Icy Dock Introduces MB996SP-6SB Backplane Cage

[btarunr]

The 5.25" device bay has been a long standard in computer history. It started from the 90s legacy industrial PC cases all the way to today's Micro ATX cases. The 5.25" bay has been widely used for optical drives such as DVD and Blue-ray, or with even a single 3.5" hard drive with mobile rack. However, it is almost impossible to use a single 5.25" bay to create complex RAID storage until the MB996SP-6SB Full Metal 6 x 2.5" SATA Hard Drive & SSD Backplane.

Utilizing the standard 5.25" bay form factor, the compact design allows the enclosure to be used in various applications, catering to a wide audience. The MB996SP-6SB excels for use in advanced RAID applications such as building dual RAID 5 arrays or high performance 4 drives in RAID 0 plus RAID 1 array for back up, all in a single 5.25" device bay. The MB996SP-6SB is extremely useful for powerful small servers, gaming rigs, home servers or HTPC's due to its high capacity and space saving design. It is also perfect for users who needs non-RAID JBOD storage and save different contents in different drive locations. It supports wide-range of applications which is the true value of the MB996SP-6SB.



Rock Solid Construction
Making sure your drives or expensive SSDs are in good hands and last as much as possible is carefully considered to any build and design. The MB996SP-6SB is capable of holding up in the various environments, with the heavy duty full metal construction in the entirety of the body and its smaller components.

The metal material used grants heat dissipation transfer from the hard drives to the backplane cage. Lastly, Anti-Vibration Technology (AVT) and EMI grounding are used to ensure a stable environment for the hard drives or SSD's used, dramatically improving reliability.

Absolute Control of your 2.5" hard drive or SSD
Bringing more utility your hard drives or SSDs, LED's are installed into the front of the mobile rack to provide individual drive status information at all times. Active Power Technology (APT) allows each LED and the cooling fan to be active only when a hard drive is inserted into the same bay of the enclosure.

A 40mm cooling fan is placed directly at the center of the rear panel, providing equivalent airflow throughout the entire cage. Depending on your needs, you may need the fan to be at a higher speed, or completely off for silent operation, and so a 3-Mode Fan Speed Control has been added to flexible in various situations.

Using the EZ Slide Micro trays makes drive interchangeability and maintenance completely hassle free. For drive security, the Eagle-hook lock system on the tray makes sure your hard drives will not eject when not needed. The trays are also designed to accommodate 7mm to 9.5mm height hard drive and SSD, creating a 2.5" hot swap bay for any standard SATA hard drives and SSDs.

Key Features:

• Fits 6 x 7mm to 9.5mm 2.5" SATA hard drives or SSD's in a single 5.25" bay for high performance RAID applications.
• Full Metal construction with aluminum body, to protect your drives.
• Anti-Vibration Technology (AVT) - creates a safe environment for hard drives or SSDs.
• Active Power Technology (APT) - individual led & cooling fan only powers up if there is a drive installed in the bay.
• 3-Mode Fan Speed Control - adjust cooling settings (High, Low, or Off) for your specific needs.
• Eagle-hook lock system keeps drives secured within the enclosure.
• Switch between 4-pin and 15-pin power connection with included adapter.
• Removable tray system for easy maintenance.
• Supports SATA 6Gbps and hot swap.

[bpgt64]

That is...the coolest thing on the face of the planet.

[ironwolf]

I think I just had an eyegasm. Looks nice, it's begging for a 6-pack of SSDs.

EDIT: Newegg has them in stock, $99.99. ICY DOCK MB996SP-6SB Full Metal 6 x 2.5” SAT...

The one comment on Newegg mentioned that 90 degree SATA cables look like they would be a problem. Likely not a big deal to most. Also, seems the power adapters are *not* included.

[Sasqui]

Originally Posted by bpgt64

That is...the coolest thing on the face of the planet.

I agree, but two things give me pause. Loud fan and molex connectors (why didn't they use SATA for power?)

[bpgt64]

Originally Posted by Sasqui

I agree, but two things give me pause. Loud fan and molex connectors (why didn't they use SATA for power?)

Uhm, to save you time and clutter. I don't know about you, but just about everything I own doesn't use 4 Pin Molex, yet because of legacy Pata drives and crap like that everything has a few on each PSU. IMO this is two birds 1 stone, gets those formerly useless power connecters being used without adapters, and means I don't have to run 6 Sata Power cables to the front me my case.

