Athena Power BP-TL3051SAC RAID 0 / 1 / 5 / 10 5 3.5" Drive Bays 3 x 5.25" Bays take up 5 x 3.5" SATA/SAS Hot Swap RAID Subsystem

Pros: Trayless, Lights indicate when drives are inserted properly.

Cons: Something seems wrong with the manufacture of this batch. The eject assist springs prevent the drives from making consistent contact with the connectors. I was installing 4 WD re4 2TB drives and could not get them all to connect simultaneously. On the first try I got drive 1 to connect, no connection on drives 2, 3, 4. I powered down and reseated 2, 3, 4. Then lost connection on 1 but connected with 2. Try again 1, 3, 4 up 2 down again. After trying several more times I was not able to maintain connection to all drives at the same time. On close inspection the springs to assist in ejecting the drives prevent the drives from making full contact with the connectors.

Other Thoughts: Drives fit a little loose. If I removed the springs it would probably work great. I think I will try something else. I tested the drives without the enclosure and they worked flawlessly.

Manufacturer Response:

We at Athena Power would like to apologize for the inconvenience you are currently experiencing. At Athena, we do our best to serve our customer's needs and wants. Please contact us either by phone at (626) 810-5008 or via e-mail at service@athenapower.us and we can try and resolve the issue or conduct an RMA for you. Thank you.

Pros: This is a great product. Hard drives fit perfectly without the need for trays and there is no rattling when installed. Indicator lights let you know which slots are ocupied. Takes only 3 molex connectors to power 5 hard drives which is definately a plus if your power supply is shy on connectors. Not much more to say other than it just works.

Cons: These are more minor annoyances than cons.

1. No activity lights for hard drives. It would be nice to have activity lights for individual drives. Since this is going in a closet however, it doesn't for me much.

2. Cheap "locks". The so called locks are just pieces of plastic that slide over the latches to keep them from opening. It would be nice to have actual locks on the drives, but for this price you won't get anything too fancy.

Other Thoughts: If you are looking for a cheap solution to house HDDs whether you raid them or not, this is it.

Pros: I now have a RAID solution!
Install was EASY!!
Drives fit PREFECT!
NICE cooling form the two fans on the rear of the unit!

Cons: This enclosure sits the drives on there sides ||||| instead of =. this was a negative for me.
Also BE CAREFUL when screwing the unit in as I was screwing the unit down and the slightest bit of torque twisted the heads off 3 of my screws and are now stuck in the screw holes on the unit.
**But there are about 12 screw holes per side!!

Other Thoughts: Requires 3 4pin ATX power connectors. Should be one main to power the entire unit.