reviewstash

"Mobility" seems to be the buzzword surrounding technology these days - given that, shouldn't your hard drives also be highly mobile and easily accessible? Whether you're a server administrator, media enthusiast, or just proud to show off your high density, high speed hard drives, mobility is highly important; and unforunately, few of us can afford to shell out for a server chassis or are willing to go the enclosure route (a route which may result in a loss in performance and reliability). Luckily, iStarUSA has released a mobile rack that is both easily installable and trayless - making mobility that much easier.

Features/Specifications:

•Screwless and Trayless Design for Fast HDD Mounting or Removal
•Anti-vibration Design
•Supports SAS and SATA I/II Hard Drives
•Key Lock Prevents Theft or Removal during Operation
•Fits Standard 5.25" Drive Bay
•Best Air Ventilation with 1 x 40mm Fan
iStarUSA's Product Page
Price $22.99 @ Newegg

Packaging:

The front of the box features a sleek image of the enclosure, both front and back. Inside the packaging, iStarUSA includes the HDD rack itself, a bag of four screws, a key, and a manual. Glancing over the manual it is evident that iStarUSA has put a lot of thought into writing the manual, as they clearly and concisely describe every step of the installation with illustrations (which is rather handy for a novice).

The T-5 SS Itself:

(Click images to increase size)

Upon removing the iStarUSA T-5 SS from the packaging, one comes to appreciate the sheer weight of the product (1.5 pounds). The rack mainly consists of strong sturdy steel with a chrome finish, while the front of the unit is consists of thick sturdy plastic. The cage and the tray are mounted together with screws and anti-vibrating rubber blocks, which help limit the inserted hard drives noise and vibration.


After the door is opened, you can easily see where the hard drive slides open. The door’s lock system consists of a tab connected to the latch which is locked between two separate parts. In the event of theft when the rack is locked, the latch will break off but the unit will still not open. Regardless of force exerted the locked door will not falter. The door is connected to a lever, which guides the hard drive into the power connectors in the back and also helps push it out upon removal of the hard drive. This makes the process of swapping out hard drives easy and entertaining.

The back side includes: a 40mm fan, SATA/SAS connectors, and a 4 pin molex connector to power the hard drive and the front blue LED lights. The fan is produced by EverGrand Electronics Tech Company and uses 12V ~ 0.07A - it does an excellent job of removing warm air and the steel also helps keep the hard drive cool.

Installation:

Installation is amazingly easy - if you've installed an optical drive, you can easily install this mobile rack. Simply insert the rack into an empty optical drive bay (5.25"), and screw the rack into your case. If you have a tool-less case, then you can forgo using the screws. Next, plug in the SATA/SAS connector and the 4 pin molex connector to the back of the rack. After you have installed the rack into your computer, simply insert your hard drive, close the door, and (just like a usb drive) you will now see your hard drive under “My Computer”. When powered up, you can see the front LED lights; the top one representing the power, whereas the bottom one represents activity. However, to reduce the risk of data loss, I would advise swapping hard drives with the computer off.

Testing:

For testing, we used a Western Digital 250 GB 7200 RPM SATA drive, and there was absolutely no difference in performance whether internally installed or installed into the mobile rack. Throughout usage (even running 1080P films off of the hard drive), the mobile rack remained cool and quiet.

Verdict:

Overall, the iStarUSA T-5 SS is very well made and extremely easy to use. If you are looking for something that is easy to install and allows you to easily remove your hard drives (as if they are giant flash drives) the iStarUSA T-5-SS is your best bet, especially for the extremely reasonable price.

Positives:
Quiet
Easy installation
Good security implementation
Performance remains similar whether internal or via mobile rack

Neutral Ground:
No SATA/SAS cable included

Negatives:
Plastic latch and door feel cheap

Thanks go to iStarUSA for the review opportunity & time, and to Dwijesh for the testing and pictures!