Installation

Installation was probably simpler than many other hotswap bays I've dealt with before. Included with the unit is a pair of keys. They are similar to the ones used to lock cases, but instead of having a notch on the outside, the inside of the key is triangular. Using the key, I turned the triangular lock on one of the trays to the unlock position. Pulling out of the latch of this tray, the tray slid out without an issue.

The racks are open, rather than enclosed like many 3.5" hotswap trays. This makes it much easier to install the drives, and for the rear fans to cool the drive. The SATA cables for the device were in the trays, neatly wrapped.

Installing the drives was a breeze. They screw in from the bottom of the tray, utilizing the holes on the bottom of the drive. There's no noise dampening with this unit, but remember that it's meant for servers and workstations, not your home theater. On the bottom, I also noticed two pieces of plastic, used channeling the activity and power LEDs to the front of the tray.

The trays slid back in fairly easily, and I could feel the resistance of the SATA interface connecting. Using the keys, I locked the trays back in place to make sure no passerby pulled one out in curiosity.

The next step was to mount the device in the tower. Our test rig for testing the SATABAY425BK consists of a Core2 Duo E6300 processor, 2GB of WinTec DDR2-1066 RAM, a Xigmatek HDT-S1283 heatsink, and a StarTech.com WattSmart 750W Power Supply. To benchmark the unit, I'll be using Gentoo Linux and Windows XP.

On the rear of the unit, there are a total of eight SATA ports, or two per drive. For each drive, one is designated primary, and the other secondary. Since I'm using my motherboard's onboard SATA controller, I have no need of designating a drive as secondary. Also to note on the back is a jumper for changing the fan speed. Since my case is fairly well ventilated and my room usually hovers around 65°F, I shouldn't have any heat issues if I set the jumper to low. However, if I were using high-speed SAS drives in this unit, I'd probably leave the setting on high.

I ran into no clearance issues while inserting the SATABAY425BK in to my case. The unit screwed into the drive bay with ease, and the next step was to connect the SATA drives and power connection. The unit as a whole will run with both fans and four drives off a single molex connector.

BAM. Installation complete.