5.25 Hard Drive Rack Enclosures

slashdotcomma · Post by **slashdotcomma** » Wed Dec 08, 2004 5:48 pm

Has anyone had any luck with internal 5.25 hard drive enclosures that are cool (tempwise), rugged (reasonably), and easily removeable? I would like to end up using some of the small hard drives that I have laying around (and some new ones I hope to get soon) and put stuff on them. How are the Vantec EZ-Swap series? I'm thinking about getting maybe 3 of these MRK-102FD and maybe one MRK-200ST for now. They sound pretty good (minus the cost), but how's the cooling a. and b. how loud is that 40mm fan? If that's the best to get, any other recommendations? I really like the MRK-200ST because it doesn't waste the connectors on the hard drive but on the case itself, that way instead of replacing the hard drive I would only have to replace the drive rack instead. But as we all know here at SPCR, silence is important. So any suggestions?

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 6:45 am

I've used them for years, but have sort of given up on them as my noise tolerance has dropped. They work great and the built-in cooling keeps the drive cool, but those 40mm fans are just noisy, no matter what you try. I've tried every 40mm fan in the universe and none of them are quiet enough for me, even running at 5V where the are flowing basically no air. They do need cooling too, as the drives get pretty warm with no forced cooling, even in the all-aluminum enclosures.

There's been several discussions at SPCR about this topic over the years, use the search to find them. I'd suggest searching for "mobile AND rack" as a start.

Pauli · Post by **Pauli** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 11:53 am

Another problem is that there aren't any easy ways to isolate them. I gave up on mine because they seemed even louder than having non-isolated drives in the 3.5" drive bays.

slashdotcomma · Post by **slashdotcomma** » Thu Dec 09, 2004 11:54 am

Thanks Ralf, guess I didn't search well enough. I think i'm going to try getting the kindwin, disable the and sandwich it between my 2 hard drive cages on my Lian-Li 6077. This however doesn't bode well with my other computers, and another one I'm going to build. I spent way too much on my Lian-Li and I'm definitely not spending that much again. I guess I'll go with the BQE, and maybe I'll do some modding and imbed a 80mm fan in front of where the drive cage will be so I don't have to listen to that lousy 40mm fan.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 10:39 am

I finally gave up on the 40mm POS fans and did this:

I left off the top of the enclosure and cut out the bottom of the enclosure so the air would flow through it. Works great but requires 3 empty 5.25" bays for each mobile rack. Not a very efficient way to do it....

Pauli · Post by **Pauli** » Fri Dec 10, 2004 12:27 pm

Ralf, are the seeks quiet enough for you in that configuration? I don't see any isolation at all with those racks.

Post by **Ralf Hutter** » Sat Dec 11, 2004 6:49 am

Pauli wrote:Ralf, are the seeks quiet enough for you in that configuration? I don't see any isolation at all with those racks.

Not really, but it's a trade-off I'm reluctantly willing to make in that particular system because I do a lot of drive-swapping with it. My "normal" systems have isolated HDDs.

Krispy · Post by **Krispy** » Sat Dec 11, 2004 11:29 am

As far as decoupling goes & I was a bit dubious about this at first but, most of these BeanTech Racks (11 out of 14) are fitted with their Shock Absorber System http://www.beantech.com/products/mobileracks.htm

Sounds complicated but isn't & consists of a springy cut-out ally plate that the drive sits on. It can be seen best in the picture, top right. Thinking about it you could probably mod an existing rack in this way quite easily.
Additionally, I don't screw my drives in, leaving them to sit on this plate, with a couple of small foam blocks to prevent sideways fore/aft movement. Touching rack at moment & can barely feel any vibes, touching case adjacent- can feel nothing.

Had 3 of these for 2 years now, with no probs. Fans aren't too noisy, certainly better than others & they switch off with the key, which saves a bit of noise if that drive isn't needed. Some models have sprung front doors to seal, when a rack is out, which is a nice touch. They are, however, the noisest part of my system & I too have been considering some sort of 80mm fan mod.

If you can find them locally, have a look.

Best of luck

5.25 Hard Drive Rack Enclosures

5.25 Hard Drive Rack Enclosures

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