Cabinets with more than 4 3.5" HDD bays

[daemon1]

I have been looking for some new cabinet but the expansions slots are making me confused. My current cabinet is cooler master and it has around 8 hard disk slots for 3.5 inch size, if I see latest cabinets from cooler master, for example Buy Cooler Master MASTERBOX K500L at Best Price in India www.mdcomputers.in it only has 3 slots?

what if I have more hard disk drives to install? how is that done in the new cabinets? is that a different process or they are only for ssds?

 

[quicky008]

most new budget-oriented cabinets don't include more than 2-3 3.5" hdd bays.If you want more 3.5" slots then you'll have to spend a bit more money and get a mid/full-tower sized cabby with multiple hdd bays.

 

[daemon1]

ok, thats annoying , any alternatives ? like adding third party brackets?

 

[quicky008]

Yes its really annoying-even i've been facing the same issue as you are.I want to upgrade my ageing corsair cabinet(not that there's anything bad about it per se) with something more modern with rgb bling but unfortunately most new cabinets in the 5-6k range only have 2-3 hdd bays and virtually no 5.25 inch bays-this really puts many users like me at a disadvantage as we need a cabinet that can accommodate atleast 4 hdds and 1 optical drive(ODDs are still pretty handy for taking backups onto dvds,despite what many people say).

i dont think there's any way to increase the no of 3.5 inch bays by adding third party brackets-if you dont need rgb and other such fancy frills then you can go for corsair spec 1 which has 4 hdd bays.

also some cabinets from local brands like circle also have 4-5 hdd bays:

CIRCLE MID TOWER CABINET (ATX) - CC840 WITH TRANSPARENT SIDE PANEL (BLACK)

 

[whitestar_999]

I also noticed this issue & the best I can think of for a reasonably priced cabinet(aka less than 5k) is getting a cabinet with 4 3.5" hdd bays & 1/2 5.25" ODD bays & then use a 3.5" to 5.25" bracket to convert ODD bay to hdd bay.For ODD,I guess usb odd can do the job.

P.S. spending 5-6k on local Indian brands like circle is just waste of money.

 

[whitestar_999]

Some options I found:
Buy Cooler Master K380 Black Best Price in India mdcomputers.in
Buy Antec GX500 Window Black at Lowest Price in India - mdcomputers.in
Buy CORSAIR MID TOWER 230T ORANGE Best Price in India mdcomputers.in
CORSAIR MID TOWER CABINET (ATX) - 200R TRANSPARENT SIDE PANEL (BLACK)

Adapter to convert 3.5" hdd to 5.25" odd bay use:
*www.amazon.in/MagiDeal-Interface-A...+to+5.25"&qid=1560077447&s=electronics&sr=1-5

 

[Nerevarine]

Check older series models, they should have full available expansion slots.

 

[daemon1]

Yes its really annoying-even i've been facing the same issue as you are.I want to upgrade my ageing corsair cabinet(not that there's anything bad about it per se) with something more modern with rgb bling but unfortunately most new cabinets in the 5-6k range only have 2-3 hdd bays and virtually no 5.25 inch bays-this really puts many users like me at a disadvantage as we need a cabinet that can accommodate atleast 4 hdds and 1 optical drive(ODDs are still pretty handy for taking backups onto dvds,despite what many people say).

i dont think there's any way to increase the no of 3.5 inch bays by adding third party brackets-if you dont need rgb and other such fancy frills then you can go for corsair spec 1 which has 4 hdd bays.

also some cabinets from local brands like circle also have 4-5 hdd bays:

CIRCLE MID TOWER CABINET (ATX) - CC840 WITH TRANSPARENT SIDE PANEL (BLACK)

This is exactly my case, I also have 4hdds, added over time to my current setup. ODD are also required as most of the drivers come on CD, people might say you can get from net, but I install it from CD first and update from net. This way I dont have to worry about compatibility. There is no other use of drives if we get a new cabinet with one or 2 expansion slots.

Having multiple slots also have downside that we can not have less then 6 sata slots in MB, which are only available above Rs 10000.

Some options I found:
Buy Cooler Master K380 Black Best Price in India mdcomputers.in
Buy Antec GX500 Window Black at Lowest Price in India - mdcomputers.in
Buy CORSAIR MID TOWER 230T ORANGE Best Price in India mdcomputers.in
CORSAIR MID TOWER CABINET (ATX) - 200R TRANSPARENT SIDE PANEL (BLACK)

Adapter to convert 3.5" hdd to 5.25" odd bay use:
*www.amazon.in/MagiDeal-Interface-Adapter-Mounting-Computer/dp/B074QQY6ML/ref=sr_1_5?keywords=3.5"+to+5.25"&qid=1560077447&s=electronics&sr=1-5

thanks, yeah, these have 4-5 slots so better then new lineup. I will not prefer K380 as thats pretty old and with only one USB 3.0 in front. guess I need to compromise in some way to get what I need.

Check older series models, they should have full available expansion slots.

I dont think there is point in having older cabinets, if I have to go back, I would continue with my current cooler master.

 

[quicky008]

Gx 500 looks like a good choice,and its pretty cheap too.

Older models from reputed manufacturers did have multiple hdd and odd slots(like corsair 500r,CM storm scout etc) but they are very hard to come by these days.

 

[whitestar_999]

Found this,seems pretty good for a long term usage scenario for those planning to add hdd over the years as it comes with 8+1 hdd bays & you can also convert remaining 2 odd bays to hdd bays with adapter.Only thing is,it costs 6.4k.
Buy Online Antec P9 Window Black ATX / Micro ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - in India

 

[Randy_Marsh]

Apologies for going offtopic, but what do you guys actually do with your old cabinet after upgrading? I've been thinking about upgrading mine but not sure where would I dump the old one.

 

[quicky008]

sell it on olx

 

[topgear]

Found this,seems pretty good for a long term usage scenario for those planning to add hdd over the years as it comes with 8+1 hdd bays & you can also convert remaining 2 odd bays to hdd bays with adapter.Only thing is,it costs 6.4k.
Buy Online Antec P9 Window Black ATX / Micro ATX Mid Tower Computer Case - in India

This is one hell of a cabinet. Very nice find.