Product Announcement: ICY DOCK MB561US-4SB-1 Quad Bay 3.5" eSATA (PM) and USB HDD Enclosure now available in black with 3TB support

Icy Dock is proud to introduce the new MB561US-4SB-1. It has the same great features as the MB561US-4S-1 but in a new color. The MB561US-4SB-1, Quad Bay SATA External Enclosure featuring USB and eSATA Port Multiplier (eSATA Port Multiplier Card Required), and Fan Speed Control with Smart Cooling Technology. MB561US-4SB-1 Product Features: * Support up to 12TB in total hard drive capacity. * 3 Speed Adjustable Cooling Fan, including auto setting featuring Smart Cooling Technology. * 4 Bay 3.5" SATA I / II removable external hard drive enclosure support SATA hot-swap. * Backplane with 1x high speed USB 2.0 and 1x e-SATA ports (port multiplier). * Plug & Play USB 2.0 quick connection for any computer system. * Multi-drive exchangeability & maintenance capabilities with simple removal of drive tray. * White LED light indicates power and HDD access. * Aluminum alloy body covering with distinctive design and protection. * Shock absorption HDD tray design making the HDD stable while in operations. * Detachable 80mm ball bearing rear cooling fan for easy maintenance. * Built-in fan-less power supply, making it a quiet device. * Rubber padded soles for scratch protection. * Mac mini design concept. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MB561US-4SB-1 Product Page Question? Tell: 626.956.8800 e-mail: tech@icydock.com

ICY TIP: Cost Effective Alternative to an SSD for Mac Pro Users: Use 2 x Seagate Momentus XT Hybrid Drives in RAID 0 with the Icy Dock MB982SPR-2S

With the rise of flash memory becoming the new standard of computer storage, price is also rising with the cost per gigabyte with the new technology compared to older hard disk drives. If you are seeking an OS performance boost and still want to keep the cost per gigabyte down, then the Seagate Momentus XT is a great candidate. The Seagate Momentus XT combines flash memory with mechanical memory to keep the price per gigabyte down but still has the performance of an SSD.

Since the internal SSD memory of the Seagate Momentus XT is limited to 4GB, some users find it is not enough for their storage needs. Another issue is mounting a 2.5” drive into a 3.5” device bay or onto a Mac Pro Sled. So what’s the solution? The Icy Dock MB982SPR-2S RAID 2.5” SSD to 3.5” SSD RAID converter. As you may already know, RAID 0 provides a huge speed boost without losing the capacity of the drives. With the MB982SPR-2S you can run hardware RAID 0 while converting two 2.5” SATA SSD/HDD to 3.5” form factor. This gives you better performance, bigger capacity, all in a universal 3.5” HDD form factor which is compatible with any PC, Mac, Server system & backplanes.

What is special about the Seagate Momentus XT is that it has an Adaptive Memory feature that learns what data is being used more frequently and moves it to the SSD portion of the drive. The results found with the Icy Dock MB982SPR-2S in RAID 0 with two Seagate Momentus XT are very impressive. Average Read speed for a single Seagate Momentus XT is 82.7 Mb/s where as the Seagate Momentus XT in Raid 0 had 203.1 Mb/s. There is also an improvement on the write speed with a single Seagate Momentus XT is 85 Mb/s where as the Seagate Momentus XT in Raid 0 had 199.7 Mb/s as seen in the test results below. Check out this review for more details and tests:

http://www.overclockersclub.com/reviews/seagate_momentus_xt_500gb/4.htm

Installing two drives in the MB982SPR-2S is simple due to the tool-less installation. Just slide in two 2.5” drives in the enclosure and latch the lid and you are ready to mount it into a 3.5” HDD bay or slide into your Mac Pro. The enclosure is also completely metal to keep the drives safe. The enclosure has airflow vents for heat dissipation and an anti-vibration design to keep the drives from moving around.

Setting up the MB982SPR-2S to work as your boot drive in your Mac Pro is easier than you may think. With the two drives installed into the MB982SPR-2S you can insert it into an open hard drive bay in your Mac Pro. Install the software RAID program available here:

http://www.icydock.com/download/JMicron_Mac_v0.09.58.zip

Any RAID selection made on the physical enclosure will be overridden by the software. Select RAID 0 and allow the software to write the RAID table to the drives. After that your OS should see the drive and allow you to format it to the Mac file system. After that you can either do a fresh OS install or create a clone of your current boot drive.

