ICY DOCK Full Metal 6 x 2.5" SATA HDD & SSD HotSwap Backplane Cage Mobile Rack for 5.25" Drive Bay - ToughArmor MB996SP-6SB

Pros: Nice all metal construction and this is the locking version so you can't accidently push the front tab and eject the drives. Install was simple and it fit 5.25" slot perfectly. I'm using this with 4 Samsung 850 EVO 1TB drives in raid 0 to have a 4TB drive used for a number of VMware VM's that are doing continuous builds for software development.

Cons: This would be a GREAT unit if it had good fans - but alas - they put in lower quality fans. Combo ball / sleeve bearing and they are simply not quiet at all. If you have this in a rack system where you don't care about noise - then the noise is not much of an issue but from the sounds I am starting to hear - I don't think the lifespan of these is that great. Come on Icy Dock - for something like this unit - users will pay the extra $10 to have better fans - heck I have $1800 in drives installed so I would pay a bit more to have high quality fans that are not so loud. I ended up purchasing from Digi-Key a couple of OD4010-12LB fans and putting them in myself (and thus voiding the warranty but I'm ok with that). Much better - virtually quiet.

Overall Review: The locking mechanism is not for security - it is just to prevent accidental removal of a drive. Anyone with the smallest of tools or a key could force the tab open (bending the tab and making that tray unusable) so consider what your application is. But this is better than other units that have plastic locks. Again - if it came with better fans - 5 eggs. If you don't need heavy usage then consider this 4 eggs. But the fans supplied are simply not up for 24/7. The ones I replaced it with are rated for about 7 years of 24/7 usage but I did have to do some simple soldering - which to me is no big deal.

Pros: Seems well made. Allows for high density/high bandwidth storage. LED's are not too bright. Fan can be adjusted or turned off for SSD's. Very easy drive access.

Cons: Doesn't include 15pin SATA to molex adapters listed in description (not listed in package contents list either, though box says "device power: 15pin SATA power x 2)" Strange. You cannot really use 90degree SATA cables because of connector spacing. Drive activity lights don't work in conjunction with my LSI HBA. The screws for mounting the device in the computer case are way too short, you will most likely need to find your own screws, though if they protrude even a small amount into the cage, they will interfere with the drives.

Pros: Allows you to add a simple RAID1 solution when you only have a single SATA port to work with, limited expansion room to add a full hardware raid controller solution, or if the project does not warrant a full hardware RAID solution.

Cons: I was looking for a RAID1 solution that would fit in an exact 3.5” HDD form factor. That in turn was to be placed on a tool-less 3.5” hard drive tray that then slides in to the computer case and connects to the computer case’s built-in SATA data/power backplane. The chassis is exactly the full width and height a typical 3.5” HDD, but, it is about 1.5 centimeters longer. IMPORTANT, at least to me, is the placement of the SATA data/power connectors on the back of the chassis. They do not perfectly mimic a standard SATA drive. These details are difficult to notice in the product pictures of MB992SKR-B. The misaligned connectors on the back of this chassis means you can NOT use this chassis with a typical drop-in SATA docking station or any kind of backplane that expects the connectors to be in an exact spot. You can only connect this chassis using cables; where you have a bit of flexibility for placement. In addition to the misplacement of the SATA data/power connector, the extended length of this unit (including the key lock) proved to be a problem when attempting to mount it on/inside the aforementioned hard drive tray.

Overall Review: This chassis would be ideal in a plain, older style 3.5” HDD bay that can be accessed from the outside of the case and where there is enough room on the inside of the case to allow for the extended length of the unit. I currently use four other Icy Dock drive chassis (two different models that fit in 5.25” bays, non-RAID) and am very pleased. I got ahead of myself a bit when I saw this device and instantly thought Icy Dock had another solution for one of my needs. Now that I know the shortcomings about this unit for my own needs, I know better what to start looking for. Icy Dock, if there is not a variant of this design that will fit perfectly in a 3.5” HDD form factor, please make one. Make it shorter, without a protruding key lock, and place the SATA data/power connector in exactly the right position to work with SATA backplanes and drive trays.

Pros: I have a big case and many SSD drives. This ICY Dock was exactly what I was looking for. Since it holds six drives, the drives are rather cramped. This leaves very little room hence why the screws to mount the cage are on the short side. Fortunately my case has clips to help hold it in, so the screws for me are not all that important. The fan has a switch to change the speed of the fan or shut it off completely. I am able to achieve full SATA 3 speeds with this cage which is a plus.

Cons: The only con I can come up with at this point is that the drive holders do not come out or go in all that smoothly. It was a little easy to have them jam slightly. If you are careful, this should not be a problem since it would be uncommon to remove the drives all the often. At least for most.

Overall Review: I like this dock/cage. A little pricey, but it does what I need and I am glad I waited for it to become available.

Pros: Really good construction good build quailty

Cons: Only thing I don't like is that you need two power cables for upper two and lower two HDD's.I have a brand that one power cable power all four HDD's. It's no biggie but why?

Overall Review: As far as the fans go the first thing I did when I opened the package was disconnect the two fan cables don't need a fan for SSD or do I use the fans on my other brand enclosure that I use in my Media Center PC. A laptop have a lot less air moving across the HDD,s these do without a fan connected. I use HDTune to check temps and never ever had a temp above 97 degree on any of the HDD's

Pros: Easy to Use Phenomenal build quality (seriously - German tanks are Envious!) REAL SAS support. Fans are fairly quiet.

Cons: Mounting Screws for 5.25 bay are a little short for some cases (no biggie) Not the best for cable management (would be better to have all the SATA ports grouped closer together)

Overall Review: Many manufacturers LIE about SAS support. Icy Dock is NOT one of them. Device will fit SAS Savvio 10/15k drives like butter. And they stay cool - not an easy task Fans are fairly quiet for my idea of "quiet"

Pros: Very efficient use of a 5.25" bay. Drives slide in and out with ease.

Cons: The fan is NOISY. Even on low it makes an obnoxious amount of noise, and the fan header is INTERNAL, rather than external like some of their other units. This means if you want to replace it with a quiet fan (like the Noctua 40mm), you have to void your warranty. Minus 2 eggs for that.

Overall Review: Aside from the fan issue, it's a good unit. Just wish they put the fan header on the outside or used a quality fan.

Pros: Storage density is great for a single bay. Especially when used with a mini-ITX chassis. Metal construction. Feels sturdy.

Cons: Poorly thought out SATA power connectors. Quite a few power supplies on the market use the daisy-chain style SATA power connectors. This is only (easily) compatible with the straight style. The problem with a daisy chained connector is the extra width required since the cord enters and exits the SATA connector at an angle. Adding insult to injury, after plugging in the first connector, you have to twist the cable 180 degrees, and flip the connector another 180 degrees since they did not position the keyed edge in the same direction for both SATA power connectors. Also, the fans block the full-seating of this style. Just something to beware of on an otherwise great product. If you have the daisy-chain style SATA power connectors from your PSU, you may want simple extensions or adapters to avoid the acrobatics.