INTRODUCTION

   So far at this year’s CES we've witnessed the unveiling of a lot more products than we did last year and that alone is enough for all of us here to be happy not only because that means we'll have plenty of new things to play around inside 2014 (some may even take a year to become available however) but also because no matter how much innovative and advanced a product is next year we can always expect to see something even better. Of course we still have a long way before consumer oriented products can get closer to industrial/enterprise class ones both in terms of quality and performance but some manufacturers are always doing their best to narrow the gap. iStarUSA is one of those manufacturers and today we will be taking a look at their BPU-124DE-SS 1x5.25" to 4x2.5" SAS/SATA 6Gb/s Hot-Swap cage.

   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 last time we had something similar to the BPU-124DE-SS on our test bench was a couple of months ago and it was the BPN-2535DE-SA again by iStarUSA. However although these two cages are both constructed by aluminum and are hot-swap they also have massive differences the most obvious of which is that the BPU-124DE-SS occupies a single 5.25" drive bay (not an 3.5" like the BPN-2535DE-SA) and thus has room for a total of four (and not two) 2.5" HDDs/SSDs. Other differences include both SATA/SAS compatibility and active cooling for the drives via two 40mm exhaust fans. Overall although both cages have similar functionality the BPU-124DE-SS is by far a more complete solution for people who use 2.5" drives a lot but since it must cost quite a bit more than the BPN-2535DE-SA we need to see if it's worth it so let’s get going.