StarTech.com 3.5-Inch Hard Drive Bracket Kit for 5.25-Inch Front Bay with Triple Fans FANDRIVE (Beige)

by StarTech

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 1.9 x 7.2 inches ; 9.6 ounces
• Shipping Weight: 9.9 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Shipping: This item can only be shipped to the 48 contiguous states. We regret it cannot be shipped to APO/FPO, Hawaii, Alaska, or Puerto Rico.
• ASIN: B0000510SU
• Item model number: FANDRIVE
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 2, 2004

Product Description

This front panel HDD cooler features three 40mm x 40mm x 20mm ball bearing fans, helping to eliminate the heat that can build up at the front of a PC case as a result of typical drive/system operation. The HDD cooler can be mounted in an available 5.25in half-height drive bay, with a hard drive positioned directly behind it. The HDD cooler includes 3.5in to 5.25in adapter brackets, allowing the cooler to be used with either size of drive. The HDD cooler draws fresh, cool external air into the case through a removable, cleanable filter and blown directly over the hard drive by the quiet-running ball bearing fans - an efficient, nearly silent solution for extending the life of hot running 7200 RPM, 10000, and 15000 RPM IDE and SCSI hard drives in servers.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Unstable and uninstallable, March 2, 2009

By 

Snap, Crackle and Pop (United States) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)   

This review is from: StarTech.com 3.5-Inch Hard Drive Bracket Kit for 5.25-Inch Front Bay with Triple Fans FANDRIVE (Beige) (Personal Computers)

There are no instructions, but even if there were it would only fit some cases. It's bigger than most standard drive bay accessories, and the front cover is curved. (They really missed the boat not making the filter cover smaller, so it would fit more cases.)

Even if you can get it installed, the Startech FanDrive series isn't stable enough to really support a drive in a 5.25" bay, so your drive may vibrate - unpleasant and maybe unsafe for the drive. Rather than making it two pieces, they really should have made this one piece so there would be more support for the drive. (Though the bracket is so cheap it might not have helped much.)

By the way, the filter cover slides off, something I haven't seen mentioned elsewhere - see the image in the gallery for this product. If you're desperate to get it installed in your case, or want to cut it down to fit, that may help.

Other options to consider, depending on whether you want a fan or just a bracket; and whether you want to be able to remove the drive easily.

IcyDock Sata Trayless Hard Drive Rack
ThermalTake Max 4 Sata Trayless Rack
SilverStone FP53B Aluminum 5.25-Inch Cool Drive (Black)
Scythe Bay Rafter 3.5 to 5.25 bay bracket
Scythe Anti-Vibration HDD Stabilizer 2

And more generally check out the offerings from Icy Dock, ThermalTake, Vantec and Silverstone.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars This is not the product you're looking for. Move along., January 21, 2009

By 

R. Voter "GDD" (Indiana) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: StarTech.com 3.5-Inch Hard Drive Bracket Kit for 5.25-Inch Front Bay with Triple Fans FANDRIVE (Beige) (Personal Computers)

The fans mount perfectly in an open bay, or you can mount a 3.5 drive in a 5.25 bay.
I honestly can't see why they are packaged together. You cannot easily use the rails with the fans. There is a configuration where you can make it work, but you need to think outside of conventional logic.

1.) Mount the 3.5 drive in the rails so it appears like it will slope down towards the back of the case. Use top holes of the rail for the end of the drive with no connections, and bottom holes of the rail for the end of the drive with connections.
2.) Mount the fans in an open bay by putting screws through only the upper mounting holes.
3.) Force the rails over the fan shroud so the upper mounting holes of the rails are lined up with the lower mounting holes of the shroud.
4.) Put the screws through the case to secure the rails to the shroud.
5.) Holding the 3.5 drive level you should be able to line up your final screw holes.

I know these directions aren't very good, but after you've been fighting with the parts for a while trying to get it to work they will start to make sense.

If you find the fans are too loud, like I did, just stop each fan to locate the loudest one, and cut the ground(black) wire going to it.

5.0 out of 5 stars StarTech.com 3.5-Inch Hard, February 2, 2012

By 

keith - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: StarTech.com 3.5-Inch Hard Drive Bracket Kit for 5.25-Inch Front Bay with Triple Fans FANDRIVE (Beige) (Personal Computers)

This is a great product and really does a good job. I had no problems installing it and it cools areas, no other fan system will.