The 3X2 Cage review - iStarUSA and Icy Dock (and more)

Hey everyone, I am back to review a few more units. It you haven't read the original 5x3 review, I suggest you check it out HERE first.

This time I am looking at two 3x2 cages - excellent options for those cases with only a couple of 5.25" bays left. Plus, one of them is trayless. Know a lot of you have been asking about them. I also have an updated model to one of the previously reviewed 5x3 cages and I also take a quick look at one 4x3 that a lot of us are familiar with.

I will be looking at the iStarUSA BPN-DE230SS (Blue) (3x2), the Icy Dock MB153SP-B (3x2), a CoolerMaster STB-3T4-E3 (4x3) and finally a iStarUSA BPU-350SATA (5x3).

If you would like any additional pics or information on the units, please PM me and I will try and accommodate.

For anyone wanting to go to the main gallery and look at all the pics, please go Here.

THE REVIEW

Let me remind you, I am not a professional reviewer. What I have documented are things I have observed and experienced working with all four units and my own opinions. Hopefully this and the pictures will help you make that critical decision.

iStarUSA BPN-DE230SS (Blue) (3x2)

Initial Thoughts:

- Packaging is fine, should arrive without any damage

- Unit is "shrink" wrapped

- Unit overall has a pretty solid feel

- Grooves in the side, to allow the tabs separating 5.25" cages to fit. Should work on most cases.

- Includes 3 locking SATA cables and screws

- Really light weight, especially compared to the 5x3 cages

- Really nicely designed rear, ample room for SATA and power Cables

- Heavy duty switches for the FAN speed and HDD LED.

- Supports 6Gb/s SATA Connections

- Uses a standard size 70x70x15 rear fan, easy to get at, but custom 3 pin connector

- Basic manual included, shows the orientation between the trays and SATA connectors in the rear, but nothing on the unit itself to show which tray is which numbered slot

- Drive cage handles are a combination of aluminum and plastic. Pretty solid. There are holes drilled in the front, but there is a metal flap behind them. This is to help apply pressure to the drive when inserted, but also will block airflow somewhat

Inside:

- Looks like cooling should be ok - pass through holes in the rear for each drive

Installation:

- Mounting a "standard" drive is pretty straight forward. Note though, not all 3.5" drives are the same thickness. The average is about 25mm, which fits perfectly in. Some drives though are a slightly slimmer, coming in at 20mm. Special attention has to be placed when loading these as the SATA ports in the rear may not line up perfectly. If you force it, it will break inner components. If you mount the drives after the cage is installed, there shouldn’t be any issues, as gravity is your friend.

- Once installed, a standard thickness drive in in pretty solid. Getting drive in was pretty smooth as was removing it.

- Once installed, a slimmer drive is not perfectly secured in the cage. The back (front?) of the drive can move within the drive mount. As long as you are not moving your case, shouldn't be much of an issue. Will vibration though affect drive over time?

- Included screws, tested with some standard ones you would use to mount a CD-ROM, worked fine.

- Slides into case nicely. Even a bit loose. Screw holes line up fine. No issues, in my case, with the drive rails in the 5.25” bays

LED (as observed):

- Blue power led, not overly bright

- Blue HDD Power led

Overall Thoughts:

  I have been looking forward to trying out one of these trayless units to see just how well and sturdy the drives are inside. Very convenient being able to just pull and push drives in and out without having to mess with drive trays. I really like this.    Nice to see the SATA only power connectors. More and more modern PSU units going away with Molex and putting in more and more of the SATA form factor. No need to waste space adding in Molex power connections.

    Lots of clearance for all the cable connections in the rear. Great design and layout.

  Still wondering about the drive and long term vibration issue, especially on the thinner drives. The standard drives though are in there pretty solid.

  Fan was great - at LOW was very quiet and then at high still not overly loud. Would be drowned out by most other components. At low speed though, I couldn't really detect any air being drawn in the front. At high speed I could feel a bit.

  Really sharp looking cage. Solid black design, nice satin finish and the blue on the front, really pops.

Icy Dock MB153SP-B (3x2)

Initial Thoughts:

- External packaging is good, lots of info on the box.

- Packaging is good, unit comes wrapped in plastic.

- Individually sealed drive tray and cage screws, labeled also. Tested with standard screws used for CD-ROMs, can be used to secure this cage

- Does not include any SATA cables

- Standard 80mm fan and standard connectors for both two pin and three pin fans, very nice. Some anti vibration material also applied.

