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After several years of flawless performance, I recently decided
to replace my Lian Li removeable bays with something more efficient
and up-to-date. A bunch of Googling let me to the Kingwin KF22's
as they fit my criteria (aluminum + 2 fans), so I ordered 3 sets.
Although the Kingwins are certainly rugged enough, their design
was shockingly inept. While I was installing the first HDD into
the caddy I first had problems getting the drive to actually sit
properly in the interior. The IDE cable wasn't spliced so it was
very difficult to get the ass end of the drive into place. To get
the front of the drive settled in I had to stick a finger in to
keep the fan connections out of the way. WTF?
The HDD actually sits on a firm plastic sleeve which is designed
(I assume) to protect the wires to the front fan. The sleeve is
dead centre and runs the length of the interior space. The jig was
up when I realized it was impossible for the drive to sit level
inside the caddy because of the plasic insert. I was able to
secure one screw into the drive but it would have been impossible
to get the 2nd screw in, let alone #3 and #4. So I left the drive
with no screws attached ... put the lid on ... slid it into the
rack and booted up. SMART error. Rechecked the cables. Smart
error. Finally got booted up but things just weren't right, boot
up was slower and the general performance was a bit sluggish.
Enough was enough. Undid the whole damn mess, reinstalled the Lian
Li's and I am back in business. The Kingwin's are getting RMA'd and
I find myself shopping once again.
I had read good things about the Vantec EZ Swap series and thought
maybe they would fit the bill. The MRK102FD model seems perfect though
I don't really need the bling of the LED. (I was hoping the key wasn't
required to get power to the caddy, but I can't have everything.)
I know someone is going to suggest the new EZ Swap 2's, but I watched
a Review video on them and during the demonstration the hinge for the
rack's dust flap got snapped off without much effort. (see it at:
http://www.3dgameman.com/vr/vantec/ez_swap2_sata_ide/video_review_03.html)
I need something more rugged than that. LOL
So back to the EZ Swap MRK102's. Is anyone here using these and would you
recommend them to others? Any other recommendations?
to replace my Lian Li removeable bays with something more efficient
and up-to-date. A bunch of Googling let me to the Kingwin KF22's
as they fit my criteria (aluminum + 2 fans), so I ordered 3 sets.
Although the Kingwins are certainly rugged enough, their design
was shockingly inept. While I was installing the first HDD into
the caddy I first had problems getting the drive to actually sit
properly in the interior. The IDE cable wasn't spliced so it was
very difficult to get the ass end of the drive into place. To get
the front of the drive settled in I had to stick a finger in to
keep the fan connections out of the way. WTF?
The HDD actually sits on a firm plastic sleeve which is designed
(I assume) to protect the wires to the front fan. The sleeve is
dead centre and runs the length of the interior space. The jig was
up when I realized it was impossible for the drive to sit level
inside the caddy because of the plasic insert. I was able to
secure one screw into the drive but it would have been impossible
to get the 2nd screw in, let alone #3 and #4. So I left the drive
with no screws attached ... put the lid on ... slid it into the
rack and booted up. SMART error. Rechecked the cables. Smart
error. Finally got booted up but things just weren't right, boot
up was slower and the general performance was a bit sluggish.
Enough was enough. Undid the whole damn mess, reinstalled the Lian
Li's and I am back in business. The Kingwin's are getting RMA'd and
I find myself shopping once again.
I had read good things about the Vantec EZ Swap series and thought
maybe they would fit the bill. The MRK102FD model seems perfect though
I don't really need the bling of the LED. (I was hoping the key wasn't
required to get power to the caddy, but I can't have everything.)
I know someone is going to suggest the new EZ Swap 2's, but I watched
a Review video on them and during the demonstration the hinge for the
rack's dust flap got snapped off without much effort. (see it at:
http://www.3dgameman.com/vr/vantec/ez_swap2_sata_ide/video_review_03.html)
I need something more rugged than that. LOL
So back to the EZ Swap MRK102's. Is anyone here using these and would you
recommend them to others? Any other recommendations?