iStarUSA BPU-350SATA 3x5.25" to 5x3.5" SAS/SATA 6.0 Gb/s Hot-Swap Cage

Pros: Reasonably good price, nice indicator lights

Cons: Drive bays don't fit snugly, seem to wiggle. Turning knobs to lock the drive handles feel cheap. After about 18 months, I began to suddenly get errors across three different drives in the five drive cage. When I ran the drives outside of the cage, no errors

Other Thoughts: I have four of their red handled metal ones, and they work fine. I think this is just a bad design.

Pros: It's been claimed that this does not work with 2.5in. drives, but pictures on the iStarUSA Web site show a 2.5in. drive mounted in one of these drive trays -- although only three of the four screw holes can be used. I did ascertain that the mounting holes of one of my 2.5in. drives line up with the holes in the tray, but I didn't actually mount the drive and plug it in.

Cons: Nothing to add

Pros: Solidly built, even the trays don't feel flimsy like some others drive bays. Air flow is good, but there is a catch with it. Cables are longer than other units I've seen, not much but noticeable.

True SATA-III Pass-through. The unit comes pretty standard with features like FAN Speed, which is a pro because some are just trays, this is a hotswap bay.

Cons: The two egg rating is because of the issues I had, which Newegg resolved by total Refund and shipping label.

One of the "Open" buttons was way too sensitive, the latch would open up without warning sometimes and simply sliding your fingers across the area with little pressure would open it up.

One of the Trays required too much force. The "Open" button only goes in so far, so you had to basically press the button several times or extremely hard to release the lever.

While it was advertised full 1 year warranty, when RMAing Newegg showed in big red letters "The warranty for this unit has expired, see manufacture website for additional options" Those -Additional Options- Cost money.

The issue with the Airflow - While it's moving air the top and bottom drive don't get much flow as the back of the bay is a circuit board with some gaps in it, this makes the top and bottom drive warmer than the rest, noticeably so.

Needs a "Pen" to turn the drives on and off.

Doesn't do 2.5

Other Thoughts: If the Warranty hadn't expired on newly sold products, I probably would have got a simple replacement.

Tray vs Trayless - I get Tray version because they usually give you the option to install 2.5" drives. They also are designed to fit the largest 3.25" drive, but have no issues with half-heights or SSD Drives.

This unit however, is JUST 3.25" drives. While it was not an issue I do plan on keeping this for a while, the lack of 2.5" Support was a little surprising for a Tray Hotswap.

Manufacturer Response:

Dear Newegg Customer:
We sincerely apologize in advance for any inconvenience caused by this experience, but do rest assured that we will do all that we can to win your trust in iStarUSA brand.
Indeed, this unit has a one year warranty. Please contact our RMA and have your invoice number ready. Our RMA contact information can be found here: http://www.istarusa.com/rma_request.php. In regards to the sensitive “open” button, you can simply turn the switch of each latch to lock it in order to prevent it from opening on accident. The unit also supports a 2.5” hard drive. Please refer to the iStarUSA website for more pictures and information. http://www.istarusa.com/istarusa/products.php?model=BPU-350SATA
Thank you for choosing iStarUSA. Please visit us on www.istarusa.com for upcoming news and product releases.
Warm Regards,
iStarUSAcare Service
2011
DYK: At our website, you can find the RMA request link by going to www.istarusa.com, and look in “iStarUSAcare Service” drop down list for “Return & Repair RMA request”

Pros: Convenient way to mount five 3.5" drives with great accessibility. Individual power switches and power/access LEDs. Included SATA cables have locking tabs -- but may be only SATA II rather than SATA III.

Fits perfectly in my mid-tower case (with the drives vertical) using the rails that came with the case.

Cons: The position of the LEDs is less than ideal, since they don't all line up with the corresponding drives: e.g., the LED for drive #5 is positioned between drives #3 and #4 -- to make room for the temperature and fan indicator LEDs.

The individual power switches are grouped centrally rather than being positioned over the corresponding drives -- to make room for the reset button.

Other Thoughts: Others have commented on the sparse and even confusing documentation. IMO the most confusing thing is the different orientation shown in different pictures: most show the cage with the drives horizontal, but if mounted that way it is narrower than a 5.25" drive bay and would intrude into the space of a fourth bay. The picture on the box shows the cage with the drives vertical but with the locks at the top, whereas the label on the cage is on the opposite edge, implying that the cage is to be mounted with the locks at the bottom, which is the way I mounted mine.

If you have a case with "tabs" on which the 5.25" drives rest, be prepared to bend or break off these tabs if you want to mount the cage with the drives vertical.

I'd be inclined to redesign it with the power switches and LEDs positioned along one edge next to the relevant drives, leaving the other edge free for the temperature and fan warning LEDs and the reset button.

Pros: Low-ish cost. Does exactly what it is supposed to do.

Cons: A good % of the unit is made of plastic; you need to have a light touch to keep it in good shape.

Other Thoughts: This unit does not come with a SATA multiplier.

Pros: This is a great unit. Well made and sturdy.

The unit is designed to mount with the drives in vertical position.

Everyone is complaining about the instruction provided. Just go to their website and you can download it; however, you'll only find a picture of the unit. But really? Really? Do you need an instruction to screw in a square box in the computer case?

Anyway, save yourselves some money by ordering the BPU-350SATA-BPL which sells for less as they are the identical unit. The BPU-350SATA-BPL is advertised, speed wise, up to SATA II but will do SATA III. I was sent the BPU-350SATA-BPL instead of this unit, opened it up and traced the traces down and they are actually an extension and just like being directly connected. My guess is printed description was done before SATA III was introduced and it doesn't say SATA III.

Cons: Same unit as the cheaper model BPU-350SATA-BPL which is sold here at Newegg.

Newegg actually took the old label off and applied the new label with the new part number. The customer service at Newegg was great and they made it right.

Other Thoughts: I have 2 of these for my 8 drive 16TB RAW RAID 6 iSCSI SAN and used the remaining 2 slots for mirrored OS drives.

I may actually do a video review and post it another time.

Pros: Simple, easy install, even with poor instructions. We are very happy with being able to turn 3-5 1/4" drive bays into a 5 drive raids. Saved a lot for not having to purchase new rack mount cases.

Cons: Poor instructions, plus the funky power switchs that you have to use a paper clip to turn on.

Other Thoughts: Purchased 2 to start, and I am ordering 2 more today.

Pros: Nice construction, easy access to drives

Cons: Only cons i can think of is the lock/unlock switch and no docs included (go to the website)

Other Thoughts: This is a really nice raid cage, does what its suppose to do. The website has great docs so please check it out. The little pin hole switches must be pushed all the way in until they click. i dont think the fan noise is a problem, its reasonable for what the unit needs to do...so If you are worried about fan noise while installing a 5 drive cage you probably shouldnt be using a 5 drive cage ;-)

Pros: Very nice package. Easy to use. Pulls out all connectors to back, and is very flexible in configuring lights, alarms, and fan.

Cons: As someone else said, the fan is a bit noisy. The doc is poor. To the point where I thought the cage was broken because the drives did not power on. Turns out you must turn them all on by depressing the tiny switches on the front. But once you do that the cage is flawless.

Other Thoughts: Really cleans up your case. Despite the density it does not feel crowded.

Pros: Nice solid construction, attractive. Option to use sata or molex power.

Cons: If you have rails that hold up your 5.25" bays, this will be a a bear to install. I have a CM Stacker and while I had to fiddle around with their plastic slide mounts, it worked just fine and looks clean.