Icy Dock tough armor mb998ip-b - 8x 2.5 inch (6.4 cm) sas/sata ssd/hdd sff-8643 minisas hd caddies in 1x 5.25 inch (13.3cm) - full metal,Black,MB998IP-B

Although a little pricey, this hot swap bay was worth the purchase. This DOES NOT fit normal 2.5 drives....this unit is made for Solid State SATA drives ( like samsung evo, sandisk, etc... ). Super easy to install and use, there is also a fan switch on the back of the unit to control the speed. Fans at medium speed were pretty quiet...but on high they were noticeable. If noise is a factor for you, then I suggest replacing the fans this unit comes with. Also note the HDD activity lights remain on all the time and will blink OFF when activity is happening with the SSD.

Crazy how well built this thing is for how dense it can pack in the SSDs. I use it in a mobile workstation for an SSD RAID (no moving parts to jostle when it gets lugged around between locations) so the one downside to this unit is that it's HEAVY. I read the physical specs before buying, but it was still surprising. Otherwise great, a totally unique product from what I can tell. And the fans appear to be a standard form factor so I will replace them with some Noctuas to make it even quieter (the stock fans are not that loud, I'm just optimizing). My only nitpick is that I wish it had locking doors, but that might not even be possible with how small the trays are.

It’s so rare these days when a product impresses me, so I have to write this review to say if you have any doubts about the quality of materials or the build, don’t worry. It’s solid as a rock, and it weighs as much. It’s real metal, not plastic. Having over 16 TB in 8 drives, within 5.25” peripheral slot is awesome.