- Really light weight, especially compared to the 5x3 cages

- Solid feeling cage

- Supports 6Gb/s SATA Connections

- Drive trays seem pretty flimsy, as previously reviews. I believe the trays though are compatible with various models

- Only two cut outs in the rear PCB, but almost full width, so cooling should be ok.

Installation:

- SATA power, minor issue with the connections. As per the pic, the way the connectors are wired in series on most PSU's can make it a bit tight depending on which plug you are using. The cabling on the SATA power connector is pretty tight.

-Mounting a drive in the drive cage on this unit is tedious. When you pull out the drive tray, you then have to remove this plastic spacer unit that is installed. They have to have that as the rails are a bit flimsy. Put the drive in, they provide 3 holes per rail that all line up. Bit of a balancing act to get the drives screwed in.

- Drive trays slid in and out pretty smoothly.

- Slides into case nicely. Good snug fit. Screw holes line up fine. No issues, in my case, with the drive rails in the 5.25” bays.

LED (as observed):

- Green power on LED for the HDD

Overall Thoughts:

  Has a three year warranty, which is a nice plus, they expect the cage to last as long as your hard drive.

  Fan cable came tied down with a twist tie to the edge, bit of rudimentary cable management. Can't say enough about the fan solution now, brilliant.

  No fan speed controller, but the included 80mm one isn’t too noisy at all, and you can feel the air being pulled in front the front. Very easy to swap in a quieter fan if that is your thing or something with more draw.

  Another solid case that looks good installed. Minor issue with layout in the rear though.

CoolerMaster STB-3T4-E3 (4x3)

Initial Thoughts:

- Packaging is fine, should arrive without any damage

- Very lightweight

- No backplane nor hot swap support, all drives directly screwed into the cage

- Excellent cooling, from a standard sized, front mounted 120mm fan

Installation:

- Pretty straight forward, just a bit tedious screwing in all the drives into the cage

- Have to disconnect everything and remove cage just to swap a single drive.

LED (as observed):

- As there is no backplane, no LED's per say, but units does include a Blue LED fan

Thoughts:

  Just getting started? Here is a great option to get a few more drives into your case without shelling out a $100 plus to get a 5x3. Excellent value for the money and great cooling potential.

  A bit tedious removing the whole thing every time you want to work on a drive, but, still excellent option.

  Remember to mark down all your connections so everything is hooked up properly when you re-install it.

iStarUSA BPU-350SATA (5x3)]/b]

Initial Thoughts:

- Packaging is fine, should arrive without any damage

- Unit is "shrink" wrapped

- Unit overall has a pretty solid feel

- Drive tray screws and cage screws in individual packaging

- Missed in original review, but tray also support 2.5" drives

- Drive handles now have a more standard locking mechanism. Much easier to use.

- Much more detailed instruction manual

- Offical support for 6Gb/s

Installation:

- Same issues as the orginal - two SATA power connectors and three Molex power connectors and no indicator as to whether you can mix them or not - be safe and don't

- SATA power, minor issue with the connections. As per the pic, the way the connectors are wired in series on most PSU's can make it a bit tight depending on which plug you are using. The cabling on the SATA power connector is pretty tight.

- Slides into case nicely. Even a bit loose. Screw holes line up fine. No issues, in my case, with the drive rails in the 5.25” bays

Overall Thoughts:

Not a lot of changes - upgrade to support 6Gb/s. Better drive handle then the plastic locking ones.

Fan is like the original, seems to have pretty good airflow. Have to pull the entire rear of the cage off to access the fan.

Pictures on a following post...

Special Thanks to iStarUSA and Icy Dock for their assistance with the review.

Update November 26th - Will be doing some temp tests on these this weekend, see how the 80mm and cooling slots work when running preclears.

Whaler

And now the pictures...

iStarUSA PICTURES

Front of the iStar 3x2 Unit:

Rear of the iStar 3x2 Unit:

Rear of the iStar 3x2 Unit, Fan removed:

Interior of the iStar 3x2 Unit:

Exterior of the iStar 3x2 Unit, #1:

Exterior of the iStar 3x2 Unit, #2:

Exterior of the iStar 3x2 Unit, #3:

ICY DOCK PICTURES

Front of the Icy Dock 3x2 Unit:

Side of the Icy Dock 3x2 Unit, #1:

Side of the Icy Dock 3x2 Unit, #2:

Rear of the Icy Dock 3x2 Unit, #1:

Rear of the Icy Dock 3x2 Unit, #2:

Rear of the Icy Dock 3x2 Unit, SATA Power connector cable issue:

iStarUSA PICTURES (5x3)

Most pics are the same as the original, just a few updated ones..

