SilverStone CFP52B 5.25-Inch to 3.5-Inch Bay Converter with Hot-Swappable Function (Black)

by SilverStone

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 10 x 10 x 8 inches ; 2.8 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 2.9 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B001NPEBEM
• Item model number: CFP52B
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (8 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #23,552 in Electronics (See Top 100 in Electronics)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: December 22, 2008

Product Description

SilverStone’s CFP52B is designed for chassis with three excess 5.25” drive bays or more, and is one of the better upgrades available on the market. With SilverStone CP05 adapter as an add-on, the CFP52B can convert three 5.25” drive bays into a bracket for four 3.5” SATA hard drives with hot-swappable function. Finished with cool LED light on 120mm fan and anti-vibration design, the CFP52B becomes a valuable component to add to any chassis by improving aesthetic and increasing system performance/capacity.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Sort of OK, but with a lot of caveats., February 6, 2011

By 

Computer Geek Dude "anon" (Connecticut, United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: SilverStone CFP52B 5.25-Inch to 3.5-Inch Bay Converter with Hot-Swappable Function (Black) (Personal Computers)

This is an OK drive cage with some important caveats. It's really for a SilverStone case because of the way the fan and grill mount. And even in a SS case be aware that it's relatively deep.

I have a SS KL-01 case, which is a fairly shallow ATX case (nice mid-tower case, btw, if you need something not overly large and don't need it to look like an alien reactor core) SilverStone Aluminum Front Panel/SECC Body ATX Mid Tower Computer Case KL01B - Retail (Black). It came with one of these cages and it fits perfectly (obviously), but because the sides extend well into the case it came right up against the edge of my motherboard, conveniently blocking *all* of the SATA ports--kind of defeating the purpose of a hard drive cage. The fan also connects to power using contacts that are attached to the cage itself, not a straight through wire. This would be a nice feature except that it means that everything needs to mount and line up just right for it all to work (hence use in the right SilverStone case). I ended up using a Vantec cage Vantec Cooling System for Hard Drive HDC-800A (Black) because of the clearance issues (nice simple cage with a dust filter for the fan). I looked at a CoolerMaster cage also Cooler Master 4 in 3 HDD Module Device - (STB-3T4-E3-GP), which I liked because it was aluminum and had a little more space between the drives (both good for cooling). Went with the Vantec cage just because I could squeeze in one more drive and it matched the overall design on my KL-01 case.

The "hotswap" feature is also sort of a stretch. The cage only comes with one back connector, so you'd need to buy three more. And the caddy isn't the greatest because of the way you need to squeeze and wiggle the drive in to keep from distorting the rubber vibration mounts (works eventually though). And, big caveat, the hotswap connectors if you do get them have a SATA cable hardwired to the drive connector. Convenient in a way, but in my case I have a controller with SFF-8087 connectors, and this cage isn't compatible with this relatively common RAID connector.

So, two stars because this cage is not very universal/flexible for use in other manufacturer's cases, the potential clearance issues even in a SilverStone case, and the pseudo-hotswap capability.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very good in a Silverstone case, October 11, 2010

By 

Timothy D. Sullivan (Sarasota, FL) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: SilverStone CFP52B 5.25-Inch to 3.5-Inch Bay Converter with Hot-Swappable Function (Black) (Personal Computers)

If you are looking just for a RAID hot-swap SATA rack this is probably not the best answer if you don't have a Silverstone case. Using any company's case the CFP52B is not designed to be a server level constant hot-swap hard drive rack although the hardware is very good and the SEPARATELY PURCHASED rear power/SATA connectors are high quality. With only four drives there is additional room to allow plenty of air circulation between drives in this rack.

As in any installation, be aware of the position of your motherboard SATA ports as the rack will extend over the edge of most motherboards and block access to many SATA port configurations. Also, don't forget your operating system must support hot-swap as well as the hardware. Another unfulfilled expection linked to my lack of knowledge.

The front fan assembly works well but the door can be difficult to open and close at times (it is actually removed, not opened). The plastic spring clips work but sometimes jam. I would like to see a filter in front of this fan although the small openings on the front grill do filter larger dust and pet hair (you can see it around the front).

Bottom line is I would buy this product again in the configuration (heavy home backup computing)I built. If I had an entry level business server where I expected to swap drives daily or weekly, I would look at another product without the pretty fan/door.

5 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars With Hot Swap...not exactly, February 21, 2009

By 

Paul Richter "comcy" (Moscow, Russia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: SilverStone CFP52B 5.25-Inch to 3.5-Inch Bay Converter with Hot-Swappable Function (Black) (Personal Computers)

After looking all over the Internet for something like this product I was quite pleased with the price/quality. There is another product that will give you five drives, mounted vertically, but for $150 each. Too rich for me, thanks!

A couple of notes about using this product in products not made by Silverstone:
First, getting the product into the drive bays was a VERY tight fit! Don't force it, just wiggle it from side to side and apply a gentle push. Do be careful about the fan power cables during install!
Second, the fans do not lock into place in my Thermaltake case. I had to make some major case modifications to get these to fit correctly to their locking mech. Buyers should be aware that Silverstone gave no thought to making this product compatable with other vender cases.

Curse Thermaltake for not having there own version of this product!



About the Hot Swap function:
Your mother board or SATA card must have AHCI (Advanced Host Controller Interface), which is what actually allows hot swapping. This product only MECHANICALLY facilitates hot swapping.