Question 1

Does this have an actual SAS/SATA controller built into? Or do you still need a LSI to control this unit?

Accepted Answer

It does not have a SAS/SATA controller build in. You can attach up to 8 SATA cables , one for each drive (+ 2 power SATA connectors) to this unit . The SATA cables would need to be connected directly to your motherboard or other SATA adapter(s). If you use a LSI SAS  controller you would need a Serial Attached SCSI SAS Cable - SFF-8087 Plug Mini SAS to SATA cable x4. To use all 8 bays you would need two of these cables.

Question 2

How loud is the fan? I know it's hard to quantify. . .

Accepted Answer

So Quite I've never actually even noticed it..  This unit is actually way awesome.. I had it for like 10 months?? It works like a charm..

Question 3

what kind of case will this fit in?

Accepted Answer

That drive array should fit in any case that has a vacant external 5.25" drive bay. I have the 6 x 2.5" SSD/HDD and it fits nicely in the 5.25" drive bay. Hope that helps.

Question 4

What kind of temperatures do you get with 8 drives under heavy sustained load, does the fan keep it under control?

Accepted Answer

I have 8x 128GB SSDs in RAID 0 as my boot 960GB drive and the drives barely get warm.  The tolerances are really tight so I wouldn't recommend running spinning HDDs in this thing.

Question 5

It says SAS but does it accept 2.5" SAS drives that aren't the same as a SATA connector? So where it has the extra little notch

Accepted Answer

Yes, this unit accepts both SAS (connector with the central bar intact) and SATA (connector with a notch/void in between data and power connectors) drives. However, it will not allow for true SAS functionality as the connectors on the back are 2x SATA power and 8x SATA data. Read up on the SAS standard of you're unclear on the implications of this.

It may also be worth noting that I purchased two of these on a fire sale from Newegg and unfortunately let them sit on a shelf until they were out of the return period. Neither of my units have drive activity lights. The left hand light on each drive bay lights up if a drive is present and that's it. I've tried both units with 3 different RAID and HBA cards, as well as onboard SATA. Either both of my units were defective or they were not advertised correctly. Neither option is encouraging.

Question 6

Would a Samsung 870 EVO 2TB fit?

Accepted Answer

I believe any 7mm tall drive (2.5" SATA form factor) will fit, including the 870. Just verify the height.

Questions & Answers