Front of the iStar 5x3 Unit:

Rear of the iStar 5x3 Unit:

Interior of the iStar 5x3 Unit:

Rear of the iStar 5x3 Unit, another cabling issue:

Tray of the iStar 5x3 Unit, highlight 2.5" mounts:

CoolerMaster 4x3 PICTURES

First two pics are stock from the CM site - mine are pretty beat up and don't do it justice.

Front of the CM 4x3 Unit:

Front, Interior of the CM 4x3 Unit:

Interior of the CM 4x3 Unit, #1:

Interior of the CM 4x3 Unit, #2:

COMPARISON PICTURES

Icy and iStar Front shot:

Icy and iStar Rear shot:

Units stacked up, #1:

Units stacked up, #2:

Units stacked up, #3:

Units Installed in case, #1:

Units Installed in case, #2:

Random PICTURES

Units Installed in case, #1:

Units Installed in case, #2:

Units Installed in case, #3:

Units Installed in case, #4:

Thought I'd add a note r.e. the CoolerMaster units.    I've built two virtually identical UnRAID servers using the same case; same motherboard; same CPU; etc. ... the only difference is one holds 12 drives; the other 14.    They each have 4 drives in the bottom 4-drive bay that came with the case;  one has a pair of 5-in-3 IcyDock's holding 10 2TB WD greens;  the other has a pair of the CoolerMaster 4-in-3 units holding 8 2TB WD greens.

The CoolerMaster units keep drives notably cooler than the IcyDocks.    The front 120mm fan clearly provides much better airflow than the smaller off-center fans in the IcyDocks.    While adding/removing drives is clearly MUCH more convenient with the IcyDocks, I much prefer the CoolerMaster units for the significantly better cooling.

During a parity check, the drives in the IcyDocks get into the mid-40's (44-45);  the drives in the CoolerMasters never hit 40.    During normal use, both units keep the drives in the low-to-mid 30's.

Thought I'd add a note r.e. the CoolerMaster units.    I've built two virtually identical UnRAID servers using the same case; same motherboard; same CPU; etc. ... the only difference is one holds 12 drives; the other 14.    They each have 4 drives in the bottom 4-drive bay that came with the case;  one has a pair of 5-in-3 IcyDock's holding 10 2TB WD greens;  the other has a pair of the CoolerMaster 4-in-3 units holding 8 2TB WD greens.

 

The CoolerMaster units keep drives notably cooler than the IcyDocks.    The front 120mm fan clearly provides much better airflow than the smaller off-center fans in the IcyDocks.    While adding/removing drives is clearly MUCH more convenient with the IcyDocks, I much prefer the CoolerMaster units for the significantly better cooling.

 

During a parity check, the drives in the IcyDocks get into the mid-40's (44-45);  the drives in the CoolerMasters never hit 40.    During normal use, both units keep the drives in the low-to-mid 30's.

I don't doubt anyone would argue the CM units are awesome for cooling. That 120mm makes an almost exponential difference in regards to cooling versus say 80mm and 90mm ones. You have to sacrifice though for the hot swap feature, which means loosing that 120 fan to add in all the hardware in the rear. Surprising that even with all the connections in the rear they manage to get 90mm fans on...

Shawn

OK, here is an update on temperature testing and some additiona observations having "used" the two units.

The system I am using is more "representative" of what a general user might use. Just a standard HP Midtower unit. Using three drives, 320GB and two 500GB, 7200RPM. Running preclear on each drive, simultaneously.

The IcyDock:

Nice, tight fit. Slid in and out pretty smoothly.

LED's observed:

Green power on LED's

Orange activity LED's

Initially observed temps:

320 - 31 and settled down to 28 celcius

500 - 31 celcius

500 - 38 celcius (this drive runs hot - using it on purpose)

After running on preclear:

320 - 28 celcius

500 - 31 celcius

500 - 41 celcius

Overall, the cage performed really well, kept temperatures pretty stable during a preclear. Impressed with the 80mm fan, pretty quiet.

The iStar:

Very, tight fit. Sliding it in was difficult, had to "jimmy" it in a bit.

LED's observed:

Blue power on LED's

Blue/Red activity LED's

Initially observed temps: (fan on high selection)

320 - 29 celcius

500 - 30 celcius

500 - 36 celcius (this drive runs hot - using it on purpose)

After running the preclears for about 15 minutes, I shut this down. The 70mm fan was very quiet but looks like it, coupled with the venting solution, cannot keep the drives cool. Temps hit:

320 - 36 celcius

500 - 39 celcius

500 - 48 celcius

The 500GB drive actually spiked into the 50-51 range, at which point I called it. That is simply to hot to run at, especially over a few hours.