[Sasqui]

Originally Posted by bpgt64

Uhm, to save you time and clutter. I don't know about you, but just about everything I own doesn't use 4 Pin Molex, yet because of legacy Pata drives and crap like that everything has a few on each PSU. IMO this is two birds 1 stone, gets those formerly useless power connecters being used without adapters, and means I don't have to run 6 Sata Power cables to the front me my case.

I think you'd only need two, like the two molex they have. It's not a big deal for some, but other than case accessories (some fans and lights), I have nothing that uses molex.

[PopcornMachine]

Originally Posted by ironwolf

... Also, seems the power adapters are *not* included.

A non issue. I think 100% of PSUs come with molex connectors. You just need 2 for this device and it converts the power to 6 SATA bays.

Typical for these kinds of devices. And this one looks real nice.

[Aether]

Originally Posted by Sasqui

I agree, but two things give me pause. Loud fan and molex connectors (why didn't they use SATA for power?)

From an electrical standpoint the SATA power connector is rated around 1.5 Amps per pin whereas the Molex supports much larger current loads (I think 11A per pin). If someone wanted to use high RPM standard 2.5 HDDs in this unit there would be less of a concern about exceeding the max rating and potentially causing a failure or fire hazard.

But I don't know how much current these drives consume...so it's just a thought

[Sasqui]

Originally Posted by Aether

From an electrical standpoint the SATA power connector is rated around 1.5 Amps per pin whereas the Molex supports much larger current loads (I think 11A per pin).

Actually, SATA has 3x 12v pins @ 1.5A each (54 Watts) + 3x 5v pins @1.5A each (22.5 Watts)

Assuming only using the 12v power, it indeed might be a stretch with 6x 15,000RPM drives pulling close to 10w each.

[popswala]

This is pretty sexy. I like it. Only thing I woulda changed but not a real issue is the fan switch. I woulda put it on the front somewhere som you have easy access to turn it up when your using your pc alot and need the extra cooling on the drives. Its sleek looking to fit just about every case style not like others with the blue tabs to open the drives that don't match and stand out like an ugly thumb lol

[FreedomEclipse]

Id load these up with 6 750GB WD blacks for a super awesome gaming drive!!!

[k0rbein]

ohh yeahh.. finally a docking that match my core1k panel!

[[H]@RD5TUFF]

Pretty sweet, I could easily find a use for one of these.

[Easy Rhino]

does this come with a raid controller?

[Morgoth]

i want for my techbench

[Frick]

Originally Posted by Easy Rhino

does this come with a raid controller?

I assume it doesn't, looks like it's just a cage for the drives.

Still sexy though. Any info on prices or am I blind?

EDIT: Oh here it is:

Originally Posted by ironwolf

EDIT: Newegg has them in stock, $99.99. ICY DOCK MB996SP-6SB Full Metal 6 x 2.5” SAT...

[ypsylon]

It doesn't come with RAID. It is simply a RAID backplane. Need connect it to RAID controller.

Hmm for some serious RAID it is stupid idea. They should create 2U backplane for 12x 2.5" drives. It would be possible to mount 1 or 2 80mm fans for proper cooling.

There is no such thing as quiet 40mm fan. All of those work like little hairdryers, making your life miserable. 40mm fans are good used as pencil sharpeners, not for cooling.

[FreedomEclipse]

Originally Posted by ypsylon

Hmm for some serious RAID it is stupid idea. They should create 2U backplane for 12x 2.5" drives. It would be possible to mount 1 or 2 80mm fans for proper cooling.

Keyword here is 'space'
some peoples HTPC might only have enough room for 1 optical drive.
However I a 12x2.5 varient should be made available but then again if you are gonna purchase 12 laptop hard drives then that would be not only a waste of time but also a waste of money, given the price you are going to pay you could buy 2 512GB Samsung SSDs to raid and they would probably give you better performance then any raid setup will give you not to mention, less noise, less power consumption and less reason to buy a RAID or SATA expansion card so you can hook up more hard drives to your PC.

Secondly, who says it has to be used specifically for raid??

Originally Posted by ypsylon

There is no such thing as quiet 40mm fan. All of those work like little hairdryers, making your life miserable. 40mm fans are good used as pencil sharpeners, not for cooling.

Maybe with some careful undervolting, noise might be acceptable. but then again it probably wouldnt move much air. All the more reason to fill it with SSDs