INTRODUCTION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   A few years back when we didn't have 3/4TB drives and we were all struggling to make due with 320/500GB ones there was one thing pretty much every single person i know in the IT industry wanted and that was one or more hot-swap 5.25" storage adapters for 3.5" drives. That way everyone could insert a 3.5" drive, take a backup (or share files with friends), remove it and insert another one in just a few seconds (back then docking stations didn't really exist). Now things have changed and so to most people even a single 4TB drive is way too much, however we are not most people and the same can be said about professionals and enthusiasts around the globe. Unfortunately feature-rich and high quality 5.25" hot-swap storage adapters that can hold over three 3.5" drives are extremely hard to come by in the market today and if you are to sacrifice most if not all of your 5.25" drive bays you want to make the most out of it. iStarUSA designs and manufactures industrial grade products for the most demanding of users and lucky for us they also make some of the best 5.25" drive cages for both SATA II/III and SAS I/II drives like the BPN-DE340SS.

 

   iStarUSA Group has over 20 years of experience in the industrial computers industry. We specialize in OEM/ODM projects and manufacture of industrial power supply, rackmount chassis, enclosed cabinets and racks, data storage, and custom power solutions. Our intrinsic value is driven by one steadfast belief: "To always provide our customers with the best products and superior customer service." This credo has made iStarUSA Group a major contender in the IPC power supply industry. We cover a multitude of vertical markets. Our products are widely used in industrial computing, servers, multimedia production, DVR/Surveillance, and telecommunication industries. In the past eighteen years, iStarUSA Group has provided unsurpassed OEM/ODM products and services with exceptional design flexibility, rapid prototyping, and cost-effective solutions. The ISO 9001 certification ensures our product quality and customer commitment. iStarUSA Group bases its strength on our experience, technology, and strong partnerships. For many years, we have worked closely with major computer component manufacturers and system integrators to ensure our products are highly compatible and extremely stable. We continuously adopt new industrial standards to improve our designs. Our ability to customize products according to customers' specifications has won us a prominent and solid industry reputation. Our experienced design team and project engineers complete OEM projects within deadline and product specs. Being on the cutting edge of technology is a key to the success of iStarUSA Group and that of our customers. We believe an innovative technology leader must be able to incorporate the latest advances into all products to ensure customer satisfaction.

 

   The BPN-DE340SS is almost entirely made by aluminum and although it takes up three 5.25" optical drive bays (ODBs) and allows you to mount up to four 3.5" drives in return the really impressive part is that it can be used with both SATA I/II/III and SAS I/II type drives something especially handy for people who already have SAS cards and drives in their systems. Unlike however most 5.25" drive cages the BPN-DE340SS is quite more convenient since it allows the end user to mount/remove drives just by sliding them into and out from the chassis and not via regular drive trays in which you need to secure the drive with screws prior to sliding them back in. Another great feature of the BPN-DE340SS is the adjustable RPM (low/high) 80mm exhaust fan which not only keeps the temperatures of all 4 drives in check but it is also extremely easy to clean via the removable rear cover. And the best is yet to come.

 

 

SPECIFICATIONS AND FEATURES

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

PACKAGING AND CONTENTS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The BPN-DE340SS arrived inside a black and white box with a product picture at the front along with its features list.

 

 

Both the main unit and its bundle are placed between two thick Styrofoam spacers.

 

 

The box contains the BPN-DE340SS, two keys (we were expecting 4), 4 SATA cables, 8 mounting screws and the user's manual.

 

 

THE BPN-DE340SS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Our version of the BPN-DE340SS came in black with red bay covers, however iStarUSA also has versions available with black, blue and silver bay covers. Size-wise the BPN-DE340SS measures 145mm in length, 197.9mm in width and 125mm in height (3x5.25").

 

 

All four bay doors are perforated and feature key locks for increased security.

 

 

Right next to the locks we see the main power LED and 1 activity led for each drive.

 

 

As already mentioned you just need to open the bay covers, slide the drive(s) in and close them.

