iStarUSA T-5 SS

(5 star rating) Written by: William Ford

In these days of the never ending need for backing up your important data, installing multiple operating systems or just storing all of your photo and video media files - the demand for removable storage is as high as ever. iStarUSA delivers a simple and easy way to install or remove a hard drive in seconds making quick back ups on a large scale possible, as well as providing all the normal benefits of an internally installed SATA hard drive.

We take a look at the T-5 SS today - which is a mobile rack to use with 3.5" SAS and SATA I/II hard drives. With an unlimited storage capacity of the hard drive, this mobile rack provides no storage limits. Read on to hear our take on the T-5 SS.

In the Box

• T-5 SS Hard drive bay
• Two keys
• Four mounting screws
• Installation guide

T-5 SS Box		T-5 SS Contents

Out of the Box Setup

The drive bay installs in a 5.25” drive bay and provides quick access to a single SATA or SAS hard drive. The bay installs as easy as a CD drive using Molex power and connecting either an SATA or SAS cable. The hard drive itself is simply inserted into the drive bay from the front of the bay. The SATA power and data connections are inside the bay and when you close the bay door the drive is securely attached to them. The door is equipped with a locking mechanism for security and two keys are provided for users. A blue LED indicator on the front of the drive bay shows that a drive is installed and operating.

Features

• Screwless and Trayless Design for fast HDD mounting
• Anti-vibration Design
• Support SAS and SATA I/II Hard Drive
• Key Lock Prevents Theft or Removal During Operation
• Fit for Standard 5.25" Drive Bay
• Air Ventilation with 1 x 40mm Fan

T-5 SS Installed		T-5 SS Rear View

Usage

The bay also sports a cooling fan that keeps the hard drive nice and cool; and running efficiently. The fan is very quiet, in fact you won’t even notice it if you have any other fans in your computer. Installation takes of the bay takes about five minutes for experienced users and techs. Once the bay is installed, installing the hard drive is as simple as inserting the drive, just make sure you have the drive oriented correctly to match the connections inside the bay.

Removing a drive from the bay is also easy. You simple unlock the door with the provided key and pull the lever on the front of the bay. The door opens releasing the drive from the connections inside and you can simply pull it out. Make sure to never insert or remove a drive from the bay while the computer is on to prevent possible data loss and/or corruption. SATA drives are not completely hot swappable and removing a drive while the computer is on can cause data loss and possibly corrupt the partition table.

iStarUSA T-5 SS SAS/SATA Mobile Rack

The T-5 SS is a great way to easily and quickly add and remove a hard drive from your computer. I find it an excellent way to back up data quickly and using several of these drive bays in a server can also provide easy maintenance for replacing bad drives and repairing RAID arrays while providing keyed security of your data.

Pros: Easy installation, quick hard drive install and removal, keyed security.

Cons: None.

Rating: 5 out of 5

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