed. If you are using Windows 7, chances are your AHCI/RAID drivers were pre-loaded during installation. If Windows was installed in IDE mode however, it may not boot when changed to AHCI/RAID mode; editing the registry will allow you to make the switch without going through the pain of reinstalling.
Thanks so much for this! I was puzzled why my machine wouldn't boot when I tried to switch to AHCI in the bios (well after installing win7). I think I googled it at one point but didn't find a good answer. Your article not only explained the issue, but gave a link to the solution.

Oh, and good review, too :) . I might go for the single bay version...

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