iStarUSA BPU-230HD Drive Enclosure for 5.25" - Serial ATA/600 Host Interface Internal - Black, Silver

Unlock expansive, flexible storage with the iStarUSA BPU-230HD Drive Enclosure, a rugged, high‑performance hot-swap rack designed to transform two 5.25" bays into a compact, efficient storage hub. Built for demanding workflows—from professional video editing suites to data-centre deployments—the BPU-230HD blends durable aluminum construction with advanced cooling design to keep drives cooler, longer, and more reliable under load. With support for hot-swap operation and the option to configure RAID with an additional controller, this enclosure scales with your storage needs while delivering strong performance and straightforward manageability.

• Two 5.25" bays transform into a versatile hot-swap rack that accommodates up to three drives (3x 3.5" or 2.5"). This flexible conversion lets you consolidate storage without sacrificing drive count or accessibility, enabling rapid drive swaps during long project workflows. The design supports hot-swap operation so you can replace drives on the fly without powering down your system, a critical feature for uptime-sensitive environments where time is money.
• Supports 12Gb/s HDDs and SSDs with an internal Serial ATA/600 host interface. While each SATA port provides up to 6Gb/s, the enclosure is designed to handle modern high-performance SATA devices and solid-state drives, ensuring fast data transfers, smooth media playback, and quicker backups across your storage pool. This makes the BPU-230HD a strong foundation for post-production pipelines, virtualization, and data-intensive workloads.
• Aluminum construction with conductive heat-dissipation grooves and a dedicated heat-sink body. The enclosure is engineered to draw heat away from drives efficiently, maintaining cooler operation under sustained load. This helps extend drive life, prevent thermal throttling, and sustain peak performance during long transfers or multi-drive RAID operations. The rugged chassis also resists environmental stress in rack or tower configurations while maintaining a professional appearance.
• Stylish black and silver finish with a color-coded handle and integrated LED indicators. The rugged aesthetic isn’t just about looks—it enhances practicality in busy environments. The indicator set includes power, fan activity, and high-temperature LEDs so technicians can quickly assess system status at a glance, reducing downtime and enabling prompt cooling or maintenance actions when needed.
• RAID-ready architecture that supports RAID configurations with an additional controller. The BPU-230HD serves as a flexible storage backbone when paired with a compatible hardware RAID controller, enabling RAID 0, 1, 5, or other configurations based on your chassis and controller. This capability provides data protection, redundancy, and performance optimization for multimedia work, backups, and server storage needs, while keeping the enclosure modular for future upgrades.

Technical Details of iStarUSA BPU-230HD Drive Enclosure for 5.25" - Serial ATA/600 Host Interface Internal - Black, Silver

• Drive bays: 2x 5.25" external slots converted to up to 3x internal 3.5" or 2.5" drive positions through included adapters, enabling flexible drive configurations for a range of devices and use cases.
• Drive interface: Internal Serial ATA/600 host interface with compatibility for SATA III devices; supports modern HDDs and SATA SSDs, optimizing performance based on your drive lineup and controller configuration.
• Drive health indicators: Power, fan, and high-temperature LED indicators provide quick visual status checks for the enclosure and installed drives to help maintain uptime and respond to thermal events promptly.
• Material and design: Aluminum chassis with conductive dissipation grooves and a built-in heat-sink body, designed for efficient cooling, durability, and long-term reliability within rack or tower installations; the finish combines black and silver accents for a professional appearance.
• Hot-swap and RAID readiness: Hot-swap capable, allowing drive replacement without powering down the system; RAID configurations require a separate RAID controller (not included) to implement RAID levels beyond basic passthrough.
• Operating environment and compatibility: Engineered for enterprise and prosumer storage tasks, suitable for use in PC chassis, server rooms, or DAS setups when installed in compatible 5.25" bays and connected to an appropriate motherboard/RAID controller configuration.

How to install iStarUSA BPU-230HD

• Power down your system and locate an available 5.25" bay in your chassis to accommodate the BPU-230HD; remove any blank panels to prepare for installation and ensure clearance for cables and airflow.
• Insert the enclosure into the 5.25" bay and secure it with the chassis screws or mounting hardware provided by your case, ensuring the unit sits square and aligned to prevent connector strain on backplanes or cables.
• Install any required drive adapters or trays needed to fit your chosen 3.5" or 2.5" drives into the 2x 5.25" slots; load your drives into the trays (if applicable) and slide the trays back into the enclosure until they are securely seated.
• Connect the enclosure to your system using the appropriate SATA data and power connections from your motherboard or power supply; route cables neatly to avoid obstructing fans or airflow and to simplify future maintenance or drive swaps.
• If you plan to use RAID, install and configure the RAID controller in your system or server hardware, then follow the controller’s software or firmware steps to create and manage the RAID array with the drives inside the BPU-230HD.
• Power on the system and verify drive detection in your operating system or RAID management tool; check the enclosure’s LED indicators for power and temperature status, perform a SMART check if available, and format or partition drives as needed for your workload.

Frequently asked questions

• Q: Does the iStarUSA BPU-230HD support hot-swapping? A: Yes. The enclosure is designed to support hot-swapping of drives, allowing you to replace drives without powering down the system, which is essential for uptime-critical operations.
• Q: What RAID configurations are supported with this enclosure? A: RAID configurations are supported when used with a separate RAID controller. The BPU-230HD provides the hot-swap backplane and drive mounting capabilities, but the RAID functionality requires a compatible controller card.
• Q: What drives can I install? A: The enclosure accepts 3.5" and 2.5" drives via adapters, enabling flexible configurations across multiple drive sizes and speeds; you can configure up to three drives depending on your adapter choices and backplane.
• Q: How is cooling handled? A: The enclosure uses an aluminum chassis with conductive dissipation grooves and a dedicated heat-sink body, plus LED indicators for fan status and temperature. Proper airflow in your rack or case helps maximize cooling efficiency.
• Q: Is this enclosure compatible with 12Gb/s drives? A: It supports high-speed HDDs and SSDs as wired through the SATA interface; ensure your drives and RAID controller support the same transfer speeds to achieve optimal performance.