Turn unused optical bays into hot
swap drive bays
At a touch under $150, the MB973SP-2B is
undoubtedly an expensive bit of kit for turning unused optical drive bays into
3.5" bays. Converting a single optical bay into a 3.5" one can be
done for under a fiver, or you can make it a hot- swap bay for around $22. What
the MB973SP-2B does, however, is turn two 5.25" drive bays into three
hot-swap 3.5" drive bays. It also provides a pair of USB 3.0 ports and
active cooling via an included fan, but even so, its still a costly product.
Next to the two front USB 3.0 ports, each
of the bays has its own power button, with a blue LED behind it to indicate
that a drive is on or being accessed. There's also a small fan control switch,
with settings for high, low and auto speeds. The covers for the three drive
bays open easily and feel secure rather than loose and, in fact, the whole unit
feels very solid and well built.
At
a touch under $150, the MB973SP-2B is undoubtedly an expensive bit of kit for
turning unused optical drive bays into 3.5" bays.
Installing the FlexCage is as easy as
installing any other optical bay, although users with tool-free clips in their
cases for such drives will probably want to remove them first and use the
supplied screws instead. Getting hard drives into and out of the three bays is
also as simple as sliding them into place or opening the cover and pulling them
out. SSDs and other 2.5" drives aren't supported by default, so you'll
need an adaptor should you wish to use one, as sadly one isn't supplied.
On the back are two Molex power connectors
(Molex to SATA power adaptors are provided too), and both must be connected for
the FlexCage to function properly. Each drive has its own SATA 6Gpbs data
connection, and though most users will have spare SATA cables lying around,
given the price, it's still sad to note that not even one is provided with the
unit. It would also be an improvement if the USB 3.0 wire was modular to save
users who don't need it from having to deal with more cable clutter.
Finally, the rear 80mm exhaust fan is user
replaceable with just a couple of screws, which is good for long-term use.
Small cable channels along with both two- and three-pin fan headers are
provided for anyone who does replace it, which shows good attention to detail.
The high speed settings makes the fan intrusively loud, while the low- speed
one is only just audible. The auto setting was the most favorable in my
testing, however, simply as it provided the lowest noise levels.
SSDs
and other 2.5" drives aren't supported by default, so you'll need an adaptor
should you wish to use one, as sadly one isn't supplied.
As the drives each utilize a direct SATA
6Gbps interface, it's not surprising to note that there's very little loss to
read and write speeds using the FlexCage compared to simply mounting a drive internally.
In the benchmarks I used, there were occasional dips in speeds using the same
hard drive, but overall performance was spot on, so you should have little to
worry about in this regard.
Despite its numerous features, most of
which are genuinely useful, the Icy Dock FlexCage MB973SP-2B is only a
worthwhile purchase for those who are most serious about their storage demands.
If you require multiple hot-swap 3.5" bays, there are few other products
available that will meet your needs, but for less demanding tasks there are
plenty of cheaper options. Even so, the price still feels inflated, especially
given the lack of fully modular cabling, SATA cables and an SSD adaptor, but if
you can live without those, Icy Dock's product does exactly what it promises.
An expensive product, but one that fills a
small niche well.
Even
so, the price still feels inflated, especially given the lack of fully modular
cabling, SATA cables and an SSD adaptor, but if you can live without those, Icy
Dock's product does exactly what it promises.
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Details
·
Price: $140
·
Manufacturer: Icy Dock
·
Website: www.icydock.com
·
Required spec: empty external 5.25” drive bays
Verdict
·
Overall: 7/10
·
Quality: 8/10
·
Value: 5/10
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