Benchmark images from our test system. Use these as primary results to base the article off of. Use the OCC review as support for extra stuff like 4K blocks and what not (note: the test result may vary from different setup)

MB982SPR-2S Product Page: http://www.icydock.com/goods.php?id=79

Seagate MomentusR XT Solid State Hybrid Drive Product Page: http://www.seagate.com/www/en-us/products/laptops/laptop-hdd/

Announcement: Select Icy Dock Products Are Compatible With 3TB SATA HDD

Greetings! We have a big announcement that many of you have been waiting for! Several of our tried and true Icy Dock products now have confirmed compatibility with the new wave of 3TB HDDs that have been released! We received many requests for this information, and now we are proud to share the good news with you! Below is a list of the compatible Icy Dock Products: (Click the image to see more detail)  MB561US-4S-1 MB662US-2S MB123 Series MB122SKGF Series MB671 Series MB672SKGF Series MB876SK-B MB877 Series MB453SPF-B / MB454SPF-B / MB455SPF-B MB973SP-B / MB974SP-B We hope this news excites you as much as we think it will! Now you can pack a whopping 15TB into our internal 5-in-3 SATA backplane, the MB455SPF-B, 12TB into our eSATA/USB quad bay, the MB561US-4S-1, or 6TB into our top selling dual bay RAID unit, the MB662US-2S! Please feel free to contact us for further information or questions at tech@icydock.com

ICY TIP: Best Screw-less 2.5" to 3.5" SATA SSD/HDD Mounting Bracket for Computer Maker and System Integrator - MB990SP-B

With a very tight economy and the demand for cheaper and faster computers on the rise cost needs to be saved where ever it can. One of the major contributors to cost is labor. To cut cost and labor the MB990SP-B is a perfect and affordable way for, computer manufactures, computer makers, Industrial PC makers, or system builders to ease computer assembly.

With the major advances in computer storage devices, drives are becoming smaller and the 2.5" form factor is becoming the new standard for storage devices. When using 2.5" drives with generic PC cases most of the time you need to use a 2.5" to 3.5" bracket to property mount the drive in the case. The problem with traditional style brackets are the amount of screws needed and most importantly the time spent installing all of the screws. With most brackets on the market using about 12 screws to install 2 x 2.5" drive into a 3.5" bay, time can add up especially on a major production line.

The benefits to using the MB990SP-B on a production line can help reduce cost on labor in assembling computers. The MB990SP-B easily installs into a standard 3.5" bay with no screws to attach. Another feature that can be utilized in computer assembly is the ability to mount 2 x 2.5" drives in a single 3.5" bay with no screws. When using the older screw type brackets 12 screws would need to be used to mount 2 x 2.5" drives in an ATX tower case. The MB990SP-B also makes installing additional drives to your system or regular maintenance a snap with the screw-less design. Also upgrading to the new popular SSD is as easy as sliding in the new drive. The MB990SP-B uses absolutely no screws and is tool less, cutting time down more than 30 seconds per installation in a production line opposed to the traditional bracket style system. The time saved can add up in a production line environment. Cutting time can increase productivity equating to more units produced. Most importantly, the labor and maintenance cost.

The MB990SP-B is the affordable and quick way to cut labor cost in a production line environment with out sacrificing rigidity. Please click on following link to learn more about MB990SP-B EZ-FIT Dual 2.5" to 3.5" SATA & IDE SSD / HDD Bracket.

MB990SP-B Product Page:
http://www.icydock.com/goods.php?id=79

New Product Announcement - MB974SP-B Tray-less 4 in 3 SATA 3 Hot-Swap RAID Backplane Module with eSATA & USB 2.0 Port

Introducing the new face of Icy Dock screw-less technology, the MB974SP-B 4-in-3 SATA Backplane. This product allows the user to install 4 x 3.5” SATA hard drives into a computer case’s 3 available 5.25” device bays. Using our world renowned screw-less technology, no screws or tools are required to insert or eject the drives making hot swapping a completely hassle free experience.

The front of the device includes childproof power buttons for each and they also act as an LED indicator showing drive power and activity. Similarly, each drive door has a multi-locking latch mechanism to prevent a door from being opened easily. Also on the front are USB and eSATA ports to quickly and easily connect external storage peripherals.

On the rear of the MB974SP-B is a monster 80mm cooling fan to pull cool air from the front ventilation slots, over the drives, and exhaust the warm air out through the rear ventilation slots. The fan also features an “on-demand” power system, so that the fan is only powered on if a drive’s power is on. So even if all 4 slots are filled, the fan will only spin if one of the drives is powered on. And if the included fan is not enough, it can be upgraded to use most aftermarket 80mm case fans that use a 2 or 3 pin connector. A 3 speed fan control is built in letting the user choose between high, low, or auto which uses our Smart Cooling Technology to adjust fan speed according to the cooling requirements of the drives.

Product Features:

* Fits 4 x 3.5" SATA HDD into 3 x 5.25" Device Bays

* Screw-less, tool-less design for genuine plug & play and hot swap use

* Compatible with SATA 6 Gb/sec

* Stylish aluminum construction for durability and heat dissipation

* 80mm cooling fan for maximum air flow

* On-demand power system - Fan power only when a drive is powered on

* Fan is replaceable with aftermarket fans that use 2-pin or 3-pin connectors

* 3 speed fan control including Smart Cooling Technology providing temperature

* Front and rear ventilation slots

* Front side USB and eSATA ports for convenient external storage connections

* Individual power switches and LEDs for each drive

* Child-proof power buttons to avoid accidental power shut down

* Multi-locking door latches to prevent accidental drive ejection

* Internal SATA cable and USB header cable built into rear of device

MB974SP-B Product Page

For Reviewers and Resellers, click here to request a review sample.