Conclusion:
The
Icy Dock MB455SPF 5-Bay Internal SATA Drive Enclosure is a great choice for someone that needs more hard drive bays or hot-swap capabilities. If you have a RAID array spanning multiple drives, something like this is an excellent idea since it allows you to use as little space as possible, lets you swap out drives on the fly, and provides additional cooling to the drives.
Another nice features is that if you own an Icy Dock MB559US-1S, MB559UEA-1S, MB561US-4S, or MB561S-4S enclosure you can use the trays interchangeably with the MB455SPF.
The only problem I have with the enclosure is that it may not be compatible with cases featuring a tool-less drive bay design. During installation I was forced to modify the internals of my case in order to allow the MB455SPF to slide into place. If the sides of the MB455SPF had slots in the locations where a typical 5.25" drive ended I wouldn't have had to bend the metal guides in the case, and the installation would be much easier and quicker.
Another issue that may be dependant on the case where the MB455SPF is installed was related to vibration. Every once in a while there would be a vibrating noise coming from the front of the enclosure; a simple little tap would shut it up.
The retail price of the
Icy Dock MB455SPF 5-Bay Internal SATA Drive Enclosure is about $130, with PriceGrabber listing just two locations with prices of
$125 and $145. Checking Newegg.com shows that they have it for
$128.99.
Given the performance and convenience, the
Icy Dock MB455SPF 5-Bay Internal SATA Drive Enclosure earns the final rating of "Highly Recommended".
Pros:
» 5 hard drives in 3 bays
» Easy hot-swap
» Trays interchangeable with other Icy Dock enclosures
Cons:
» Not tool-less case friendly
» Occasional vibration
Special thanks to
Icy Dock for providing the Icy Dock MB455SPF 5-Bay Internal SATA Drive Enclosure to Bigbruin.com for review!
