Re: ssd sata rack w. happy customers?

bad sector <forgetski@postit_INVALID_.gov> wrote:

> I'm planning my move to ssd's and want to replace my spinners cage rack 
> with a 4, 6, or 8-bay ssd rack, one of those that stack'em standing on 
> edge, which is what I have now for the 3.5" spinners with 6 bays. What I 
> DON'T want EVER AGAIN are the very confusing lights and switches that 
> are NOT aligned with the bays, as on my present one. A reasonable price 
> would help too.

I don't remember ever buying a computer case that didn't have drive bays
(aka cages) hence I never had to go looking around to see who else might
manufacture drive cages to fit inside whatever computer case I chose.

You didn't mention which mobo you have, or are considering on buying.
Mine came with 3 m.2 slots to mount NVMe SSDs on the mobo.  With three 8
TB m.2 NVMe SSDs, I could have up to 24 TB of very fast storage (at
around a cost of $4500); however, using an m.2 slot on my mobo means
sacrificing a pair of SATA ports.  I went with just one 1 TB m.2 NVMe
SSD (Samsung 970 PRO @ $350) which disable 2 SATA ports, and kept my
other SATA ports for two HDDs (data, backups), one Bluray burner, one
3.5" SSD, and two spares for later expansion.  I had an old 3.5" SSD
that I moved over to the new case, because both its side panels are
removable, and the mobo panel's backside has a slot for a 3.5" drive
(albeit a thin one, like for an SSD).  I like having the 2nd side panel,
so I can run cables behind the mobo plate to keep them hidden, so the
inside stays neat (it has a window in the other side panel).

Without knowing what you already have for a computer case, it could,
say, have three 5.25" bays and two 3.5" bays.  It might even have a
backside slot on the mobo plate to add one there.  You could even mount
a couple cased SSDs at the bottom of the case using self-stick velcro
strips.  You also don't say if you're installing 2.5" or 3.5" SSDs (in
cases versus just the PCBs with connectors).  With nude SSD PCBs (no
cases), you could probably stick up to 4 onto a 5.25" bay adapter (that
has a solid base instead of just the 2-piece adapter) using self-stick
velcro strips.  

Getting a drive cage with a backplane would be neater (providing you
could hide all the cables, or make custom ones at just the distance from
the PSU to the backplane connectors), but you'll have to buy a case that
has a backplaned drive cage.  You won't find it separately, though, and
will have to buy a case with that type of drive cage.

Do these drives have to be internal to the computer case?  If not, why
not get an external drive case that houses multiple drives and connects
via [e]SATA?  Or get an external cage with a SAS controller; see:

https://storage.microsemi.com/nr/rdonlyres/b2b7fea9-f59b-46eb-b676-dd0892653f7c/0/4393_satavalue_13.pdf

If you don't want an external SAS/SATA drive cage, you can get internal
SAS/SATA drive cages that fit inside a 5.25" drive bay and can hold up
to six to eight 2.5" SATA drives.  See:

https://www.newegg.com/athena-power-bp-15629sac-other/p/N82E16816119045
https://www.newegg.com/athena-power-bp-15287sac-other/p/N82E16816119044

With 8 of these (https://www.newegg.com/samsung-7-6tb/p/0D9-0009-003T3),
you could have 61 TB of fast storage (but not as fast as NVMe) at a
whopping cost of $9832, and you might have more than one 5.25" drive bay
to use multiple of these bay-mounted drive cages.