StarTech HSB220SAT25B 2 Drive 2.5in Trayless Hot Swap SATA Mobile Rack Backplane
Description:
Specifications: Color Black Enclosure Type Aluminum Hot Swap Capability Yes Features: Aluminum enclosure design to help with heat dissipation Driver free support and tool-less design for HD installation Dual LED function: Power on, HD activity Easily add two 2.5" SATA hard drives to your PC Supports Hot Swapping Supports SATA II and maximum data transfer rates up to 3.0 Gbps Swinging
Great Device and Feels Solid but the Wiring Needs Help
review by lady fitzgerald
While I normally prefer hot swap bays that do not use an ejecting door due to the potential for breakage of the eject mechanism, this one appears to be solid enough despite the use of plastic for the door and the eject finger. My SSDs slide in and eject freely. Basically, it does exactly what it is supposed to do and does it very well (which is why I gave the review 4.5 stars despite my complaints).
I dislike the cables needed to connect the docks to the computer. My main issue is having to use their cable(s) to connect SATA power and get power for the activity indicator LEDs. There is no good reason why StarTech couldn't have wired power for the LEDs internally instead resorting to those Michael Mouse external cables and floppy connectors (which are a chore to remove with my old, arthritic fingers, btw). All those wires looping around at the back unnecessarily take up more room and look like a rat's nest exploded.
My other gripe is the SATA data connectors on the hot swap bays will not latch with latching SATA data cables (which is ironic since the SATA data cables included are the latching kind).
I would feel better if the hinges on the eject linkage were all metal instead plastic and metal. Hopefully, being gentle with the doors will ensure longevity of the mechanism.
It's a pity StarTech doesn't make a four bay unit like this one that will fit in a 5.25" bay.
Edit: One other gripe I have is, instead of insulating the metal bottom of each bay to avoid shorting out the PCB on HDDs, they supply two little plastic sheets to stick on the HDDs. It would have made more sense to stick plastic on the bay bottoms instead. One can buy more of those HDD protector sheets on Fleabay but I put an LCD screen protector sheet on the bay bottoms instead. I had someone on another forum unintentionally made me realize that the plastic protector sheets were intended to be stuck onto the HDDs to protect the coating on their PCBs from wear when inserting and ejecting HDDs in addition to insulating them from the metal bottom of the bays. While insulating the bottom of the bays will protect HDD PCBs from shorting, even if the PCB coating has been worn off, the HDDs could short out if used in another bay that wasn't insulated if the PCB coating had been worn off. Even though it would be annoying to have to attach a protector sheet onto each HDD one may have, in the long run, it would be safer.
Pros
Cons
Works well, feels solid, easy to use.
Stupid wiring, no catch for latching SATA data cable, eject linkage hinges made of a mix of plastic and metal
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