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Robert P.

Robert P.

Joined on 02/25/03

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Product Reviews
product reviews
  • 5
Most Favorable Review

Great mobile rack, Durable

ICY DOCK 4 x 2.5 SSD to 5.25 Drive Bay Hot Swap Backplane Cage Mobile Rack Comparable to Tray-less Design - ExpressCage MB324SP-B
ICY DOCK 4 x 2.5 SSD to 5.25 Drive Bay Hot Swap Backplane Cage Mobile Rack Comparable to Tray-less Design - ExpressCage MB324SP-B

Pros: * Lightweight * Durable * Inexpensive * Uses SATA power instead of Molex (4-pin) power * User replaceable fan

Cons: "Manual" is a bit skimpy but I don't think there is much they could do here. At least it isn't 3 pages repeated in 15 languages.

Overall Review: If you want the hot-swap capability make sure the system supports and it is enabled otherwise the system won't see new drives on demand. It does appear to have protections in place to prevent any issues when hot-swap isn't on or available but then the system won't see the drive until reboot. Included are 2 different length screws. Make sure to use the shorter domed ones to secure the rack. Yes it does say this in the book but I didn't look first and I suspect others will overlook it too. If you do not use the shorter screws you risk the screws catching on the bottom rails preventing their removal. This is actually how I found just how good the handles were... :)

Most Critical Review

Makes loud clicking noises -- not good!

Hitachi GST Travelstar 5K250 HTS542525K9SA00 (0A53329) 250GB 5400 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 1.5Gb/s 2.5" Notebook Hard Drive Bare Drive
Hitachi GST Travelstar 5K250 HTS542525K9SA00 (0A53329) 250GB 5400 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 1.5Gb/s 2.5" Notebook Hard Drive Bare Drive

Pros: None

Cons: Makes loud clicking noises during use. Poor performance.

Overall Review: Clicking noises are a sign of imminent failure. This used to be how you would tell if you were going to need to get a new drive soon or not. I would not recommend getting this drive.

10/18/2007

Nice case, a bit of a pain to work in

LIAN LI O11 AIR MINI White SPCC / Aluminum / Tempered Glass ATX Mini Tower Computer Case-- O11AMW
LIAN LI O11 AIR MINI White SPCC / Aluminum / Tempered Glass ATX Mini Tower Computer Case-- O11AMW

Pros: Nice visual appeal Plenty of space for your components Fans that are included are decent

Cons: Hole through motherboard tray not big enough or offset weirdly for my motherboard so the backplate hit it and there is now a slight bow there.

Overall Review: 200mm PSU allowance ends up blocking the bottom center SSD drive mount so you can't use that. You will want to stick to 165mm max for your PSU if you intend to use that spot otherwise you are limited to 5x 2.5" or 4x 3.5" and 1x 2.5" (or any mix in between there). You may be able to get around it by getting a 3.5" adapter that allows for multiple 2.5" drives in the same spot. Included fans are not RGB or ARGB. To some that may be a pro.

Good drives but makes an annoying clicking

Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000BEVT 500GB 5400 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 2.5" Internal Notebook Hard Drive Bare Drive
Western Digital Scorpio Blue WD5000BEVT 500GB 5400 RPM 8MB Cache SATA 3.0Gb/s 2.5" Internal Notebook Hard Drive Bare Drive

Pros: Good Fast Drives, Large Capacity

Cons: Constant clicking noises

Overall Review: I got two of these drives over a 2 month period. Both show odd clicking noises. I have read that it may be the drives going in and out of idle but I don't buy it when the thing does it 3 times in a row and the whole os stops while it does that. I sent them into WDC for replacement (it was past newegg's 30 day policy). For those that have doubts about WDC's warranty. They take care of OEM drives. They honor their "equal or greater value" clause in the warranty. I have a separate drive that they are replacing with a larger unit since they couldn't replace with an identical unit.

Weak wireless signal

HAWKING HWDN1 Hi Gain Wireless-300N USB Dish Adapter(For Windows) IEEE 802.11b/g, IEEE 802.11n Draft USB 2.0 Up to 300Mbps Wireless Data Rates
HAWKING HWDN1 Hi Gain Wireless-300N USB Dish Adapter(For Windows) IEEE 802.11b/g, IEEE 802.11n Draft USB 2.0 Up to 300Mbps Wireless Data Rates

Pros: Item appears to be stongly built and cd was informative. Disc gives an option for either Wireless Zero Config or the disc utility to control the adapter.

Cons: Poor signal from location.