New Lian Li (EX-H34-B, EX-H34B) SATA Hot Swap HDD Rack Kit

[bubbaQ]

http://www.sundialmicro.com/Lian-Li-Expension-HDD-Kit-exh34b_1975_1466.html

 

Looks nice... 4-in-3, with 120mm fan.  Appears to be trayless, with just a bracket and handle that mounts to the sides of the drives.

 

Costs more than the CM, but you get hot-swap w/o trays and what looks like better airflow than in the cages using trays and the Norco cases.

 

[WeeboTech]

WOW This one is really nice!! I like it allot! Thanks for the heads up!

[vdtruong]

Wow that is pretty sharp looking!  Wish it had room for 5 drives, but 4 is good enough I guess.  Too bad I've already invested in an Icy + Supermicro backplanes.

[bubbaQ]

I am not a fan of the density of 5-in-3 cages, particularly trayless:

 

- Heat transfer via conduction to the cage via the tray is useful.

- Density restricts airflow

- Smaller fans and PCB obstructions on the backplanes.

 

I would consider them for WD Green drives, but not for high RPM drives.

[ilovejedd]

That's looking really nice and should provide fairly decent cooling for the HDDs. I'm hoping they'll release a 3-in-2 model with a smaller fan (maybe 80mm?). Something like a "hot-swap" version of this one, maybe?

[BryantD]

That's looking really nice and should provide fairly decent cooling for the HDDs. I'm hoping they'll release a 3-in-2 model with a smaller fan (maybe 80mm?). Something like a "hot-swap" version of this one, maybe?

 

I have 2 of those 3-in-2's in my system; they work great..... highly recommend.

[Rizlaw]

I recently purchased this HD stacker from FrozenCPU and gave it a 3.5 star rating out of 5 on FrozenCPU's website. I'm a big Lian-Li Fan, but this rack could have been better engineered. As I noted in my very short review:

 

(1) installing SATA cables is a true PITA for anyone with adult sized hands (the  4 SATA connectors are located, more or less, in the middle of the backplane, rather than to one side or the other) and requires removal of the rear fan assembly (4 very small Phillips screws) to reach the connectors;

 

(2) There is one 4 pin molex power connector to power all 4 drives which is not fixed to the backplane, but dangles from 4 wires which are short and make connection to the power supply difficult (at least in my case); IMO it would have been better for the connector to be attached to the backplane board and Lian-Li should have provided a second SATA power connector;

 

(3) No case rails are supplied. The sides of the rack have two threaded case rail holes per side which are NOT parallel. They are offset, so if you have thin metal case rails, you may be out of luck unless you're willing to drill and tap additional holes (as I had to do). I found this odd, as most HD stackers I've used have had 2 sets of parallel holes per side.

 

(4) 4 SATA cables are provided: 90/180 degree type. Depending on the size of your case and the distance from the cage to the SATA controller, the supplied cables may be too short. Plan on buying longer cables if you have a large tower.

 

(5) The 120mm/1000rpm fan is fairly quiet.

 

Basically a good, but not great 3rd party drive cage. I also own every version of the Addonics hot swap drive cages (3SA, 4SA and 5SA). IMO, were it not for the horribly cheap and noisy fans in the Addonics units, they would be the better choice.