 

 

We tested the BPN-DE340SS both with SATA and SAS drives for compatibility without issues.

 

 

The rear of the unit carries most of the weight in terms of features (naturally).

 

 

The 80mm exhaust fan can be easily cleaned if you remove the cover as seen above.

 

 

On the right side of the fan we see 4 SATA ports, 2 SATA power ports, the HDD LED on/off switch and the Low/High fan speed switch.

 

 

TEST BED

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TESTING METHODOLOGY

 

     Testing 5.25" storage bay adapters is not really needed since they just act as a bridge between your SATA or SAS controller it doesn't however harm to be 100% thorough. So in this kind of reviews we use a Seagate Enterprise Capacity 3.5 V.3 4TB SATA III HDD with our typical benchmarking suites in an effort to bring you the most accurate results across the board. Now the only reason why we say effort is because real-world usage is not always on par with what results one gets by running several benchmarks on a drive and that's mainly because there are many variables at work from ambient temperatures to hardware configurations and even firmware versions. The benchmarking applications we use are the AIDA64 suite (former Everest Pro), HD Tune Professional, HD Tach RW, ATTO, Sisoftware Sandra Pro and the Crystal Disk Mark 64bit. These benchmarking tools are the best in what they do and as you will also see later on their results more or less agree. Each test is performed a total of 6 times and then the average is recorded into the charts. Temperatures are recorded using Hard Disk Sentinel and after 45 minutes of continuous testing in a 23 degrees Celsius temperature controlled room. Finally we also use an ExTech HD600 dBA meter next to each drive cage (5-10cm away) in order to accurately record their noise levels, although it's very possible that the fans in your system will mask noise coming from the cage. The operating system as usual is a fresh installation of Microsoft Windows 7 Ultimate Service Pack 1 with every update installed up until the 2nd of May 2013.

 

 

TEST RESULTS - AIDA64 / ATTO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - HD TACH RW / HD TUNE PRO

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - SISOFTWARE SANDRA PRO / CRYSTAL DISK MARK

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TEST RESULTS - TEMPERATURES / NOISE LEVELS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

CONCLUSION

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

   Last time I used a storage bay adapter (5.25” drive cage) it was mostly made out of metal and plastic and so It wasn’t of the same quality as the BPN-DE340SS but what was really inferior with it is that it lacked the hot-swap feature and rear exhaust fan of the BPN-DE340SS which in the end are its two most significant features. I also like the fact that iStarUSA has the BPN-DE340SS available in 4 different versions each with different color drive doors so no matter what color tower you might have I think you are covered. Performance is also great and what really stands out is that the BPN-DE340SS yielded better results in most tests (perhaps due to lower temperatures). The only two things I consider as drawbacks are the noise levels from the fan (which should be masked by the noise coming from other system components) and the fact that iStarUSA bundles two keys for the bay doors instead of 4 (I really don’t know why they’d do that).

 

   Industrial class products are usually quite expensive but lucky for the end consumer that’s not always the case and so currently the BPN-DE340SS Storage Bay Adapter by iStarUSA retails for USD69.99 inside the USA (Purchase Directly from Amazon.com). For good or bad the prize varies from model to model (color to color) so you may need to spend a few bucks more over the price we have posted (for the black door model). Unfortunately we were unable to find the BPN-DE340SS inside the EU so USA based online stores are the only way currently for people to aquire it. Personally I think things can’t get much better than the BPN-DE340SS (perhaps with a better fan or more drive bays it could) and that’s why it gets our Platinum Award.

 

PROS

- Build Quality
- Design
- Performance
- Key Locks
- 4 Different Color Models
- Hot-Swap
- No Drive Trays
- Removable 80mm Exhaust Fan
- Low/High Fan Speed Switch
- LED On/Off Switch
- SATA/SAS Compatible
- Price (For Some) 

 

 
CONS

- Noise Levels (Can Always Replace The Fan)
- Only 2 Keys
- EU Availability