Final Thoughts

The IcyDock is a great option. Fits well and performs as expected. If you swap that 80mm with an even better performing fan, could probably get those temps down even more. With the fan options, this would be pretty easy.

The iStar on the other hand had a high and low. It failed, in my opinion, on temps. It simply couldn't cope with keeping the drives cool. Was it the 70mm fan? The cutouts in the rear PCB? The holes in the front somewhat blocked? Most likely a combo of all three. But... The tooless option was VERY nice. After having just screwed in and unscrewed the drives from the IcyDock, just popping them into the iStar was truly a treat. This would be great, especially in test systems myself and many have, where you could swap drives in and out.

Whaler

icydoc_preclears.txt

Completed some additional testing. I this time pulled out and ran my "hot" drive in the top slot in the IcyDock. Was previously run in the bottom slot. The thought behind this is that heat rises, so this may effect the temps as well, esp on a hot drive.

Happy to report the IcyDock managed this with no problems.

Initially observed temps:

320 - 28 C

500 - 30 C

500 - 39 C (this drive runs hot - using it on purpose and in the top slot)

After running on preclear:

320 - 30 C

500 - 31 C

500 - 42 C

Basically a 1 degree temp change on my hot drive, still within normal parameters.

Whaler

Ah.. i want to move towards to these 3 x 2 hot swap cages now..

but which one to choose..

BPN-DE230SS or MB153SP-B ....

decision decision.

Ah.. i want to move towards to these 3 x 2 hot swap cages now..

 

but which one to choose..

 

BPN-DE230SS or MB153SP-B ....

 

decision decision.

Yep, lot to consider between the two.

Ah.. i want to move towards to these 3 x 2 hot swap cages now..

 

but which one to choose..

 

BPN-DE230SS or MB153SP-B ....

 

decision decision.

 

Yep, lot to consider between the two.

What would you recommend?

From the review, I'm guessing you recommend Icydock?

Correct - I will take the reliability of the cooling versus the freedom of being trayless.

You should look into the Norco ss-300.  I much prefer norco trays over icydock trays.

We use Norco drive trays for all our Greenleaf builds.  If you want to make them more quite it is fairly easy to swap the fans on the back of the ss-500, so long as you have a little patience.

ohhh boy...

you guys are just making it hard for me to choose..

which fans do you recommend with SS-500?

ohhh boy...

 

you guys are just making it hard for me to choose..

 

which fans do you recommend with SS-500?

We replace the fans with the SWiF2-801

Ended up ordering 2 x MB153SP-B..

I'll let you guys know when I receive them and install them.

Okay. Received MB153SP-B.. Installed it in my unraid machine.

I like it like it!

Few things to mention though...

• The fan is LOUD. man it is real loud... i may have to get a replacement fan or a fan controller.. not sure what would be better.
  
• Accidently broke off a piece of plastic that hold the sata power . No biggie though. Just a small plastic that doesnt really matter. Probably because my case (Z9) was too small to work with
  
• Had a problem with one of the activity light.. Instead of green, it was always orange. turns out it was the hdd's problem (Seagate hdd). Upgraded the firmware and it's all good now
  

Okay. Received MB153SP-B.. Installed it in my unraid machine.

 

Few things to mention though...

• The fan is LOUD. man it is real loud... i may have to get a replacement fan or a fan controller.. not sure what would be better.
  
• Accidently broke off a piece of plastic that hold the sata power . No biggie though. Just a small plastic that doesnt really matter. Probably because my case (Z9) was too small to work with
  
• Had a problem with one of the activity light.. Instead of green, it was always orange. turns out it was the hdd's problem (Seagate hdd). Upgraded the firmware and it's all good now
  

Weird - in my testing I didn't find the fan noisy at all. Nice thing, pretty easy to swap in any after market 80mm fan. Just make sure you look for a fan with good CFM versus db's.

Whaler

what do you think of a fan controller like this? any opinion?

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16811995074

Fan controller be a bit much IMO. Esp for one fan.

Plus, you would have to keep an eye on temps to turn the fan up or down as required... Either by a step down connected for the current fan if to noisy or look on newegg for a good, quiet fan. That be a lot simpler then a fan contoller for sure.

Anyone have any interest in me reviewing the two new 5x3 cages from ICY DOCK? I may be able to get some samples.

MB975SP-B - tray less

MB155SP-B - new design of their popular tray one

Whaler