5 drives in 3 bays... Simple bracket?

[Calab]

I'm looking for what should be a simple mounting bracket that will hold five
3.5" hard drives in three drive bays.

http://wantitnow.ebay.com/5-in-3-dr...Z250210634784QQssPageNameZSTRKQ3aMEWINQ3aPOST

Or, for those who don't like eBay. A link directly to the photo:

http://i2.ebayimg.com/06/i/000/d5/ff/0358_2.JPG


The closest that I can find is this, at $40 + shipping, which ends up being
around $60:

http://i3.ebayimg.com/07/i/000/b0/70/4abb_1.JPG
http://i6.ebayimg.com/01/i/000/b0/70/4b18_1.JPG


I'm sure that there are more out there, and probably a bit cheaper too.

Anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

 

[philo]

I'm looking for what should be a simple mounting bracket that will hold five
3.5" hard drives in three drive bays.

http://wantitnow.ebay.com/5-in-3-dr...Z250210634784QQssPageNameZSTRKQ3aMEWINQ3aPOST

Or, for those who don't like eBay. A link directly to the photo:

http://i2.ebayimg.com/06/i/000/d5/ff/0358_2.JPG


The closest that I can find is this, at $40 + shipping, which ends up being
around $60:

http://i3.ebayimg.com/07/i/000/b0/70/4abb_1.JPG
http://i6.ebayimg.com/01/i/000/b0/70/4b18_1.JPG


I'm sure that there are more out there, and probably a bit cheaper too.

Anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

Due to heating concerns I'd avoid that.
If your case is large enough, I'd rob a drive bay out of a junked machine
and mount it somewhere else in the cabinet...to give the drives a bit of
room for
air flow.

Last year I ended up adding an additional bay
by just mounting it as the bottom of the case

 

[Irresistance]

I second that Unless you plan to have a decent 120mm fan blowing fresh air
onto the drives, this is asking for trouble. There are some hot-swap trays
that come with a fan and can offer similar density, but are a bit more
expensive.

The money you save on getting a fanless tray like the one pictured will be
lost on a drive likely failing within 3-6 months due to heat and/or
vibration problems.

W

 

[Calab]

I second that Unless you plan to have a decent 120mm fan blowing fresh air
onto the drives, this is asking for trouble. There are some hot-swap trays
that come with a fan and can offer similar density, but are a bit more
expensive.

The last two links show a model with a 120mm fan. Also, this is going into
an Antec 900 case... 200mm fan right on top, sucking air out of the case.

 

[philo]

The last two links show a model with a 120mm fan. Also, this is going into
an Antec 900 case... 200mm fan right on top, sucking air out of the case.

I did see a nice fan on that 2nd link...
so might as well get that one.
If it keeps the drives cooled, it's worth any extra money you'd pay

 

[kony]

I'm looking for what should be a simple mounting bracket that will hold five
3.5" hard drives in three drive bays.

http://wantitnow.ebay.com/5-in-3-dr...Z250210634784QQssPageNameZSTRKQ3aMEWINQ3aPOST

Or, for those who don't like eBay. A link directly to the photo:

http://i2.ebayimg.com/06/i/000/d5/ff/0358_2.JPG


The closest that I can find is this, at $40 + shipping, which ends up being
around $60:

http://i3.ebayimg.com/07/i/000/b0/70/4abb_1.JPG
http://i6.ebayimg.com/01/i/000/b0/70/4b18_1.JPG


I'm sure that there are more out there, and probably a bit cheaper too.

Anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

5 in 3 is putting them pretty close together, IMO you should
instead get a different case that accomodates enough drives.

 

[Henry Bemis]

I put 5 3.5" drives into an old scsi 4 bay 5.25" drive case. I kept both
internal fans and all are running fine for 1 year now. Using USB drive
connectors and a 350 watt PC Power Supply. It's about half the height of a
mini tower pc case. And it was a $5 flea market item. It was white so out
came the rattle can - flat heat resistant black paint. It sits by the PC
case and matches rather well.

 

[kony]

I put 5 3.5" drives into an old scsi 4 bay 5.25" drive case. I kept both
internal fans and all are running fine for 1 year now. Using USB drive
connectors and a 350 watt PC Power Supply. It's about half the height of a
mini tower pc case. And it was a $5 flea market item. It was white so out
came the rattle can - flat heat resistant black paint. It sits by the PC
case and matches rather well.

That's 4 bays instead of 3, leaving more room between the
drives was the important factor.

 

[larry moe 'n curly]

I'm looking for what should be a simple mounting bracket that will hold five
3.5" hard drives in three drive bays.

Hang 2-3 of the drives vertically from the bottom drive bay, on the
floor of the case (may require extra-long cables), or, if the bay
extends all the way to the floor, on the side of the bay rack.

 

[kony]

I'm looking for what should be a simple mounting bracket that will hold five
3.5" hard drives in three drive bays.

http://wantitnow.ebay.com/5-in-3-dr...Z250210634784QQssPageNameZSTRKQ3aMEWINQ3aPOST

Or, for those who don't like eBay. A link directly to the photo:

http://i2.ebayimg.com/06/i/000/d5/ff/0358_2.JPG


The closest that I can find is this, at $40 + shipping, which ends up being
around $60:

http://i3.ebayimg.com/07/i/000/b0/70/4abb_1.JPG
http://i6.ebayimg.com/01/i/000/b0/70/4b18_1.JPG


I'm sure that there are more out there, and probably a bit cheaper too.

Anyone have any ideas or suggestions?

If your case only lacks enough HDD bays at the bottom, one
other option (which is even better, IMO, because with a
couple fans at the bottom the typical ATX airflow pattern is
preserved) is to drill out the (rivets, if so constructed)
bottom rack if it has one, then use a metal brake and sheet
metal to make a new HDD rack. In the following example a
couple of 92mm fans are in front of it and do a very good
job of keeping drives cool as almost all the air flows
through the rack.

http://69.36.166.207/usr_1034/gw_case/prepped for use.jpg