iStarUSA BPU-350HD Drive Enclosure for 5.25" Bay - 12Gb/s SATA Internal - Black, Blue

Engineered for high-demand storage tasks, the iStarUSA BPU-350HD consolidates multiple 3.5" and 2.5" drives into a compact 5.25" rack, delivering robust hot-swap capability and flexible RAID-ready performance. Built from a rugged aluminum chassis with a heat sink and conductive dissipation grooves, this enclosure keeps drives cool under load while maintaining a sleek, professional aesthetic in a black body accented with blue hardware. Whether you're expanding a media server, optimizing a workstation, or building a small data center, the BPU-350HD offers reliable storage expansion, streamlined maintenance, and scalable performance for HDDs and SSDs across enterprise, media, and home environments. Its compact form factor, combined with a durable finish and accessible indicators, makes it a practical choice for professional setups requiring dependable, roomy storage in a 5.25" footprint.

• Flexible drive expansion: 3x 5.25" bays feed a hot-swap rack that accommodates up to 5 drives (3.5" or 2.5" SATA HDD/SSD), providing scalable storage within a compact 5.25" chassis for demanding workflows.
• Ultra-fast SATA-600 host interface: Internal Serial ATA/600 support delivers up to 6 Gb/s per channel, enabling high-speed data transfers for modern HDDs and SSDs; ideal for media editing, backups, and server workloads when paired with a capable back-end controller.
• Hot-swap and RAID readiness: Designed for quick drive replacement without powering down and compatible with RAID configurations via an additional RAID controller, giving you flexible data protection and uptime options in professional environments.
• Rugged aluminum build with heat dissipation: An aluminum enclosure features conductive dissipation grooves and a built-in heat sink, helping to maintain cooler drive temperatures under sustained load while delivering a stylish black body with a blue-accented handle.
• Clear monitoring and reliability: Power, fan, and high-temperature LED indicators provide real-time status at a glance, helping IT staff and enthusiasts quickly assess health and respond to thermal conditions in busy storage systems.

Technical Details of iStarUSA BPU-350HD Drive Enclosure

• Drive support: 3x 5.25" bays that accommodate up to 5 drives (3.5" or 2.5" SATA HDD/SSD) via a hot-swap backplane, enabling flexible configurations in a single enclosure.
• Host interface: Internal Serial ATA/600 (SATA III) connection for high-speed data transfer between drives and the system controller.
• Backplane and RAID: Hot-swap rack designed for RAID configurations when used with a compatible RAID controller; RAID functionality is not built-in and requires an additional controller for management.
• Construction: Durable aluminum chassis with conductive dissipation grooves and an integrated heat sink to aid cooling; finished in a black body with blue accent details for a professional look.
• Indicators: Power, fan, and high-temperature LEDs provide at-a-glance status to monitor operational health in real time.
• Compatibility and performance: Supports HDD and SSD drives with SATA interfaces, offering solid performance suitable for storage pools, media libraries, backups, and workstation augmentation; optimized for high-throughput workloads when paired with the appropriate controller and drivers.

How to Install iStarUSA BPU-350HD

To ensure a secure and reliable installation, follow these steps. Note that a compatible RAID controller is required to enable RAID configurations; the enclosure does not include a built-in RAID controller.

• Power down your computer or server and unplug it from the power source. Open the chassis to access the internal bays.
• If you plan to use RAID, install a compatible RAID controller card into an available PCIe slot on the motherboard or in your server. Ensure the controller firmware is up to date and compatible with your drives.
• Mount the BPU-350HD into an available 5.25" front bay, securing the enclosure to the chassis with screws according to your case’s guidelines.
• Connect SATA data cables from the RAID controller or motherboard to the backplane of the BPU-350HD. Insert each HDD/SSD into the hot-swap rack and secure them as needed, ensuring proper seating in the drive bays.
• Connect the appropriate SATA power supply lines to the enclosure if required by your system configuration. Power up the host system and enter the RAID controller utility to initialize and configure the drives as desired (RAID level, stripe size, etc.).
• Power on the system and monitor the LED indicators on the enclosure. Confirm that all drives are detected and that cooling fans operate correctly. Test a data transfer to verify performance and reliability.

Frequently asked questions

• Is RAID supported with the BPU-350HD? RAID configuration is supported via an external or host-side RAID controller. The enclosure provides hot-swap backplanes and drive connectivity, but the RAID functionality must be managed by a separate controller.
• What drives are compatible? The backplane accepts 3.5" and 2.5" SATA HDDs and SSDs, allowing a mix of drive types within the same enclosure when used with the appropriate controller and cabling.
• Is the unit hot-swappable? Yes. The design supports hot-swapping enabled by the backplane, enabling drive removal and replacement without powering down the entire system, provided a compatible RAID/controller setup is in place.
• Does it come with a RAID controller? No. A separate RAID controller is required to configure RAID arrays and manage redundancy and performance across the installed drives.
• What is the form factor? The enclosure is designed for a 5.25" drive bay in the front of a chassis and provides internal SATA connectivity to support drives configured through a RAID controller.